79. ALICE BAILEY - Discipleship in the New Age,Vol. II - 20. SECTION THREE - TEACHINGS ON INITIATION - PART 8

SECTION THREE - TEACHINGS ON INITIATION - PART 8

3. Then follows that stupendous event for which all soul-infused persons prepare—the externalisation of the Hierarchy and the reappearance of the Master of that Hierarchy, with the Personnel of which it is composed; this group of liberated and functioning souls will appear on earth as part of the manifested phenomena of the outer plane. This I have been dealing with in another section ^[xviii]* and will not enlarge upon it here. The outposts of that[409] Kingdom and the vanguard of disciples and initiates is already here.

The work or the radiatory activity of the Hierarchy is today more potent than at any time in human history. The Masters and Their disciples (under the guidance of the World Teacher of that period) were physically present on earth in early Atlantean times, and the radiation emanating from Them was protective, guarding and nurturing. Later, the Hierarchy withdrew into a subjective expression and humanity was—under the Law of Evolution—left to its own devices thus to learn the Way and tread the Path of Return through individual experiment and experience. The Masters (in this long interim) have not come forth to contact humanity on any large or group scale; many of Their senior disciples have, however, emerged at varying intervals and when needed; the World Teacher has also come forth to sound the key or note for each new civilisation and to express the results of the passing civilisation. Men have had, therefore, to find their way alone to the Hierarchy; in silence that Hierarchy has waited, until the number of "enlightened souls" was so great that their invocative appeal and their magnetic radiation reached a potency which could not be denied; the balance of equilibrium, attained between the Kingdom of God on Earth and the Kingdom of God in Heaven (to use Christian phraseology) became such that the "Gates of Return" could be opened and free intercourse established between the fourth and the fifth kingdoms in nature. The gates (and I am still speaking in symbols) are already opening and soon will stand wide open to admit the passing of the "Son of Man, the perfected Son of God," back to the place—our Earth—where He earlier demonstrated perfect love and service. But—as you know—this time He will not come alone, but will bring with Him the Heads of certain of the Ashrams, as well as a trained group of initiates and disciples.

These happenings are taking place today before the eyes of all men, even though much that is going on remains totally [410] unrecognised over vast areas of the world of thought and by many millions of men. However, brother of mine, there are enough initiates and disciples working upon the physical plane at this time to ensure a recognition so extensive that the steady, consistent arousing of human expectation is guaranteed. Ponder on this and learn to recognise on every side the signs of human anticipation, and the pronounced indication of the approach of the Hierarchy.

These three happenings will also indicate to you that, as far as the masses of men are concerned and the first two initiations are likewise involved, there is today and will increasingly be need for group initiation. It must be remembered that if these two earliest initiations are to be administered upon the physical plane by the Christ in His function as Initiator, that then the time factor must necessarily be involved, and that it will not be possible, therefore, to admit disciples one by one to initiation. Administration of the initiatory formula will have to be in group formation, and that—as you know—has necessitated drastic changes in the presentation of the training to be given to aspirants and disciples. People everywhere are joining groups of all kinds and working steadily in group formation; these can be regarded as preparatory classes in group fusion and group work. Among those in these many groups—functioning in every land—will be found those who form part of the subjective groups which the Hierarchy is everywhere forming upon all rays, on every plane and under many varying astrological aspects. Such a group is the one with which you are affiliated, objectively and subjectively; groups like the one to which you belong are far more common than you realise. The Masters are all working in a similar manner, where groups in preparation for initiation are concerned.

It is not easy to induce aspirants and disciples to function in this preparatory group formation and to make it the major interest in their lives, for they must at the same time fulfil as perfectly as may be their family and social responsibilities and their business obligations. None of you would have been offered this opportunity had you not been capable of this dual life. I would ask you to study carefully the background [411] of this present hierarchical undertaking (I had almost said, adventure) and fulfil your part in the preparatory work which is demanded. This work falls into two parts:

1. Your own preparation, as a soul-infused personality, for initiation; this will embody personality life disciplines.

2. Preparation for the reappearance of the Christ; this will embody your life service to humanity and to the Hierarchy.

With these ideas on group initiation, I leave the subject and will now proceed with the subsidiary themes of our study.

ON HINTS

Two hints remain now for our consideration and both appear to be very simple when read for the first time; they must, however, be regarded as being given utterance in the "Halls of Initiation" and as, therefore, containing much that is not immediately apparent. Hints given by a Master are never obvious in their significance; any apparent simplicity is the veil of deeply hidden truth, and it is for this that the disciple must search. This is, curiously enough, a part of the content of the sixth hint which is earlier given as follows:

Hint Six. "The modern disciple must recognise the hint which is related to his point in consciousness.... My one effort is to indicate the relation between Initiation and Revelation."

