понедельник, 30 ноября 2015 г.

22. ALICE BAILEY - Discipleship in the New Age,Vol. I - 01.FOREWORD


FOREWORD
This book is in many ways unique. Nothing like it has before been published, as far as I know. It contains two series of talks by one of the Masters of the Wisdom to some members of His inner group, and also a series of personal instructions, given by Him to a group of His disciples. Many of these people were unknown to me when they were brought to my notice; some of them I have since met; others I have never met; some I knew well and could understand why they had been chosen, knowing that their dedication to the life of the spirit and their love of humanity warranted the choice; one or two were regarded by me as most unsuitable choices but later I altered my point of view and recognised that a wiser mind than mine was responsible for their inclusion in the Ashram. I learnt also that ancient relationships, established in other lives, were also conditioning factors and that some had earned the right to inclusion, even if their spiritual attainments seemed inadequate to the onlooker.
A good deal of the teaching given is new in form and some of it is new in fact. One point emerges with clarity and that is: the old rules to which disciples have been subjected down the centuries still hold good, but are susceptible of fresh and often different interpretations. The training to be given during the coming New Age will be fitted to their more advanced development. The evolutionary progress—from century to century—presents a steadily ripening and developing human mind upon which the Master can work. The standard of discipleship is consequently as steadily rising. This, in itself, demands a new approach, a wider presentation of truth and the permitting of a greater freedom of action upon the part of the disciple. The time element is also different. In the old days, the Master gave His disciple a hint or a point upon which to ponder and meditate or He might indicate some need for changed habits of thought. Then the disciple went away— sometimes for years or an entire lifetime—and reflected and thought and attempted to alter his attitudes without any particular sense of pressure. Today, in our speedier times and when the demand of humanity for help is so outstanding, the hint has given place to explanation and the disciple is trusted with information, hitherto withheld. He is regarded as having reached a stage in his unfoldment at which he can make his own decisions and proceed with rapidity, if he so chooses.
Certain definite reasons have prompted me to make these instructions available for aspirants everywhere after requesting permission from those who received them. One is the need to bring to the attention of the general public the fact that the Hierarchy exists, that its Members are interested in human progress and that there is a definitely planned system of training offered by Them which can lead a man out of the human kingdom into the Kingdom of God; that this moving forward upon the Path of Evolution out of the fourth kingdom into the fifth can be brought about consciously, scientifically and with the full consent and cooperation of the aspirant. The day has now come when belief can (and does) give place to knowledge—a knowledge gained through the acceptance of a hypothesis in the first place, a conviction that this hypothesis is backed by adequate testimony and planned experience. The reasoning mind of the disciple can then take the successes and failures he encounters in his training and learn the intended lessons; he finds that progress upon the Path brings a man into closer, conscious touch with Those Who have walked this Way before and that the Way into the Hierarchy is a way of discipline, of increasing enlightenment, of service to his fellowmen and of a growing responsiveness to contacts and to individuals of which the average human being knows nothing.
A second reason for publishing this book is the need to change the point of view of the general public as to the nature of these Masters Who take pupils and Who, whilst giving them the training needed to enable them to take initiation (as it is called), reach the mass of men through their means. So much stupidity has been demonstrated in writing and talking about the relationship of Master and disciple that it was felt both by me and this group of disciples that the sanity, the breadth of vision, the lack of authority, and the understanding evidenced by a Member of the Hierarchy could do nothing but good. We found also that He was quite ready for His instructions to be made public.
A third reason was the desire to make clear a point which is continually emphasised by the Tibetan as it is by all Masters and which is of major importance to every aspirant. Only those who are beginning to come under the influence and the control of their own souls and are, therefore, mentally focussed and attuned, are eligible for the training offered by the Hierarchy. Devotion, emotional reactions and sentiment are not enough. Esoteric training is also an impersonal matter; it is concerned with the development of soul consciousness and with the expansion of that consciousness to include, and not exclude, all forms of life through which pulses the life and love of God. The true disciple is ever inclusive and never exclusive. It is this inclusiveness which is the hallmark of all true esotericists. Where it is lacking you may have an aspirant but you do not have a true disciple. There is far too much exclusiveness extant today among esotericists and in occult schools and too much theological separativeness. It has been felt that this Book of Instructions may do much to offset this evil tendency and may help to open the door still wider into the Kingdom of God.
Much in this book is new. Much is very old, tried and proved. None of the people chosen for instruction and for inclusion in the Ashram of the Master are saints or perfect. All are, however, true aspirants and will go on to the very end in spite of pain and sorrow, discipline, success, failure, joy and a spiritual recognition of almost unattainable goals. Some have been on this Path of Accepted Discipleship (technically understood) for many lives. Some are venturing for the first time—consciously and with deliberate effort—to tread the Way to God. All are mystics, learning to be occultists. All are normal people, living useful, modern lives in many different countries in the world. Some are orthodox Protestant Christians by profession; others are Roman Catholics; still others are Christian Scientists or belong to one or other of the more mental cults; some are quite unattached and free from affiliations. None of them regards his particular brand of faith or his particular religious background as essential to salvation; he knows that the only essential is belief in the spiritual realities and in the essential divinity of mankind. This belief necessarily involves a heart full of love, a mind open and illumined by right orientation to truth and a life dedicated to service and to the alleviation of human sufferings. This is the determined goal of all whose instructions are found in this book—a goal which they have not yet attained and a mode of life which they have not yet perfected. They are, nevertheless, unalterably upon their way and that way is the WAY. Christ said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life"; these aspirants, working under a great Disciple of the Christ, are beginning to grasp some of the significances and implications of that statement which holds true for all time and for all disciples, because "as He is, so are we in this world."
