A Student’s Abridgment of the
AGELESS WISDOM
Volume IV - “Esoteric Psychology II”
This series provides large-format abridgments of the seven core books written by Alice A. Bailey, that together comprise a large portion of that vast body of knowledge known as the Ageless Wisdom.
INTRODUCTION BY THE EDITOR
This abridgment is dedicated to the Tibetan and Alice A. Bailey,
and to all engaged with the work of uplifting the consciousness of humanity.
The work accomplished by Alice A. Bailey and the Tibetan, since revealed as the Master of Wisdom known by the name of Djwhal Khul, can hardly be given too much praise for in the Blue Books they succeeded in delivering a great deal of the Ageless Wisdom to the world. Their seven core books, each masterfully presented with the clarity and order of a textbook, represent the essential current of Truth that runs through the sciences, religions and philosophies of Man, and unites them all under cosmic law. Within their body of work are found the laws and processes that underlie the love of the Christ and the wisdom of the Buddha. Herein are found answers to the true nature of God, the Cosmos, Spiritual and Solar Fire, the not-self and the true Self.
I demonstrate my gratitude for their service by attempting to apply the essential teachings in my life, and this abridgment is just such an attempt. I am confident that the work was overseen not only by my Higher Self, but by both DK and AAB, for I felt their presences throughout the process. The sutratma that they created between themselves and their body of work is strong and alive with vibrancy, and it was their discrimination that I relied upon when selecting text for inclusion. Yet, the karma for errors and omissions between the Treatise and this humble abridgment, must necessarily rest upon my shoulders. I freely offer this abridgment to the world in the spirit of love and intelligent service, and I believe it will, as a thought-form rightfully conceived and constructed, succeed in its purpose.
The purpose of this abridgment is threefold:
This has in mind the following four aspects:
In Unity, Love and Light, Patrick Westfall
The Egoic Ray
Before taking up our subject as outlined at the close of the previous volume, I would like to speak a word as to the symbolism we will employ in discussing egoic and personality control. All that is said in this connection is in an attempt to define and consider that which is really undefinable and which is so elusive and subtle that though we may call it energy or force, those words ill convey the true idea. We must, therefore, bear in mind that, as we read and consider this treatise on psychology, we are talking in symbols. This is necessarily so, for we are dealing with the expression of divinity in time and space, and until man is consciously aware of his divinity and demonstrating it, it is not possible to do more than speak in parable and metaphor with symbolic intent—to be ascertained through the medium of the mystical perception and the wisdom of the enlightened man. As is often glibly said with little real understanding of the significance of the words used, we are dealing with forces and energies. These, as they cyclically run their course and play upon and intermingle with other energies and potencies, produce those forms in matter and substance, which constitute the appearance and express the quality of the great all-enfolding Lives and of the Life in which all "lives and moves and has its being."
The unfoldment of the human consciousness is signalised sequentially by the recognition of life after life, of being after being, and the realisation that these lives are in themselves the sum total of all the potencies and energies whose will is to create and to manifest. In dealing, however, with these energies and forces, it is impossible to express their appearance, quality and purpose except in symbolic form, and the following points should therefore be remembered:
As these three expressions of the One Great Life are realised by man on the physical plane, he begins to tune in consciously on the emerging Plan of Deity, and the whole story of the creative process becomes the story of God's realised purpose.
In the first place, as the third aspect is consciously developed, man arrives at a knowledge of matter, of substance and of outer creative activity. Then he passes on to a realisation of the underlying qualities which the form is intended to reveal, and identifies himself with the ego, the soul or solar angel. This he comes to know as his true self, the real spiritual man. Later, he arrives at the realisation of the purpose which is working out through the qualities, as they express themselves through the form.
The above paragraphs are only a summation of what has been earlier said, but it is necessary that there should be real clarity of thought on these matters. It is apparent as we study, how this entire sequential process of realisation pivots around form manifestation, and has relation to the quality and purpose of the divine Mind. This will inevitably be clear to the man who has studied the theme of A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, which deals specifically with the creative process and with manifestation. It deals therefore with the outer personality expression of that great all-encompassing Life, which we call God, for lack of a better term. We need to bear in mind that our universe (as far as the highest human consciousness can as yet conceive of it) is to be found on the seven subplanes of the cosmic physical plane, and that our highest type of energy, embodying for us the purest expression of Spirit, is but the force manifestation of the first subplane of the cosmic physical plane. We are dealing, therefore, as far as consciousness is concerned, with what might be regarded symbolically as the brain reaction and response to cosmic purpose; the brain reaction of God Himself.
In man, the microcosm, the objective of the evolutionary purpose for the fourth kingdom in nature is to enable man to manifest as a soul in time and space and to tune in on the soul purpose and the plan of the Creator, as it is known and expressed by the seven Spirits before the Throne, the seven planetary Logoi. But at this point we can only hint at a great mystery, which is that all that the highest of the Sons of God on our manifested planetary world can grasp is a partial realisation of the purpose and plan of the Solar Logos, as it is grasped, apprehended and expressed by one of the planetary Logoi Who is (in His place and term of office) conditioned and limited by His own peculiar point in evolution. A seventh part of the unfolding Plan is being expressed by our particular planetary Life, and because this great Being is not one of the seven sacred Lives and is therefore not expressing Himself through one of the seven sacred planets, the Plan as unfolded upon the Earth is a part of a dual expression of purpose, and only as another non-sacred planet reaches its consummation can the whole plan for the Earth be realised. This may not be easily understood, for, it has been said, only those who are initiated can grasp some of the significance of the statement that "The twain shall be one and together shall express divinity."
All that concerns humanity at this time is the necessity for a revelation and a gradual apprehension of the Plan which will enable man to:
All this has to be accomplished in the realm of conscious awareness or response, through the medium of steadily improving vehicles or response mechanisms, and with the aid of spiritual understanding and interpretation. With the bigger questions we will not deal. With the consciousness of the life of God as it expresses itself in the three subhuman kingdoms, we need not concern ourselves. We shall deal entirely with the following three points:
Man, the average human being, is a sum total of separative tendencies, of uncontrolled forces and of disunited energies, which slowly and gradually become coordinated, fused, and blended in the separative personality.
Man, the Solar Angel, is the sum total of those energies and forces which are unified, blended and controlled by that "tendency to harmony" which is the effect of love and the outstanding quality of divinity.
Man, the living Monad, is the veiled reality, and that which the Angel of the Presence hides. He is the synthetic expression of the purpose of God, symbolised through revealed, divine quality and manifested through the form. Appearance, quality, life—again this ancient triplicity confronts us.
Symbolically speaking, this triplicity can be studied as:
The work of evolution, being part of the determination of Deity to express divinity through form, is necessarily, therefore the task of revelation, and as far as man is concerned, this revelation works out as the growth of soul evolution and falls into three stages:
1. Individualisation....................Personality
2. Initiation...............................Ego
3. Identification........................ Monad
1. The Three Stages of Egoic Growth
We must hold the following statements firmly in our minds. The personality is a triple combination of forces, impressing and absolutely controlling the fourth aspect of the personality which is the dense physical body. The three personality types of energy are the etheric body, which is the vehicle of vital energy, the astral body which is the vehicle of the feeling energy or sentient force, and the mental body which is the vehicle of the intelligent energy of will that is destined to be the dominant creative aspect.
It is upon this truth that Christian Science has laid the emphasis. These forces constitute the lower man. The solar angel is a dual combination of energies—the energy of love, and the energy of will or purpose—and these are the qualities of the life thread. These two, when dominating the third energy of mind, produce the perfect man. They explain the human problem; they indicate the objective before man; they account for and explain the energy of illusion; and they point out the way of psychological unfoldment, which leads man (from the triangle of triplicity and differentiation) through duality to unity.
These truths are practical and hence we find today such dominant emphasis laid upon the understanding of the Plan amongst esotericists; hence likewise the work of the psychologists as they seek to interpret man and hence also their differentiations as to the human apparatus, so that man is seen—as it were—dissected into his component parts. The recognition is emerging that it is man's quality which outwardly determines his place on the ladder of evolution, but modern psychology of the extreme materialistic school erroneously supposes that man's quality is determined by his mechanism, whereas the reverse condition is the determining factor.
Disciples have the problem of expressing the duality of love and will through the personality. This statement is a true enunciation of the goal for the disciple. The initiate has the objective of expressing the Will of God through developed love and a wise use of the intelligence. The above preamble lays the ground for the definition of the three stages of egoic growth.
What, therefore, is individualisation from the standpoint of the psychological unfoldment of man? It is the focusing of the lowest aspect of the soul, which is that of the creative intelligence, so that it can express itself through the form nature. It will eventually be the first aspect of divinity thus to express itself. It is the emergence into manifestation of the specific quality of the solar angel through the appropriation, by that angel, of a sheath or sheaths, which thus constitute its appearance. It is the initial imposition of an applied directed energy upon that triple force aggregation which we call the form nature of man. The individual, on the way to full co-ordination and expression, appears upon the stage of life. The self-aware entity comes forth into physical incarnation. The actor appears in process of learning his part; he makes his debut and prepares for the day of full personality emphasis. The soul comes forth into dense form and on the lowest plane. The self begins the part of its career which is expressed through selfishness, leading finally to an ultimate unselfishness. The separative entity begins his preparation for group realisation. A God walks on earth, veiled by the fleshly form, the desire nature and the fluidic mind. He is a prey temporarily to the illusion of the senses, and dowered with a mentality which primarily hinders and imprisons but which finally releases and liberates.
There has been much written in The Secret Doctrine and A Treatise on Cosmic Fire on the subject of individualisation. It can be simply defined as the process whereby forms of life in the fourth kingdom in nature arrive at:
Today, the masses are occupied with the task of becoming conscious of themselves, and are developing that spirit or sense of personal integrity or wholeness which will eventuate in an increased self-assertiveness, that first gesture of divinity. This is well and good, in spite of the immediate complications and consequences in the world consciousness and state of being. Hence also the need for the immediate guidance of the disciples in every nation and their training in the life of correct aspiration, with their subsequent preparation for initiation. The task of the intelligent parent today and of the wise teacher of the young should be that of turning out, into world activity, those conscious individuals who will undertake the work of self-assertion in the affairs of today.
The mass psychology of accepting information indiscriminately, of giving prompt mass obedience to imposed limitations of personal liberty, without due understanding of the underlying reasons, and the consequent blind following of leaders, will only come to an end through the intelligent fostering of individual recognition of selfhood and the assertions of the individual as he seeks to express his own ideas. One of the basic ideas underlying all human and individual conduct, is the necessity for peace and harmony in order that man may specifically work out his destiny. This is the deep foundational belief of humanity. The first developed evidence of the emerging self-assertion of the massed individuals must therefore be turned in this direction, for it will constitute the line of least resistance. There will follow then the eradication of war and the establishing of those conditions of peace which will bring about the opportunity for trained and carefully cultured growth. The dictator is the individual who has, under the process, flowered forth into knowledge and power, and is an example of the effectiveness of the divine character, when permitted scope and as the product of the evolutionary process. He expresses many of the divine potentialities of man. But the dictator will some day be an anachronism, for when the many are at the stage of individual self-awareness and potency and seeking the full expression of their powers, he will be lost from sight in the assertion of the many. He, today, indicates the goal for the lower self, for the personality.
Before, however, the many men can be safely self-assertive, there must be an increased appearance of those who have passed beyond that stage, and of those who know, teach and demonstrate, so that the many constituting the intelligent group, composed of the self-aware individuals, can then identify themselves discriminatingly with group purpose, and submerge their separative identities in organised group activity and synthesis. This is the predominant task of the New Group of World Servers. It should be the aspiration of the world disciples today. This work of training the individuals in group purpose must be accomplished in three ways:
What, therefore, is Initiation? Initiation might be defined in two ways. It is first of all the entering into a new and wider dimensional world by the expansion of a man's consciousness so that he can include and encompass that which he now excludes, and from which he normally separates himself in his thinking and acts. It is, secondly, the entering into man of those energies which are distinctive of the soul and of the soul alone—the forces of intelligent love and of spiritual will. These are dynamic energies, and they actuate all who are liberated souls. This process of entering into and of being entered into should be a simultaneous and synthetic process, an event of the first importance. Where it is sequential or alternating, it indicates an uneven unfoldment and an unbalanced condition. There is frequently the theory of unfoldment, and a mental grasp anent the facts of the initiatory process before they are practiced experimentally in the daily life and thus psychologically integrated into the practical expression of the living process on the physical plane. Herein lies much danger and difficulty, and also much loss of time. The mental grasp of the individual is ofttimes much greater than his power to express the knowledge, and we have consequently those outstanding failures and those difficult situations which have brought the whole question of initiation into disrepute. Many people are regarded as initiates who are only endeavoring to be initiate. They are not, however, real initiates.