In the past, it was the Master Who succinctly gave the disciple the hint which He deemed appropriate to the immediate need. Decisions as to the need of a disciple are based on his soul-fusion and upon the world need at the time, which may be calling imperatively for the disciple's service. The hint given was usually removed from all context; the disciple had to recognise it for what it was, and had then to proceed to discover its meaning and to find the significance of its indications. Owing to the point attained in the evolution [412] of humanity, the hint was practically and invariably of a mental nature, and stimulated the intelligence, and intensified the strength of the mind, the mental search light, or the soul. Such hints are now constantly given by senior disciples to aspirants upon the Probationary Path. They serve to clarify thought; they remove glamour and illusory veils; they reveal the mental approach of the personality to the problem of soul contact and are an integral part of the process which enables the aspirant to establish a rapport which will bring the soul and the personality together and lead to soul fusion with its instrument.

But, as the race has unfolded the principle or aspect of intelligence and has reached its present relatively high stage of mental understanding and perception, the older process has proved too simple and elementary; the modern disciple did not profit by the single mental statement presented to him by his Master; it proved no real challenge and became a point upon which discrimination of an interior activity must be made, and not a factor calling for the needed higher illumination. The older position was that of understanding and following a hint, and this brought the aspirant closer to acceptance in a Master's Ashram; it developed the mental apparatus, providing a better instrument for soul contact, and later, for service. The major emphasis was, however, soul contact, and the hint was usually of a purely personal nature, and was concerned with those inhibitions, wrong interpretations and negations which interfere with true soul contact and present a barrier to progress into an Ashram.

The Hierarchy was faced with the fact that thousands of aspirants have been coming into incarnation with much of this primary mental work well accomplished and with a substantial measure of soul contact already satisfactorily established; the ancient method, therefore, began to prove futile. The entire process was too easy and did not constitute a test of the disciple's intuition. When this was grasped, the whole subject was shifted, within hierarchical circles, from the mental plane to that of buddhi or of pure reason. This led to the discarding of a hint as a means of mental unfoldment and to the development of a new process whereby the presented [413] hint was invocative of the intuition. The standard of requirements was consequently raised. The minds of men met this new challenge, and the consciousness of those who stood on the periphery of the Hierarchy, and in line, therefore, for ashramic training, was recognised as being now basically mental, with a growing sensitivity to intuitional understanding. It was realised in hierarchical Ashrams that the light of the soul was, speaking generally, beginning to flood the aura of the fourth kingdom in nature, and that there were many thousands of aspirants who were developing responsiveness to the light of the Spiritual Triad. The Masters, therefore, withdrew Their attention from aspirants upon the Probationary Path, and left them to be trained by disciples in some one or other Ashram, and gave Their attention primarily to those upon the mental plane who could be attracted by triadal expression and energy, and who were not entirely interested in the task of soul contact.

The problem confronting the Hierarchy was interesting. This new type of aspirant was responsive to three types of light:

1. The light of substance, or the innate light of the personality.

2. The light of the soul, attuned to the light of love, which dominates the Hierarchy.

3. The light of the Triad, which is an aspect of the spiritual Will, and which streams from Shamballa.

The first thing, therefore, which the aspirant must be taught is to know, past all interior controversy, where he stands upon that part of the Path of Evolution which stretches across the mental plane into the plane of buddhi, and thus is on the Way of the Higher Evolution. I am here using words symbolically. He must know which of the lights (to which he finds himself responsive) is the light which he must use to make further progress. Is the light of the personality to be trained upon the point of soul contact, so that the lower mind becomes the searchlight of revelation? Or has the point been reached where the light of the soul, which is the pure [414] energy of love, can be turned upon all life and circumstances in the three worlds, thus enabling the disciple to become a soul-infused personality and thus permitted entrance into the appropriate Ashram? Or has a still higher point been reached, and the light of the Spiritual Triad can begin to be directed upon the soul-infused personality, via the antahkarana?

These are the problems which the modern aspirant has to face, and therefore he must himself discover the hint which is related to his highest point in consciousness. I would ask you here to bear in mind that the point in consciousness is not necessarily identical with the point in evolution. A high point in evolution can be reached unconsciously and the disciple is frequently not truly aware of what he IS. He has to become consciously aware of his exact point of attainment before he can really know what the next step is which he must consciously take. He is presented at this stage with a vast body or structure of truth; his mental appreciation of these stages and principles can be very real, but there is apt to be much confusion when the concrete mind is unduly dominant (as it so often is); the abstract mind is likewise active, and faint indications of the functioning of the intuition and of the higher modes of knowledge and of realisation are given. The disciple then passes through the stage wherein he appropriates everything that comes his way; he seeks to use everything he knows or even senses in his effort to advance, to develop usefulness and to pass through the door of initiation.

