SECTION TWO - TEACHINGS ON MEDITATION - PART 4
This meditation, when practised, understood and perfected, prepares the disciple for the work which he will later do as a Master or an initiate. He will manipulate energies in line with the Plan; he will then direct such energies from his own place within the Ashram, using his own etheric body as the implementing factor. He has consequently to begin with the energies working through his own centres before he can proceed to direct ashramic force through them from what is referred to as the heart centre of the Hierarchy. There is, symbolically speaking, a heart centre in every major and every secondary Ashram, and these heart centres pour their energy through the central centre in the Hierarchy; it is used as a reservoir of energy. Disciples have to learn to work with this pure energy of love as it blends with the forces of the disciple's own ray: that, in turn, colours somewhat the Ashram with which he is affiliated.
It is necessary, therefore, for you to extend your thinking about the meditation, as given above, so that it may become Ashramic in nature and effect. Thereby you are trained to [182] use the heart and to work with and through heart centres wherever they are found in manifestation. I have here given you a most valuable hint and item of information. In this connection it is valuable to bear in mind that the first meditation has relation to the heart centre in the spine, and that this second meditation is only effective when the disciple can work with the heart centre in the head. As soon as this becomes possible, the disciple realises three things:
1. The relation of the heart centre to the twelve-petalled lotus in the head.
2. The necessity of directing the energy of love (the product of the activity of the heart centre) to the service of humanity via the ajna centre.
3. The establishing of a triangle in the etheric body, composed of a line of energy between:
a. The twelve-petalled lotus in the head.
b. This lotus and the ajna centre.
c. The ajna centre and the heart centre. This creates a peculiar triangle:
This is in reality more in the nature of a funnel of reception than a triangle.
This is also the first esoteric triangle of energy which the disciple creates. Later comes the creation of a spiritual triangle in the head between:
a. The ajna centre and the thousand-petalled lotus. This becomes effective physically through the medium of the pineal gland and the pituitary body.
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b. The thousand-petalled lotus and that focal point or junction of energies to be found in the medulla oblongata, and which is called the alta major centre. This centre becomes physically effective through the carotid gland.
c. The alta major centre and the ajna centre.
You have, therefore, another triangle, of the following nature:
Here you have, therefore, some of the concepts which are implicit in this second meditation; they indicate a free, flexible and fluid interplay between all the centres involved.
Meditation III . . . Alignment . . . Mode of Contact
This deeply esoteric alignment exercise is preparatory for a state of more occult and general alignment; of this alignment, the effective use of the new Great Invocation will be an expression. In this third meditation you have man, the spiritual man, grounded in the soul, entering into a close contact (leading eventually to fusion) with the Spiritual Triad, the reflection of the Monad. This is done through the alignment of heart, mind and will. Thus is a world server created. This alignment exercise (when correctly and persistently followed) will find expression as a Master upon the physical plane. It must inevitably produce the initiate. It "seals to him the door where evil dwells," in the personality sense. The Invocation, when rightly used by humanity and when it becomes a world prayer, will enable humanity—as a whole—to express Light and Love and Power and also to seal the door where evil dwells, using the word "evil" here in a very much wider and larger sense than when individually [184] used. All these results—individual and general—are brought about by right alignment.
Nine is, as you know, my brother, the number of initiation. It presupposes the alignment of three different triplicities;
1. The threefold Personality.
2. The three aspects of the Soul.
3. The Spiritual Triad.
When these have been correctly aligned and the resultant integrity has been stabilised and fully accepted, the disciple then becomes a Master; He is now ready to tread the Way of the Higher Evolution. There is then a direct channel of contact—whenever needed and desired for service—with the physical brain and also an alignment or unimpeded relation between:
1. The disciple and Humanity . . . . . . The throat or creative centre in the planetary sense.
2. The disciple and the Hierarchy . . . The heart centre of the planetary Logos.
3. The disciple and Shamballa . . . . . .The head centre of the planetary Logos.
These are great and abstruse esoteric facts. The use of the Invocation will likewise relate human beings within the ring-pass-not of humanity itself; it will bring the human centre en rapport with the Hierarchy, creating a free interplay between the two of them and thus making possible the appearance of the Kingdom of God on Earth.