They are those well meaning people whose mental understanding outruns the power of their personalities to practice. They are those who are in touch with forces which they are not yet able to handle and control. They have done a great deal of the needed work of inner contact, but have not yet whipped the lower nature into shape. They are, therefore, unable to express that which they inwardly understand and somewhat realise. They are those disciples who talk too much and too soon and too self-centeredly, and who present to the world an ideal toward which they are indeed working, but which they are as yet unable to materialise, owing to the inadequacy of their equipment. They affirm their belief in terms of accomplished fact and cause much stumbling among the little ones, but at the same time, they are working towards the goal. They are mentally in touch with the ideal and with the Plan. They are aware of forces and energies utterly unknown to the majority. Their only mistake is in the realm of time, for they affirm prematurely that which some day they will be.
When initiation becomes possible, it indicates that two great groups of energies (those of the triple integrated personality and those of the soul or solar angel) are beginning to fuse and blend. The energy of the soul is beginning to dominate and to control the lower types of force, and—according to the ray of the soul—so will be the body in which that control will begin to make its presence felt. This will be elaborated later in the section dealing with the rays as they govern the various bodies; mental, emotional and physical. It should be remembered that very little egoic control need be evidenced when the first initiation is taken. That initiation indicates simply that the germ of soul life has vitalised and brought into functioning existence the inner spiritual body, the sheath of the inner spiritual man, which will eventually enable the man at the third initiation to manifest forth as "a full-grown man in Christ", and present at that time the opportunity to the Monad for that full expression of life which can take place when the initiate is identified consciously with the One Life. Between the first and second initiations, as has been frequently stated, much time can elapse and much change must be wrought during the many stages of discipleship. Upon this we will later dwell as we study the seven laws of egoic unfoldment.
Individualisation, carried to its full, consummates as the integrated personality, expressing itself as a unity through three aspects. This expression of personality involves:
A study of the outstanding individuals in all fields of world expression today, when entirely divorced from the higher group concepts and the constant spiritual aspiration to serve humanity, will indicate the nature of the consummated individuality and the success of this part of the divine plan. It should be carefully noted that the successful demonstration of the dominant individual is just as much a divine success in its proper place and time as is the case with the great Sons of God. One success, however, is the expression of the third aspect of divinity as it veils and hides the soul, and the other is the expression of two aspects of divinity (the second and the third) as they veil and hide the life aspect of the Monad. When this is grasped, our evaluation of world achievement will undergo change, and we will see life more truly and divorced from the glamour which distorts our vision and the vision of the great Personalities as well. It should also be borne in mind that individual separative success is in itself an evidence of soul activity, for every individual is a living soul, actuating the lower sheaths of bodies, and proceeding to
The above should prove to be immediately practical. Initiation carried to its consummation, as far as humanity is concerned, produces the liberated Master of the Wisdom, free from the limitations of the individual, garnering the fruits of the individualisation process and functioning increasingly as the solar angel, because focused primarily in the inner spiritual body. Awareness of the Presence is thus steadily developed. This fact merits the deep study and meditation of all disciples. As the three rays which govern the lower triplicity blend and synthesise and produce the vital personality, and as they in their turn dominate the ray of the dense physical body, the lower man enters into a prolonged condition of conflict. Gradually and increasingly, the soul ray, "the ray of persistent and magnetic grasp", as it is occultly called, begins to become more active; in the brain of the man who is a developed personality, an increased awareness of vibration is set up. There are many degrees and stages in this experience, and they cover many lives. The personality ray and the egoic ray at first seem to clash, and then later a steady warfare is set up with the disciple as the onlooker—and dramatic participator. Arjuna emerges into the arena of the battlefield. Midway between the two forces he stands, a conscious tiny point of sentient awareness and of light. Around him and in him and through him the energies of the two rays pour and conflict. Gradually, as the battle continues to rage, he becomes a more active factor, and drops the attitude of the detached and uninterested onlooker. When he is definitely aware of the issues involved, and definitely throws the weight of his influence, desires, and mind on to the side of the soul, he can take the first initiation.
When the ray of the soul focuses itself fully through him, and all his centres are controlled by that focused soul ray, then he becomes the transfigured Initiate, and takes the third initiation. The ray of the personality is occultly "extinguished" or absorbed by the ray of the soul, and all the potencies and attributes of the lower rays become subsidiary to and colored by the soul ray. The disciple becomes a "man of God"; a person whose powers are controlled by the dominant vibration of the soul ray and whose inner, sensitive mechanism is vibrating to the measure of that soul ray which—in its turn—is being itself reoriented to, and controlled by, the monadic ray. The process then repeats itself:
In these successive stages we can glimpse the vision of what we are and may be. Steadily the unfolding purpose of our own souls (those "angels of persistent and undying love") should gain fuller and deeper control over each of us, and this, at any personal cost and sacrifice, should be our steadfast aim. For this, in truth and sincerity, we should strive.
We have thus touched upon the three great divisions which mark the soul's progress towards its goal. Through the process of Individualisation, the soul arrives at a true self-consciousness and awareness in the three worlds of its experience. The actor in the drama of life masters his part. Through the process of Initiation, the soul becomes aware of the essential nature of divinity. Participation in full consciousness with the group and the absorption of the personal and individual into the Whole, characterise this stage on the path of evolution. Finally comes that mysterious process wherein the soul becomes so absorbed into that supreme Reality and Synthesis through Identification that even the consciousness of the group fades out, except when deliberately recovered in the work of service.
Naught is then known save Deity; no separation of any part, no lesser syntheses, and no divisions or differentiations. During these processes it might be stated that three streams of energy play upon the consciousness of the awakening man:
Life or essential energy is more than the activity of the atom, or of that living principle which produces self-perpetuation, reproduction, motion, growth, and that peculiar something which we call "livingness". It may be possible to "create" or produce the lowest or third aspect of life in the scientific laboratories so-called, but to reproduce or create the other and more essential aspects which work out as the conscious response, the intelligent embryonic purpose which seems to animate all substances, that is not possible. When the third initiation is reached, man will understand why this impossibility exists. More cannot be said, for until that initiation is experienced it would not be understood.
To bring more light upon this question of the triple expansion of consciousness (for all these crises are aspects of one great unfolding purpose or process) which we call individualisation, initiation, and identification, it should be borne in mind that these words connote something to us today—from the angle of our present point in evolution, from our inherited teaching and thought habits, and from the standpoint of modern knowledge and terminologies. Later they may appear in a totally different light when we know more and the race has advanced further into the light. But from the light which streams forth from that larger synthesis, and from the angle of vision of Those Whose consciousness is higher and greater and more inclusive than the human, the significance of these words may appear totally different. Definition is simply the expression of the immediate understanding of a human mind. But a definition may later be seen to be imperfect and even false, from the angle of a wider knowledge and a more inclusive grasp of wholes, (just as is the case with a so-called fact). Hence all definition, and eventually all facts, will be known to be temporary; all exegesis is but passing in its usefulness. The basic truths of today may be seen later as simply aspects of still greater truths, and when the greater truth is grasped, the significance and the interpretation of its formerly important part is seen to be widely different to what has supposed. This must never be forgotten by any who may read this Treatise on the Seven Rays. An initiate, reading the three words we have been considering, has a very different idea about them than has a disciple or a person who has never thought or studied along these lines, and to whom our vocabulary is novel and strange, conveying little meaning, and that usually quite incorrect.
In individualisation, the life of God which has been subjected to the processes of growth, stimulation and development in the three lower kingdoms, becomes focused in the fourth kingdom in nature, the human, through the agency of a "cycle of crisis", and becomes subjected to the influence of soul energy in one of the seven ray aspects. The quality of the form aspect, as embodied in the personality and expressed by the phrase, "the ray of the personality", becomes subject to the quality of the egoic ray.
Those two great influences play upon and affect each other, interacting all the time, producing modifications and changes until, slowly and gradually, the ray of the personality becomes less dominant, and the ray of the soul steadily assumes prominence. Eventually it will be the soul ray that will be expressed, and not the form ray. This personality or form ray then becomes simply the medium of expression through which the quality of the soul can make its presence felt in full power. Something of this idea is conveyed in the ancient occult phrase "the lesser fire must be put out by the greater light". A symbol of this can be seen in the power of the sun apparently to put out a little fire when it can pour its heat right into it.
It was earlier pointed out that we can profitably use the words; Life, Quality, Appearance—in lieu of Spirit, Soul and Body, for they express the same truth. The quality of matter, built up into human form and indwelt by the soul or solar angel, is that which normally colours the appearance. Later, this inherent quality of the appearance changes, and it is the quality nature of Deity (as expressed in the soul) which obliterates the quality of the forms. During the stage wherein it is the quality of matter which is the paramount influence, that material radiance makes itself felt in a triple form. These—from the angle of the entire sweep of the evolutionary process, and as far as the human personality is concerned—appear sequentially, and qualify the matter aspect with its three major presentations:
From the angle of these three ray influences, we have (in the life of the aspirant) a recapitulation of the triple process which we could call the "processes of unfoldment of the Lemurian, Atlantean, and Aryan consciousness." On the Path of Probation, the ray of the physical body must become subordinated to the potencies emanating from those soul rays which stream forth from the outer tier of petals in the egoic lotus.
These are the knowledge petals. On the Path of Discipleship, the astral body is brought into subjection by the ray of the soul as it pours through the second tier of petals, the love petals. Upon the Path of Initiation, until the third initiation, the ray of the mental body is subdued by the force of the petals of sacrifice, found in the third tier of petals. Thus the three aspects of the personality are brought into subjection by the energy emanating from the nine petals of the egoic lotus. After the third initiation, the whole personality, composed of the three aspects, becomes sensitive to the energy of pure electric fire or life, as it pours through the "closed bud at the heart of the egoic lotus." (See A Treatise on Cosmic Fire.)
The value of the above information consists in the fact that it gives, symbolically, a synthetic picture of man's unfoldment and higher relations. Its danger consists in the capacity of the human intellect to separate and divide, so that the process is regarded as proceeding in successive stages, whereas in reality there is often a paralleling activity going on, and much overlapping, fusing and interrelating of aspects, of rays and of processes, within the time cycle.
Such is the program for humanity, as it concerns the unfoldment of the human consciousness. The whole emphasis of the entire evolutionary process is, in the last analysis, placed upon the development of conscious, intelligent awareness in the life animating the various forms. The exact state of awareness is contingent upon the age of the soul. Yet the soul has no age from the standpoint of time, as humanity understand it. It is timeless and eternal. Before the soul there passes the kaleidoscope of the senses, and the recurring drama of outer phenomenal existence; but throughout all these occurrences in time and space, the soul ever preserves the attitude of the Onlooker and of the perceiving Observer. It beholds and interprets. In the early stages, when the "Lemurian consciousness" characterises the phenomenal man, that fragmentary aspect of the soul which indwells and informs the human form, and which gives to the man any real human consciousness which may be present, is inert, inchoate and unorganised; it is devoid of mind as we understand it, and is distinguished only by a complete identification with the physical form and its activities. This is the period of slow tamasic reactions to suffering, joy, pain, to the urge and satisfaction of desire, and to a heavy subconscious urge to betterment. Life after life passes, and slowly the capacity for conscious identification increases, with a growing desire for a larger range of satisfactions; the indwelling and animating soul becomes ever more deeply hidden, the prisoner of the form nature. The entire forces of the life are concentrated in the physical body, and the desires then expressed are physical desires; at the same time there is a growing tendency towards more subtle desires, such as the astral body evokes.