It is at this point that the new training in this new era of hierarchical activity is applied to the modern disciple. Being naturally a mental type, he is unfolding rapidly a correct sense of proportion, and is therefore urged by ashramic activity and by the aura of the Ashram in which he is now permitted to work, to discover for himself that hint or veiled information which will clarify his way. He begins to understand that the lower mind, with its multiplicity of differentiations and its tabulating, analysing and complicated approach to truth, is only a foundation upon which he can take a firm stand, but that he is faced with a profound simplicity; [415] he realises that he must find out for himself that hint (which his own ray equipment hides but also reveals) which will enable him to substitute the pure reason for the many complexities of the lower mind. He has to wrestle with the problem of this simplicity, with its penetrating potency, and with its swift comprehension of the basic truth underlying the many truths; he learns, finally, to substitute the intuition—with its swiftness and its infallibility—for the slow and laborious work of the mind, with its deviousness, its illusions, its errors, its dogmatisms and its separative thinking and cultures. He finds out—as a preliminary step—the nature of his rays; he begins to discriminate between intelligence, love and what he believes, theoretically, the will may be, but he knows that he has as yet no real experience of this highest divine aspect. His developing intelligence is the result and the reward of experience; his understanding of love, the second divine aspect, is also in the experimental stage and his knowledge is not reliable; the fused expression of intelligence and love (of personality and soul, to be specific) can only be possible when the will aspect in some measure is beginning to function.

He has, therefore, to find a truth which is for him an immediate necessity. The Master will not tell him what it is; he must now formulate his own hint, based upon attained knowledge and recognised vision. He must then take action upon the basis of the hint, gauging the accuracy of his formulations by the measure of light, of intuitive perception and of revelation which appears to him to be present in his mind content. These factors should manifest if his formulation of the "hint of truth" is in line with his next delineated step. Certain factors must, therefore, be borne in mind if the disciple is to be sure of the ground upon which he stands, and if he is to know that the hint which he has forced to emerge out of the welter of unassimilated and heterogeneous knowledge is correct, and therefore vital for him. These factors are:

1. The hint upon which he is working will be, for him,

a. A summation or anchored thoughtform of any wisdom which he may have attained. I did not say summation[416] of knowledge, brother of mine, for wisdom and knowledge are two very different things.

b. Peculiarly distinguished by his ray quality, and therefore in line with his normal ray development. A hint, for instance, formulated by a first ray aspirant may have no meaning or instruction for an aspirant upon the third ray, and vice versa.

2. The hint upon which he is working will tend always towards the simplification of knowledge, of motive, and consequently of activity.

a. It will be distinguished by synthesis.

b. It will be recognised as calling for the exercise of the intuition or of the pure reason; this is what Patanjali describes as "straight knowledge," uncomplicated and, at the same time, profoundly inclusive.

c. It will be more easily interpreted by symbols than by words or by formulated sentences.

3. The hint upon which he is working will lead inevitably to revelation or into the light which will reveal the next step ahead, divorced from questionings and bewilderments. Such hints fall into various categories, indicative of progress and of attainment, i.e.,

a. Certain preliminary hints, concerning preparation for ashramic relationships.

b. Others concern the service to which the pledged disciple is committed by his soul and which his personality must ascertain and recognise as involving responsibility.

c. Others again will deal with the building of the antahkarana which will link the Spiritual Triad and the soul-infused personality. Such a hint was once given by a Master to one of His disciples, by way of illustration. He said: "Learn that all Ashrams are found upon the Antahkarana." It took the disciple a full two years to arrive at the hidden significance of this trite statement. Can you arrive at it in any quicker time?

d. Still other formulated hints deal with the particular initiatory process with which the disciple is faced. It [417] is for that reason that I earlier remarked that my one effort at this time, as far as you as a group are concerned, is to indicate the relation between Initiation and Revelation. There is no initiation possible without a preceding revelation, and yet each initiation leads to a subsequent revelation. The objective of all initiation is a conferred revelation, yet no initiation is attained without an earlier self-engendered and not conferred revelation.

Let me here give you certain esoteric "hints" which may give you some idea of the nature of the concepts which you—as a soul-infused personality—must learn to formulate. We will start with the one given above by the Master:

1. All Ashrams are found upon the Antahkarana.

2. In that light shall we see light.

3. The Way of the Higher Evolution is ever preceded by the destruction of all other ways.

4. The Will of God destroys the wills of men, but both are needed to complete the whole.

5. Radiation and magnetism, invocation and evocation, are four aspects of a dual whole and all must be unfolded by the Server.