Meditation IV . . . Spiritual Livingness . . . Ashramic Relation
In assigning this meditation I made a remark of major importance. I said that this meditation was the first one given by me which carries the disciple into the true world of esotericism. It concerns his relation to that vortex of special[185] energies which we call an Ashram. It is therefore intended to teach the disciple how to absorb energy and what to contribute of energy to the whole; it does this not by indicating the modes and acceptances of transference, but by establishing a constant habit of spiritual livingness. One sentence was particularly a key to my comments. "Disciples need to build into their brain consciousness a stable recognition of relationship and of attitude." So much of the life of a disciple, even when he has been admitted into an Ashram as an earned right, remains esoteric, below the surface and almost entirely subjective. Of this the iceberg is by far the best symbol. His knowledge and capacities and his spiritual abilities do not become a practical demonstration in daily life, as they should. Esoteric knowledge is not intended to drive your spiritual life into greater and increasing subjectivity; the goal is not a more inward life and a training which will make of you a true introspective and consequently a pure mystic. Exactly the reverse is intended; all that the disciple essentially is upon the inner planes has to become objective; thus his spiritual livingness becomes an everyday affair.
It is here that the dual life of discipleship starts and at the same time demonstrates its essential unity. The disciple becomes outwardly effective. His Ashramic consciousness and his power to function as a disciple or an initiate must be blended with his transformed personality life, until gradually "the two become the One." In the last analysis, discipleship is the recognition by the Master of a certain stage (elementary, at first) of fusion, and then a training given and a process instituted which create a still greater fusion. It is this that the meditation here given is intended to facilitate.
Meditation V . . . Precipitation . . . Reception
Each of these meditations carries the practising disciple on to greater insight, or should do so, if properly approached and correctly employed. One of the principle tasks of the combined Hierarchy is the presentation to humanity of the basic divine ideas; in this manner They mould human ideals and consequently in time create its current civilisation, thus [186] providing a field for its culture. The culture approximates the ideal closer than does its civilisation.
Disciples must be taught this work of presentation and the relation of time and the event. A right sense of timing is something that every worker for the Hierarchy must cultivate. Before, however, he can do this, he has to recognise and work with ideas himself, learn the mode of approach and the consequent use of that "raincloud of knowable things" (to which Patanjali refers) and later how to translate these contacted ideas into practical ideals. As time proceeds, this "raincloud" will become more generally recognised; scientists will begin to realise that it is the true source or fount of all ideas and of the inspiration which makes their work possible; they will develop a technique of directed concentration which will enable them to attain that source of ideas and to profit by its existence.
Such ideas are contacted usually at first in the form of vague perceptions or remote prophecies; when contacted by churchmen of any of the world religions, these ideas normally receive a far too literal, and therefore misleading, interpretation. This has been responsible for much misery in the world. The scientific method safeguards the scientist from this type of error.
Part of my task within my Ashram is to train disciples to recognise the new, emerging ideas and translate them into the concepts which will condition human thinking in the cycle just ahead. The second stage of this training involves the cultivation of a correct sense of timing. This will prevent the disciple from taking precipitate or premature action; it will give him the key to the real meaning of the Eternal Now—the synthesis of Past, Present and Future. He will next be taught the art of precipitation, or the mode of conveying these ideas to the minds of the intellectuals in the world. Through these concrete and receptive minds the presented ideas are transformed into ideals and then are brought to the attention of humanity. The place and the responsibility of the intelligentsia is not yet fully appreciated, nor have they truly shouldered their task or recognised its defined [187] importance. Their work and their presentation of the ideal to the masses of men everywhere does not concern the disciple. His work lies primarily with the advanced, pioneering thinker and not with the demanding masses. I would ask you to remember this.
Therefore, when I gave you the fifth meditation I gave you also twelve words for consideration in meditation. They were intended to evoke your abstract mind and their obvious meaning and significance was not intended to form a part of your thinking. As you later review these words, I would have you consider them:
1. As embodying the viewpoint of the Spiritual Triad.
2. As part of the work assigned to you in leading humanity forward. These words have new and prophetic meanings and you must discover for yourselves what they are.
This you have not yet done, and in neither of these two ways have you truly meditated on the given words. It is essential that there be a reorganisation of your meditation technique in these two directions. Your entire meditation work is too concrete. There are the twelve words which I earlier gave you (Page 144). Please use one each month in your meditation work.
