The Pitris

Wisdom Teachings
Sublime Beings
Lectures on Secret Doctrine

In order to establish a relationship with the earth and to be able to work there, the soul must have a body. It puts it on like a piece of clothing. Our basic form is an ethereal envelope that initially surrounds the soul like a shadow. The envelope is called in Sanskrit Chayya Rupa, shadow form. This form is the blueprint for the formation of denser bodies. The material for this envelope is provided by Deva intelligences called Pitris or lunar Devas. The Pitris produce this sheath as an exact copy of the basic pattern of the soul. It is like an image in a mirror; it is the future lower self, the personality.

Our soul is immortal by nature. As soon as the etheric envelope surrounds the soul, it is subject to illusion. The soul then identifies with the body, the non-self, giving the illusion that it is mortal. This illusion is created by the Pitris. The non-self is thus perceived as the self. Because of this illusion, the self suffers. A developed soul is not subject to illusion. Great initiates explain: “Everything is light, everything is divine. Form is an illusion.” This is the ultimate experience. For initiates it is a limitation to live in a body. But they do not identify with the body, they use it for their own purposes. Therefore, they are not subject to illusion. Many saints have demonstrated complete detachment from the body while working fully through the body.

The lunar Devas create from etheric matter the illusionary forms that we experience as objectivity. The magic of the five elements allows us to relate to the outer world and experience it as solid matter, but it is not permanent. We see a piece of chalk as solid and not as a bundle of rapidly moving protons and electrons. The wisdom teachings say: “Matter is as it appears and not what it is”. Once we are out of the lunar impact, we no longer see all the forms, but only an expanse of light.

The bodies produced by the lunar Devas cannot be immortal. They are bodies for making experiences. The bodies are far inferior to the soul; they are not self-conscious. The body becomes conscious when the soul is present in it. The soul is originally a double being, Atma-Buddhi; this means it is spirit enveloped in light called Buddhi.

We have descended from the solar Devas. Solar Devas does not mean that they come from the solar globe, but they are the beings who compose the fabric of our solar globe; they are units of electric charge. As I AM, we are rays directly connected to the sun, units of solar energy. The lunar Devas are called inferior gods. Lunar Devas does not mean that they live in the moon, but that they create an activity called lunar activity. They are the lines of force that create magnetism around which matter can gather. They attract the intelligences that make up the atoms and cells of our body. They cause reproduction, germination and growth; water is their main active substance.

The Pitris produce the body, just as the mother of a child provides for its body. Through the mother the lunar Pitris are supplied to the incarnating soul, through the father, the solar Pitris. The lunar aspect allows the baby to grow up in the womb; the solar aspect connects to the body around the seventh month. The moon is the mother energy of all reproductive phenomena on earth, without the moon the flora and fauna on earth cannot grow. The woman's menstrual cycle is also guided by the activity of the lunar orbits.

The moon is the principle of reflection; it reflects the light in us through the mind. Without the action of the Pitris we could not think. The Pitris form part of the cosmic intelligences, they come to us through the rays of the sun and from Neptune via the moon.

According to ancient wisdom, it is a misconception that the moon is an ejection of our earth, but it was the former earth. Evolution is worked out as a twofold process; on the one hand, the evolution of form leads from gross to subtle, and as a result matter develops into higher forms. On the other hand, consciousness descends in various degrees into the forms, from the subtle to the dense physical. The Deva intelligences preserve the forms of the previous earth globe like photographs of the creation and they work out matter according to these forms. The result is the evolution of different forms, from the physical atom to the physical bodies of various beings.

The Pitris of Vedic literature have often been misinterpreted by Orientalists as the dead forefathers of the individuals that are worshipped in their memory. This is a foolish concept of a deep truth. It is true that the Pitris are our forefathers but not in an individual sense. It is not a veneration of the dead forefathers but it is a homage to those who are working in us every moment. The Pitris are the forefathers of present mankind who descended from the former earth to this earth. They have completed their evolution on the moon chain, and they have attained the status of gods (Devas), but they are inferior to the solar gods.

The story of Vaivasvata Manu in the Indian Puranas speaks about how, at the beginning of the present globe, souls were transmigrated from the dissolved globe of the former earth through pralaya, the state of dissolution. Until the new planet was ready and the souls could be brought there, they lay unconsciously in great slumber. For those souls who were still unfulfilled and seeking further fulfilment, the new planet was created. High realized beings also came into creation to help the unfulfilled beings. The planet descended in three regular steps to the state of physical density as we see it now.

The formation of the new planet is conducted by the Pitris, the matter is filled by the earth. So, the Pitris worked out matter into seven planes, and they left deputies in every plane to work out the sub-planes. The basic pattern comes from higher circles, from the cosmic intelligence called Visvakarma, the great architect of the universe. He gives the basic design, the Pitris provide the subtle forms, the earth provides the dense forms. The human form given by the Pitris was not yet as we know it today, but it was etheric. But as potential it contained everything that the human form needed. A baby of one month has the potential to develop the form which we now have. In the womb, however, it is still like a bubble trying to solidify, but the contours of the later shape are already visible.

When shaping the body, the karmic law works closely with the lunar Devas. In our subtle nature, the impacts of all previous lives are registered. Accordingly, the body is formed and so from birth there are differences in body texture and our health. Our horoscope may give clues to our abilities and weaknesses.

According to the wisdom teachings, the Pitris are responsible for the continuation of lineages of a family on the planet. They are also responsible for granting us healthy bodies with all organs and limbs. So, we have duties to the Pitris; we fulfil them by giving bodies to other souls. This is what sexual activity is for. We also have a duty to our parents, who are instruments for the Pitris, and therefore we should serve them according to the needs. If a couple has the right attitude at conception, high souls can be received. The Pitris would be well pleased about this, and then marriage is a means to conduct acts of righteousness and fulfil our karma on the planet.

If we behave wrongly, it has an impact not only on us, but also on the three previous generations and the three following generations. We are always the fourth one. Like a seven-stringed instrument, we are the fourth string. If it is not well tuned, the instrument will not work well. This can be understood in the teachings of Madame Blavatsky.

Every lunar month is considered a day of the Pitris. The new moon corresponds with their midnight, the full moon with their noon. This division contains a ritualistic key. Many people find that death is an end. They do not know that there is another side and that there are also beings who receive us. In the East there is the knowledge that after cremation of the body the sons of a departed person perform a ritual. For the benefit of the family, a story is narrated for ten days about the journey of the soul to the plane of Devachan and when the departed soul happens to be present, he will listen. The moon is the gateway between the humans and the Pitris; through the light of the moon, the departed souls return to birth. Through rituals the finest character traits of the departed souls should be invoked into the offspring. At the end of a ritualistic activity, clothing and food are offered so that the Pitris can protect us. Rituals in connection with the Pitris are performed from twelve o’clock to three o’clock pm.

Sources used: K.P. Kumar: Lectures on Secret Doctrine. Notes from seminars. / E. Krishnamacharya: Book of Rituals. The World Teacher Trust - Dhanishta, Visakhapatnam, India