6. The seven, the forty-nine and the one are only ONE and this the initiate must know within himself, discarding all but one.

7. Loyalty must give place to identification, and the light is ever merged in darkness.

These seven hints are all hints of which you can make use, if you care to do so. They all lie within your range of capacity and would contribute much to your unfoldment. You would find it of value to apply what I have here explained anent the sixth hint to the understanding of all the others, and note what progress you could make towards the needed revelation.

Let us now consider the seventh hint which runs as follows:

[418]

Hint Seven. "One of the marks of readiness for initiation is the ability to see the expanding and inclusive Whole, and to note the law which is transcended when the part becomes the Whole."

This sentence, with its many implications, is more than a hint, though two deeply significant hints are contained therein. It is a statement of individual, group, planetary and cosmic import and is the one hint out of the many which I have given to you in my various books and in these more particularised instructions which has a definite application for every single and isolated initiation. It is capable of indicating to the initiate—no matter what initiation he may be taking (from the lowest to the highest)—his readiness to undergo the expansion of consciousness which each initiation involves, the nature of the expanding vision with which he will then be confronted, and the higher reflection of the Law or Laws which initiation enables the initiate to grasp and thereby relinquish the laws which have hitherto governed his conduct and which have conditioned his realised life experience. Those laws he perforce continues to obey, as a member of the human kingdom, but his consciousness is not conditioned by them but is rapidly becoming subservient to a higher and a much more deeply spiritual law.

Some of the more obvious meanings of this seventh hint it might profit us to consider. Its significance is, however, something which will be revealed as a result of initiation; you can see, therefore, that a close study and a vital comprehension of Hint VI must normally precede any true understanding of this final hint which I have here given you. There are—needless to say—nine esoteric interpretations of this hint, corresponding to the nine initiations. This sentence both in its individual, tonic and orchestral sounding forth, carries information and illumination even to the planetary Logos when it is uttered during any cosmic initiation that the planetary Logos may be taking—and which He is Now doing.

This hint is working out today in the consciousness of humanity as a whole; the reason for this is that the perfected[419] Personality of Sanat Kumara—focussed at present in His creative throat centre, Humanity—is reverberating to the orchestral effect of the formula which embodies this hint from the cosmic angle. To this I need not further refer, for you could not understand. Nor do I to any great extent, brother of mine, being but an initiate of the fifth degree. The reason lying behind all this is that the planetary Logos in this particular world cycle is undergoing an initiation which will shift His focus into the hierarchical centre, into that centre of energy which we call the Hierarchy; from that point of attained focus He will submit to the cosmic initiation for which His planetary work—creative and magnetic—has prepared Him. As He, in His Own essential nature, makes progress, every phase of His manifesting body, His expressive Personality, is involved, with the emphasis of the conditioning energies working out through the two centres at this time pre-eminently active; i.e., the centre which we call the race of men, Humanity, in which the energy of intelligence is focussed and critically active, and the centre where the love of God is demonstrated, the Hierarchy. In these two centres a great activity is on the move and a vital expansion or moving outward is taking place.

Remember, brother of mine, initiation ever connotes activity, intelligent understanding, focussed attitude, deliberated movement, conditioning new rapports and the attainment of a new and greater ring-pass-not in consciousness.

Let me list the leading and quite obvious inferences contained in this seventh hint, reminding you that each separated phrase, statement or concept is only the basis or foundation for a new and further understanding. Each grasped inference is like a seed thought in an ordered, concentrated and successful meditation. It is well to remember that the initiate, prior to and during any initiation, has attained a mental attitude of the utmost concentration; this point of tension is something of which you know, as yet, little, and yet you glibly use the words: Meditation and Concentration. Temporarily, and in order to move forward and at the same time to leave behind, the initiate becomes a "static point of concentrated contemplation." He then stands before the [420] Initiator in an intense interior preoccupation with the world of significances. He only moves forward again, dropping then the static attitude, after the application of the Rod of Initiation. His ability to contemplate significances rests upon his trained capacity to move with ease in the world of meaning (the major task which confronts all of you at this time). The objective of the first two initiations is to enable the initiate to live in the world of meaning; the objective of the next four initiations—up to and including the sixth Initiation of Decision—is to enable him to live in the world of significances. This must be carefully borne in mind when pondering upon the temporary static condition of the initiate as he stands in the hall of initiation.

