CONTETNS Contents 5 Acknowledgements 19 Abbreviations 23 Introduction 27 A Genera! Introduction 27 Purpose and Motivation 27 Methods 29 B Philosophical Introduction 29 What is Life? 29 Seven Fundamental Concepts 32 A personal Note 37 SECTION I: THE LAW OF CYCLES 39 1 THF SYMBOLISM OK THE CIRCLE 41 1 The Eternal - A Native American Approach 42 Parent less 47 The Circumference 47 2 Wholeness and Brotherhood- ANative American Approach 50 The Medicine Wheel 50 The Sacred Hoop 53 Ceremonies 54 Ceremonial Cycles 55 Mandala 55 3 Duality 56 Parabrahman 56 Brahman 57 Akasa 57 Duality in Hopi and Oglala Philosophy 58 Upperworlds and Underworlds 66 4 The Cycle of Life and Death 74 5 The Cycle of Creation and Evolution 83 6 Sacred Numbers 84 2 THE CYCLES OF THE HINDU PURANAS AND THE SORYA SIDDHANTA, AND THEOSOPHICAL EXPLANATIONS 94 1 The Cycle of Creation, Destruction, and Renovation 94 2 The Hindu Time Division 95 3 The Divine Year and the Yugas 101 4 Cyclic Governors and Helpers 103 5 Dissolution or Involution . 104 3 THE JAIN CYCLES OF JOY AND SUFFERING 107 1 Avasarpim and Utsarpini 109 4 THE BUDDHIST CYCLE OF LIFE AND DEATH 112 1 Bhavacakra 112 2 Baroda Thodol 115 5THE LAW OF CYCLES IN THEOSOPHY 119 1 Reincarnation 119 2 Rounds and Races 122 2.1 The Seven Rounds 128 2.2 Root-Races and Continents 129 3 Reembodiment and Root-Races in the Plant Kingdom 135 4 Destruction of the Continents 138 6 IMPLICATIONS OF CYCLIC LAW FOR MODERN BIOLOGY: LINEAR VERSUS CIRCULAR 139 1 Life is Eternal 139 2 Life Rather than Life-forms 140 3 The Cycles of Paleontology 141 4 Medicine and Agriculture 142 SECTION II: CAUSALITY 145 7 SOME ASPECTS OF CAUSALITY IN NATIVE AMERICAN THINKING 147 1 Introduction 147 2 Intcrconnectedness of All Things 148 3 Harmony 150 4 Divination 152 5 Prophecy 155 6 Skan 157 7 Summary of Aspects of Causality in Native American Thinking 161 8 CAUSALITY IN JAINISM 164 1 Introduction 164 2 Causality and Non-absolutism 164 3 Causality on the Physical and the Moral Plane (JTva/AjTva) 166 4 The Jaina Doctrine of Karma 167 5 The Types of Karma 169 6 Bandha 174 7 Karmana-sarira and Reincarnation 174 8 The Origin of Species 175 9 KarmabhOmis 180 10 Cycles 181 11 Summary and Conclusions 181 12 Biological Aspects 185 13 Nature, Many individuals or One Wholeness? 186 14 The Deepest Motivation 186 15 Duality 187 16 Comparison of Causality in Jain and Native American Thinking 187 9 CAUSALITY IN HINDUISM 191 1 Causality in Advaita Vedanta 191 1.1 Gaudapada and Sarikarcarya 191 1.2 Causality and Karma 196 1.3 Karma and Intelligence 196 2 Karma. 197 10 CAUSE AND EFFECT IN BUDDHISM, IN A THEOSOPHIC LIGHT 202 1 Bhavacakra and the Nidanas 202 2 Karma 216 11 THE KARMA DOCTRINE IN THEOSOPHY 223 1 Karma Aphorisms 223 2 Karma and Compassion 232 3 Karma and Disease 233 4 Karma and Heredity 236 5 Karma After Death and Unmerited Karma 237 6 Karma and Animals 239 7 Karma, Lipikas and the Four Maharajas 240 12 THE MEANING OF CAUSALITY IN MODERN SCIENCE 244 1 The Mechanistic Model 244 2 Entropy 246 3 From Matter to Consciousness 247 4 Implicate Order 249 5 Discussion 252 13 THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE NON-WESTERN CAUSALITY DOCTRINES FOR MODERN BIOLOGY 254 1 From Matter to Consciousness. 