Meditation VI . . . The New Invocation . . . Spiritual Inflow
I wonder, brother of mine, if you have grasped the momentous significance of this presentation of a cosmic, planetary and individual alignment exercise, prayer or invocation? It provides, as a result of its correct use, a spiritual inflow right to the very heart of humanity and from the highest sources. For the reception of this last part or final stanza of the great hierarchical "Invocation for Power and Light," all previous teaching you have received and all your earlier meditation work was simply an elementary prelude. In receiving this Invocation, in its use and distribution, you have [188] been participating in a cosmic event of tremendous importance. The intention—connected with this Invocation—is as follows:
1. To focus the inchoate mass demand of humanity on to the highest possible level.
2. To initiate a great invocative cycle wherein invocation will unify, blend and bring together the two methods (hitherto in use) of prayer and meditation.
3. To give to the world a new prayer.
This meditation or invocation is essentially a prayer. It can, however, be used with profound effectiveness, primarily by those who know something of meditation; they have a special and peculiar advantage over the average man who is accustomed to pray, because the technique of meditation brings in the factor of mental concentration and an intense focussing. The trained disciple can therefore use this Invocation on several levels simultaneously.
This Invocation is not, however, a meditation exercise; it is essentially a prayer, synthesising the highest desire, aspiration and spiritual demand of the very soul of humanity itself. It must be used in that way. When the trained disciple or the aspirant in training uses it, he will assume the attitude of meditation—that is, an attitude of concentration, spiritual direction and receptivity. Then he will pray. The attitude of the occult student who has thrown over in disgust all old religious practices, and believes that he has no further need or use for prayer, or that he has passed to a higher phase, that of meditation, is not a correct one. The true position is that he uses both at will and at need. In connection with the Invocation he assumes the attitude of meditation (an inner mental attitude and firm assumption), but employs the method of prayer which—when divorced from all relation to the separated self—is a potent means of establishing and maintaining right spiritual and human relations. When in the attitude of meditation and using the implement of prayer (by means of the Invocation), he attains a relationship with the mass of humanity not otherwise possible, he can implement [189] their recognised though unvoiced need, and he also allies himself with the Hierarchy, Who work from the cosmic astral plane but—through the use of the planetary antahkarana—work also on buddhic-mental levels and are evoked by the desire of the mass of men.
I do not intend to deal further here with the Invocation, because I did so fully in the earlier meditation instructions. I earnestly beg you, however, to reread what I there wrote.
Meditation VII . . . The Cross . . . Spiritual Position
It is an occult truism to say that the disciple is crucified upon the Fixed Cross of the Heavens. This he is prepared always to accept, for he knows from bitter experience how true it is; he lives in the recognition that the life of the disciple is hard and its exigencies are inescapable. Curiously enough, a good deal of this recognition is based upon an unconscious and unrealised self-pity. To offset this unrecognised habit of thought, this meditation is intended to teach the disciple to create—with deliberate intention—his own cross, and in this manner do away with his idea (again unrealised) that the cross is the result of his point in evolution, that it is imposed upon him by astrological conditions, and that through it the Lords of Karma work, exacting from him the full price for all past misdeeds. This, in reality, is not so.
By the time a man is admitted into an Ashram he has already worked off a very great deal of his karma, both good and bad, and is now ready to build his own cross upon which he takes his stand—with his hands stretched out in blessing. That is the idea underlying this seventh meditation on the vertical and the horizontal position of the practising disciple. In this meditation you therefore have:
The Vertical Life
1. God, or the divine Reality, veiled by all forms.
2. The polar opposite to this, i.e., the matter in which this divine nature is expressed.
3. The method, based on ray tendencies, of this revelation.
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4. The polar opposite, i.e., achievement. The trained disciple works always from the angle of achievement, of attained success. This attitude he assumes as regards himself, the serving disciple, and the work to be done.
The Horizontal Life
1. Unity. As a result of his successful vertical life, the disciple feels himself at-one with all life in all forms and with humanity in particular.
2. This works out naturally in understanding. Because there are absolutely no barriers present, and there is also no realisation of difference, the disciple can "tune in" on the life in all forms, and therefore enter into a full measure of inclusiveness, with all that that word implies.
3. His motivation is that of goodwill, which is a growing potency as the will-to-good (which he contacts indirectly in the Ashramic life) begins to affect him. Ponder on this statement. The goodwill of the masses is based on innate divine tendency; that of the disciple is based on knowledge and receptivity to certain energies from Shamballa.
4. This goodwill—as it is released—produces a normal expression upon the physical plane.
You have, consequently, the crosses (+ ´) which—when superimposed, provide a most interesting chart for the disciple's life. This meditation, therefore, provides a complete and rounded-out form for the disciple to follow: it will suffice him for many years to come. I have given you only a few hints in the above analysis, but you can arrive at much greater light on the matter if you will definitely realise that your daily life is based on a vertical attitude and a horizontal effectiveness.