Gradually, the identification of the soul with the form shifts from the physical to the astral form. There is nothing present at this time which could be called a personality. There is simply a living, active physical body, with its wants and desires, its needs and its appetites, accompanied by a very slow yet steadily increasing shift of the consciousness out of the physical into the astral vehicle.
When this shift, in course of time, has been successfully achieved, then the consciousness is no longer entirely identified with the physical vehicle, but it becomes centred in the astral-emotional body. Then the focus of the soul's attention, working through the slowly evolving man, is in the world of desire, and the soul becomes identified with another response apparatus, the desire or astral body His consciousness then becomes the "Atlantean consciousness." His desires are no longer so vague and inchoate; they have hitherto been concerned with the basic urges or appetites; first, his urge to self- preservation; then to self-perpetuation through the urge to reproduce; and next, to economic satisfaction. At this stage we have the state of awareness of the infant and the raw savage.
Gradually, however, we find a steadily growing inner realisation of desire itself, and less emphasis upon the physical satisfactions. The consciousness slowly begins to respond to the impact of the mind and to the power to discriminate and choose between various desires; the capacity to employ time somewhat intelligently, begins to make its presence felt. The more subtle pleasures begin to make their appeal; man's desires become less crude and physical; the emerging desire for beauty begins to appear, and a dim sense of aesthetic values. His consciousness is becoming more astral-mental, or kama-manasic, and the whole trend of his daily attitudes, or his modes of living, and of his character begins to broaden, to unfold, and to improve. Though he is still ridden by unreasoning desire most of the time, yet the field of his satisfactions and of his sense-urges are less definitely animal and more definitely emotional. Moods and feelings come to be recognised, and a dim desire for peace and the urge to find that nebulous thing called "happiness" begin to play their part. This corresponds to the period of adolescence and to the state of consciousness called Atlantean. It is the condition of the masses at this present time. The bulk of human beings are still Atlantean, still purely emotional in their reactions and in their approach to life. They are still governed predominantly by selfish desires and by the calls of the instinctual life. Our earth humanity is still in the Atlantean stage, whereas the intelligentsia of the world, and the disciples and aspirants, are passing rapidly out of this stage, for they reached individualisation on the moon chain, and were the Atlanteans of past history.
In the more advanced people of the world today, we have the functioning of the mind-body; this is to be found in a large scale in our Western civilisation. The energy of the ray of the mental body begins to pour in, and slowly to assert itself. As this happens, the desire nature is brought under control, and consequently the physical nature can become more definitely the instrument of mental impulses. The brain consciousness begins to organise and the focus of energies begins to shift gradually out of the lower centres into the higher. Mankind is developing the "Aryan consciousness" and is reaching maturity. In the more advanced people of the world, we have also the integration of the personality and the emergence into definite control of the personality ray, with its synthetic, coherent grip of the three bodies and their fusing into one working unit. Later, the personality becomes the instrument of the indwelling soul.
The above is a simple and direct statement of a long and difficult evolutionary unfoldment. Its very simplicity will indicate that we have only dealt with the broad outlines, and have ignored the infinite detail of process. The work starts at Individualisation, and continues through the two final stages of Initiation and Identification. These three stages mark the progress of the soul consciousness from that of identification with the form to that of identification with the Self. These three words— individualization, initiation and identification; cover the whole process of man's career from the time he emerges into the human kingdom till he passes out of it at the third initiation, and functions freely in the fifth kingdom, the kingdom of God. By that time, he has Iearnt that consciousness is free and unlimited, and can function in form or out of form according to the behest of the soul, or as the Plan can best be served. The soul is then in no way conditioned by form. Just as man can express himself in what is called three-dimensional living, so, by the time he takes the third initiation, he can function actively and consciously in four dimensions, and in the final stages of the Path of Initiation he becomes active fifth-dimensionally.
As we consider these various degrees of expanding awareness, the significant fact to be borne in mind is that through it all there is one steady, sequential unfoldment taking place. The life of the soul, in this great life cycle which we call human incarnation, passes on the phenomenal plane through all the stages with the same direction, power, steadiness in growth and in the adaptability of form to circumstance and environment, as does the life of God as it flows through the various Kingdoms in nature from age to age. The thread of the unfolding consciousness can be traced with clarity in all.
Forms are built, used and discarded. Cycles of lives bring the forms into certain phases of unfoldment needed by the progressively inclusive consciousness. Other and later cycles demonstrate the definite and specific effects of this developed consciousness, for some lives are predominantly fruitful in producing causes (which is a paradoxical sentence with deep meaning) and others in working off the effects of the earlier initiated causes. This is a point not often emphasised. Still later cycles of lives bring these two aspects—consciousness and form—into a greater rapport, and thus produce an entirely different type of life. The correspondence to these cycles can be seen working out in the life and consciousness of the planetary Logos, as that great Life seeks expression through the medium of the four kingdoms in nature.
However, (and this is the fact of supreme importance), all this activity, all this directed unfoldment, all this evolving purpose and livingness, all the events in all the kingdoms of nature, and all the phases of life-conditioning in the human family, plus the kaleidoscope of events, the emergence of characteristics and tendencies, the appearance of forms with their unique colouring, qualities and activities, the syntheses and fusions, the urges, instincts and aspirations, the manifested loves and hates (as expressions of the great law of attraction and repulsion), the producing of civilisations, of the sciences and arts in all their wonder and beauty; all this is but the expression of the will-to-be of certain Beings or Lives. Their consciousness so far transcends the human that only the initiate of high degree can enter into Their true Plan. What we see today is only the expression of Their energies in the processes of form-making and of the evolution of consciousness. The Plan, as it is sensed by the world disciples, in the attempt to work and cooperate with it, is only the sensing of that portion of it which concerns the human consciousness. We have not yet been able to catch even a glimmer of the vastness of the synthetic Plan for evolutions other than human, both superhuman and subhuman; nor can we grasp the fabric of God's ideal as it underlies the sum total of the manifested processes, even upon our little planet. All we really know is the fact of the Plan, and that it is very good; that we are enfolded within it and subject to it.
Herein may be found a clue to the difficult problem of free will. It might be said that within the limits of the intelligent direction of the intelligent man there is free will, as far as activity in the human kingdom is concerned. Where no mind activity is present and where there is no power to discriminate, to analyse and to choose, there is no free will. Within the vaster processes of the Plan, however, as it includes the entire planetary evolution, there is, for the tiny unit, man, no free will. He is subject, for instance, to what we call "acts of God", and before these he is helpless. He has no choice and no escape. Herein lies a hint upon the working of karma in the human kingdom; karma and intelligent responsibility are inextricably woven and interwoven.
As we close our discussion of the three steps of Individualisation, Initiation, and Identification, which mark the progress of the soul from identification with form until it loses itself and its own identity in a higher identification with the Absolute One, let us carry our thoughts forward to that point in time and space wherein the spiritual consciousness releases itself from all the categories of awareness and all differentiations, and from the final sense of selfhood, and merges itself in that sublime condition in which self-centredness (as we understand it) disappears. We shall later consider the stages wherein the soul—impelled thereto by its peculiar ray qualities—appropriates to itself (for purposes of experience) those forms which can be expressive of, and responsive to, the many types of divine awareness.
It should be noted here, therefore, that there are, literally, two points of identification in the long experience of the soul. One marks the stage wherein form, matter, substance, time and space are controlling factors, and imprison the soul within their types of consciousness. This connotes identification with form life. The other connotes identification with all that lies outside of form expression and is released from it. What that may be lies beyond the grasp of our present advanced humanity, and is only known in its true significance by such great Existences as the Christ, the Buddha and Those of analogous rank in the Hierarchy of Lives. The qualities generated and developed through the first of these identifications persist and colour the conscious realisation, and it must be remembered that the final identification is the result of the experience gained through the medium of the first.
These qualities will vary according to the dominance of one or other of the ray energies, but there will be—in the final stages—no consciousness of quality or ray type, but simply a state of Being or of livingness that realises identification with the Whole and which, at the same time, holds in solution (if one may use so unsatisfactory a term) all the results of the lesser identifications, the various differentiations and distinctions, and the many ray instincts, impulses, and intuitions. The garnered and expressed qualities, and the possible actions and reactions and awarenesses are equally eternally present and capable of re- acquisition at will, but they are all held below the threshold of consciousness. Livingness, Being, Wholeness and Unity are the distinctive characteristics of this highly evolved stage, which is, in its turn, the foundation for that higher evolutionary cycle of which we know nothing but which is hinted at in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire and in all references to the seven Paths which open up before the adept of the fifth initiation. Absorption into the One Life is the nature of this elevated state of consciousness.
Freedom from all that is implied in the use of the words Form and Ego is the major characteristic, and, therefore, many ancient Scriptures, when attempting to deal with and explain this supernormal and superlative condition, are forced back into the use of negatives, and the so-called "doctrine of negation". Only by indicating what this state or condition of awareness is not, can any idea be conveyed of what it essentially is. The negations thus met with (and frequently misunderstood by the occidental reader) are, therefore, the result of the futility and inadequacy of language to express the Reality then known.
After the major initiations are undergone, the state of consciousness of the illumined and liberated adept is such that language serves only to blind and to hinder true understanding. The consciousness of the initiate is of so lofty a nature that it can only be described in terms of release, of negation, and through the emphasis of that which it is not. It is a state of No-thing and Non-ego, for all egoic awareness is superseded by a state of Being and of consciousness which is only capable of comprehension and expression when form life is of no further use to the perfected spiritual life. It is a state of non-individuality, yet with the subconscious knowledge and gains of the individual experience. The centre of consciousness is so far removed from any individual separate identity that that particular factor has faded entirely out, and only the macrocosmic life is sentiently realised. It is a state of nonactivity from our present angle of vision, because all individual reactions to the activity of matter or to that state of being which we call egoic, have dropped away, and Life and Mind can no longer be swept into motion by any of the factors which have hitherto produced what we have called soul activity and form existence.
Nevertheless, though the consciousness is other than all that has been hitherto known, and though it can only be expressed in terms of negation, the truth must be borne constantly in mind that the greater awareness must always include the lesser awarenesses. Consequently all possible actions and reactions, identifications and focusings, awarenesses and contacts, ray impulses, approaches and withdrawals, and all possible expressions of the divine activity and qualities, phenomenal and non- phenomenal, are included in the state of Being which is now the natural state of the liberated and enlightened spiritual Existence. All are possible of recovery through the will or in response to a need, but the spiritual Being is no longer held by them or identified with them. Each of the stages on the great Path of Liberation or Enlightenment with which we have been concerned—Individualisation, Initiation and Identification—have led the Life or the spiritual, interior man, from point to point, from quality to quality, from realisation to realisation, from phenomenal appearance to spiritual living, from physical awareness to sentient, emotional awareness, and from that to mental differentiation and separateness. He has been carried from hell to heaven, from heaven to Nirvana, from the life- conditioning of the personal Ego to that of the group soul, and thence to that of the liberated state of pure intuitional life. He has passed from form experience as a whole to that complete freedom from all vibratory impressions which it is the nature of pure Being (divorced from phenomenal existence) to demonstrate. But at the same time, nothing is lost of capacity, or quality or of sentient awareness.
This is beautifully expressed for us in the words of the Old Commentary, found in the archives of the Masters:
"The quality of life fades out. It flickers and is gone. Yet the Blessed Ones reveal at will that quality. The colour pure remains. The nature of life in form fails to appear. It flashes forth a little while, then disappears. The Blessed Ones, at will, can take a form, yet are not then the form. The seven great rays sweep into manifested life. They are, and then are not. All is and all is not. But the Blessed Ones at any time can sweep forth into manifested light. They carry then the potencies of spirit to meet the need expressed. Light holds Them not; Their purpose is not imprisoned; Their will is not subdued. They appear and disappear at will."
An expression of the truth of this can be seen demonstrating in the world each full moon of May, when the Buddha flashes forth into manifestation, for the fulfillment of the Plan and at the urgent behest of His own spiritual will.
"Naught holds the Blessed Ones. Neither the deities nor form; neither desire nor mind; nor any quality of life. Pure life they are; pure being and pure will; pure love and pure intent; this is all that unenlightened man can grasp, and only that in part.
