Arvindus

Contemplations

'I Am Tat I Am'

  • Title: Contemplations, 'I Am Tat I Am'.
  • Author: Arvindus.
  • Publisher: Arvindus.
  • Copyright: Arvindus, 2023, all rights reserved.
  • Index: 202302211.
  • Edition: html, first edition.

Content

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In the teachings of Alice Bailey^Master Djwhal Khul1 the expression 'I am' is related to the personality, 'I am that' to the soul and 'I am that I am' to the monad,2, 3, 4 whereby the monad is related to spirit, the soul to consciousness and the personality to matter.5, 6

Now related to the above mentioned personality, soul and monad are the concepts of individualisation, initiation and identification,7 and we thus get an overview as in figure 1 below.

I am that I am Monad Spirit Identification
I am that Soul Consciousness Initiation
I am Personality Matter Individuality

Figure 1.

Now individuality basically signifies a state of inseparability.8 This stands in contrast with identification wherein one given is equalled to another, indicating thus a dividedness between at least two givens that are brought to unity.9 Therefore Bailey can equal an identification to an "at-one-ment".10

The above is also reflected in the expressions that are under contemplation. Where 'I am that I am' contains two times 'I am', whereby one is put identical with another, there does 'I am' contain only one inseparable 'I am'.

Now the soul, consciousness, is not just an isolated given that is accidentally placed between the personality and the monad, between matter and spirit. It relates the two. The process of evolution for man runs from individualisation in the personality through initiation in the soul towards identification in the monad.11

Where the expressions under contemplation are concerned does the 'I am that' relate the 'I am' to the 'I am that I am'. The focus in the 'I am that' state of being is on the 'that', and this 'that' can be considered as the given that separates the inseparable 'I am' into the dual 'I am that I am'. For that is exactly what the expressions indicate. The 'that' of the soul relates the 'I am' to the 'I am that I am' by separating it into two through an intermediary positioning. But the opposite is also true: The 'that' unifies the dual 'I am that I am' into the one 'I am'. For in the end the 'I am' and the 'I am that I am' are one God, one Jhwh.12

Now the English 'that' has a same source as the Sanskrit 'tat' that occurs in the famous expression 'aum tat sat', and 'tat' also refers, like 'that', to a certain objectivity.13 When we then replace 'that' with 'tat' we get the expression 'I am tat I am', which is still similar in meaning but reflects a more perfect symmetry with a central 'a' accompanied by a 't' on both sides bordering the two 'I am's. All this can be drawn in a figure such as shown below.

I am tat I am

Figure 2.

What we see in this figure is that 't1at2' intermediates in identifying 'I am2' with 'I am3' and in dividing, much like a prism, the individual 'I am1' into the identical 'I am2' and 'I am3', but also in bringing the latter two in at-one-ment with the former one. After all 'I am1' is identical with 'I am2 t1at2 I am3', be it that the first is an expression of its individual mode of being and the latter of its identifying mode of being.14 All of this goes of course mutatis mutandis also for the other 'I am's and 'tat's.

Interesting to give attention to is the 'a' at the centre of the figure. For the sound 'a' is the first letter in the Sanskrit, Hebrew, Greek and Latin alphabets as 'अ', 'א','α' and 'a', and the Hindu god Krishna claims identity with that letter.15 But also the Christ as son of the god Jhwh who proclaimed to be the 'I am' and the 'I am that I am' claims to be the 'α' (together with the 'ω').16

Here we must not make the mistake of taking 'I am1', 'I am2' and 'I am3' as three different 'I am's. And neither should we take the different formable 'I am tat I am's as non-identical with each other. In reality, comparable to the Holy Trinity of the Christians, all elements are one in the 'I am tat I am', in the 'I am'.17

