Arupa: Spiritual - Theosophy Dictionary on Arupa

Arupa (Sanskrit) (from a not + rupa form, body probably from the verbal root rup to form, figure, represent)

Formless, bodiless; in Buddhism, used in a number of compounds, such as arupa-dhatu (the formless element), arupa-loka (world of the formless), and arupa-tanha (desire for rebirth in the formless sphere). Arupa, however, does not mean there is no form of any kind, but that the forms in the spiritual worlds are nonmaterial, highly ethereal and spiritual in type.

In the theosophic scheme of the septenary cosmos, the three higher planes are termed arupa planes, formless worlds, where form as we humans perceive it ceases to exist on our objective planes, while the four lower cosmic planes are called rupa-lokas or manifested planes (OG 6, 149). If the cosmos is viewed as a denary, then the three highest planes may be called arupa, while the seven manifested planes are the rupa worlds (Fund 240).

"The Formless ('Arupa') Radiations, existing in the harmony of Universal Will, and being what we term the collective or the aggregate of Cosmic Will on the plane of the subjective Universe, unite together an infinitude of monads -- each the mirror of its own Universe -- and thus individualize for the time being an independent mind, omniscient and universal; and by the same process of magnetic aggregation they create for themselves objective, visible bodies, out of the interstellar atoms" (SD 1:632-3).

See also DHATU, LOKA, RUPA

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For articles related to Arupa , see: Arupa , Occultism, Occultism Dictionary, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul.

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Definition of  Arupa is extracted from the home page of The Theosophical Society, International Headquarters, Pasadena, California. A Society founded in 1875 in an effort to promote the expressed awareness of the Oneness of Life.

"The Encyclopedic Theosophical Glossary is presented to the public as a work in progress. The manuscript, produced originally in the 1930s and '40s, is currently being revised and expanded by the Editorial Committee. Theosophical University Press is presenting this working version online because, even in its present unfinished form, we feel that the contents will be of value to students of theosophical literature, particularly of the works of H. P. Blavatsky. "

Please visit http://www.theosociety.org for more information.

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

BCW - H. P. Blavatsky: Collected Writings, BG - Bhagavad-Gita, BP - Bhagavata Purana, cf - confer, ChU - Chandogya Upanishad , Dial, Dialogues - The Dialogues of G. de Purucker, ed. A. L. Conger, Echoes - Echoes from the Orient, by William Q. Judge (comp. Dara Eklund), Arupa ,  ET - The Esoteric Tradition, by G. de Purucker, FSO - Fountain-Source of Occultism, by G. de Purucker, Fund - Fundamentals of the Esoteric Philosophy, by G. de Purucker, IU - Isis Unveiled, by H. P. Blavatsky, MB - Mahabharata , MIE - Man in Evolution, by G. de Purucker, Arupa , ML - The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett, ed. A. Trevor Barker, OG - Occult Glossary, by G. de Purucker, Rev - Revelations, RV - Rig Veda , SD - The Secret Doctrine, by H. P. Blavatsky, SOPh - Studies in Occult Philosophy, by G. de Purucker, TBL - Transactions of the Blavatsky Lodge (Secret Doctrine Commentary), by H. P. Blavatsky, TG - Theosophical Glossary, by H. P. Blavatsky, Arupa , Theos - The Theosophist (magazine), VP - Vishnu Purana , VS - The Voice of the Silence, by H. P. Blavatsky, WG - Working Glossary, by William Q. Judge, ZA - Zend-Avesta

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