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Preface
5 Planes of Existence
Introduction
Five Planes of Manifestation
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DEMONS AND FIENDS
These are nature-spirits, or non-human
intelligences concerned with the direction of lower plane
activities. They are elemental forces, instinctive, blind, and
persistent, working automatically on the astral plane. They build up
habits, and are adverse to spirit, striving against the Higher
attempts which are made from above to raise the soul.
“Owing to the gracelessness which they practised, the demons became
more oppressive, and they themselves carried on unnatural malice
between themselves; they advanced one against the other, and smote
and tore their hair and cheeks." - The Bundahis, Ch. XV. 17.
The mental-body (kama-manasic vehicle) being now built up, this
serves to render the mind of the ego impervious to the higher rate
of vibrations from above, but at the same time, increasingly
responsive to the vibrations from below. The warring of the
"members" (qualities) within the lower self, the conflicts of lusts
and affections, become increasingly troublesome, and produce
disorder in the lower mind. One desire advances against another,
thus defeating each other's ends. The "smiting of cheeks and tearing
of hair signify the forcible check which is put upon one desire by
another. But the check is possible only when forethought and the
more intelligent phases of the desire-nature come to be evolved, and
these are typified by the cheeks and hair," which symbolise the
higher aspects of the desires.
“Then the demons shouted out of the darkness thus: 'You are man,
worship the demon! so that your demon of malice may repose." -
Ibid., 18.
This implies that the faint dawnings of the lower Self, reflected in
the desires through efforts at Self-realisation, cause stress and
sorrow. The first impulse of the ego is to work for the benefit of
self, hence the lower qualities alone are observed to be of
assistance at this stage of development.
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