The Blessed Ones are not, and yet They are.
The Blessed Ones know naught, and yet know all.
The Blessed Ones love not, yet offer love divine.
The Blessed Ones remember not, yet all is recollection.
The Blessed Ones remain in isolation pure; and yet at will can take a form.
The Blessed Ones dwell ever in the high and lofty place, yet oft can walk on earth in light phenomenal.
The Blessed Ones manifest not through form; yet are all forms and all intents."
Then the Old Commentary runs through what would constitute many pages of writing, shewing that the Blessed Ones are naught and yet are all there is; that They possess nothing and yet are in Themselves the expression of all reality; that They dwell nowhere and yet are found everywhere; that They have faded out and yet are shining in full radiance and can be seen. Negation after negation is piled up, only promptly to be contradicted in an effort to shew how divorced from, and yet inclusive of, form is the life of the Blessed Ones. It ends with the wonderful injunction:
"Therefore be full of joy, O pilgrim on the Way towards enlightened Being, for gain and loss are one; darkness and light eternally reveal the True; love and desire eternally invoke the Life.
Naught disappears but pain. Nothing remains but bliss;
the bliss of knowledge true, of contact real, of light divine, the Way to God."
Such is the true goal, as yet unrealisable by us. What is it that we are endeavoring to do? We are treading the Way of Release, and on that way, all drops from our hands; everything is taken away, and detachment from the world of phenomenal life and of individuality is inevitably forced upon us. We are treading the Way of Loneliness, and must learn eventually that we are essentially neither ego nor non-ego. Complete detachment and discrimination must finally lead us to a condition of such complete aloneness that the horror of the great blackness will settle down upon us. But when that pall of blackness is lifted and the light again pours in, the disciple sees that all that was grasped and treasured, and then lost and removed, has been restored, but with this difference—that it no longer holds the life imprisoned by desire.
We are treading the Way that leads to the Mountain Top of Isolation, and will find it full of terror. Upon that mountain top we must fight the final battle with the Dweller on the Threshold, only to find that that too is an illusion. That high point of isolation and the battle itself are only illusions and figments of unreality; they are the last stronghold of the ancient glamour, and of the great heresy of separateness. Then we, the Beatific Ones, will eventually find ourselves merged with all that is, in love and understanding. The isolation, a necessary stage, is itself but an illusion. We are treading the Way of Purification and step by step all that we cherish is removed; lust for form life, desire for love, and the great glamour of hatred. These disappear and we stand purified and empty.
The distress of emptiness is the immediate result; it grips us and we feel that the price of holiness is too high. But, standing on the Way, suddenly the whole being is flooded with light and love, and the emptiness is seen as constituting that through which light and love may flow to a needy world. The purified One can dwell then in that place where dwell the Blessed Lords, and from that place go forth to "illumine the world of men and of the deities".
There are four ways which stretch before the disciples of the Lord of the World. They must all be trodden before the inner Being is released, and the liberated Son of God can enter, at will, what are symbolically called "the four gates into the City of Shamballa"; that city of the Most High God, which is ever swept by the Life of Those who have achieved liberation through loneliness, detachment, isolated unity, and purification. A realisation of the goal and the way to that goal is of service at this time, and it is to this realisation that the teachers of humanity seek to stimulate the Sons of God.
According to the ray type or quality, so will be the reaction of the life to the great stages of Individualisation, Initiation, and Identification. This is a major occult platitude, but it is one that is much in need of consideration and reflection. Let us bear in mind always that we are considering qualities which govern appearances and express the life. What is called in the Eastern literature "the Blessed One" refers to One who is perfectly expressing some ray quality through some chosen phenomenal appearance, which is assumed at will for purpose of service, but which in no way constitutes a limitation and in no way holds the Blessed One a prisoner, because His consciousness is in no way identified with the phenomenal appearance, nor with the quality it expresses.
We will express the reaction of these seven ray types to the process of Individualisation (which is the process of identification with form) by seven occult statements which can, if properly understood, give the keynote of the new psychology. They state the major impulse, the native quality, and the technique of unfoldment.
Ray One
"The Blessed One flies like an arrow into matter. He destroys (or ruptures) the way by which he might return. He grounds himself deeply in the depths of form. He asserts: 'I will return. My power is great. I will destroy all obstacles. Nothing can stop my progress to my goal. Around me lies that which I have destroyed. What must I do?'
The answer comes: 'Order from chaos, O Pilgrim on the way of death, this is the way for you. Love you must learn. Dynamic will you have. The right use of destruction for the furtherance of the Plan, must be the way for you. Adherence to the rhythm of the planet will release the hidden Blessed One and order bring.'"
Ray Two
"The Blessed One built him an ark. Stage by stage he built it, and floated upon the bosom of the waters. Deeply he hid himself, and his light was no more seen; only his floating ark.
His voice was heard: 'l have built and strongly built, but am a prisoner within my building. My light is hidden. Only my word goes forth. Around me lie the waters. Can I return from whence I came? Is the word strong enough to open wide the door? What shall I do?'
The answer came: 'Build now an ark translucent, which can reveal the light, O Builder of the ark. And by that light you shall reveal the lighted way. The power to build anew, the right use of the Word, and the using of the light; these will release the Blessed One, deep hidden in the ark.'"
Ray Three
"The Blessed One gathered force. He hid himself behind a veil. He rolled himself within that veil, and deeply hid his face. Naught could be seen but that which veiled, and active motion. Within the veil was latent thought.
The thought reached forth: 'Behind this veil of maya I stand, a Blessed One, but unrevealed. My energy is great, and through my mind I can display the glory of divinity. How can I, therefore, demonstrate this truth? What shall I do? I wander in illusion.'
The word went forth: 'All is illusion, O Dweller in the shadows. Come forth into the light of day. Display the hidden glory of the Blessed One, the glory of the One and Only. The glory and the truth will rapidly destroy that which has veiled the truth. The prisoner can go free. The rending of the blinding veil, the clear pronouncing of the truth, and practice right will render to the Blessed One that golden thread which will provide release from all the maze of earth existence.'"
Ray Four
"The Blessed One rushed forth to combat. He saw existence as two warring forces, and fought them both. Loaded with the panoply of war, he stood midway, looking two ways. The clash of battle, the many weapons he had learned to use, the longing not to fight, the thrill of finding those he fought were but brothers and himself, the anguish of defeat, the paean of his victory; these held him down.
The Blessed One paused and questioned: 'Whence come the victory and whence defeat? Am I not the Blessed One Himself? I will invoke the angels to my aid.'
The trumpet sound went forth: 'Rise up and fight, and reconcile the armies of the Lord. There is no battle. Force the conflict to subside; send for the invocation for the peace of all; form out of two, one army of the Lord; let victory crown the efforts of the Blessed One by harmonising all. Peace lies behind the warring energies.'"
Ray Five
"The Blessed One came forth in ignorance. He wandered in a darkness deep of spirit. He saw no reason for this way of life. He sought among the many threads that weave the outer garment of the Lord, and found the many ways there be, leading to the centre of the web eternal. The forms that weave that web hide the divine reality. He lost himself. Fear entered in.
He asked himself: 'Another pattern must be woven; another garment formed. What shall I do? Shew me another way to weave.'
The Word for him came forth in triple form. His mind responded to the vision clear evoked:'The truth lies hidden in the unknown Way. The Angel of the Presence guards that Way. The mind reveals the Angel and the door. Stand in that Presence. Lift up thine eyes. Enter through that golden door.
Thus will the Angel, who is the shadow of the Blessed One, reveal the open door. That Angel too must disappear. The Blessed One remains and passes through that door into the light sublime.'"
Ray Six
"The Blessed One caught the vision of the Way, and followed the Way without discretion. Fury characterised his efforts. The way led down into the world of dual life. Between the pairs of opposites, he took his stand, and as he swung pendent between them, fleeting glimpses of the goal shone forth.
He swung in mid-heaven. He sought to swing into that radiant place of light, where stood the door upon the higher Way. But ever he swung between the pairs of opposites.
He spoke at last within himself: 'I cannot seem to find the Way. I try this way, and tread with force that way, and always with the keenest wish. I try all ways. What shall I do to find The Way?
A cry went forth. It seemed to come from deep within his heart: 'Tread thou, O Pilgrim on the Way of sensuous life, the middle, lighted way. It passes straight between the dual worlds. Find thou that narrow, middle way. It leads you to your goal. Seek that perceptive steadiness which leads to proved endurance. Adherence to the chosen Way, and ignoring of the pairs of opposites, will bring this Blessed One upon the lighted way into the joy of proved success.'"
Ray Seven
"The Blessed One sought the pathway into forms but held with firmness to the hand of the Magician. He sought to reconcile the Pilgrim, who was himself, to life in form. He sought to bring the world of disorder in which he found himself into some kind of order. He wandered far into the deepest depths and became immersed in chaos and disorder. He could not understand, yet still held to the hand of the Magician. He sought to bring about that order that his soul craved. He talked with all he met, but his bewilderment increased.
To the Magician thus he spoke: 'The ways of the Creator must be good. Behind all that which seems to be, must be a Plan. Teach me the purpose of it all. How can I work, immersed in deepest matter? Tell me the thing that I must do?'
The Magician said: 'Listen, O Worker in the furthest world, to the rhythm of the times. Note the pulsation in the heart of that which is divine. Retire into the silence and attune yourself unto the whole. Then venture forth. Establish the right rhythm; bring order to the forms of life which must express the Plan of Deity.'
For this Blessed One release is found in work. He must display his knowledge of the Plan by the sounding of those words which will evoke the Builders of the forms and thus create the new."
It might be of value, if here were summarized in more simple and less occult terms, the significance of the above esoteric stanzas, to express their true meaning in a few succinct and terse phrases. The stanzas are of no use unless they convey to the ray types among the students of this Treatise some useful meaning, whereby they can live more truly.
The individualised Spirit expresses itself through the various ray types in the following manner:
Ray One
Dynamic one-pointedness. Destructive energy. Power realised selfishly. Lovelessness. Isolation, a longing for power and authority. Desire to dominate. Expressed strength and self-will, leading to a dynamic use of energy for the furtherance of the Plan. The use of destructive forces in order to prepare the way for the Builders. The will to power in order to cooperate. Power realised as the major weapon of love. Identification with the rhythm of the Whole. The cessation of isolation.
Ray Two
The power to build for selfish ends. Capacity to sense the Whole and to remain apart. The cultivation of a separative spirit. The hidden light. The realisation of selfish desire. Longing for material well-being. Selfishness, and subordination of all soul powers to this end, leading to Building wisely, in relation to the Plan. Inclusiveness. A longing for wisdom and truth. Sensitivity to the Whole. Renunciation of the great heresy of separativeness. The revelation of the light. True illumination. Right speech through generated wisdom.
Ray Three
Force manipulation through selfish desire. Intelligent use of force with wrong motive. Intense material and mental activity. The realisation of energy as an end in itself. Longing for glory, beauty and for material objectives. Submergence in illusion, glamour, and maya, leading to the manipulation of energy in order to reveal beauty and truth. The use of forces intelligently for the furtherance of the Plan. Ordered rhythmic activity in cooperation with the Whole. Desire for right revelation of divinity and light. Adherence to right action. The revelation of glory and good will.
Ray Four
Confused combat. The realisation of that which is high and that which is low. The darkness which precedes form expression. The veiling of the intuition. The sensing of inharmony, and cooperation with the part and not the whole. Identification with humanity, the fourth Creative Hierarchy. Undue recognition of that which is produced by speech. Abnormal sensitivity to that which is the Not Self. Constant points of crisis, leading to
Unity and harmony. The evocation of the intuition. Right judgment and pure reason. The wisdom which works through the Angel of the Presence.
I could here point out a constant misconception on the part of esotericists. This Fourth Ray of Harmony, Beauty and Art is not the ray, per se, of the creative artist. The creative artist is found equally on all rays, without exception. This ray is the ray of the intuition and of the harmonising of all that has been achieved through the activity of form life, as later synthesised and absorbed by the solar angel; it manifests eventually as all that can be evoked and evolved through the power of the One Life (the Monad) working through form expression. It is the point of meeting for all the energies flowing through the higher spiritual triad and the lower triplicity.
