Antahkarana.
Q. The Antahkarana is the link between the Higher and the Lower Egos; does it correspond to the umbilical cord in projection?
A. No; the umbilical cord joining the astral to the physical body is a real thing. Antahkarana is imaginary, a figure of speech, and is only the bridging over from the Higher to the Lower Manas. Antahkarana only exists when you commence to “throw your thought upwards and downwards.” The Mâyâvi Rûpa, or Mânasic body, has no material connection with the physical body, no umbilical cord. It is spiritual and ethereal, and passes everywhere without let or hindrance. It entirely differs from the astral body, which, if injured, acts by repercussion on the physical body. The Devachanic entity, even previous to birth, can be affected by the Skandhas, but these have nothing to do with the Antahkarana. It is affected, e.g., by the desire for reincarnation.
Q. We are told in The Voice of the Silence that we have to become [pg 546] “the path itself,” and in another passage that Antahkarana is that path. Does this mean anything more than that we have to bridge over the gap between the consciousness of the Lower and the Higher Egos?
A. That is all.
Q. We are told that there are seven portals on the Path: is there then a sevenfold division of Antahkarana? Also, is Antahkarana the battlefield?
A. It is the battlefield. There are seven divisions in the Antahkarana. As you pass from each to the next you approach the Higher Manas. When you have bridged the fourth you may consider yourself fortunate.
Miscellaneous.
Q. We are told that Aum “should be practised physically.” Does this mean that, colour being more differentiated than sound, it is only through the colours that we shall get at the real sound of each of us? and that Aum can only have its Spiritual and Occult signification when turned to the Âtmâ-Buddhi-Manas of each person?
A. Aum means good action, not merely lip-sound. You must say it in deeds.