Here are the points which must be consciously noted in the hint under consideration; each of them veils a deeper meaning and can convey a vital esoteric significance. Let me quote this hint again in full:

"One of the marks of readiness for initiation is the ability to see this expanding and inclusive Entity, and to note the law which is transcended when the part becomes the Whole."

I prefaced this statement by the words that "the unit, the individual and the part are always viewed in relation to an expanding and inclusive whole." Let us consider this statement in detail:

1. The marks of readiness for initiation: What, my brother, are these marks? For what signs does the Master look before He presents His disciple to the Initiator? Are these marks to be seen present in the three bodies in the three worlds? Or are these marks only to be seen in the body which will be primarily affected by the initiation to be undergone? Initiation affects both the consciousness and the form—each in a different manner; the difference is brought about by the effect of the inflowing spiritual life and the divine will upon the two differing types of substance. Forget not, that in this solar system all that we [421] know—even of the very highest aspects—are substantial, because our seven planes (if I may reiterate this basic fact) are the seven subplanes of the cosmic physical plane—a fact which is often forgotten in the loose use of the word "spiritual." Again, can the initiate himself recognise and register the marks of fitness? These are all questions which you must answer before you can pass on to a deeper meaning and significance.

2. Ability to see the expanding Whole. This leads naturally to the inference that, from a point of limitation, the initiate becomes aware of more than he ever before realised was in existence, and this he grasps up to another point of limitation. You have, therefore:

a. Recognition of past attainment, leading to a point of temporary static expectancy.

b. Recognition of a capacity, hitherto unrealised, to see that which has hitherto escaped conscious registration.

c. Recognition of a movement of an expanding nature which increases the range of the initiate's vision and which indicates a new area, both of future conquest (from the conscious control angle) and of service. This recognition will end the moment of acquiescent waiting, and inaugurate a new cycle of deepened hierarchical activity.

d. Recognition of the limit of the permitted expansion of consciousness, with a simultaneous recognition that the widened periphery of consciousness and of activity of which the initiate has suddenly become aware indicates the borderline of a still further expansion. This, when later undergone, will enable the initiate to grasp the true significance of the words "the Whole." Area after area of the Body of Him "in Whom we live and move and have our being" is steadily revealed to the progressing initiate until some day he will know, even as he is known. He will then be granted a vision—dim and distant though it well may be—of that which expansion means to the planetary Logos—those fields of divine activity which lie outside our planetary ring-pass-not. For their understanding, [422] and for freedom of movement within those areas, all the past has prepared the initiate, and in the unfoldment of the three divine aspects of intelligence, love and will, the disciple or initiate has been creating the instrument and developing the faculties which will enable him to move out into solar or cosmic spheres of action, via one or other of the seven Paths; with these I have dealt as far as now is possible in the last volume of A Treatise on the Seven Rays, Vol. V.

e. Ability to see the ... inclusive Whole. This is the practical angle of the above mentioned reality. The initiateconsciously includes in his thinking this new area of the divine Life to which any particular initiation can introduce him. Seeing, recognising and registering the vision and recording the expansion in his consciousness is not enough. The initiate grasps the fact that he is presented with a widened and widening field of service for which he has the equipment, or at least the latent capacity; he begins to establish those conditions which will enable him to make his magnetic aura adequately inclusive and competent within the new field of revelation.

3. He notes the law which is transcended. The simple illustration of this can be given here in terms of the teaching to be found in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire. As a human being, the disciple was ruled and conditioned by the cosmic Law of Economy, along with its various subsidiary laws which were active and conditioning in the three worlds of human evolution. This law is the basic law of nature and of the natural evolving man. After the first initiation, he comes under the Law of Attraction which carries and wields the energy of love and—though the Law of Economy is then abrogated—it preserves an habitual control over the habitual process of the form vehicles which are now used under the Law of Attraction; this law works within the consciousness of man and also within the forms in the service of the Hierarchy. This Law of Attraction is a major soul law.

Later, after the fourth initiation, the disciple comes [423] increasingly under the Law of Synthesis, which is the major Law of the Spirit in the universe. His capacity then to include rapidly develops and his sense of awareness can (after the sixth Initiation of Decision) begin to range in an extra-planetary fashion. The meaning of all this may be only theoretical, as far as your understanding may be concerned; its significance must be carefully sought and this will not, by any means, prove an easy matter. Revelation will, however, come if you study what is said about these three major laws in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire.

4. The part becomes the Whole. This phrase marks a consummation, and all initiate-consummations are unexpected and even staggering in their import. Upon these words I do not care to enlarge. Their familiarity is such that they are necessarily meaningless to the average esoteric student. We say the words glibly and they voice a vague objective. Nevertheless, they veil and signify the most tremendous experience of which the human consciousness is capable, and one which looms with increasing magnificence during each successive initiation. They infer—to sum it all up—participation, consciousness and cooperation in the thinking and the planning of the planetary Logos. Ponder upon the importance of these words and upon what they signify in relation to the human being.