The work with this particular group began twelve years ago. Each person's instructions are given in their ordered sequence, year by year, so that a real picture of the person concerned, of his problems and his achievement or lack of achievement, emerges clearly. This book is encouraging in that it offsets the idea that to be a pledged disciple one is, therefore, set apart by perfection of character and isolated by the aspiration which inspires the life. These are people with problems, struggling to solve them; with character limitations which they are endeavouring to overcome; they are true instances of any man or woman who turns his back upon the usual approach to the world of material affairs and takes up his cross in order to find his way back to the Father's home; they picture for us the man who, having "put his hand to the plough," turns not back but presses forward "towards the prize of his high calling in Christ."
Some of these people have worked as students in the Arcane School; others have never done so; still others (when they heard of the school through their affiliation with the Tibetan) worked in it in order to help the students. Their names will not be divulged. The initials at the head of the various instructions and the dates assigned carry no information; the instructions were probably not received on the dates given and the initials are none of them correct. No information will be given by any of us who know the relation between the initials and the disciple. Questions as to identity will not be answered at any time. It is the subject matter of the teaching which is of importance and not the name of the disciple for what is said is applicable to all aspirants.
One other reason might be mentioned here as indicative of the value of this book. In every case, the disciple is told what are the types of energy to which he most easily responds and upon which ray or divine emanation he finds himself. He, therefore, becomes aware of what constitutes his line of least resistance and where the major point of his life conflict is to be found.
We are taught in the esoteric philosophy that seven great divine Emanations, Aeons or Spirits (in Whom we live and move and have our being) came forth from God at the time of the Creation. The same teaching can also be traced in the Holy Bible. Upon one or other of these seven Rays, the souls of all forms of life are to be found as well as the forms themselves. These seven rays produce the seven major psychological types. These seven rays or emanations are:
1. The first Ray of Will or Power. Many great world rulers are found on this ray, such as Julius Caesar.
2. The second Ray of Love-Wisdom. The Christ and the Buddha are to be found on this ray. It is the great teaching ray.
3. The third Ray of Active Intelligence. The mass of intelligent humanity are found on this ray.
4. The fourth Ray of Harmony through Conflict. Aspirants. Struggling, well-meaning people. Workers for unity emerge along this line.
5. The fifth Ray of Concrete Knowledge or Science. Scientists and people who are purely mental and governed only by the mind.
6. The sixth Ray of Devotion or Idealism. Many Christian people. Fanatics. Numbers of earnest Churchmen of all the world religions.
7. The seventh Ray of Ceremonial Order or Magic. Masons. Financiers. Great businessmen and organisers of all kinds. Executives are found with these energies in their equipment.
However, only when a man is highly developed and nearing the Path of Discipleship is it possible for the esoteric student accurately to surmise what his ray may be. People of all kinds and professions are found on all the rays. The conflict in a disciple's life is found to lie in the fact that the ray of his soul and the ray of his integrated personality are posed against each other. At the same time, his emotional nature, his mental equipment and his physical brain are also controlled by some one or other of the rays and in this fivefold relationship lies hid much of the problem of the evolving human being. The Tibetan tells the members of His group which five rays condition them and students will learn much by a study of what He says. In the cases where I happen to know the disciple concerned personally and something of his problems, it was amazingly interesting to me to note how infallibly right the Tibetan was in His diagnosis of the rays involved. In reading these instructions will you please remember that though the Tibetan usually speaks of the soul, He also uses the word "ego" interchangeably, meaning thereby the spiritual ego and not the personal ego of the psychologists.
We have not felt it wise to give the meditations assigned or the breathing exercises, except in a few cases. They were strictly individual and suited to the person and his peculiar problems. In one or two cases, however, after due consideration, we have inserted some of the meditations with slight changes. It was obvious that they could be only helpful.
At the end of each instruction, we have put a sentence or two which gives information as to the work of the disciple in the Ashram. This will prove particularly enlightening as, for instance, in the cases of P.D.W. and K.E.S. where the Tibetan shows definite prevision and the knowledge that both these men would die a few years later. He is obviously preparing them for that great transition.
In closing, I would like to thank all these disciples who have so kindly placed their personal instructions at my disposal in an effort to be of service to the coming generation of disciples. In many cases, they helped prepare them for the press. I would like also to thank those who helped me to get the text ready for publication, particularly Joseph Lovejoy who gave days of labour to the book; he has for years helped me prepare the Tibetan's books for publication.
I hope all who read this book will receive the inspiration that we who have prepared it have received; I hope also that their confidence in the Hierarchy and in the existence of Christ and His Disciples, the Masters, may receive such an impetus that many more will attempt to tread the Way and join the great number of aspirants in every country who are seeking to tread the Path by becoming the Path Itself.
October 1943
ALICE A. BAILEY
THE GREAT INVOCATIONS
Let the Forces of Light bring illumination to mankind.
Let the Spirit of Peace be spread abroad.
May men of goodwill everywhere meet in a spirit of cooperation.
May forgiveness on the part of all men be the keynote at this time.
Let power attend the efforts of the Great Ones.
So let it be, and help us to do our part. — 1935
Let the Lord of Liberation issue forth.
Let Him bring succour to the sons of men.
Let the Rider from the Secret Place come forth,
And coming, save.
Come forth, O Mighty One.
Let the souls of men awaken to the Light,
And may they stand with massed intent.
Let the fiat of the Lord go forth:
The end of woe has come!
Come forth, O Mighty One.
The hour of service of the saving force has now arrived.
Let it be spread abroad, O Mighty One.
Let Light and Love and Power and Death
Fulfil the purpose of the Coming One.
The WILL to save is here.
The LOVE to carry forth the work is widely spread abroad.
The ACTIVE AID of all who know the truth is also here.
Come forth, O Mighty One, and blend these three.
Construct a great defending wall.
The rule of evil now must end. — 1940
From the point of Light within the mind of God
Let light stream forth into the minds of men.
Let Light descend on Earth.
From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into the hearts of men.
May Christ return to Earth.
From the centre where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide the little wills of men—
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.
From the centre which we call the race of men
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out.
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.
Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth. — 1945