Notes
  1. 'Contemplations, Notations of 'Telepathy'', Index: 202204261.
  2. Alice A. Bailey, A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM, Release 3), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001, p. 245. "The first manifestation, the Personality, embodies the "I am" principle.
    The second manifestation, the Ego, is embodying the "I am that" principle.
    The third manifestation, the Monad, will embody the "I am that I am" principle."
  3. Ibidem, p. 420. ""I am" refers to the personality consciousness on three lower planes, or to all that is considered as inferior to the causal body. It concerns a man's realisation of his place upon the globe within a chain.
    "I am That" refers to his egoic consciousness, and to the planes of the Triad. It concerns a man's realisation of his place within the chain, and his relationship to the group of which he forms a part.
    "I am That I am" refers to a man's monadic consciousness, and his relationship to the planes of abstraction. It concerns his realisation of his position in the scheme."
  4. 'Contemplations, A Modest Exploration of 'I Am', 'I Am That' and 'I Am That I Am'', Index: 202302191.
  5. 'Ageless Wisdom, Triplicities in Man', Index: 201308292.
  6. Alice A. Bailey, The Light of the Soul, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM, Release 3), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001, p. 46.
    "Aspect Quality Centre Macrocosm
    Spirit Father Monad Will Head Central spiritual sun
    Soul Son Ego Love Heart Heart of the sun
    Body Holy Spirit Personality Active Intelligence Throat Physical sun"
  7. Alice A. Bailey, Esoteric Psychology, Volume II, A Treatise on the Seven Rays, Volume II, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001, p. 8.
    "1. Individualisation Personality.
    2. Initiation Ego.
    3. Identification Monad."
  8. Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0), Oxford University Press, 2009, individuality, 1.
  9. Ibidem, identification, 1. a.
  10. Alice A. Bailey, Education in the New Age, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM, Release 3), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001, p. 152. "Occult identification or at-one-ment."
  11. Alice A. Bailey, Esoteric Psychology, Volume II, A Treatise on the Seven Rays, Volume II, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001, p. 27. "These three words—individualization, initiation and identification,—cover the whole process of man's career from the time he emerges into the human kingdom till he passes out of it at the third initiation, and functions freely in the fifth kingdom, the kingdom of God."
  12. The American Standard Old Testament, (software), Version 1.0, Ages Software, Albany, 1996, Exodus, Ch. 3, v. 13-15. "And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations."
  13. 'Contemplations, The Fractalness of 'Aum Tat Sat'', Index: 201107191, Aum Tat Sat, Tat.
  14. Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Kabbalah, Key to Your Inner Power (eBook), Summit University Press, Gardiner, 1997, p. 103. "The I AM Presence corresponds to the Father-Mother God. The I AM Presence is the Presence of God individualized for each one of us. It is your personalized I AM THAT I AM."
  15. Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Swami Swarupananda (translator / commentor), Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata, 2007, Ch. X, Śl. 33, p. 236. "Of letters the letter A am I, […]."
  16. The American Standard New Testament, (software), Version 1.0, Ages Software, Albany, 1996, Revelation, Ch. 22, v. 13. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
  17. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite, (CD-ROM), Encyclopædia Britannica, Chicago, 2010, Trinity. "in Christian doctrine, the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead."
Bibliography
  • 'Ageless Wisdom, Triplicities in Man', Index: 201308292.
  • 'Contemplations, A Modest Exploration of 'I Am', 'I Am That' and 'I Am That I Am'', Index: 202302191.
  • 'Contemplations, Notations of 'Telepathy'', Index: 202204261.
  • 'Contemplations, The Fractalness of 'Aum Tat Sat'', Index: 201107191.
  • Alice A. Bailey, A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM, Release 3), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001.
  • Alice A. Bailey, Education in the New Age, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM, Release 3), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001.
  • Alice A. Bailey, Esoteric Psychology, Volume II, A Treatise on the Seven Rays, Volume II, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001.
  • Alice A. Bailey, The Light of the Soul, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM, Release 3), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001.
  • Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Kabbalah, Key to Your Inner Power (eBook), Summit University Press, Gardiner, 1997.
  • Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Swami Swarupananda (translator / commentor), Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata, 2007.
  • Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite, (CD-ROM), Encyclopædia Britannica, Chicago, 2010.
  • Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0), Oxford University Press, 2009.
  • The American Standard New Testament, (software), Version 1.0, Ages Software, Albany, 1996.
  • The American Standard Old Testament, (software), Version 1.0, Ages Software, Albany, 1996.