You will see, therefore, from this brief exegesis how each of these hints carries in it more than you might imagine or anticipate; each of them hides in its heart and at the very centre of its meaning the germ of an expanding realisation. Keep this thought ever in your minds as you seek to learn the significance of an esoteric hint and begin to draw correct inferences from the veiling symbology.

POINTS OF REVELATION

You will have noted from the previous instructions that these points of revelation are essentially planetary in nature, even if they may have—at first reading and consideration—an [424] individual connotation. These points of revelation concern the Hierarchy and its intelligent appreciation of the second or love aspect; they embody the fundamental realisations which the united group of Masters of the Wisdom bring definitely and consciously into the radius of Their awareness. As this phase of Their great work is carried forward, it frequently coincides with the initiatory processes which are being applied to initiates and disciples; they then become—if they are capable of the necessary understanding—participators in this great hierarchical activity. You will also note that each of these points of revelation can be phrased in such a manner that awareness of basic and fundamental law is conveyed to the student.

We have, therefore, in these five points of revelation, the expression of five hierarchical laws; it is interesting to realise that only the first point of revelation has been formulated into a law capable of ordinary human comprehension; this is the law that "energy follows thought" and that "the eye directs that energy." Mankind has reached the stage where comprehension of this first point of revelation is becoming possible and two factors have made this possible:

1. The formulation of this law related to energy coincided with modern scientific discovery, for today it is recognised that everything that exists is essentially energy in some form or another.

2. The enormous number of aspirants who have taken or who were in process of taking the first initiation.

Again, if you pause to think, you can see the processes of invocation and evocation in action.

The second, third and fourth points of revelation are (symbolically speaking) still retained within the Halls of Initiation, and their expression upon the physical plane—as an understandable law—still lies ahead and is subject to future elucidation. The second point will soon be capable of expression in the three worlds, because men are slowly coming to the realisation of the nature of the will and the right place [425] and proper reality of sacrifice in the divine scheme of revelation.

The fifth point of revelation is worded as follows:

"When the light of the seven Rays is blended with that of the seventh Ray, then light supernal can be known."

The implications attendant upon this fifth point are amazing at the first glance, and they demand an immediate recognition of the two factors of time and space. The significances which are implicit in this point may be clearer if I paraphrase the statement and thus give you a sense of significance which will give you understanding. When the energy of the light of all the rays can express itself through the medium of the seventh ray, then the highest aspect of the divine light can penetrate down into the physical plane. This must be obviously a most difficult statement for you to grasp, but it is also a statement of fundamental truth.

In an earlier instruction I pointed out that three ideas were involved in grasping the significance of these points of revelation and—once you have grasped them—they are beautifully clear and simple. The Procedure required for the manifestation of "light supernal" takes place when a transitory point of synthesis is reached and the seven energies are blended into one great energetic Light. These seven energies have ever, unitedly, created the "light supernal" upon the highest levels of divine expression, but that revealing light only finds Location when the seventh Ray of Ceremonial Order is active and in process of manifestation in the three worlds, and necessarily, therefore, upon the seventh plane, the physical plane. Such a manifestation inevitably takes place in moments of planetary crisis, when the seventh ray is active and when the Sun is in Aquarius. Such a combination of relationships is being established now, for the seventh ray is rapidly coming into manifestation and the Sun is in Aquarius, for the Aquarian Age is just beginning. The Objective of this combination (which has occurred six times during [426] the period of the fifth root-race) is to bring about illumination and the establishment of order upon the Earth. The first indication of the possibility of the effectiveness of these divine proposals was the giving out of the New Invocation; its potency was so great that right conditions had to be considered before its enunciation was possible. That was the first step in the planned precipitation of the "light supernal"; the second step will be the reappearance of the Great Lord, Who will act as the lens through which the light can be focussed and adapted to human need. Conditions are rapidly being brought about whereby this great event of light distribution will be possible. The Christ can and does function nowupon the atmic plane and embodies within Himself the great Point of Revelation which has been expressed by me in the words: "The Will is an expression of the Law of Sacrifice." The invocation now mounting from humanity to that high Place where dwells the Christ is, at this time, focussed in or originates upon the plane of the emotions; because of this, we find the words in the Scriptures that at the end of the age "the Desire of all Nations" will come forth. The movement to bring Him—from the angle of the masses—emanates, therefore, from the astral plane. The plans for His coming are being laid in the higher correspondence of that plane, the buddhic plane, or the plane of pure reason.