Ray Five
The energy of ignorance. Criticism. The power to rationalise and destroy. Mental separation. Desire for knowledge. This leads to material activity. Detailed analysis. Intense materialism and temporarily the negation of Deity. Intensification of the power to isolate. The implications of wrong emphasis. Distorted views of truth.
Mental devotion to form and form activity. Theology, leading to a knowledge of reality. The realisation of the soul and its potentialities. Power to recognize and contact the Angel of the Presence. Sensitivity to Deity, to light and to wisdom. Spiritual and mental devotion. The power to take initiation. (This is a point of real importance.)
Ray Six
Violence. Fanaticism. Willful adherence to an ideal. Short sighted blindness. Militarism and a tendency to make trouble with others and with groups. The power to see no point except one's own. Suspicion of people's motives. Rapid reaction to glamour and illusion. Emotional devotion and bewildered idealism. Vibratory activity between the pairs of opposites. Intense capacity to be personal and emphasise personalities, leading to directed, inclusive idealism. Steadiness of perception through the expansion of consciousness. Reaction to, and sympathy with, the point of view of others. Willingness to see the work of other people progress along their chosen lines. The choosing of the middle way. Peace and not war. The good of the Whole and not the part.
Ray Seven
Black magic, or the use of magical powers for selfish ends. The power to "sit upon the fence" till the selfish values emerge. Disorder and chaos, through misunderstanding of the Plan. The wrong use of speech to bring about chosen objectives. Untruth. Sex magic. The selfish perversion of soul powers. leading to white magic, the use of soul powers for spiritual ends. The identification of oneself with reality. Right order through right magic. Power to cooperate with the Whole. Understanding of the Plan. The magical work of interpretation. Manifestation of divinity.
A close study of the above suggested phrases, showing as they do the wrong and the right major expressions of ray force, will aid the student correctly to comprehend his own ray nature, and also whereabouts he stands in his development. One of the major faults of disciples today is the paying of too close attention to the faults, errors and activities of other disciples, and too little attention to their own fulfillment of the law of Iove, and to their own dharma and work. A second failing of disciples (and particularly of the working and accepted disciples in the world at this present time) is incorrect speech conveying ambiguous meanings and motivated by criticism, or by an individual desire to shine. In olden days, the neophyte was forced into a prolonged silence. Speech was not permitted. This was inculcated as a check upon physical utterance of wrong words and ideas, based on inadequate knowledge. Today, the neophyte must learn the same lesson of attention to personal perfection and to personal work through the means of that inner silence which broods over the disciple and forces him to attend to his own work and business, leaving others free to do the same, and so learn the lesson of experience. A great deal of present right activity is hindered by the speech interplay between disciples, and much time is lost through wordy discussion of the work and activities of other disciples.
Humanity, as a whole, needs silence at this time as never before; it needs time in which to reflect, and the opportunity to sense the universal rhythm. Modern disciples, if they are to do their work as desired and to cooperate with the Plan correctly, need that inner reflective quiet which in no way negates intense outer activity but which does release them from wordy criticisms, feverish discussions, and constant preoccupation with the dharma, the motives and the methods of their fellow disciples.
It will not be possible for me to make clear the ray reactions to the final process which we have considered briefly, namely the stage in the liberation of the spirit which we call Identification. All that is possible, even in the case of Initiation, is to give the elementary stanzas which convey to accepted disciples some of the significance of the first initiation. As regards identification, the reactions of the illumined initiate are made available to his intelligence in symbolic form, but if these forms were described, they would be completely misunderstood. When the third initiation takes place and the wider open door looms before the initiate, he will then discover the meaning of that type of realisation which is here called (for lack of a better name) Identification.
Ray One
"The Angel of the Presence stands within the light divine—the centre and the meeting place of many forces.
These forces meet and blend. They focus in the head of him who stands before the Angel. Eye to eye, and face to face, and hand to hand, they stand. Will reinforces will, and love meets love. The will-to-power merges with the will-to-love and strength with wisdom meets. These two are one. From that high spot of unity, the One who is released stands forth and says:
'I return from whence I came; from the formless to the world of form I make my way. I will to be. I will to work. I will to serve and save. I will to lift the race. I serve the Plan with will, the Whole with power.'"
Ray Two
"The Angel of the Presence draws the wanderer to him. Love divine attracts the seeker on the Way. The point of merging is achieved. Mouth to mouth, the breath is drawn forth, and the breath is drawn in. Heart to heart, the beating of these twain is merged in one. Foot to foot, the strength is passed from the greater to the less, and thus the Way is trodden. Force inspires the Word, the Breath. Love inspires the heart, the life. Activity controls the treading of the Way. These three produce the merging. All then is lost and gained.
The word goes forth: 'I tread the Way of Love. I love the Plan. Unto that Plan, I surrender all I have. Unto the Whole, I give my heart's deep love. I serve the Plan; I serve the Whole with love and understanding.'"
Ray Three
"The Angel of the Presence stands within the centre of the whirling forces. For ages long, thus has he stood, the centre of all energies from above and from below. With intelligence, the Angel works to make the One Who is above and the one who is below to blend and be as one. With twelve clear notes, the hour sounds forth, and then the two are one. The Angel stands entranced. Ear to ear, breast to breast, right hand to left, the two (who are the three) produce the merging of their lives. Glory shines forth. Truth is revealed. The work is done.
Then man, who is the soul, cries forth with power:'I understand the Way—the inner Way, the silent Way, the manifested Way, for these three Ways are one. The Plan proceeds upon the outer Way; it shews itself. The Whole will stand revealed. That Plan I know. I will, with love and mind, to serve that Plan.'"
Ray Four
"The Angel of the Presence stands in his beauty rare upon the lighted Way. The glow of the Presence pours throughout the field of combat and ends, in peace, the strife. The warrior stands revealed. His work is done. Back to back, the Angel and the Warrior stand, their auras meeting in a radiant sphere of light. The two are one. The Voice goes forth:'Harmony is restored and the beauty of the Lord of Love shines forth. Such is the Plan. Thus is the Whole revealed. The higher and the lower meet; form and the formless merge and blend, and know themselves as one. In harmony with all united souls, I serve the Plan.'"
Ray Five
"The Angel of the Presence serves the three—the One above, the one below, and the One who ever is. [This refers to the fact that on the fifth plane the Angel is definitely met and known, and the three aspects of the higher triad, buddhi, the abstract mind and spirit, plus the ego in the causal body, and the lower mind are here blended and fused.]
The great Triangle begins its revolutions, and its rays reach out in all directions, and permeate the Whole. The man and Angel face each other, and know themselves to be the same. The light that radiates from the heart, the throat, and from the centre which stands midway meet and merge. The two are one.
The Voice that speaks within the silence can be heard: 'The power that reaches from the highest point has reached the lowest. The Plan can now be known. The Whole can stand revealed. The love that stretches from the heart, the life that issues forth from God, have served the Plan. The mind that gathers all with wisdom into the boundaries of the Plan has reached the outer limits of the sphere of God's activity. That power informs my life. That love inspires my heart. That mind enlightens all my world. I therefore serve the Plan.'"
Ray Six
"The Angel of the Presence reaches down, and, at the midway point, pierces the fog of glamour. The Path stands clear. The One who treads the path and stops to fight, who wrestles blindly with the two who seek to hinder and to blind, sees the Way free. It stands revealed. He ceases from the clamour and the fight. He finds his way into the Presence. Knee to knee, and foot to foot, they stand. Hand to hand, and breast to breast, forehead to forehead, see them stand. And thus they merge and blend.
The trumpet call goes forth: 'The warfare is no more. The battle ends. The glamour and the clouds have disappeared. The light and glory of the Way is here. That light reveals the Plan. The Whole is with us now. The purpose is revealed. With all I have, I serve that Plan.'"
Ray Seven
"The Angel of the Presence lifts one hand into the blue of heaven. He plunges deep the other into the sea of forms. Thus he connects the world of form and formless life. Heaven to earth he brings; earth into heaven. This the man, who stands before the Angel, knows. He grasps the meaning of the painted sign which the Angel holds aloft. [Then follows a phrase which is incapable of translation into modern language. It signifies that complete merging which the mystic endeavours to express in terms of the "marriage in the heavens", and which has been wrongly twisted into the false teaching anent sex magic. This phrase, expressed by a painted symbol, symbolises complete unity between the outer and the inner, the objective and the subjective, between spirit and matter, and between the physical and the essential.]
The two are one. Naught more remains to grasp. The Word is manifest. The work is seen complete. The Whole is visioned. The magic work is wrought. Again the two are one. The Plan is served. No word need then be said."
These phrases are an attempt to express some of the realisations of the true initiate when he stands—at the third initiation—before the Angel and sees that Angel also pass away, so that naught is left but conscious knowledge and realisation. Although this statement may signify but little to us at present, it will, nevertheless, serve to demonstrate the futility of dealing with the secrets of the mysteries and with initiation through the medium of words. When this is better realised, the true work of the Masonic dramas will begin to measure up to the need.
This treatise is, therefore, somewhat abstruse and quite symbolical. It may appear difficult to comprehend, and it may mean little to some and nothing at all to others. If the disciples of the world are truly struggling and if they are applying practically the teaching given, as far as in them lies, they will find as time elapses, and their reason and intuition awaken, that such symbolic and abstruse statements become clearer and clearer, serving to convey the intended teaching. When this happens, the Angel of the Presence approaches ever closer, and lights the disciple on his way. The sense of separateness diminishes until, at last, light permeates the darkness, and the Angel dominates the life.
2. The Two Cycles of Egoic Appropriation
We shall now enter upon a somewhat technical consideration of the relation of the Ego and its ray to the sheaths or vehicles through which it must express itself, and through which it must enter into contact with certain phases of divine experience. The foundation of what is here elaborated in relation to the cycles of appropriation, will be found briefly touched upon in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire and the following statements, gathered from those pages, will be elucidated in the succeeding pages.
When the work under the first category is accomplished upon the physical plane and its technique is understood, man can then achieve escape from the physical body in full, waking continuity of consciousness. When a similar work has taken place on the higher plane and the "bridge" is satisfactorily built, then the "initiate" can escape from the limitations of form life and enter into that state of consciousness called Nirvana, by the Buddhist. This high state of being has to be entered also in full continuity of consciousness. Both these major crises in the life of the soul; one leading to physical incarnation and one producing the liberation of the soul from that condition; are, and must always be, the result of group vibration, of group impulse, group incentive and group impetus.
One impetus originates in the group of souls, of which an incarnating ego is an integral part; the other is the result of the activity of the groups of atoms which are vibrating in response to (but not in unison with) that egoic impulse. In this phrase is summed up the work and opportunity of the soul, for it works towards the regeneration of matter and not towards the consummation of its own salvation. It might be stated that the liberation of the soul or ego comes about when its work of salvaging matter (through utilising it and building it into forms) has been carried forward to a desired point. It is not primarily due to the attainment of a certain spiritual stature by the man and the demonstration of certain spiritual qualities. This desired stature and these spiritual qualities are manifested when the vehicles have been "occultly saved", and matter has thus been transformed, transmuted and symbolically "raised up into heaven". When the vehicles vibrate in unison with the soul, then is liberation achieved.
Just as there are five points of crisis in the life of a man as he achieves the goal of initiation (which we call the five Initiations), so there are five similar points of crisis in the process of taking form in the three worlds, with three of more importance; the first, the third and the fifth. When (speaking again in symbols) a soul, functioning under divine impulse, comes into incarnation and undergoes racial experience in order to develop certain manifested qualities, there are five points of crisis. I am here speaking in terms of humanity as a whole, as mankind expresses what we call the "human state of consciousness". I am not speaking in terms of an individual soul, if such a misnomer may be permitted. These five points of crisis mark the transfer of soul life from one race to another. Each time such an event happens, there is racial unfoldment, and the appropriation, more or less consciously, by the race of another vehicle of expression. The following tabulation shows the appropriations marking the five racial crises.
unfoldment.
spiritual manifestation.
