Creation Comes in Threes - By Chris Marlow

 Creation comes in Threes

Many aspects of the material world, and the way we experience it, form triads. There are three fundamental particles – protons, neutrons and electrons, which are now understood to each be composed of three quarks; there are three states of matter – solid, liquid and gas; three times - past, present and future; and we have three states of consciousness - waking, dreaming and deep sleep. Our nervous system has three main channels -the left and right sympathetics and the parasympathetic, etc., etc..

These triads have a common pattern which is expressed by the Indian concept of the three Guṇas –‘attributes, moods’. This idea emerged in the Upanishads (c.1200BCE) and is accepted by all branches of India philosophy. The three Guṇas are Tamas –‘darkness, inertia’, Rajas –‘passion, energy’ and Sattva –‘reality, essence, balance’. 

The idea is that, not only does all material creation and all living things contain these three qualities in varying amounts, but that these principles actually give rise to creation. Protons embody inertia, electrons are restless energy and neutrons create the balance and stability. In solids inertia predominates, in gases energy prevents adhesion, but in liquids there is a balance of the two. 

The Subtle System

Human beings have a highly developed Subtle System within them. This is composed of the seven main Chakras and three main Nadis –‘channels’. The three channels embody the three qualities, the Left Side is Tamas –‘inward, lethargic, emotional, subconscious’, the Right Side is Rajas –‘energy, thinking, out-going, supra-conscious’ and the central channel is Sattva –‘reality, peace, balance, present awareness’. The triads generally have this pattern of Left, Right and Centre

As well as the three channels side-by-side, the Subtle System is divided vertically. The three sections, each containing three Chakras, are divided by the three Granthis –‘knots, obstructions’. These ‘knots’ represent illusions about our existence which have to be overcome for our ascent into higher awareness. The Brahma Granthi is the illusion that the material world, what we experience through our senses, is the only reality, but we have to understand that ‘there is such a thing as Spirit’. The Vishnu Granthi embodies the illusion that ‘I am doing something’ – actually the Divine is doing everything and our primary need is to align ourselves with the All-pervading consciousness (through prayer, meditation and introspection). 

The illusion at the Rudra Granthi (positioned at the Āgñyā Chakra in the head) is that we are this identity formed by our ego and conditionings (body, name, status, memories, etc.) but the truth is that our awareness is the Supreme Sprit1 experiencing through us. 

The lower section, known as the Earth Realm and the Sphere of Fire, is the abdomen and legs encompassing the lower three Chakras – Mūlādhāra, Swādhiṣhṭhāna and Nābhi. These Chakras operate our biological needs – digestion, excretion, reproduction and locomotion. It is called the Sphere of Fire as it contains the fires of digestion, thinking and action and the sexual fire. 

At the top of the abdomen (Solar Plexus) is the Vishnu Granthi forming the gateway to the next section also comprising three Chakras - Heart, Viśhuddhi and Āgñyā. This is called the Atmospheric Realm, the Sphere of the Sun, where we think, feel, express, create and imagine. We have a sun of love in the heart, a sunny personality in the Viśhuddhi and a sun of forgiveness at the Āgñyā Chakra.

Above the Āgñyā Chakra (and the Rudra Granthi) is the Sahasrāra –‘thousand-petalled’ Chakra which, with the two levels above, forms the Heavenly Realm, the Sphere of the Moon. In this realm we experience thoughtlessness and bliss and a connection to the greater whole2. The Moon is pouring cooling, nourishing and healing Divine vibrations over the Subtle System.

1. In his ‘Ātmā Bodha’ (v.20), Ādi Śhaṅkarāchārya says: ’Just as people perform their work in the light of the sun, so the inner faculties – mind, ego, intellect, attention – perform their functions utilising the consciousness of the Supreme Spirit’. 

2. Becoming ‘One with everything’ is an experience reported in all religions by those who attain higher levels of consciousness.

Other Philosophies

The Chinese philosophy of Yin-Yang is similar. Yin is darkness, inertia and Yang is restless energy. They are surrounded by a circle creating the balance of the two.