21. ALICE BAILEY - The Destiny of the Nations - 12. TABLE - Page 67

TABLE - Page 67




 Country                      Ruling Sign                    Egoic Ray                      Ruling Sign                Personality Ray

Argentina............. Cancer................... 4th......... Not given............. Libra...................... 7th......... Not given
Austria.................. Libra...................... 7th......... Fourth................... Capricorn.............. 10th....... Fifth.
Belgium................. Sagittarius............ 9th......... Not given............. Gemini................... 3rd......... Not given.
Brazil..................... Leo........................ 5th......... Fourth................... Virgo..................... 6th......... Second

China..................... Taurus.................. 2nd........ First....................... Libra...................... 7th......... Third
Finland.................. Capricorn.............. 10th....... Not given............. Aries..................... 1st.......... Not given
France................... Pisces.................... 12th....... Fifth....................... Leo........................ 5th......... Third
Germany............... Aries..................... 1st.......... Fourth................... Pisces.................... 12th....... First

Great Britain......... Gemini................... 3rd......... Second.................. Taurus.................. 2nd........ First.
Greece................... Virgo..................... 6th......... Not given............. Capricorn.............. 10th....... Not given.
Holland................. Aquarius.............. 11th....... Not given............. Cancer................... 4th......... Not given.
India...................... Aries..................... 1st.......... First....................... Capricorn.............. 10th....... Fourth.

Ireland................... Virgo..................... 6th......... Not given............. Pisces.................... 12th....... Not given.
Italy....................... Leo........................ 5th......... Sixth...................... Sagittarius............ 9th......... Fourth.
Japan..................... Scorpio................. 8th......... Not given............. Capricorn.............. 10th....... Not given.
Poland................... Taurus.................. 2nd........ Not given............. Gemini................... 3rd......... Not given.

Roumania............. Leo........................ 5th......... Not given............. Aries..................... 1st.......... Not given
Russia................... Aquarius.............. 11th....... Seventh................ Leo........................ 5th......... Sixth.
Scandinavia......... Libra...................... 7th......... Not given............. Cancer................... 4th......... Not given.
   (4 Nations)

Spain..................... Sagittarius............ 9th......... Sixth...................... Capricorn.............. 10th....... Seventh.
Switzerland........... Aries..................... 1st.......... Not given............. Aquarius.............. 11th....... Not given.
Turkey.................. Cancer................... 4th......... Not given............. Scorpio................. 8th......... Not given.
U.S.A.................... Aquarius.............. 11th....... Second.................. Gemini................... 3rd......... Sixth.
Note:  This tabulation is arranged alphabetically and not in the rate of importance and influence of a country and nation.