Here, therefore, we have five points of crisis in the life of the individual, in conjunction with the whole, with the first stage (called individualisation) in Lemuria, the third stage in our race, and a final stage at the end of the age. These stages are carried forward over so long a period of time, and are so closely interrelated, that one stage and period makes possible that of another, and only the analytical mind sees or seeks differentiation. The reflection of this fivefold experience in any individual life takes place in the following order in the life of the average intelligent aspirant, who responds to, and takes advantage of the civilisation and education of the present time.
There are many corresponding cycles of crisis in the life history of any soul down through the ages, but these major five crises can be traced with clarity from the standpoint of the higher vision.
One of the ways in which the life story of a soul is charted in the archives of the Masters (under the present planetary experiment) is by means of graphs, which give these crises—racial and individual. Sometimes, with the more advanced aspirants, even the physiological crises of importance are charted. The entire story of the relationship of a soul with its several vehicles of expression in the three worlds, is the story of the various types of energy which are being magnetically related to each other and which are temporarily subordinated to varying aspects of force, in order to produce those fields of magnetic activity wherein certain needed rates of vibration may be established. From the angle of the initiates of the Ageless Wisdom, the story of man, the aspirant, is the story of his response to, or repulse of, applied energies. The fact that the interplay between different types of energy results in the formation of those aggregations or condensations of force which we call bodies, sheaths or vehicles (material or immaterial) is incidental to the main issue, which is the development of a conscious response to the life of God.
Small units of energy, relatively speaking, are swept into contact with great fields of force, which we call planes. According to the extent of the impact (and this is determined; symbolically speaking; by the power of the originating will, the so-called age of the soul, the potency of group activity, and planetary or group karma), so will be the response between the unit of energy and the field contacted, and so will be the quality and vibratory activity of the atoms of matter which are attracted and held together. They will thus constitute a temporary form from which can be seen as externalised and as relatively tangible, and which can function as a mode or medium whereby the soul can contact larger forms of divine life and expression. The more intricate the organisation of the form and the more complex and perfect the response apparatus, the more clearly will be indicated the age of the soul and the perfected intent or potency of its will, the freer it will be from the limiting karma of an unevolved conditioning vehicle.
A close study of this subject is not possible here. The appropriation by a soul of those energy units which will constitute its body or sheath, as it passes from one plane to another and from one state of consciousness to another, is a study so abstruse and complicated that only those initiates whose development equips them and whose interest impels them to work with the application of the law of karma (which is identified in time and space with substance and force), can readily comprehend the complexities of the subject.
Two words are emerging today in connection with modern psychology which have a close relation to this difficult law; they indicate two basic ideas with which these trained initiates work. The idea of patterns and the idea of conditioning hold definite occult implications. The workers in this department of esoteric work deal primarily with the world of patterns which underlie all the activities of the Oversoul and the individual souls. Forget not that this term "individual souls" is but a limiting phrase, used by the separative mind to indicate the aspects of one reality.
Patterns are, in the last analysis, only those types of energy which are struggling to emerge into material expression and which eventually subordinate the more superficial and obvious energies (which have worked their way through to the surface in the process of manifesting) to their newer imposed rhythm. Thus they produce the changed types, new forms and different notes, tones and appearances. These patterns are literally the divine ideas, as they emerge from the subjective group consciousness and take those mental forms that can be appreciated and appropriated by the mind and brain of man during any particular epoch. It might, therefore, be thought that these patterns or fundamental ideas which take shape and appear to control the "way of a man on earth", as it is esoterically called, produce the conditioning here discussed. Literally and curiously, this is not so.
From the angle of esoteric thought, conditioning (if rightly understood) concerns the response, innate and inherent, of matter or substance, to the pattern. It might be said that the pattern evokes and awakens response, but that the conditioning of the resultant activity is determined by the quality of the response apparatus. This quality is inherent in the substance itself, and the interplay between the pattern and the conditioned material produces the type of sheath which the soul appropriates in time and space, in order to experiment and gain experience. It will appear more clearly, therefore, as one studies this subject and ponders deeply upon its implications, that as a man advances on the path of evolution and nears the status of an initiate, the conditioning of the form, innate and inherent, will continuously approach nearer and nearer to the requirements of the pattern. It might also be stated that the pattern is relatively immutable and unchangeable in its own inherent nature, as it comes forth from the mind of either the macrocosmic Deity or the microcosmic thinker, but that the process of the inner conditioning of matter is mutable and in a state of continual flux. When, at the third initiation, union of the pattern and the conditioned form is achieved, the Transfiguration of the initiate takes place, leading to that final crisis wherein the two are known as one, and the form nature (including in this phase the causal body as well as the lower vehicles) then is dispersed and disappears.
The early stages of human development are—as in all else in nature; apparently inchoate and formless, from the angle of the true pattern, existing eternal in the Heavens. There is a physical form, but the inner, fluid, subjective nature, emotional and mental, in no way conforms to the pattern, and, therefore, the outer form is also inadequate. But crisis after crisis occurs, and the inner form nature responds more definitely and precisely to the outer impact of the soul impetus (note this paradoxical phrase), until the astral vehicle and the mental body are consciously appropriated, and as consciously used. It must never be forgotten that evolution (as we understand it and as it must be studied by the human intellect) is the story of the evolution of consciousness and not the story of the evolution of form. This latter evolution is implicit in the other and of secondary importance from the occult angle. Consciousness is literally the reaction of active intelligence to the pattern.
Today, it is as if we were responding consciously and with an increasingly intelligent purpose to the design as laid down by the Master Builder upon the tracing board. As yet we do not and cannot enter into that Cosmic Mind and vibrate in conscious unison with the divine Idea nor grasp the Plan as it is sensed and seen by the cosmic Thinker. We have to work with the design, with the pattern, and with the Plan, for we are only as yet in process of being initiated into that Plan and we are not aware of the true significance of those great Identifications which enabled the Carpenter of Nazareth to say: "I and my Father are one."
But it must also be remembered (and herein lies the clue to world unfoldment and to the mystery of past, present and future) that we are dealing with matter-substance and with forms which are already conditioned, and which were conditioned when the creative process began. The material to be found in the quarries of manifested purpose is, symbolically speaking, marble, and is thus conditioned. It is not clay or slate. It is from this marble, with all the inherent attributes of marble, that the Temple of the Lord must be built, in conformity to the design or pattern. This conditioned substance must be accepted as existing and must be dealt with as it is. Such is the parable of the ages.
The design, the material, and the future temple are all subjectively related, and it is this that the soul knows. For the soul is the One who appropriates the material (already conditioned and qualified), and for ages the soul wrestles with that material, building it into tentative forms, discarding it at will, gathering together again the material needed, and steadily making more adequate models as the pattern is visioned. Some day, the model will be discarded, the pattern will be seen as it really is, and the worker, the soul, will then begin to build consciously the Temple of the Lord, out of the conditioned and prepared material which, for long ages, it has been preparing in the quarry of the form life, the personal life.
Here, therefore, are indicated two crises in the subjective life of the soul:
Three things emerge in connection with the task of the soul as it appropriates sheath after sheath for expression:
undergone.
All this takes place as the soul passes, time after time, through the experience of physical incarnation; later, progress is made consciously from plane to plane and this is undertaken with clear intent. The work is facilitated and progresses with increased rapidity as the soul, actively, intelligently and intuitively, begins to work with the pattern, transmitting from crisis to crisis (each marking an expansion of consciousness) a newer reach of development and a fresh grasp of the great Design, coupled with a better and more adequate equipment through which to carry on the work.
In our consideration of the second part of the statement in this treatise, which deals with the relationship of the soul to its instrument; the mechanism whereby or wherewith it expresses quality, activity and eventually divinity, we have to approach the subject in two ways:
First, we must consider the utlisation of the mechanism of the Path of Outgoing. Second, the utilisation of the mechanism upon the Path of Return. In the first case, we are dealing with what might be regarded as the physiological aspect, for it is in the physical nature that the consciousness is primarily focused; in the second case, we are concerned with the purely mental apparatus, though the word "apparatus" is basically unsuitable.
It might be well to interrupt here for a moment and deal with the idea of mechanism and divinity, for these are apt to be a materialising of the idea of divinity, particularly in the West. The divinity of Christ, for instance, is frequently illustrated by reference to His miracles, and to those supernormal powers which He so often evidenced. Supernormal powers are, of themselves, no evidence of divinity at all. Great exponents of evil can perform the same miracles and demonstrate the same capacity to create and to transcend the normal faculties of man. These powers are inherent in the creative aspect of Divinity, the third or matter aspect, and are linked to an intelligent understanding of matter and to the power of the mind to dominate substance. This power is, therefore, neither divine nor non-divine. It is a demonstration of the capacity of the mind, and can be used with equal facility by an incarnated Son of God, functioning as a World Saviour or Christ, and by those Beings who are on the path of destruction, and who are called Black Magicians, Evil Forces and Devils.
Divinity (using the word in its separative sense) connotes the expression of the qualities of the second or building aspect of God; magnetism, love, inclusiveness, non-separativeness, sacrifice for the good of the world, unselfishness, intuitive understanding, cooperation with the Plan of God, and many other such qualitative phrases. Mechanism, after all, implies the creation of a form out of matter and the infusing of that form with a life principle which will show itself in the power to grow, to reproduce, to preserve identity of some kind, to flower forth into certain instinctual reactions, and to preserve its own specific qualitative nature. Life resembles the fuel which, in conjunction with the mechanism, provides the motivating principle and makes activity and the needed movement possible. But there is more to manifestation than forms which possess a life principle. There is a diversity running through nature and a qualifying principle which differentiates the mechanisms; there is a general synthesis and purpose, which defies the powers of man to emulate it creatively, and which is outstandingly the major characteristic of divinity. It expresses itself through colour and beauty, through reason and love, through idealism and wisdom, and through those many qualities and that purpose which, for instance, animate the aspirant. This is—briefly and inadequately expressed—Divinity. It is, however, a relative expression of Divinity. When each of us stands where stand the Masters and the Christ, we will regard this whole question from another point of view. The developing of virtues, the cultivation of understanding, the demonstration of good character and high aims, and the expression of an ethical and moral point of view are all necessary fundamentals, preceding certain definite experiences which usher the soul into worlds of realisation which are so far removed from our present point of view that any definition of them would be meaningless. What we are engaged in is the development of those qualities and virtues which will "clear our vision", because they produce the purification of the vehicles so that the real significance of divinity can begin to emerge in our consciousness.
With this preamble, we will pass on to the consideration of the mechanism and of that which infuses it and motivates it with life and intelligence.
Certain basic premises are recognised and can, therefore, be very briefly mentioned:
I previously referred to the main channel of communication between the soul and its mechanism as being:
It is through the spleen that a linking up takes place between the life principle (seated in the heart) and the consciousness system, interlinking all the material organs and the atomic substance of the physical body. This statement indicates that, in the location in the human body where the spleen is found, along with its corresponding subjective force centre, two great currents of energy cross: these are the current of physical vitality or life and the current of the consciousness of the atoms which construct the form. It will be observed that we are here discussing the group subconscious life and not the conscious life and the self-consciousness.
The spleen is the organ in which planetary prana or vitality is received and passed. This enters in through "the open gateway" of the splenic force centre, and passes to the heart. There it merges with the individual life principle. Through the splenic centre also passes the conscious life of the sum-total of the bodily cells, which are, in their turn, the recipients of the energy of the consciousness aspect or principles of all atoms and forms within the fourth kingdom of nature. This we cannot be expected to comprehend as yet, but the truth will be appreciated later on in the racial development. A hint can here be found as to the excessive sensitivity of the solar plexus centre to surrounding group impacts and impressions of an astral kind. There is a close rapport between the splenic centre and the solar plexus, as well as with the heart.
In the life of the aspirant, the power to cause this tremendous happening is dependent upon the carrying forward of the inner subjective and spiritual work previously described as the "building of the bridge on the mental plane" between the above mentioned three aspects. For the race of men as a whole, this work began in the middle of our Aryan race, and is today going forward very rapidly. For the individual aspirant, the work has always been possible right down the ages, and it is the major task undertaken by disciples at this time. It might be added here that the New Group of World Servers is composed of those who are engaged in this work for the race, and every person who builds his bridge joins this group of occult "bridge-builders".