Lao Tzu said ‘The Tao begot one; one gave rise to two. The two gave rise to three and the three gave rise to the ten thousand things’ (Tao Te Ching, Ch.42). We would understand that to mean that God Almighty (the One) separated into Ātmā –‘soul, spirit, consciousness’ and Ādi Śhakti –‘primordial energy’ (Two). These engendered the three Gunas –‘qualities’ which create the physical and living universe (ten thousand things) with their various combinations and permutations.

Buddhist, Islamic and Christian thought also incorporates these ideas.

The Three Secrets

Each of the three sections of the Subtle System contains a ‘secret’ manifestation of the Divine. These are secret because human beings are not aware of them before self-realisation. In the lower section, housed in the Sacrum bone, is the Kundalini, the pure desire for reunion with the Supreme Spirit. Unknown to us this has been guiding our spiritual development for umpteen lifetimes.

In the Heart (middle section) is the Ātmā –‘Spirit’, the pure consciousness which is our true essence, the detached witness of our lives. When the Kundalini rises and opens the Heart Chakra, we start to become aware of it, the consciousness of being conscious.

In the upper section, above the top of the head, resides the All-pervading Divine Consciousness (God in His Heaven). When these three secrets combine we get our Yoga –‘connection to the Divine’, and realize the identity of out spirit with the Supreme Spirit. This is the purpose of life for which the Subtle System has been designed.

Sahaja Yoga

Fortunately in Sahaja Yoga this knowledge is not just book-learning but a living reality experienced within. Having received Kundalini awakening through the Grace of Her Supreme Holiness Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi (1923 - 2011), we become aware of the inner workings of our Subtle System, and the true import of the ancient teachings is revealed to us.

Further Reading

These ideas are explored in more depth in the book ‘The Three Worlds – an investigation into the three-fold nature of creation’ which is available to download free from: The Three Worlds download pdf.

Visions of the Divine Feminine in Medieval Europe (Book Extract) - By John Noyce

Visions of the Divine Feminine in Medieval Europe (Book Extract) - By John Noyce

The word for Wisdom is Chokmah (Hokmah) in Hebrew, Sophia in Greek and Sapientia in Latin. The first and major mention in the Jewish scriptures is in Proverbs  which reached its final redaction in the sixth century BCE or  possibly later. In the opening chapter, 

Wisdom shouts aloud in the street,

She makes her voice heard in the open squares,

From the top of the walls she cries out,

Where the gates open into the city:

‘How long, you simpletons, will you prefer ignorance? (1:20-22)

Later, She states:

I am Wisdom. My neighbour is intelligence. 

I am found in [company with] knowledge

and thought. (8:12)

and makes clear that

My fruit is more precious than pure, fine gold,

And my revenue than the choicest silver.

I walk firmly the way of right,

Where the paths of justice meet,

Bestowing integrity on those who love me, 

And fulfilling their treasuries. (8:19-21)

In the Book of Proverbs Wisdom is presented as the goal of human endeavour. Rather than focusing on the precepts of the law, as in Baruch, in Proverbs the focus is on the ethical demands that Wisdom imposes on all humans.

In the later Book of Baruch, a compilation of biblical themes that scholars date to between 200 and 60BCE, Wisdom is alluded to:

Who has ever climbed the sky and caught her to bring her down from the clouds?

Who has ever crossed the ocean and found her to bring her back in exchange for the finest gold? No one knows the way to her, no one can discover the path she treads. (3:29-31)

The Book of Ben Sirach, also known as the Wisdom of Ben Sira and as Ecclesiasticus, was written in Hebrew by an Egyptian Jew, and translated into Greek by his grandson, Jesus ben Sirach. In its Hebrew form it may date as early as 190BCE, and contains poems and sayings similar to Proverbs.  Here we find Wisdom stating:

I came out of the mouth of the most High, and covered the earth as a cloud. 

I dwelt in high places, and my throne is in a cloudy pillar. 

I alone encompassed the circuit of heaven, and walked in the bottom of the deep. 