In these seven meditations, my brothers, you have all you need in order to make progress in your own life and also in the group life—functioning subjectively at present. If you [191] follow these meditations with care in the years to come, you will find that they will lead to an extension of your service, which (as far as the majority of you are concerned) has not been of great importance.
These seven meditations make a perfect synthesis of recognitions, of unfoldment and of spiritual direction; if they are followed with care, they will eliminate selfishness and build in ashramic quality.
PART XI
In our last series of instructions I summed up or summarised all the meditations (seven in number) which I have given to the group. I tried to show you the sequence of critical points in the life of the man in training for initiation. The last of these meditations was called The Cross as the Expression of the Vertical and the Horizontal Life. This was portrayed by the two crosses:
To these two symbols of the life of the disciple I seek at this time to add another one, which is a symbol of the attitude you should hold during the cycle into which you are now entering.
You will see that I have combined the two crosses of the vertical and horizontal life with the cross of Humanity [192]and have also added a circle at the summit of all three. What, my brother, does this mean? It signifies the following:
1. That the vertical life of spiritual contact with the Ashram is constantly preserved by meditation, prayer and concentration.
2. That the horizontal life of service is preserved with equal care and that there is a constant stream of planned energy going out to all those who need help.
3. The long limb of the triple cross symbolises to the disciple that he must go down into the very depths of human life in order to prepare the masses for the reappearance of the Christ and for the externalisation of the Hierarchy.
4. The sphere at the summit of the cross portrays the "place of the disciple's consciousness." His life of reflection, of constant awareness, and the steady focus of his attention is higher than the vertical life of the aspirant, than his horizontal life of service, and indicates the measure of his conscious activity in the Ashram. Forget not that an Ashram in the Hierarchy is on a higher plane than that of the soul.
He is therefore alive and active on three levels of activity simultaneously, and is in the process of demonstrating—as far as in him lies and his degree of discipleship permits—the three divine aspects: the Will aspect, governing his work within the Hierarchy in relation to the coming great movement; the Love aspect, governing his vertical life and producing [Page 193] spiritual steadfastness in form; the Intelligence aspect, governing his horizontal life and making him a wise server of his fellowmen. Finally, the long line from the point of radiant spiritual focus symbolises the Pathfrom the highest point attained by the disciple to the lowest point of service.
You will notice also, in this symbol, that the secondary point of focus appears where all the lines meet and cross each other. This point represents the disciple's personality, into which the higher radiance must pour and from which spiritual energy reaches out on all sides. Also, if you will study and think for a while, it will be apparent to you that this cross is only correctly appropriated by (or is symbolic of) the man who has built (or is in process of building) the antahkarana. Where that bridge is not created the consciousness of the aspirant cannot focus in the Ashram or upon the intuitional levels of consciousness.
You can see, therefore, why I have given out the teaching upon the Antahkarana. It was done in order that the completion of the antahkarana could be systematically and scientifically carried out by you. I shall not, therefore, repeat the instructions here; you have them and should follow them carefully, bearing in mind that you have at least bridged the gap between the personality and the Spiritual Triad to a certain extent, and that for you the need is to complete and strengthen the Rainbow Bridge and then to use it with facility.
The symbology of the antahkarana tends badly to complicate the grasp of its real nature. May I remind you that, just as the soul is not a twelve-petalled lotus floating around in mental substance, but is in reality a vortex of force or twelve energies held together by the will of the spiritual entity (the Monad on its own plane), so the antahkarana is not a series of energy threads, slowly woven by the soul-infused personality, and met by corresponding threads projected by the Spiritual Triad, but is in reality a state of awareness. These symbols are true and living forms, created through the power of thought by the disciple, but—in time and space—they have no true existence. The only true existence [194] is the Monad on its own plane, active, expressive Will in emergence, and in turn, active Love in establishing relationships and equally active Intelligence in the use of the two higher energies. It must not be forgotten that the energy of intelligence, focussed in the mind, is the instrument or implementing agency of the other two monadic energies.
H.P.B. taught that the antahkarana was primarily the channel of energy relating forms and their forces to their originating sources and that across the mental plane (with its three aspects of mind) the life thread necessarily passed, linking Monad, soul and personality into one living whole. Technically speaking, therefore, there is no need for the so-called bridge, except for one important factor: there is, on the part of the soul-infused personality, a definite break in consciousness between the lower mind and the abstract mind. The higher mind (being the lowest aspect of the Spiritual Triad) can be regarded as a door admitting the consciousness of the soul-infused personality into a higher realm of contact and awareness. But again—as you can well see—there is nothing here but symbolism; there is no door, but simply a symbol indicating means of access.