It now becomes possible to consider the process whereby a man bridges the gulf or gap (speaking symbolically) which exists between the personal lower self and the higher Self, as the latter functions in its own world. This has to be bridged before at-one-ment can be achieved and complete integration of the entire man can be brought about. To understand clearly what occurs, it will be wise to define more accurately what that higher nature is, and of what it consists.
We have seen in our studies that the soul is a dual blend of energies—the energy of life and the energy of mind—as far as its relation to the mechanism is temporarily concerned. The merging of these two energies in the human mechanism produces what we call consciousness—at first self-consciousness and finally group-consciousness. The mechanism is, in its own nature, also a blend or fusion of energies—the energy of substance itself which takes the form of the atomic structure of the physical body, plus the vitality which animates that body, and, secondly, the energy of that body which we call the astral body, distinguished by sensitivity, emotional activity, and that magnetic force which we call desire. There is, finally, the energy of mind itself.
These four types of energy form what we call the lower personal self, but it is the higher mental aspect of the mind which links, subjectively, this personality and the soul. It is the lower consciousness which (when developed) enables a man eventually to make conscious contact with the higher. It is the lower concretising mind which must be awakened, understood and used with definiteness before the higher mind can become the medium through which knowledge can be gained of those realities which constitute the kingdom of God.
Intellect must be unfolded before the intuition can be correctly evoked.
We have, therefore, in the case of man, two groups of major energies dominating, as a result of a long experience of incarnation in form, the energy of the astral or desire nature and the energy of mind. When these are fused and blended, thoroughly organised and utilised, then we see a functioning and powerful Personality. Seeking to impose itself upon these energies and to subordinate them to higher and different aims is to be found that blended energy-unit which we call the soul. Its two energies (mind and love, the latter being also a dual form of energy) are anchored, if one may use this word in a symbolic and esoteric sense, in the human brain, whilst the life principle, as we have seen, is anchored in the human heart. The four energies of the lower self—atomic energy, vital energy, feeling energy and mental energy—plus the two energies of the soul, make the six energies used by man in his life experience; but the energy of the atom is usually not counted as a human energy, as it is uniform in its usage in all forms of life in all kingdoms, and therefore man is regarded as a sum total of five energies, and not of six energies.
The human soul (in contradistinction to the soul as it functions in its own kingdom, free from the limitations of human life) is imprisoned by and subject to the control of the lower energies for the major part of its experience. Then, upon the Path of Probation, the dual energy of the soul begins to be increasingly active, and the man seeks consciously to use his mind, and to express love-wisdom on the physical plane. This is a simple statement of the objective of all aspirants. When the five energies are beginning to be used consciously and wisely in service, a rhythm is then set up between the personality and the soul. It is as if a magnetic field were then established, and these two vibrating and magnetic units, or grouped energies, begin to swing into each others field of influence. In the early stages, this happens only occasionally and rarely. Later it occurs more constantly, and thus a path of contact is established which eventually becomes the line of least resistance, "the way of familiar approach", as it is sometimes esoterically called. Thus the first half of the "bridge", the antaskarana, is constructed. By the time the third initiation is undergone, this way is completed, and the initiate can "pass to higher worlds at will, leaving the lower worlds far behind; or he can come again and pass upon the way that leads from dark to light, from light to dark, and from the under, lower worlds into the realms of light".
Thus the two are one, and the first great unison upon the path of return is complete. A second stage of the way has then to be trodden, leading to a second union of still greater importance in that it leads to complete liberation from the three worlds. It must be remembered that the soul, in its turn, is a union of two energies, plus the energy of spirit, of which the lower three are the reflection. It is a synthesis of the energy of Life itself (which demonstrates as the life-principle within the world of forms), of the energy of the intuition, or spiritual love-wisdom or understanding (which demonstrates as sensitivity and feeling in the astral body), and of spiritual mind, whose reflection in the lower nature is the mind or the principle of intelligence in the form world. In these three energies we have the atma-buddhi-manas of the theosophical literature. They are that higher triplicity which is reflected in the lower three, and which focuses through the soul body on the higher levels of the mental plane before being "precipitated into incarnation", as it is esoterically called.
Modernising the concept, we might say that the energies which animate the physical body and the intelligent life of the atom, the sensitive emotional states, and the intelligent mind have eventually to be blended with, and transmuted into, the energies which animate the soul. These are the spiritual mind, conveying illumination; the intuitive nature, conferring spiritual perception; and divine livingness.
After the third initiation the "Way" is carried forward with great rapidity, and the "bridge" is finished which links perfectly the higher spiritual Triad and the lower material reflection. The three worlds of the soul and the three worlds of the Personality become one world wherein the initiate works and functions, seeing no distinction, viewing one world as the world of inspiration and the other world as constituting the field of service, yet regarding both together as forming one world of activity. Of these two worlds, the subjective etheric body (or the body of vital inspiration) and the dense physical body are symbols on the external plane.
How is this bridging antaskarana to be built? What are the steps which the disciple must follow? We are not here considering the Path of Probation whereon the major faults should be eliminated and whereon the major virtues should be developed. Much of the spiritual instruction given in the past has laid down the rules for the cultivation of the virtues and qualifications for discipleship, and also the necessity for self-control, for tolerance and for unselfishness. But these are elementary stages and should be taken for granted by all students of this Treatise. Such students are presumably occupied not only with the establishment of the character aspect of discipleship, but with the more abstruse and difficult requirements for those whose goal is initiation.
It is with the work of the "bridge-builders" that we are concerned. First, let it be stated that the real building of the antaskarana only takes place when the disciple is beginning to be definitely focused upon mental levels, and when therefore his mind is intelligently and consciously functioning. He must begin at this stage to have some more exact idea than has hitherto been the case as to the distinctions existing between the Thinker, the apparatus of thought, and thought itself, beginning with its dual esoteric function which is:
This necessarily involves a strong mental attitude and a reorientation of the mind to reality. As the disciple begins to focus himself on the mental plane (and this is the prime intent of the meditation work) he starts working in mental matter and trains himself in the powers and uses of thought. He achieves a measure of mind control; he can turn the searchlight of the mind in two directions—into the world of human endeavor, and into the world of soul activity. Just as the soul makes a way for itself by projecting itself in a thread or stream of energy into the three worlds, so the disciple begins consciously to project himself into the higher worlds. His energy goes forth, through the medium of the controlled and directed mind, into the world of higher spiritual mind and into the realm of the intuition. A reciprocal activity is thus set up.
This response between the higher and lower mind is symbolically spoken of in terms of light, and the "lighted way" (a term frequently employed) comes into being between the personality and the spiritual Triad, via the soul body, just as the soul came into definite contact with the brain via the mind. This "lighted way" is the illumined bridge. It is built through meditation; it is constructed through the constant effort to draw forth the intuition, through subservience and obedience to the Plan (which begins to be recognised as soon as the intuition and the mind are en rapport) and through a conscious incorporation into the group in service and for purposes of assimilation into the whole. All these qualities and activities are based upon the foundation of good character and the qualities developed upon the Probationary Path.
The effort to draw forth the intuition requires directed occult (but not aspirational) meditation. It requires a trained intelligence, so that the line of demarcation between intuitive realisation and the forms of the higher psychism may be clearly seen. It requires a constant disciplining of the mind, so that it can "hold itself steady in the light", and the development of a cultured right interpretation so that the intuitive knowledge which has been achieved may then clothe itself in the right thought forms.
Subservience or obedience to the Plan involves something else than a vague and misty realisation that God has a Plan and that we are included in it. It is more than a hiding of oneself in the shadow of the will of God. It necessitates a wise differentiation between:
A deep interest in the final root races and speculation as to the life going forward on other planets may be of interest, but it is relatively futile and useless; it fertilises unduly the imagination, causing love of uncheckable detail, loss of time in wild surmises, and the chimeras of an unenlightened intellect. That part of the Plan which relates to its immediate application is of interest and usefulness. Obedience to the immediate purpose and duty is distinctive of the trained disciple. Those who know far more of the Plan than we can, refuse to let Their minds dwell on the unprovable, yet possible, hypotheses for future racial development. They focus Their attention on that which must be attended to at this immediate time. I would urge all disciples to do the same, for in so doing it is possible to bridge the gap and link the two shores of the higher and the lower stages of consciousness, between the old age and the new, between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of men, and thus to take their place in the ranks of the New Group of World Servers, whose arduous task calls for our sacrificing effort. Conscious incorporation in the group necessitates the cessation of personality life, and brings out the subordination of the little self to the work of the whole. These words are easily written and read; they embody, however, the task of all disciples at this time. Where this incentive and realisation are lacking, the disciple is still a long way from his goal.
It might also be stated here that the construction of the bridge whereby the consciousness can function with facility both in the higher worlds and in the lower, is primarily brought about by a definitely directed life-tendency, which steadily drives the man in the direction of the world of spiritual realities, and certain dynamic movements of planned and carefully timed and directed orientation or focusing. In this last process, the gain of the past months or years is closely assessed; the effect of that gain upon the daily life and in the bodily mechanisms is carefully studied; and the will-to-live as a spiritual being is wrought into the consciousness with a definiteness and a determination that make for immediate progress.
Disciples in the groups of some of the Masters (not of all) are encouraged, every seven years, to do this and to subject themselves to what is esoterically called a "crisis of polarisation". This process is in the nature of a review, such as one imposes on the consciousness at night, only it is carried over a period of years instead of hours. This thought merits consideration.
This building of the antaskarana is most assuredly proceeding in the case of every dedicated aspirant. When the work is carried on intelligently and with full awareness of the desired purpose, and when the aspirant not only recognizes the process, but is alert and active in its fulfillment, then the work proceeds apace and the bridge is built.
One thing only need be added in connection with this building of the antaskarana, and that is the statement of the significant fact that the more people can achieve this linking of the higher and lower aspects of the human nature, the more rapidly will the task of salvaging the world proceed. The more painstakingly and persistently this work is carried forward, the sooner will the Hierarchy of the planet resume Its ancient task and status in the world, and the sooner will the Mysteries be restored and the world function, therefore, more consciously in line with the Plan. Here and there throughout the world, in every nation and practically every week, men and women are stepping off the Path of Probation on to the Path of Discipleship. In this lies the hope of the world today. In this fact is to be found the greatly increased activity of the Masters.
This event, or this transition, never takes place before the first fine strand of energy (like the first steel cable on a physical bridge) has anchored itself on the further shore; thus a delicate and (at first) almost nebulous channel of communication is established between the higher nature and the lower, between the world of the soul and the worlds of human affairs. Each month, at the time of the full moon, the Masters are intensifying Their efforts, and men and women are being prepared for the process of Initiation with as much rapidity as is safely possible. Remember that understanding must always parallel the intellectual grasp of a subject, and it is this that holds back some disciples from this great step forward.
As we have seen, this process of appropriation is a dual matter, or rather, it involves a dual activity— that of taking and giving, of grasping and relinquishing, of establishing a hold upon that which is desired, and of detaching oneself from that which has been held. The various types of human beings who come forth along one or other of the seven rays, have each their specific way of doing this. These I shall indicate. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that the true significance of that which is portrayed and the meaning of what happens can only be understood by those who are in the process of this relinquishment. The stage of appropriation is undergone blindly and unconsciously. Man knows not what he does. It is only towards the end of his long pilgrimage and process of appropriation that he discovers how tired he actually is of grasping the non-essential and the material, and how ready he is for the work of detachment. In the life of every human being on the physical plane, who has lived fully and to the full term of years, this dual process can be symbolically seen. In youth the thoughtless (and all are thoughtless, for such is nature's way) hold on to life and give no thought to the time when there must be a relinquishment of the hold on physical existence. The young forget, and rightly forget, the inevitability of that final symbolic detachment which we call Death. But when life has played its part and age has taken its toll of interests and strength, the tired and world-weary man has no fear of the detaching process and seeks not to hold on to that which earlier was desired. He welcomes death, and relinquishes willingly that which earlier engrossed his attention.