The motivating power for His coming is being provided by all disciples and initiates; it is therefore a joint movement, qualified by the desire and the motivation of the united Hierarchy and Humanity; this Invocation cannot consequently be denied. Astrologically, the time is propitious; from the planetary angle, great and momentous events are imminent, as the planetary Logos is taking a cosmic initiation; the energy which produces order and which magically brings spirit and matter together (the energy of the seventh ray) is already organising human affairs and these three great coinciding events in time and space make it possible for the seventh ray energies to reach a high point of fused activity and of blended cooperation.

The result will be the creation of a direct channel for the precipitation of "light supernal" into the three worlds and its [Page 427] dominant focussing upon the physical plane. Thus will be brought about the new civilisation and the new world order, and the new approach to divinity will be rendered possible; the initial steps will then be taken to create the "new heavens and the new earth." You will need here to discriminate carefully between symbols and facts; more, I need not here indicate.

In our consideration of this fifth point of revelation, a most complete picture is given of the three stages of the process, which I mentioned earlier: Penetration, Polarisation, Precipitation.

In this particular revelation, all the planes (of the cosmic physical plane) are involved; this, in itself, is unusual; the entire proceeding concerns the penetration of the blended seven rays throughout all the states of consciousness as indicated by the seven substantial planes. This must be remembered, because the concept of "planes" is almost irretrievably (and I use this word advisedly) associated with the idea of matter or of substance. This is basically correct, and yet the emphasis must be upon the aspect of consciousness as it informs substance. The effect of the penetration with which we are now dealing is upon the many varied types of consciousness which express themselves through the seven types of substance. The blended energies penetrate through the medium of stage after stage of conscious awareness; nevertheless, they only affect those forms of life which react instinctively to their influence. The importance of the present penetration lies in its completeness and in the fact that response to these blended energies is definitely more rapid and inclusive than ever before in planetary history.

There are, therefore, three stages in the penetrating process at this particular time:

1. The initial act of penetration which takes place "within the area guarded by the Spirits of the seven Rays." This connotes extreme activity in Shamballa and also necessitates the cooperation of the Lord of the World and of the entire Council over which He presides.

2. The achievement of a point of polarisation. The preceding [428] penetration of the energies reaches a point of focus upon the mental plane and there—for a brief time—an unique process of consolidation and of consequently greater fusion is brought about. In this unique moment in the history of humanity, this moment of potency is appropriated by mankind.

I wonder if you realise the gravity and the importance of this statement. Because humanity has passed through a great cleansing process and because in the world today there are many aspirants and disciples, the effect of these penetrating energies is such that they inevitably evoke response. They become polarised or focussed upon the mental plane. Because of this also, everybody who is mentally centred and controlled, as well as aspirationally motivated, is faced with an imperative opportunity. This opportunity is unprecedented in human history and is also based upon certain astrological relationships which I have also touched upon in this series.

3. Because of the evolutionary preparedness, evident in the consciousness of humanity, the penetration of energies which have already reached a point of polarisation upon the mental plane is now being continued, and the result is a definite precipitation of all these energies upon the physical plane, in dense physical substance; the precipitation is also evident in the ordinary consciousness of ordinary mankind. This statement, you will have to accept on faith. The evidence for the truth of the statement will be found in increased human receptivity to the will-to-good which the activity of all the seven rays (custodians of the divine purpose) promotes.

We are therefore, my brothers, living in a time of spiritual crisis. When a human crisis and a spiritual crisis coincide, there comes one of the major periods of opportunity and decision in general human affairs; hence the extreme gravity of the present moment. All I can do is to call it to your attention; it is for you to watch and interpret current events, and it is for you to note the expression of the precipitating and penetrating energies, in order to cooperate as far as your insight [429] permits, and thus further the right production of the required effects.

PART XI

One of the factors (and I believe I have earlier pointed this out) which has warred against a true understanding of initiation has been the puerile and feeble interpretations of it which the various occult groups have promulgated. Often have I wished that H.P.B. (my first and earliest amanuensis) and the many previous teachers of occult truth had given out nothing whatsoever about initiation, the Masters and the occult Hierarchy. Humanity was not ready, and the Hierarchy is not as it has been portrayed by earnest Theosophists and Rosicrucians. The Hierarchy has been pictured as a group of eager men, anxious to establish happy relations with humanity. In this, the Members of the Hierarchy are not primarily interested. The prime objective set before every Master of or in an Ashram is to see the purposes of Sanat Kumara working out successfully through the medium of hierarchical endeavour. Their work lies with the advanced thinkers in the human family who are capable of grasping the Plan and of penetrating to the periphery of hierarchical influence. The Masters seek disciples among the world intelligentsia, but They do not seek for them among those who constitutionally join occult groups and the ranks of the glamoured devotees who seek association with some Master. They seek for them among those who intelligently love their fellowmen and who are free from spiritual ambition and self-seeking. They never look for them among those who love the idea of being the sought and the beloved of the Masters. A man may have no practical knowledge of academic initiatory teaching but—if he loves his fellowmen and is dedicated to their service and can use his mind on their behalf—he is probably nearer to initiation than the devotees of the occult schools.