I had power over the waves of the sea, and over all the earth, and over every people and nation. (24:1-6) 

Whilst this text is more male-centric than the other Jewish Wisdom texts, there is a richly poetic aspect that enables the figure of Wisdom to rise above other issues in the text. 

Perhaps the best description of Wisdom in the Jewish tradition can be found in the Wisdom of Solomon,  written in Greek in Alexandria, Egypt, in the first century CE: 

Wisdom shines bright and never fades; she is easily discerned by those who love her,

and by those who seek her she is found. 

She is quick to make herself known to those who desire knowledge of her; the man who rises early in search of her will not grow weary in the quest, for he will find her seated at his door. To set all one’s thoughts on her is prudence in its perfect shape, and to lie wakeful in her cause is the short way to peace of mind. 

For she herself ranges in search of those who are worthy of her; on their daily path she appears to them with kindly intent, and in their purposes meets them halfway. (6:12-16)

In the early centuries of the development of the Christian church, the meaning of Sophia as Wisdom was the subject of much controversy. In the second century CE, Gnostics developed elaborate mythologies of Sophia, but these were rejected by the mainstream Christian tradition. Most early Christian writers followed the lead of Philo of Alexandria and identified Sophia with the Logos (the Word) and thus, following the New Testament, with the Divine in Jesus Christ. 

Extract from chapter 1 of John Noyce, Visions of the Divine Feminine in medieval Europe (Lulu Books, 2019)

How an Eye Test Could Save You More Than Money By Mitesh Gandhi

Mitesh Gandhi, Clinical Director 
Clamp Optometrist Ltd

Why does a sight test cost £120?

We get this question. And it's a fair one — until you understand what's actually happening during that hour.

At our practice, an eye examination isn't a quick prescription check. It's a clinical health assessment that can take up to 60 minutes. Here's what that time covers:

Screening for conditions like glaucoma, diabetes, and hypertension — diseases that often show their earliest signs in the eye before symptoms appear anywhere else.

Assessing the optic nerve, which is a direct extension of your central nervous system. Changes there can signal far more than a vision problem.

Using Heidelberg OCT technology to capture detailed cross-sectional images of the retina — the same equipment used in hospital ophthalmology departments.

Precision refraction that accounts for how your eyes actually work together, not just whether you can read a line on a chart. That difference is what separates a prescription that "works" from one that eliminates the low-grade headaches and fatigue you've been chalking up to screen time.

There's a reason GPs and ophthalmologists refer patients to us. I recently diagnosed temporal arteritis — a rare autoimmune condition — from what a patient thought was just double vision and headaches. That referral to Addenbrooke's led to emergency treatment within 24 hours.

A prescription is one output of the examination. But it's a small fraction of what we're actually looking for.

Should we still be calling this an "eye test"?

Paintings to Meditate to - by John Watkinson

The Eternal Puja In The Heart
Shri Hanuman and Shri Kartikeya are constantly delivering flowers and Shri Ganesha is the one who
 offers the flowers on behalf of all the deities and the whole universe. 

Shri Ganesha’s Guidance To The Eternal Puja In The Heart

Again Shri Hanuman and Shri Kartikeya are constantly delivering the

flowers while Shri Ganesha gives eternal guidance to us, Shri Mataji’s disciples.

The Destroyer of Obstacles 
Painted during lockdown

'Nothing Greater Than Our Mother'
The story of Shri Ganesha and Shri Kartikeya competing for the prize for who goes around the world three times first. Shri Ganesha is already home after going around His Mother

Divine Mother and Child

The Supreme Goddess in the land of Shri Ganesha

Shri Ganesha protecting His Abode with a staff. A flower is floating in the air towards Shri Mataji

to offer itself at Her Lotus Feet, while Shri Ganesha’s vahana, a  mouse looks on in Devotion

In awe of Your wondrous beauty, the whirling planets, stars and galaxies, silently align to become Your eternal Garland.

The Precious Moment

In this painting it was tried to capture how it was to be in Shri Mataji’s presence.

Also the feeling within, sitting with others, while waiting to see Her.

Divine Story

The artist can be contacted directly by email at:

john.watkinson21@gmail.com