254 2 Karma and the Mechanistic View 255 3 Interconnectedness 257 4 Teleology 258 5 Anthropomorphism versus Analogy 259 6 Respect for All Beings 259 7 All Causes have their Origin in Consciousness 260 8 Outer Forms are the Result of Inner Causes 261 9 Karma and Reincarnation 261 10 Real Causality Knows No Statistics 262 11 Synchronicity 262 12 Free Will 263 13 Energies are Living Entities 264 14 Cataclysms and Thought Power 264 15 Every Act is Recorded 265 SECTION III: ECOLOGY 267 14 THE MEANING OF ECOLOGY 269 1. What is Ecology? 269 2. The Hierarchical Structure of Nature 272 2.1 Hierarchy of Worlds or Levels of Existence 273 2.2. Hierarchy of Beings 274 2.3. Hierarchy of Elements 274 2.4. Hierarchy of Constituent Principles 275 15 JAIN COSMOLOGY 276 1 Hierarchy of Worlds or Levels of Existence 276 1.1 Introduction 276 1.2 The Lower World 277 1.3 The Middle World 278 Mount Mem en Videha 79 1.4 The Upper World 279 1.5 Discussion 280 1.6 Jambuand Other Dvlpas 281 1.7 Mahavideha and Meru 283 1.8 The Occult Meaning of Meru 283 1.9 Lands of Work and Liberation 284 1.10 Guardians of the World 284 1.11 The world of Physical Incarnation 285 2 Hierarchy of Beings 285 2.1 Introduction 285 2.2 Classification 286 2.3 Some Notes on Ecology 295 2.4 Discussion of this Section 298 2.5 Beings of the Lower World 298 2.6 Beings of the Upper World 301 2.7 Discussion 303 Elements 303 Nigodas 305 Cosmographical Distribution 306 Evolution from Within 306 Devas, their Functions and Hierarchies 307 Celestial Bodies as Devas 309 Vyantaras 310 Hell-beings 310 Beings of the Upper World 310 3 Hierarchy of Elements 311 4 Hierarchy of Constituent Principles 311 4.1 Bodies 311 4.2 Discussion 314 Physical and other Bodies 3 14 Spontaneous Generation 3 15 6HINDU COSMOLOGY 317 1 Hierarchy of Worlds or Levels of Existence 317 1.1 Lokas and Talas in the Visnu Purana 319 1.2 Some Significant Quotes Concerning the Lokas and Talas 321 a. Lokas 321 Bhurloka 321 Bhuvarloka. 321 Svarloka 322 Taparloka 324 Satyaloka 324 b. Lokas, general 325 Talas 326 Atala 326 Vitala 26 Sutala 326 Talatala 326 Mahatala 326 Rasatala 326 Patala 327 1.3 Discussion 327 2 Hierarchy of Beings 329 2.1 Inhabitants of the Lokas 329 Inhabitants of Bhurloka 329 Inhabitants of Bhuvarloka 330 Inhabitants of Svarloka 331 Inhabitants of Maharloka 335 Inhabitants of Janarloka 339 Inhabitants of Taparloka 341 Inhabitants of Satyaloka 342 2.2 Inhabitants of Talas 342 3 Hierarchy of Elements 343 3.1 Dissolution of the Elements 348 4 Hierarchy of Constituent Principles 350 17 THEOSOFHICAL COSMOLOGY 356 1 Hierarchy of Elements and Beings 356 1.1 Some Aspects of Physics and Biology in Relation to the Theosophical Teachings Concerning the Atom 374 Wave-Particle Relation and the Nature of Light 374 Gravity 377 Infinite Divisibility of Matter 378 The Chemical Atom and its Time-scale 380 Life-atoms and Mitosis: Microsomes and Centrosomes 381 Ecology and Life-atoms 383 Life-atoms and Music 384 Summary 385 1.2 Elements, Dhyani Chohans and Pitrs 387 2 Hierarchy of Worlds or Levels of Existence 389 3 Hierarchy of Constituent Principles 392 1 Atman 395 2 Buddhi 396 3 Manas 397 4 Kama 400 5 Prana 401 6 LihgasarTra 403 7 SthulaSarTra 404 4 The Hierarchy of Compassion 405 18 THE WESTERN WORLD: SOME ASPECTS OF BIOLOGY 410 1 Morphogenetic Fields 410 1.1 The Origin of Forms 421 1.2 How the Lihga sarira can be Influenced 432 1.3 How the Processes of the Cell can be Influenced 435 1.4 How Does the Jiva Adjust the Body which it Occupies? 441 2 Gaia 443