“The word “electron” is a name given by scientists to something which they realize makes up the atom. The scientists have no idea of the nature of what they have discovered, some imagining that the electron is not matter, but a form or forms of energy; but all are as much in the dark as when they supposed that the “atom” was the ultimate division of matter.” (Robert Crosbie, “Answers To Questions on The Ocean of Theosophy” p. 67)

This quote dates from sometime in the second decade of the 20th century. Electrons are mentioned; these were the first subatomic particles to be discovered, namely in 1897. Protons, neutrons, and electrons, are the subatomic particles which an atom consists of.

Nine years prior to this, in 1888, H. P. Blavatsky and her Adept-Teachers declared in “The Secret Doctrine” (Vol. 1, p. 519-520) that the then-current scientific view of the indivisibility and finality of the atoms was mistaken: “The atom is elastic, ergo, the atom is divisible, and must consist of particles, or of sub-atoms. . . . It is on the doctrine of the illusive nature of matter, and the infinite divisibility of the atom, that the whole science of Occultism is built. It opens limitless horizons to substance informed by the divine breath of its soul in every possible state of tenuity, states still undreamt of by the most spiritually disposed chemists and physicists.”

Incidentally, “Occultism” is a term which originally had no negative or “dark” connotations. Only during the 20th century did it become – largely due to the efforts of evangelical Christians – indelibly associated in many people’s minds with practices of witchcraft, black magic, etc. The term simply and literally means that which is hidden, unseen, inner, metaphysical, or esoteric. An occultist is therefore an esotericist, one who is either seeking or already possesses direct knowledge of the hidden side of things, the unseen reality behind and within that which is visible and known. What makes it good or bad is the motive and use to which one puts such knowledge.

Supposedly, no-one had proposed the existence of subatomic particles until J. J. Thomson in 1897. But as we and several other Theosophists have shown, it was actually Blavatsky who did so, in 1888, not as the result of any scientific experiments she had made, nor even as the result of any independent “clairvoyant discoveries” on her part, but rather on the authority of her living Teachers, who she spoke of as Initiates into the true yet ordinarily hidden knowledge of reality. There can be no denying or obfuscating what she meant in that simple and clear statement which we have just quoted.

Just as an atom consists – as is now known – of subatomic particles, a molecule in its turn consists of multiple atoms bonded together, while a cell is a membrane-bound unit of life which contains molecules essential for the functioning of the organism it is a part of.

But what is the Theosophical view of atoms?

“Atoms are called “Vibrations” in Occultism; also “Sound” – collectively. . . . . The waves and undulations of Science are all produced by atoms propelling their molecules into activity from within. Atoms fill the immensity of Space, and by their continuous vibration are that MOTION which keeps the wheels of Life perpetually going.” (H. P. Blavatsky, “The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 1, p. 633, from the section “GODS, MONADS, AND ATOMS”)

“The atom belongs wholly to the domain of metaphysics.” (“The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 1, p. 513)

“Every elemental atom, in search of which more than one Chemist has followed the path indicated by the Alchemists, is, in their [i.e. the Occultists’] firm belief (when not knowledge), a SOUL; not necessarily a disembodied soul, but a jiva, as the Hindus call it, a centre of POTENTIAL VITALITY, with latent intelligence in it, . . . It requires a metaphysician – and an Eastern metaphysician – to understand our meaning.” (“The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 1, p. 567, from the section “ON THE ELEMENTS AND ATOMS”)

Elementals, or “elemental monads” as they can also be called, are termed “atomic souls” and “the Souls of the Atoms” in the “Gods, Monads, and Atoms” section, which is specifically concerned “with their life and behaviour in Space, on planes wherein the eye of the most intuitional chemist and physicist cannot reach them – unless, indeed, he develops in himself highly clairvoyant faculties.” (“The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 1, p. 619)

In this connection it is important to understand that when the original Theosophical teachings (i.e. as opposed to later very different and distorted versions of “Theosophy”) speak of “elementals” it is usually not with reference to any sort of anthropomorphic nature spirits, even though that is nowadays the sole conception that most spiritually minded people have of elementals. Instead, says HPB: “You should think of them as centres of energy only, that act always in accordance with the laws of the plane of nature to which they belong.” (“Forms of Elementals,” from the “Conversations on Occultism” series published by William Q. Judge)

“Elementals” are “of countless kinds and varieties; from the formless and unsubstantial . . . down to the Atomic, though, to human perception, invisible organisms. The latter [i.e. the invisible atomic organisms] are considered as the “Spirits of Atoms” for they are the first remove (backwards) from the physical Atom – sentient, if not intelligent creatures.” (“The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 1, p. 221) She then adds, somewhat mysteriously when considered in this connection: “They are all subject to Karma, and have to work it out through every cycle.”