20. ALICE BAILEY - The Destiny of the Nations - 11. Table - Page 50



TABLE - Page 50


           Nation                Personality Ray                                                    Soul Ray                                                              National Motto

    India...................... 4th Ray. Harmony through Conflict................. 1st Ray of Power................................................. I hide the Light.

    China..................... 3rd Ray of Intelligence....................................... 1st Ray of Power................................................. I indicate the Way.

    Germany............... 1st Ray of Power................................................. 4th Ray of Harmony through Conflict............. I preserve.

    France................... 3rd Ray of Intelligence....................................... 5th Ray of Knowledge....................................... I release the Light.

    Great Britain......... 1st Ray of Power................................................. 2nd Ray of Love.................................................. I serve.

    Italy....................... 4th Ray of Harmony through Confiict............. 6th Ray of Idealism............................................. I carve the Paths.

    U. S. A.................. 6th Ray of Idealism............................................. 2nd Ray of Love.................................................. I light the Way.

    Russia................... 6th Ray of Idealism............................................. 7th Ray of Order.................................................. I link two Ways.

    Austria.................. 5th Ray of Knowledge....................................... 4th Ray of Harmony through Conflict............. I serve the lighted Way.

    Spain..................... 7th Ray of Order.................................................. 6th Ray of Idealism............................................. I disperse the Clouds.

    Brazil..................... 2nd Ray of Love.................................................. 4th Ray of Harmony through Conflict............. I hide the seed.

