BLAVATSKY AND THE ETHER ACCORDING TO ALICE BAILEY

 

In her book A Treatise on Cosmic Fire Alice Bailey wrote:

 

« These major seven planes of our solar system being but the seven subplanes of the cosmic physical plane, we can consequently see the reason for the emphasis laid by H. P. B.* upon the fact that matter and ether are synonymous terms and that this ether is found in some form or other on all the planes, and is but a gradation of cosmic atomic matter, called when undifferentiated mulaprakriti or primordial pre-genetic substance, and when differentiated by Fohat (or the energising Life, the third Logos or Brahma) it is termed prakriti, or matter.

 

* See: SD I, p.153; SD II, p.43; SD I, p.50, call 8; SD I, p.112, 152-153; SD II, p.359-360. »

(1-C-3-2)

 

 

 

 

Here Alice Bailey makes numerous references to The Secret Doctrine to make her readers believe that Theosophy confirms her assertion that "matter and ether are synonymous terms" but that is completely false.

 

If you go to those references you will see that is not said there this asseveration, nor in any other part of the Secret Doctrine.

 

Nor does Blavatsky say so because Blavatsky defined the ether as follows:

 

« Students are but too apt to confuse this with Akâsa and with Astral Light. It is neither, in the sense in which ether is described by physical Science. Ether is a material agent, though hitherto undetected by any physical apparatus; whereas Akâsa is a distinctly spiritual agent, identical, in one sense, with the Anima Mundi, while the Astral Light is only the seventh and highest principle of the terrestrial atmosphere, as undetectable as Akâsa and real Ether, because it is something quite on another plane. »

(Theosophical Glossary)

 

 

And in the instructions that Blavatsky gave to her students of the Esoteric Section, she showed the following classification:

STATES OF THE MATTER	ELEMENT WITH IT IS ASSOCIATED	TATTVAS (IN SANSKRIT)
still unknown in Occident	primordial or supreme matter (aether)	adi
still unknown in Occident	self-existing matter, «parentless»	anupadaka or aupapaduka
ethereal	ether	akasha or alaya
incandescent	fire	taijasa or tejas
gaseous	air	vayu
liquid	water	apas
solid	earth	prithivi

We see therefore that Blavatsky defines the ether as the fourth state of physical matter, which is very different from what Alice Bailey wrote.

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

This is one more example of how Alice Bailey pretends to rely on what Blavatsky taught to appear to lend credibility to her teaching, but in reality Alice Bailey is saying things that are very different and often wrong from what Theosophy teaches.