Dctachan

Dhyana originates from the Sanskrit root dhyā, meaning "to meditate" or "to contemplate." It is a core concept in Indian spiritual traditions, appearing in Vedic texts and becoming central to Buddhist meditative practices and cosmology, particularly in describing post-mortem states.

With the uninitiated lirahmaiis. Chinese and other Buddhists, tlie Kupadhatu is divided into einrhteen Brnhmfi or D* valokas: the life of a soul therein lasts fr-oni half a Yufra up to IH.OOO YujGras or Kalpas. and the heij^ht of the"Shades" is from half a Yojana up to 1(). ()()() Vojanas (a Yojaiui nieasurinpr from five and a half to ten miles!!"), and sueh like theolojrieal twaddle evolved from priestly hrains. But the Ksot(»rie Philosophy toaehes that thoujrh for the lufoa for the time beinfr. everything: or everyone preserves its form (as in a dream), yet as Rupadhatu is a purrhi mental region, and a state, the Efjos themselves have no form outside tluMr own eonseiousuess. Esotericism divides this "refrion" into seven T")hyanas. "reprions"', or states of contemplation, which are not localities hut mental represi-ntatives of these. Arupadhatu -. this "refiion" is a^'ain divided into .seven Dhyana.s, still more al)stra<-t and forndess. for this "World" is without any form or (h-sire whatever. It is tiu^ hijrhe.st rejrion of the post mortem Trailokya ; and as it is the abode of tho.se who are almost ready for Nirvana, and is. in fact, the very threshold of the Nirvanie state, it stands to reason that in Arupadhatu (or Arupavachara) there can be neither form nor sensation, nor iiny r.cliim eoiiiieeted with our three dimensional Universe. Trees of Life. Fi-om the hifxhest antiquity trees were connected with the prods and mystical forces in nature. Every nation had its sacred tree, with its peculiar characteristics and attributes based on natural, and al.so occasionally on occult jiroperties, as expounded in the esoteric teachinjrs. Thus tile jieepid or Ashrattha of India, the abode of Pitris (elementals in fact) of a lower order, became the Bo-tree or fieus reliqiosa of the Buddhists the world over. sinc(» Gautama Buddha reache(l the hifrhest knowledfrf and Nirvana un<ler such a tree. The a.sh tret-. Yfijrdrasil. is the world-tree of the Norsemen or Scandinavians. The banyan tree is the symbol of spirit and matter, descendin": to the earth. strikin«2: root, and then re-ascendiufr heavenward apiin. The tripleleaved palaso is a symbol of the triple essence in the Universe — Spirit,

Blavatsky's description of Dhyana, particularly as it relates to the Rupadhatu and Arupadhatu, offers a potent lens through which to view the ancient Buddhist cosmology not as a literal geography of heavens and hells, but as a sophisticated cartography of consciousness. These "regions" are not places one visits, but rather states of being, achieved through profound meditative practice. Mircea Eliade, in his studies of archaic religions, often highlighted how the cosmos in many traditions mirrors the human psyche, and the concept of Dhyana is a prime example of this. The progression from Rupadhatu, where consciousness retains a semblance of form (akin to a dream state where perceptions are vivid but ultimately illusory), to Arupadhatu, the formless realm, charts a course from the gross to the subtle, from attachment to desirelessness. This echoes the yogic pursuit of Samadhi, where the meditator gradually transcends sensory input and conceptual thought. Carl Jung, in his exploration of archetypes and the collective unconscious, might see these Dhyana realms as symbolic representations of deep psychological structures, stages of individuation that can be accessed through introspection. The goal, ultimately, is Nirvana, a state beyond conceptualization, a release from the cycle of rebirth that is intrinsically linked to the mastery of these contemplative states. The Dhyana, therefore, is not merely a technique but a cosmic principle, an architecture of existence built from the very fabric of awareness.