In the total evolution of the spiritual man through physical incarnation during untold hundreds of lives, the entire process is simply one of expanding consciousness and of attaining—sequentially and stage by stage—an ever more inclusive awareness. This is good to bear in mind, for eventually all this symbolic picturing will give place to reality. The task—and it is a real one—of building the antahkarana and creating that which will bridge the gap is in truth the planned and conscious effort to project the focussed thought of the spiritual man from the lower mental plane into areas of awareness which have been sensed but not contacted; it entails using the totality of the awareness already developed and already "enlightened" by the soul, and (with deliberation) making it increasingly sensitive to the focussed activity of the world of the higher spiritual realities; it is directing the stream of conscious thought towards the sensed and theoretically recognised world of the Masters, of the Spiritual Triad and, finally, of Shamballa. Disciples should remember [195] that the Higher Way of Evolution is far simpler than the lower way, and that therefore the teaching on the significance and the meaning of the antahkarana—which is the first creation of the soul-infused personality acting as a unitary being—is far simpler than that relating to the personality in the three worlds of human evolution.
I would ask you to ponder on these matters, because out of the practice of group meditation should grow that conscious, focussed attitude which can be regarded as reflection—an act of reflection which, because the consciousness is held steady in the light, because the antahkarana is a realisation to the disciple, and because the mind is oriented towards the Spiritual Triad, is a definite factual experience.
It is a reflection carried on throughout all the vicissitudes of life and automatically registers these events; it therefore builds or creates that stream of ascending energy which is tinctured by the life qualities and the developed ray characteristics. Along that stream, the life qualities and the developed ray characteristics can pass at will; the disciple will increasingly register the "things of the spirit," as it is called in the New Testament; he will consequently acquire the facility to penetrate into the world of the Hierarchy, and to reach eventually the door to the Way of the Higher Evolution. He will at the same time function in the three worlds as a serving disciple.
With this simple presentation of the antahkarana, you may find it easier to work during the coming year. As this thought-projection process or exercise becomes a part of your normal state of mind, it will serve also to focus you upon the mental plane, thus withdrawing your attention from the world of the emotions and of desire or aspiration and placing you "upon the lighted point upon the lighted way, where light may shine and show a star which shines above the brow of the Initiator."
I suggest to you that you take the seven meditations and work regularly with them. I suggested this to you a year ago. Few of you took my advice or have adhered to the process or followed the rhythm set up by the sequence of meditations. I suggest that you give two months to each of the meditations, [Page 196] thus covering a period of fourteen months; then, I suggest that you make Meditation VII your major meditation, to be followed for one year. If this is done by you as directed and with no questioning as to effectiveness, you will understand far more clearly the projection—realistic and energising—which the personal consciousness will register.
I shall give you no more meditation outlines. The careful following of those given will do much for you during the remainder of your lives. You need no more.
PART XII
I would like today to extend the teaching given in the preceding instruction anent the antahkarana and expound to you—from the group angle—a paragraph there given; I will here rephrase it.
It is a reflection—a conscious focussed attitude—carried forward in all life circumstances, which automatically registers the events conditioning the life of humanity. It therefore creates a stream of ascending energy which is tinctured by the life quality and the ray characteristics of the group personnel. Along this stream both the ascendingand the descending life quality and ray characteristics can pass at will and the disciple will increasingly register the "things of the spirit"; he will consequently acquire the facility to penetrate into the world of the Hierarchy and reach eventually the door to the Way of the Higher Evolution. He will, again consequently, function efficiently in the three worlds as the serving disciple.
In this paragraph you have indicated the spiritual, meditative way of life of the individual disciple in relation to his own soul, and later to the Ashram; you have the group way of life, as it penetrates into the Hierarchy, and you have also the hierarchical technique which enables that great Group to penetrate into a still higher spiritual centre and bring down from Shamballa that understanding of divine Purpose [197] which will precipitate as the hierarchical Plan; this will enable the Hierarchy to form a great serving group. No matter how high you may go in the scale of being, you will find—from the fourth kingdom of nature onward—that the technique of meditation governs all expansions of consciousness, all registration of Plan or Purpose and, in fact, the entire process of evolutionary unfoldment. It is a technique of spiritual apprehension, of focussing attention on some level of consciousness or other, and also of originating modes of contact.