    19. ALICE BAILEY - The Destiny of the Nations - 10. CHRIST AND THE COMING NEW AGE.

    CHRIST AND THE COMING NEW AGE.
    As we come to an end of our consideration of the world today and its dominating rays, working through the nations and conditioning the people, there is a final point which I would like to make; it lies in the realm of religion and concerns the significance of Christmas.  From the very night of time, as well you know, the period wherein the sun moves northward again has been regarded as a festival season; for thousands of years it has been associated with the coming of the Sun-God to save the world, to bring light and fruitfulness to the Earth and through the work of the Son of God to bring hope to humanity.  The Christmas season is regarded by those who do not know any better as uniquely the Festival of the Christ, and this the Christian churches have emphasised and to this all churchmen testify.  This is both true and false.  The Founder of the Christian Church — God in the flesh — availed Himself of this period and came to us in the dark of the year and initiated a new era in which light was to be the distinguishing note.  This has been true from several angles, even from the purely physical, for today we have a lighted world; everywhere lights are to be seen and the pitch dark nights of olden times are fast disappearing.  Light has also descended on the earth in the form of the "light of knowledge."  Today, education whose objective is to lead all men on to a "lighted way," is the keynote of our civilisation and is a major pre-occupation in all countries.  The removal of illiteracy, the development of a true culture and the ascertaining of truth in all fields of thought and of research are of paramount importance in all lands.
    Thus, when Christ proclaimed (as He assuredly did), along with all world Saviours and Sun-Gods, that He was the Light of the worlds, He inaugurated a marvellous period in which humanity has been widely and universally enlightened.  This period dates from Christmas Day, two thousand years ago, in Palestine.  That was the greatest of all Christmas Days and its emanating influence was more potent than was any previous arrival of a Bearer of Light, because humanity was more ready for the light.  Christ came in the sign of Pisces, the Fishes — the sign of the divine Intermediary in the highest sense, or of the medium in the lower; it is the sign of many of the world Saviours and of those Revealers of divinity Who establish world relationships.  I would have you note that phrase.  The major impulse driving the Christ towards special work was the desire to establish right human relations; it is also the desire — realised or unrealised — of humanity, and we know that some day the Desire of all nations will come, that right human relations will be found everywhere and that goodwill will implement that fulfilment, leading to peace in all lands and among all peoples.
    Down through the ages, Christmas Day has been recognised and kept as a season of new beginnings, of better human contacts and of happier relations among families and communities.  Yet just as the churches have descended into a profoundly materialistic presentation of Christianity, so the simple Christmas Day which would have pleased the heart of Christ has degenerated into an orgy of spending, of acquiring good things, and is regarded as a period which is "good for trade."  We need, therefore, to remember that when any phase of life-inspired religion is interpreted entirely materially, when any civilisation and culture loses its sense of spiritual values and responds mainly to the material values, then it has served its usefulness and must pass away, and this in the interests of life itself and progress.
    The message of the birth of Christ rings ever new but is not today understood.  The emphasis during the Aquarian Age, the age into which we are fast entering, will shift away from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, and from the infant Saviour to the Risen Christ.  Pisces has seen, during two thousand years, the spreading light; Aquarius will see the Rising Light, and of both of these the Christ is the eternal symbol.
    The ancient story of the Birth will become universalised and be seen as the story of every disciple and initiate who takes the first initiation and in his time and place becomes a server and a lightbearer.  In the Aquarian Age two momentous developments will take place:
    1. The Birth Initiation will condition human thinking and aspiration everywhere.
    2. The religion of the Risen Christ, and not of the newly born Christ or of the crucified Christ, will be the distinctive keynote.
    It is seldom realised that hundreds of thousands of people in every land have taken, or are preparing to take, this first initiation, called the Birth at Bethlehem, the House of Bread.  Humanity, the world disciple, is now ready for this.  Indications of the accuracy of the above statement can be seen in the re-orientation of people everywhere to things spiritual, their interest in human good and human welfare, the perseverance they show in their search for light and their longing and desire for a true peace, based on right human relations, implemented by goodwill.  This "mind as it is in Christ" can be seen in their revolt against materialistic religion and in the widespread effort to be seen in Europe and elsewhere to return the land (Mother-Earth, the true Virgin Mary) to the people.  It can be seen in the constant movement of people throughout the world from place to place, symbolised in the Gospel story by the journey of Mary with the infant Jesus into Egypt.
    Then followed, as we are told in the New Testament, a cycle of thirty years wherein all we know is that the infant Jesus grew to manhood and could then take the second initiation, the Baptism in Jordan, and begin His public service.  Today the many who in this life have taken the first initiation are entering the long silence of that symbolic thirty years wherein they too will grow to manhood and take the second initiation.  This initiation demonstrates the complete control of the emotional nature and of all Piscean characteristics.  The thirty years can be looked upon as a period of spiritual unfoldment during the three divisions into which Aquarius (and consequently the New Age now upon us) will be divided.  I refer to what is technically known as the three decans of each sign.  In this sign the waters of the Piscean age will, symbolically speaking, be absorbed into the water-pot carried on the shoulder of Aquarius in the symbol which is distinctive of this sign, for Aquarius is the water-carrier, bringing the water of life to the people — life more abundantly.
    In the Aquarian Age, the Risen Christ is Himself the Water-Carrier; He will not this time demonstrate the perfected life of a Son of God, which was His main mission before; He will appear as the supreme Head of the Spiritual Hierarchy, meeting the need of the thirsty nations of the world — thirsty for truth, for right human relations and for loving understanding.  He will be recognised this time by all and in His Own Person will testify to the fact of the resurrection, and hence demonstrate the paralleling fact of the immortality of the soul, of the spiritual man.  The emphasis during the past two thousand years has been on death; it has coloured all the teaching of the orthodox churches; only one day in the year has been dedicated to the thought of the resurrection.  The emphasis in the Aquarian Age will be on life and freedom from the tomb of matter, and this is the note which will distinguish the new world religion from all that have preceded it.
    The Festival of Easter and the Feast of Pentecost will be the two outstanding days of the religious year.  Pentecost is, as you must well know, the symbol of right human relations in which all men and nations will understand each other and — though speaking in many and diverse languages — will know only one spiritual speech.
    It is significant that two important episodes are related in the final part of the Gospel story — one preceding and one following immediately after the apparent death of the Christ.  They are:
    1. The story of the upper chamber to which the man carrying the water pot and typifying Aquarius led the disciples, and in which the first communion service was held, participated in by all and foretelling that great relationship which will distinguish humanity in the coming age, after the tests of the Piscean Age.  Such a communion service has never yet been held, but the New Age will see it take place.
    2. The story of the upper chamber in which the disciples met and arrived at a true recognition of the Risen Christ and at a perfect and complete understanding of each other in spite of the symbolic diversity of tongues.  They had a touch of prevision, of prophetic insight, and foresaw a little of the wonder of the Aquarian Age.
    The vision in men's minds today is that of the Aquarian Age, even if they recognise it not.  The future will see right relationships, true communion, a sharing of all things (wine, the blood, the life and bread, economic satisfaction) and goodwill; we have also a picture of the future of humanity when all nations are united in complete understanding and the diversity of languages — symbolic of differing traditions, cultures, civilisations and points of view — will provide no barrier to right human relations.  At the centre of each of these pictures is to be found the Christ.
    Thus the expressed aims and efforts of the United Nations will be eventually brought to fruition and a new church of God, gathered out of all religions and spiritual groups, will unitedly bring to an end the great heresy of separateness.  Love, unity, and the Risen Christ will be present, and He will demonstrate to us the perfect life.