It seems that when the Esoteric Science of the Masters of Wisdom speaks of “atoms,” it is really referring not to the “exterior shell” of the atom but to the animating elemental life within, which is therefore the true atom:

“Our philosophy teaches us that atoms are not matter; but that the smallest molecule – composed of milliards of indivisible and imponderable atoms – is substance. Nevertheless, the atom is not a mathematical point or a fiction; but verily an immutable Entity, a reality within an appearance – the molecule being in occult philosophy but a figment of that which is called maya or illusion. The atom informs the molecule, as life, spirit, soul, mind, inform Man. Therefore is the atom all these, and Force itself, as Dr. Pirogoff suspected. During the life-cycle, the atom represents, according to the geometrical combinations of its groupings in the molecule, life, force (or energy), mind and will; for each molecule in space, as each cell in the human body, is only a microcosm within (to it) a relative macrocosm. That which Science refers to as Force, conservation of energy, correlation, continuity, etc., etc., is simply the various effects produced by the presence of atoms, which are, in fact, in their collectivity, simply the (spiritual) sparks on the manifested plane, thrown out by the Anima Mundi, the Universal Soul or Mind (Maha-Buddhi, Mahat) from the plane of the Unmanifested. In short, the atom may be described as a compact or crystallized point of divine Energy and Ideation.

“Physical Science, it seems, gives the name of “atoms” to that which we regard as particles or molecules. With us “atoms” are the inner principles and the intelligent, spiritual guides of the cells and particles they inform. This may be unscientific, but it is a fact in nature.” (HPB, Notes on “Problems of Life,” “Theosophical Articles and Notes” p. 207-208)

How this relates to quarks – first proposed by science in 1964, described as being what is inside subatomic particles and as being in themselves indivisible into anything smaller; they are now spoken of by physics as the fundamental building blocks of all the matter in the Universe – remains uncertain.

Are quarks the same as the elemental “atoms” of Eastern esotericism? The view expressed by many today that quarks are themselves literally “made of nothing” is clearly illogical and unphilosophical but it may be that what they are ”made of” is indeed nothing that can be detected or perceived on the physical, material plane or by physical, material perception. No scientist has ever seen or observed a quark and they acknowledge they will never be able to, yet they affirm their existence by reason of the effects that they produce.

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“. . . the atom – the most metaphysical object in creation.” (“The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 1, p. 485; note that although the word “creation” is used here, it is meant as a loose figure of speech, equivalent to “manifestation.” Theosophy denies that the Universe was created but instead speaks of evolution, which begins in the form of emanation from spiritual levels downwards or outwards.)

“Every atom has seven planes of being or existence, we are taught; and each plane is governed by its specific laws of evolution and absorption.” (“The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 1, p. 150)

“But to the follower of the true Eastern archaic Wisdom, to him who worships in spirit nought outside the Absolute Unity, that ever-pulsating great Heart that beats throughout, as in every atom of nature, each such atom contains the germ from which he may raise the Tree of Knowledge, whose fruits give life eternal and not physical life alone.” (“The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 2, p. 588)

“Now the Occultists, who trace every atom in the universe, whether an aggregate or single, to One Unity, or Universal Life; who do not recognize that anything in Nature can be inorganic; who know of no such thing as dead matter – the Occultists are consistent with their doctrine of Spirit and Soul when speaking of memory in every atom, of will and sensation. . . . We know and speak of “life-atoms” – and of “sleeping-atoms” – because we regard these two forms of energy – the kinetic and the potential – as produced by one and the same force or the ONE LIFE, and regard the latter as the source and mover of all. . . . The “wave motion of living particles” becomes comprehensible on the theory of a Spiritual ONE LIFE, of a universal Vital principle independent of our matter, and manifesting as atomic energy only on our plane of consciousness. It is that which, individualized in the human cycle, is transmitted from father to son.” (“The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 2, p. 672)

“The real atom does not exist on the material plane. The definition of a point as having position, must not, in Occultism, be taken in the ordinary sense of location; as the real atom is beyond space and time.” (HPB, “Transactions of The Blavatsky Lodge” p. 108)

“Our DEITY is neither in a paradise, nor in a particular tree, building, or mountain: it is everywhere, in every atom of the visible as of the invisible Cosmos, in, over, and around every invisible atom and divisible molecule; for IT is the mysterious power of evolution and involution, the omnipresent, omnipotent, and even omniscient creative potentiality.” (HPB, “The Key to Theosophy” p. 64)

“. . . the Universe . . . manifests periodically, for purposes of the collective progress of the countless lives, the outbreathings of the One Life; in order that through the Ever-Becoming, every cosmic atom in this infinite Universe, passing from the formless and the intangible, through the mixed natures of the semi-terrestrial, down to matter in full generation, and then back again, reascending at each new period higher and nearer the final goal; that each atom, we say, may reach through individual merits and efforts that plane where it re-becomes the one unconditioned ALL.” (“The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 1, p. 268)

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This article may have raised more questions about various things. Please make use of the site search function (the magnifying glass symbol at the top of the page) and visit the Articles page to see the complete list of over 300 articles covering all aspects of Theosophy and the Theosophical Movement. You can explore the Theosophical view of atoms even further through such articles as The Transmigration of Life Atoms, Gods, Monads, Atoms, Elementals and The Astral Light, and The Theosophical Perspective on Modern Science. You may also like to read What Do We Mean By Occult?, 12 Things Theosophy Teaches, Who Wrote “The Secret Doctrine”?, A Beginner’s Guide To “The Secret Doctrine”, Praise for H. P. Blavatsky and Theosophy, The Masters and Madame Blavatsky, and Masters of Wisdom: Outwardly Mortal, Inwardly Immortal.

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