The entire Science of Invocation and Evocation is contained in the word "meditation"; this science ranges from the subjective, unconscious appeal of the inchoate, voiceless masses, through many phases, until it attains that high mode of scientific invocation which governs the contact made in the Council Chamber of Shamballa with extra-planetary sources of spiritual inflow. It is through meditation in some form or another that contact is made; this again is progressive in nature. The formulated idea of the unspiritual man to make a contact with that which will later condition his life and lead to a betterment of his daily life in a material sense, or which will make living possible, is perhaps the lowest aspect; the brooding, experimental thinking of the scientist or artist is another form of meditation and higher in purpose and in intention, and this meditative process is better formulated and has (if you think correctly) definite group implications. The mode whereby the Members of Hierarchy and the personnel of Their Ashrams arrive at an intense spiritual perception, and arrive also at a selfless formulation of the divine Plan which will implement divine Purpose in the world, is likewise an expansion of all previous meditations; whilst the concentrated clear and dynamic invocation of the spiritual Beings Who have created—or more accurately—have formed Shamballa, is the highest form of meditation possible upon our planet.
It might also be stated that it is meditation which is responsible for transforming the desire of the ordinary human being upon our planet into the spiritual will, which is ever the agent of the Purpose. It is therefore meditation which[198] produces individual, group and planetary alignment, and this alignment is always the first stage of the meditation objective and the final or permanent stage attained. Think on this.
Meditation is also eliminative in its effects and (if I may use such a term) ejects out of the individual and out of the group that which is undesirable—from the angle of the immediate spiritual goal.
Meditation is essentially the highest instrument and the perfected consummation of the third divine aspect, that of intelligent activity, and—as I have earlier pointed out—is from every possible angle carried on within the ring-pass-not of the Universal Mind. It is the essential, divine Prompter, the predominant creative agent, and the factor which fuses and blends every aspect in the great Hierarchy of Being which is related to the basic spiritual nature of our planet; this was our major inheritance from the previous solar system—the Mind or Active Intellect.
Meditation brings into creative alignment instinct, intellect and the intuition, as well as conscious Identification. It relates (in an indissoluble unity) the so-called lower or concrete mind, the group mind, the hierarchical mind and the universal Mind; it leads to a conscious alignment of the disciple's centres and also of the three planetary Centres; it is invocative, demanding, fusing, receptive and distributory in nature. In the disciple it is the agent which creates or builds the antahkarana, controls—via the soul or the Spiritual Triad—the head centre, which is the point of focus, of spiritual appeal and of spiritual reception; it controls also the ajna centre (the centre between the eyebrows) which, in the disciple, is the prime agent for the distribution of spiritual energy.
In the group, meditation leads to the fusion of the group personnel, to their united invocative appeal, and—when invocation has evoked response—it leads to group receptivity to that which has been spiritually demanded, and thus to the spiritual service of the group.
In the Hierarchy, meditation takes two major forms, and [199] (you must remember) in that great spiritual Centre meditation is an instinctual habit and needs no forced process:
1. Meditation is that which sets in motion hierarchical response to the invocative appeal rising from the three worlds, and mainly to the invocative appeal carried forward consciously by all who pray, all who make mystical appeal and all who employ the method of occult meditation and direct invocation.
2. Meditation is the instinctual mode whereby the Hierarchy—in response to the invocation from the three worlds—approaches the higher Centre, Shamballa; then the Hierarchy evokes the energies, the Beings and the spiritual inflow which hierarchical service in the immediate future requires. It is also—in a unique sense—the technique whereby the Masters Themselves prepare for the sixth initiation, thus conditioning the Path of Life upon which They will eventually find Themselves and pass thence to higher cosmic undertakings.
You can see, therefore, why I have laid such emphasis upon your individual meditation, but have also laid a still greater emphasis upon group meditation. Nevertheless, I have only been endeavouring to turn your instinct towards spiritual expression into scientific lines; I have sought also to initiate you into a planetary technique which all planetary beings must and do master. Meditation, in its most rudimentary form, is the instinct which leads to recognition of the physical Sun and governs, for instance, the turning of planetary vegetable life towards the Sun as its dominant source of life. In its intermediate form, it is that which reveals to the aspirant and to the Hierarchy the Heart of the Sun, and—in its highest form—it is the mode of contact which relates the highest Beings on our planet to the Central Spiritual Sun. In every case, I would like to point out that this capacity to meditate (the spiritual expression of the mental processes) [200] focusses itself in certain group formations which it would profit us briefly to consider.