    18. ALICE BAILEY - The Destiny of the Nations - 09. INITIATION IN THE AQUARIAN AGE.


    INITIATION IN THE AQUARIAN AGE.
     I have hinted at the orientation which has been or will be carried out in connection with the three major world centres; I have also hinted at the relation of certain of the major initiations to these centres.  These hints constitute a new line of thought.  In this connection there are one or two points which I would like to develop in connection with this, so as to make the entire subject considerably clearer than it is at present.  I would like also to relate these centres to the rays which are now in manifestation (either coming in, passing out or in full expression).  Speaking with brevity, we could say that:
    The first initiation is closely related to the planetary centre which is humanity itself.  It will produce, when over, an increased stimulation of the intellect as it expresses itself as ordered activity upon the physical plane.  It is also closely connected with the Third Ray of Active Intelligence.  This third ray has been in objective manifestation since 1425 A.D. and will remain in incarnation throughout the Aquarian Age.  Its cycles are the longest of any of the ray cycles.  However, within these major cycles there are periods of intensified activity which are like the beat or pulsation of the heart and these periods last approximately three thousand years.  They are, when out of incarnation, called "cycles of withdrawal but not of abstraction."  They are three thousand years also in incarnation.  One of these three thousand year periods of expression is now here and we can look for much development of the intellectual faculty and a marked increase of creative work during this time.  This particular cycle of expression marks a climaxing point in the larger cycle.  During the coming age, the intelligence of the race and its active development will assume real proportions and this with much speed.
    The intensification of the life of the human centre will proceed apace and this is the reason why so many people (as I have earlier hinted) will take the first initiation.  Students are apt to forget that the first initiation can be described, in reality as:
    a. The grounding or externalisation of the Christ principle in humanity as a whole and upon the physical plane.
    b. The flowering of the intelligence so that the initiate can work powerfully upon the mental plane and humanity itself be lifted up and aided throughout every part thereby.
    c. The coming into activity of the throat centre and (because the third ray is closely connected with the first ray) the first faint orientation of spiritual man towards Shamballa can take place, becoming more and more intensified and pronounced at the time of the third initiation.  I would like here to point out the numerical correspondences:
    1. The third great world centre — humanity.
    2. The activity of the third ray — active intellect.
    3. The third initiation which marks the consummation of the 1st, just as the 4th initiation marks the consummation of the second, and the fifth of the third.
    4. The third major centre — the throat centre.
    5. The third race — the Aryan, as it expresses the first strictly human race, the Lemurian.
    6. The third plane — the physical, the reflection of the third highest plane, the atmic.
    7. The third periodical vehicle — the personality.
    8. The third divine aspect — intelligence.
    9. The third grade of divine messenger — Hercules.
    10. The sustaining Life, the third or outer Sun — the physical sun.
    These are a few of the correspondences which it is helpful for us to bear in mind in so far as they reveal divine quality, spiritual intent and universal objectives.
    During the Aquarian age and during one third of its expression, that is, during the first decanate, esoterically considered, the vitalising of the human centre (spiritually considered) and in relation to the Plan and the steady growth of widespread creative activity, both in the individual and the race, will be increasingly seen.  This will be due to the work and influence of Saturn, which is governed by the third ray.  This planet is the planet of opportunity, of discipleship and of testing and the race can look for an increasing expression of Saturnian activity as that great divine Life continues His beneficent task.
    The second initiation is closely related to the Hierarchy as a planetary centre and to the activity of the second ray.  This initiation will produce in the initiate a growing sense of relationships, of a basic unity with all that breathes, and a recognition of the One Life which will lead eventually to that state of expressed brotherhood which it is the goal of the Aquarian Age to bring into being.  This major centre, the Hierarchy, brings to bear upon humanity the focussed life of love and it is this basic love which the second decanate of Aquarius — governed as it is by Mercury — will bring into manifestation.  Mercury, the Messenger of the Gods (that is, of the Hierarchy of souls), carries always the message of love and sets up an unbreakable inter-relation between the two great planetary centres, that of the Hierarchy and that of Humanity.
    You have again in this connection certain fundamental numerical correspondences, which are based upon the coming into activity of an awakened heart centre in the race.  This is the second major centre in the individual and is situated above the diaphragm, and through it the Hierarchy can reach the whole of humanity and the subhuman kingdoms likewise.
    1. The second planetary centre — the Hierarchy.
    2. The activity of the second ray — love-wisdom.
    3. The second initiation, which relates the solar plexus to the heart, humanity to the Hierarchy and the personality and the egoic rays to the second, which is ever basically in manifestation.
    4. The second ray centre — the heart centre.
    5. The second race (the Atlantean) as it climaxes in the fourth, the next race.
    6. The second plane — the astral plane.  This is the reflection of the second highest plane.