These schools have, however, done one vital and important task: they have familiarised mankind with the general concept of initiation; they have therefore posited an impelling [430] goal, and they have consequently served. This must not be forgotten. It is really not the fault of the individual that he warps and distorts a presented truth. It is his point in the evolutionary cycle which makes that inevitable. The moment that such a point in the evolutionary presentation is twisted and distorted so that it is not progressive in its appeal, but serves only to feed individual pride and the sense of personality achievement, it is necessarily not spiritual.

In our approach to the entire theme of initiation I would ask you ever to have this in your minds; I would ask you to seek for the different and not the usual approach to this much discussed theme; I would ask you to question all that makes you personally feel adequate to the initiatory demands, and to look for that which will lead you to exert all that you have of intuition and spiritual perception. I would beg you to repudiate all that makes you feel a devoted follower of the individuality of any Master and which leads you to feel that you are in the vanguard of the evolutionary wave. I would like, in this instruction, to give you a new slant on the initiatory processes and thus to present to you a fresh incentive to constructive endeavour and towards a commonsense approach to this subject. My reason for so doing was given you in our last instruction, when I said: "When the human crisis and the spiritual crisis coincide, there comes one of the major periods of opportunity and of decision. Hence the extreme gravity of the present moment." I would suggest therefore that we study this problem of the initiatory process from the angle of Penetration, of Polarisation, and of Precipitation. These are words which have a practical usefulness if correctly understood; I would ask you to consider them from the angle of your individual approach to the Initiator. There are consequently two angles to this needed consideration: that of yourself, the individual disciple, and that of the group of which you should be (are you?) an integral part. Let us therefore take up these points and see what we can learn from them. What penetrates? Or into what do you, as a disciple, seek to penetrate? Where are you polarised? And what do you really mean when you use that word? What is [431] precipitated when you have succeeded in the processes of penetration? or when you have arrived at a measure of polarisation? These are aspects of the teaching which are of importance; otherwise you are working with no intelligent perception and are using words without meaning.

Initiation is essentially a penetration into areas of the divine consciousness which are not within the normal field of consciousness of a human being. This initiatory penetration is achieved by the disciple through reflective meditation, the development of an interpretive spiritual understanding, plus the use of the trained discriminative mind. This leads eventually to the stabilisation of his consciousness in the new field of awareness, so that he becomes polarised there and can work intelligently from the attained point of awareness and of conscious vision. Once he can do this and is aware of the new energies with which he may now work, he enters the stage wherein he may precipitate these energies into the three worlds of human service and thus employ them for the furthering of the hierarchical Plan. These three stages of conscious activity—penetration, polarisation and precipitation—are definite and recognised stages in every initiation, with the exception of the first initiation. The disciple (as the Scriptures put it) "takes the Kingdom of Heaven by violence" and thus penetrates into the arena of activity of the Initiator; within that area of spiritual and dynamic influence he becomes polarised, with results which are conditioned by the particular initiation being undergone. From this point he carries forward the task of precipitating the contacted energies and learns how to make them available in his work for humanity.

At the same time, the Initiator "polarises" the energies of the "penetrating" disciple and "precipitates" them through his vehicle according to the Will or Purpose of divinity. The stage wherein the disciple is demonstrating the subjective fact that he is initiate is called the stage of penetration. That in which he stands face to face with

1. The Angel of the Presence,

[432]

2. The Initiator,

3. The Initiating Masters,

is termed the stage of polarisation. Then when the initiatory process is completed and "he returns from whence he came to carry out the Plan," the stage of precipitation takes place. Therefore, there are two processes of activity going forward simultaneously; i.e., that which is implemented by the Initiator, and one for which the advancing initiate is responsible.

The moment, therefore, that a disciple enters upon the Path of Initiation, he is—from the second to the ninth initiation—to be found functioning at one or other of these stages. He is either penetrating into new areas of divine awareness and penetrating deeply into the Mind of God, or he is learning to live and function from a point therein attained to which we give the name of polarisation, or else he is serving to the utmost of his ability in the precipitation of the energies which will make possible the manifestation of the Kingdom of God upon the physical plane.