It might be said that, intermediate between the great planetary centres, a group of those who can meditate creatively can be found; they are chosen out of each of the larger centres and from among those who are already accustomed to meditation. I would like to pause at this point and ask you to remember that I refer not here to religious meditation, strictly understood, or to those invocative appeals for help and aid which are so closely associated in the mind of the western Christian thinker. I refer to all who—in quiet reflection, focussed appeal and with a true background of knowledge—are able to "think through" into a higher state of consciousness than the one of which they are normally aware; in that higher state they arrive at those intuitional and spiritual "discoveries" which can produce the seed of a new creation, or which can open up (for those unable thus to meditate) a new field of possible awareness. The motive of all such group meditation must be selfless service; the keynote of all such groups is creativity; they are all of them demonstrations of the perfected third aspect of active intelligence, plus other developing aspects; all of them are in direct relation or alignment with one of the Buddhas of Activity, Who embody within Themselves the essence of the third Ray of Active Intelligence, through which the third aspect can successfully project and express itself. It is these three Buddhas Who were instrumental in the amazing and occult process of implementing the mental principle upon our planet, and Who—through Their creative meditation—brought our planet, the Earth, and the planet Venus into direct alignment. This made possible the comings of the Sons of Mind and the formation of the fourth kingdom in nature, Humanity. They are Embodiments of the intuition, and control the inflow of intuitional energy into the minds of men.
The point which I would have you bear in mind is that these intermediate groups of Workers Who know the power of meditation are primarily creative, and that the efficacy of Their work is demonstrated in the larger group whose behests [201] They are carrying out and in the group which is creatively influenced by the meditation work accomplished.
Curiously enough, in view of the fact that the principle of Mind is the fifth principle, there are five major groups which function primarily through "creative and sustaining" meditation. These are:
1. The New Group of World Servers.
2. The Ashram, with which disciples in the New Group of World Servers may be affiliated.
3. The Hierarchy itself, the Ashram of Sanat Kumara.
4. The Nirmanakayas or the "inspired Contemplatives."
5. The higher correspondence of the Nirmanakayas Who find Their place in relation to Shamballa; this is analogous to that of the Nirmanakayas to the Hierarchy.
The personnel of these groups is supplied from the larger groups to which they are intermediate:
1. The New Group of World Servers gathers its personnel out of the great planetary centre called Humanity.
a. The more advanced members of the group are affiliated with some Ashram within the ring-pass-not of the Hierarchy.
b. The greater Ashram, composed of many Ashrams, is the fulfilled production of the New Group of World Servers, down the ages. This is a statement full of important implications.
2. The Nirmanakayas gather Their personnel out of the Hierarchy, the second great planetary centre. Their relation to Shamballa is not one of affiliation, nor is it the same as that of the New Group of World Servers to the Hierarchy. Their major relationship is with the Triangle of the Buddhas of Activity, and it is under Their creative inspiration that They work. This stream of inspiration or of "energy flooded with creative light" is made available to the Hierarchy at all [202] times and when needed for Their creative work; it is a part of that dynamic, galvanising energy which feeds the enthusiasm of the New Group of World Servers, binds them together in the One Work, and enables them to work intelligently and with creative ability.
3. A mysterious body of what have been called "Reflecting Lights"; the Members of this group are to a certain extent extra-planetary. They are affiliated with Shamballa and focus cosmic creative energy, thus making it available (on demand) to the Members of the Council Chamber at Shamballa. There is little that we need consider about Them; They are the "Helpers of the Lord of the World," and implement His purposes as they are formulated by Him on the cosmic mental plane.
The point which I seek to emphasise, and which I hope will remain in your minds, is that this technique of meditation is the outstanding creative agent on our planet. When you, as an individual, are endeavouring to "build the new man in Christ" which will be an expression of your true spiritual self, meditation is, as you well know, your best agent; but the meditation process must be accompanied by creative work, or else it is purely mystical, and though not futile, is nevertheless negative in creative results.