    7. The second periodical vehicle — the soul.
    8. The second divine aspect — love-wisdom.
    9. The second type or grade of Messenger — Christ.  Buddha.
    10. The sustaining Life, the second or subjective Sun — heart of sun.
    To all these is related the sixth ray as allied to or subsidiary to the second.
    In this world cycle it might be said that the emphasis of all spiritual power is placed in the Hierarchy which is, at present, the divine intermediary, interpreting the will of God, which is the purpose of Shamballa.  It transmits or steps down the divine energy so that safe application to Humanity becomes possible.  It will be apparent, therefore, why in the second decanate of Aquarius the Hierarchy can, as the representative of Shamballa and with the aid of Mercury, bring into physical manifestation the coming Avatar.  This becomes possible when the work of the first decanate is accomplished and when Shamballa has released and definitely re-oriented the energies of the third great centre, that of Humanity.  This release and readjustment leads to creative expression and renewed spiritual life.  Planetary alignment can take place and this is a planned objective for which the Hierarchy is preparing and for which the Avatar Himself is preparing at Shamballa.
    The third initiation is connected with Shamballa as a planetary centre and to the activity of the first ray.  It should be borne in mind that this is the first initiation in which personality and soul are united and fused so that the two aspects form one unit.  When this initiation has taken place, it happens that for the first time some of its broader group implications become a reality and henceforth constitute the motivating impulse of the initiate's life.  Aspiration ends and the intensest conviction takes its place.  It is interesting also to note that Venus now comes into control in the third decanate of the Aquarian Age.  Venus is esoterically recognised as that mysterious force which is a blend of love and knowledge, of intelligence and synthesis, and of understanding and brotherhood.  Within the Hierarchy itself, the two great Messengers who have embodied the dual Venusian energy were the Buddha and the Christ.  The Messenger Who will later come and express the Shamballa urge to synthesis, the hierarchial aspiration towards love and the desire of humanity for intelligent activity with combined power will gather all into Himself.  All these qualities will focus in Him, plus another quality or divine principle of which the race of men as yet knows nothing and for which there is, as yet, no name.  He will be a great and potent Avatar and is not along the line of our humanity at all.
    The numerical correspondences might be noted as follows, remembering that the third initiation is, in reality, the first initiation of the soul, after complete identification with the personality within the life and consciousness of the Monad, the One and the First.
    1. The first planetary centre — Shamballa.
    2. The activity of the first ray — will or power.
    3. The third initiation which is the first soul initiation, relating the base of the spine to the head centre, and the soul to the Monad.
    4. The first major centre — the head.
    5. The first truly divine race — the final race.
    6. The third plane, which is in reality the first plane of soul consciousness, the reflection of the highest plane, the Logoic.
    7. The first periodical vehicle — the monadic.
    8. The first divine aspect — will or power.
    9. The first or highest type of Mediator — the coming Avatar.
    10. The sustaining Life, the spiritual sun — the central spiritual sun.
    We will now consider the trend of the times and seasons as far as the rays are concerned:
    RAY I — This ray is still out of physical manifestation but is beginning to have a definite effect upon the mental plane; there it influences the minds of disciples everywhere and lays the stage for the appearance of a certain group of disciples from Shamballa.  Two thousand years from today, the influence of this ray will be felt powerfully on the physical plane.  One hundred years hence its potency will be noted upon the astral plane.
    RAY II — This ray is always in subjective manifestation and very potent because it is the ray of our solar system and particularly so at this time as the Hierarchy is approaching closer to humanity in preparation for the "crisis of love," and an imminent major planetary initiation.  At this time, however, the second ray is becoming objective in its influence upon the physical plane.  It will become increasingly so for the next two thousand two hundred years when it will gradually withdraw into the background.
    RAY III — This ray will remain in objective incarnation from the point of view of humanity for a very long time — so long a time that it is needless for us to anticipate its waning influence.  That planetary centre which is Humanity itself still needs the intensified application of these forces so as to stimulate even the "lowest of the sons of men."
    RAY IV — This ray, as you know, begins to come into incarnation early in the next century and — in collaboration with the developing Saturnian influence — will lead many on to the path of discipleship.  When the peculiar energy to which we give the somewhat unsatisfactory name of "harmony through conflict" and the forces of that planet which stage opportunity for the aspirant are working in combination and an ordained synthesis, we can then look for a very rapid adjustment in human affairs, particularly in connection with the Path.  This fourth ray is, in the last analysis, the ray which teaches the art of living in order to produce a synthesis of beauty.  There is no beauty without unity, without embodied idealism and the resultant symmetrical unfoldment.  This ray is not the ray of art, as it is often claimed, but is the energy which brings about the beauty of those living forms which embody the ideas and the ideals which are seeking immediate expression.  Many people claim to be on the fourth ray because they dream of the artistic expressive life.  As I have told you before, creative art expresses itself upon all the rays.