Members of the New Group of World Servers are gathered from all branches of human enterprise, of which organised religion is only one. There are scientists who, repudiating violently the unproven, yet are giving all they have of scientific ability and knowledge to the service of humanity—each in his chosen scientific field; there are men of financial stature who regard money as a responsibility to be dispensed wisely in the service of others, yet the mystical or occult terminology may mean nothing whatsoever to them; there are educators, preoccupied with wise formulations of knowledge and with an encyclopedic understanding of the garnered wisdom of the ages, which they seek to utilise in fitting the younger generation to live beautifully, constructively and creatively; there are churchmen and religious leaders (in [203] some one or other of the world religions) who are not tied or handicapped by the form; the spirit of light is in them and they intelligently love their fellowmen. All of these people, if they are members of the New Group of World Servers, must inevitably be reflecting thinkers, must have creative objectives, must be truly intelligent, and must have added expanding love to their intelligence.
These men and women have a dual relationship: to the rest of humanity whom they seek to serve, and also to the Hierarchy, via some Ashram—an Ashram which is the source of their inspiration and of their creative efforts to think and to work.
The accepted disciple in this group work is in conscious rapport with both planetary centres (that of Humanity and that of the Hierarchy) and their creative thinking largely conditions the group. Many, however, in this group are conscious of their relation to humanity and of their planned service, but are totally unaware of the unseen source of their inspiration. This matters not, for—if their motive is pure, their intelligence keen and their meditational capacity adequate—they receive the inspiration and develop the intuition in any case. It is those in the New Group of World Servers who can and do meditate who are the real agents of the relation existing between the Hierarchy and Humanity. Such a relation has, of course, always existed, and always there have been many mystics and a few occultists who have served as channels of relationships; today, the group is newly organised and the task of invocation and evocation is for the first time in history evenly balanced, or is upon what you might call a fifty-fifty basis.
Again, the New Group of World Servers is composed of widely diverse men and women, gathered out of all nations, holding many different points of view and following the many different professions and ideologies; it is therefore more truly representative of humanity and more truly potent than ever before.
When the work of the Invocation reaches a high stage of development and the climaxing year of 1952 is over, it will then be wise to bring to the attention of the general public, [204] and on a worldwide scale, the factual nature of the New Group of World Servers.
This New Group of World Servers is an aspect of the world antahkarana and it gives students of the antahkarana a sound example of the intent and purpose of the Rainbow Bridge which each disciple is endeavouring consciously to build. It is composed of those who have penetrated in consciousness upward to such an extent and height that their ascension has become invocative and has produced a descent from the Hierarchy which meets and merges with the energies of the ascending group reflection. Words here are apt to hinder, but the visualisation indicated will prove helpful. In the case of the New Group of World Servers, it is not simply ascending energy which must be considered; there is also a focussing of consciousness and a receptivity which can develop into fixed intention; this can be followed later by a recognition in the physical brain consciousness of what has transpired. Forget not that—in detail—the New Group of World Servers is composed of the following groups:
1. Initiates and disciples who are consciously a part of the Great White Lodge.
2. Aspirants and lesser disciples who are affiliated with the Hierarchy, but who do not usually possess that continuity of consciousness which will come later.
3. Those upon the Probationary Path who are not yet affiliated with the Hierarchy; they are, however, subject to hierarchical impression and are determined to serve their fellowmen.
4. An increasing number of people who respond to the idealism and the purpose of the New Group of World Servers and who will rapidly join the group.
The main requirement is Meditation but—as you know—it is not necessarily the set meditation of occult schools and churches; membership in the group, however, requires the development of the reflective spirit along some line of human understanding; it requires also the power to focus attention [205] upon that which can serve humanity and a compassionate recognition of human need. The unthinking man or woman, or those engrossed entirely in business, political and family ties, cannot form a part of the New Group of World Servers, because the group demands a definite measure of decentralisation; to this, habits of meditation rapidly contribute.
As the members of this group meditate and serve, they will gradually find that they are becoming aware of an inner group—the Ashram of the Master on Whose ray the individual server is to be found. This will necessarily vary according to the ray; the ray—it must be remembered—determines the quality and the nature of the service to be rendered. Gradually the neophyte swings into the rhythm of the Ashram, and gradually his meditation changes and falls into line with the instinctual and constant ashramic meditation. It must be remembered that ashramic meditation is entirely devoid of personality elements. It is in the nature of a constant and uninterrupted group meditation upon the Plan, and particularly upon that aspect of the Plan which must immediately be put into operation; this is the apportioned duty of the Ashram or the Ashrams in question. This constant attitude of reflective meditation in no way impairs the efficiency of the Ashram or of the individual disciple, because two or more lines of thought and several lines of activity are simultaneously possible. This is another lesson which the disciple learns.
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