    RAY V — This ray has been in manifestation for nearly seventy years.  It will pass out (by special and unique arrangement) in another fifty years, thus breaking into its own normal cycle, because it is deemed that the needed special impulse has been adequate and that the impetus given to the human "spirit of discovery" has served its purpose.  Any further intensification of the mental processes just now (except through the general pervasive effect of the third ray) might prove disastrous.  The ray cycles are usually set and determined, but, in collaboration with each other and because of the imminent spiritual Crisis of Approach, the Lord of the Fifth Ray and the Lord of the World have decided temporarily to withdraw this type of force.  It will take about fifty years to do this.
    RAY VI — This ray has been passing out of manifestation for quite some time now, as you know, and will do so with increasing rapidity.
    RAY VII — This ray is coming into effective expression now; there is little need for me to add here anything further to the mass of information which I have given you in this treatise and in my other books.
    One small point of interest but one of no especial moment to you is that the Lords of the Rays, through Their planetary Representatives, constitute a body of directing Forces in collaboration with the Lord of the World at Shamballa.  Their capacity is advisory and directive but not authoritative.  This may be regarded by some of you as the most interesting piece of information in this book.  If this is your attitude, then it only indicates your unpreparedness for true esoteric teaching.  Students need a greater sense of the real governing values and a sense of spiritual proportion.  Planetary facts and solar facts (under which heading the above item of information might well be placed) can stimulate your imagination and widen your horizon; for aspirants and disciples, that is the major value.  All information and happenings which are connected with Shamballa are always exciting to the neophyte who is apt to forget that he must make his contact with the more familiar Hierarchy before true and related perception is his.
    I would have you study the tabulation which I gave you in Initiation, Human and Solar, and which you will find in the appendix to the first volume of A Treatise on the Seven Rays.  I insert it here for the benefit of those who have no copy of the first volume of the Treatise, and whose attention should be turned again from the magnitude of the Macrocosm to the responsibility of the microcosm.
    DISCIPLESHIP AND THE RAYS
     Ray I — Force — Energy — Action — The Occultist.
    Ray II — Consciousness — Expansion — Initiation — The true Psychic.
    Ray III — Adaptation — Development — Evolution — The Magician.
    Ray IV — Vibration — Response — Expression — The Artist.
    Ray V — Mentation — Knowledge — Science — The Scientist.
    Ray VI — Devotion — Abstraction — Idealism — The Devotee.
    Ray VII — Incantation — Magic — Ritual — The Ritualist.
    In the Aquarian Age, as a result of the existing combination of ray influences, humanity enters into an expansion of consciousness which will reveal to him group relations instead of his individual and self-centred personal relations.  I would remind you that Aquarius is to be found in the upper half of the zodiacal circle and is exactly opposite to Leo which is found in the lower half.  Leo is the sign of individual unfoldment and of the self as self-assertive.  This highly individualised sign consummates in Aquarius wherein the individual finds full expression through the medium of the group, passing from service to himself and expression of himself as a personality to service of the group and a growing expression of the Hierarchy to which he steadily draws closer.  To this end, the ray influences will increasingly and steadily be directed.  Humanity has reached a stage where the sense of individuality is rapidly emerging.  In every field of human expression, men and women are becoming definitely self-assertive.  The Old Commentary refers symbolically to this in the following words:
    "The Lion begins to roar.  He rushes forth and, in his urge to live, he wields destruction.  And then again he roars and — rushing to the stream of life — drinks deep.  Then, having drunk, the magic of the waters works.  He stands transformed.  The Lion disappears and he who bears the water pot stands forth and starts upon his mission."
    Those with vision can see this happening upon every side today.  The water-carrier (another name for the world server) is starting upon his self-appointed task.  Hence the anchoring upon earth of the New Group of World Servers, whose representatives are found in every land and in every great city.  This, I would remind you, has taken place without exception in every land and they work on all the different rays; they express many points of view; their field of service is widely differing and their techniques so diverse that in some cases comprehension is not easy to the smaller minded person.  But, they all carry the pitcher containing the water of life upon their shoulder, reverting to the language of symbolism, and they all emit the light in some degree throughout their environment.
    To you, who live and work in this interim period and in this cycle of transition, with all its resultant outer chaos and upheaval, is given the task of expressing steadfastness, service and sacrifice.  Those are the three words which I give you. I have no spectacular information to give you, as has sometimes been the case.  Too much of this engrossing and novel information can lead to deep-seated insensitiveness.  You need to absorb and to act upon the information you already have, before there is evoked from you that basic demand for further light which necessitates response from those of us who work within the limits of the Hierarchy.  For that demand, we patiently wait.