In considering the processes of appropriation, the following phrases should be studied, as they throw a light upon the various stages from different angles:
On the side of soul expression, which is governed by detachment, the following phrases and sentences will give an idea of the progress and intent:
It should be remembered, when considering the seven ray methods of appropriation and the reverse stages, that we are dealing with energies. Occult students must increasingly think and work in terms of energy. These energies are spoken of esoterically as "having impulsive effects, magnetic appeals, and focused activities." The streams or emanations of energy exist, as is well known, in seven major aspects or qualities. They carry the sons of men into incarnation and withdraw them from incarnation. They have their own specific qualities and characteristics, and these determine the nature of the forms constructed, the quality of the life which is expressed at any particular time or in any particular incarnation, the length of the life cycle, and the appearance and disappearance of any of the three form aspects. Certain brief paragraphs will suffice to define each of the stages of appropriation. The paragraphs which detail the methods of detachment have been given earlier in A Treatise on White Magic.
Ray One: The Energy of Will or Power - The Destroyer Aspect
Souls on this ray are spoken of occultly as "crashing their way into incarnation". They appropriate dynamically that which they require. They brook no hindrance in the satisfactions of their desires. They stand alone in a proud isolation, glorying in their strength, and their ruthlessness. These qualities have to be transmuted into that intelligent use of power which makes them powerful factors in the Plan, and magnetic centres of force, gathering workers and forces around them. An illustration of this can be seen in the work of the Master Morya, Who is the centre, the magnetic attractive centre of all esoteric groups, conferring on them, by His power, the capacity to destroy that which is undesirable in the life of the disciples. Forget not that the work of stimulating that which is needed is one of the major tasks of a Master, and the power of a disciple to destroy that which limits him is greatly needed. Souls of this ray, as they come into incarnation through desire, grasp. This expresses the nature of the force demonstration employed. There is a measure of violence in their technique. They eventually "take the kingdom of heaven by force."
Ray Two: The Energy of Love-Wisdom
Souls on this ray use the method of "gathering in", or "drawing into". The soul sets up a vibration (little as we may yet grasp the real significance of that word) and that vibration affects its environment, and atoms of substance on all three planes are attracted to the central point of energy. The method is relatively gentle, when compared to the method of the first ray, and the process is somewhat longer whilst the overshadowing (carried forward prior to entering into the three worlds for purposes of appearance) is very much longer. This refers to that overshadowing of the substance to be built into form, and not to the overshadowing of the completed form, i.e. the child in the mother's womb. In the first case, it might be said that souls on the first ray are sudden and rapid in their desire to incarnate, and in the methods employed. Souls on the second ray are slower in coming to that "impulsive" action (in the sense of impulse to action and not impulse in time) which leads to the occult manufacture of an appearance with which to manifest.
Souls on this ray, as they come into incarnation through desire, attract. They are magnetic more than they are dynamic; they are constructive, and they work along the line which is, for all lives and forms, the line of least resistance within our universe.
Ray Three: The Energy of Active Intelligence
Just as the grasping and attracting are terms applicable to the methods of the two first rays, so a process of "selective manipulation" is characteristic of this third ray. This method is totally different in its technique to that of the two mentioned above. It might be said that the note which generates the activity set up by souls on this ray, is such that atoms of the different planes are moved as if consciously responding to a selective process. The vibratory activity of the soul makes itself felt, and atoms collect from widely different points in response to a certain quality in the vibration. It is far more selective than in the case of the second ray.
Just as souls in the first case seem to grasp indiscriminately what they need, and force the substance thus grasped into the form or appearance required, enduing it with the quality needed in a dynamic and forceful way, and just as souls on the second ray set up a motion which gathers material out of the immediately surrounding environment, and imposes on it, through magnetic attraction, the desired quality, so in the case of souls on the third ray the required material is chosen here and there, but that chosen already has the needed quality (note this difference) and nothing whatever is imposed. It will be apparent, therefore, that substance itself exists in three major categories, and that these three categories are the correspondences in substance to the three Persons of the Trinity or to the three bodies of incarnated man. They are also the analogy in the third aspect of divinity (the life of the third Person of the Trinity) to the quality of the three periodical vehicles through which manifestation takes place.
One division or type of this substance is dynamically electrified and from this all first ray egos choose the material needed in the three worlds. Another type of substance is magnetically electrified, and from it all second ray egos select what they, in time and space, require in order to manifest. The third type of substance is diffusively electrified (I know of no better word to express the intent), and all third ray egos take from it their needed quota of substance from which to build the forms for manifestation.
As regards the methods, techniques and types of substance used by souls on the remaining four minor rays, they are necessarily qualified by the characteristics of the third major ray, which eventually synthesises them.
The following tabulation is an attempt to define that which it is almost impossible to make intelligible in words. From the angle of the illumined occultist it is meaningless, even more than it is to the average student, because as yet the mystery of electricity and the true nature of electrical phenomena (than which there is naught else) is at this time an unrevealed secret, even to the most advanced of the modern scientists.
Ray Energy Technique Quality Source
I. Power or Will Grasping Dynamic Purpose Dynamically electrified forms.
II. Love-Wisdom Attracting Love Magnetically electrified forms.
III. Intelligent Activity Selecting Intellect Diffusively electrified forms.
IV. Beauty or Art At-one-ing Unification Harmonisingly electrified forms.
V. Science Differentiating Discrimination Crystallising electrified forms.
VI. Idealism Responding Sensitivity Fluidic electrified forms.
VII. Organisation Coordinating Appearance Physical electrified forms.
That there is such a thing as electricity, that it probably accounts for all that can be seen, sensed and known, and that the entire universe is a manifestation of electrical power; all this may be stated and is, today, coming to be recognised. But when that has been said, the mystery remains, and will not be revealed, even in partial measure, until the middle of the next century. Then revelation may be possible, as there will be more initiates in the world, and inner vision and inner hearing will be more generally recognised and present. When man arrives at a better understanding of the etheric body and its seven force centres (which are all related to the seven rays, and in their expression show the seven characteristics and techniques which are here tabulated anent the rays) then some further light can intelligibly be thrown upon the nature of the seven types of electrical phenomena which we call the seven rays.
On the Path of Return and in connection with the process of detachment, which marks the progress of the soul towards release and the ending of the period of appropriation, certain passages in A Treatise on White Magic give clearly the intended technique. They are as follows:
Ray One: "Let the Forces come together. Let them mount to the High Place, and from that lofty eminence, let the soul look out upon a world destroyed. Then let the word go forth: 'I still persist!'"
Ray Two: "Let all the life be drawn to the Centre, and enter thus into the heart of Love Divine. Then from that point of sentient Life, let the soul realise the consciousness of God. Let the word go forth, reverberating through the silence: 'Naught is but Me!'"
Ray Three: "Let the army of the Lord, responsive to the word cease their activities. Let knowledge end in wisdom. Let the point vibrating become the point quiescent, and in all lines gather into One. Let the soul realise the One in Many, and let the word go forth in perfect understanding: 'I am the Worker and the Work, the One that Is.'"
Ray Four: "Let the outer glory pass away and the beauty of the inner Light reveal the One. Let dissonance give place to harmony, and from the centre of the hidden Light, let the soul speak: Let the word roll forth: 'Beauty and glory veil Me not. I stand revealed. I am.'"
Ray Five: "Let the three forms of energy electric pass upward to the Place of Power. Let the forces of the head and heart and all the nether aspects blend. Then let the soul look out upon an inner world of light divine. Let the word triumphant go forth: 'I mastered energy for I am energy Itself. The Master and the mastered are but One.'"
Ray Six: "Let all desire cease. Let aspiration end. The search is over. Let the soul realise that it has reached the goal, and from that gateway to eternal Life and cosmic Peace, let the word sound: 'I am the seeker and the sought. I rest!'"
Ray Seven: "Let the builders cease their work. The Temple is completed. Let the soul enter into its heritage and from the Holy Place command all work to end. Then in the silence subsequent, let him chant forth the Word: .The creative work is over. l, the Creator, Am. Naught else remains but Me.'"
II. The Seven Laws of Soul or Group Life
We come now to a section of our study of the soul and its life which is of real moment to all who live (or begin to live) and function as conscious souls, through definite alignment and at-one-ment. This section will, however, be relatively abstruse to all those whose lives are centred in the personality.
Down the ages, the Scriptures of the world and those who have attempted to elucidate them, have been occupied with imparting to humanity an understanding of the nature of those qualities and characteristics which should distinguish all true believers, all true aspirants and all sincere disciples, whether Christian or otherwise. The teaching has always been given in terms of good behavior and of right action, and therefore given in terms of effects, produced by inner causes which have not always been specified. Basically, all such virtues, good inclinations and attempted sound qualities represent the emergence into expression upon the physical plane of certain energies and tendencies, inherent in the soul itself. These, in their turn, are governed by energies and laws which are of a nature different from those governing personalities.
It is important to emphasise this and to bear in mind that the powers of the soul, as they are appearing in the world today, constitute (in their working out) a body of phenomena which would have been regarded as magical, impossible and superhuman several centuries ago. The discoveries of science, the adaptation of the laws governing matter and directing material energy to the service and the growing needs of mankind, the subtle and delicate apparatus of the human body and the steadily increasing sensitivity of the human mechanism, have brought about a world consciousness and a civilisation which—in spite of its glaring defects, all based on the separative and selfish attitudes of the personalities through which the soul has yet to work—are a guarantee of the innate divinity of man, with all that may be inherent in, and inferred from that phrase.
What has not yet been grasped is that these emerging "godlike" qualities, these beneficent characteristics, and the slowly appearing virtues of humanity are only indications of hidden potentialities, which have not been scientifically studied. The qualities of goodness are so called because they are, in essence, the energies controlling group relations; the powers, called superhuman, are fundamentally the powers which express group activity, and the virtues are only effects of group life, rightly handled, which are attempting to express themselves on the physical plane. The growing science of social relations, of social responsibility, or coordinated civic life, of scientific economics and of human inter-relations, the steadily developing sense of internationalism, of religious unity, and of economic interdependence, are all of them indications of the energies of soul life upon the physical plane, and within the human family. Hence the conflict of ideals in the world today; hence the massed dualism which produces such bewilderment; hence the compromises and hence the inconsistencies. Here is to be found the cause of all the divergencies in the world of civilised ideals, and the conflicting and widely differing motives which impel people of good motive and intention and of high principle into antagonistic activities.
Two sets of principles are to be found controlling human life—the selfish and the unselfish, the individual good and the group good, the objective goal and the subjective goal, the material incentive and the spiritual impulse, national patriotism and the world ideal, separative religious belief and the federation of religions, and all the many massed dualities which simply indicate the realism of people who are personalities (integrated and separative) or of souls (aligned and group-conscious). Here is the major divergence in the world today; with the weight of the power on the side of separation, as it is the line of least resistance, and of critical differentiations. A balancing of the two will gradually take place, with the weight of world idealism gradually shifting into the realm of soul unification, until eventually the emphasis of world thought will be definitely and permanently on "the side of the angels." Therefore we can look for the new laws, governing soul life, which is group life, to begin to function and make their presence felt. This will at first increase the world difficulty; hence the need to make the meaning of these laws clear, their objectives simple and their potencies understandable.
The section upon which we now enter in our studies will be difficult and controversial. The thread which will guide us out of the bewildering maze of thought into which we must perforce enter, is the golden one of group love, group understanding, group relations and group conduct.
Esoteric Name: The Law of those who choose to die.
Symbol: A rosy cross with a golden bird.
Ray Energy: Outpouring fourther ray, at-one-ing energy.
This law of sacrifice, which is the first of the laws to be grasped by the human intelligence, and is therefore the easiest for man to understand (because he is already governed by it and, therefore, aware of it) came to its first major expression during this slowly disappearing age, the present age, the Piscean age. This law has always been functioning and active in the world, for it is one of the first of the inner subjective laws to express itself consciously, and as an active ideal, in human life. The theme of all the world religions has been divine sacrifice, the immolation of the cosmic Deity through, the process of universal creation, and of the world Saviours, by Their death and sacrifice as a means of salvation and eventual release and liberation. Such is the blindness and such is the contaminating influence of the lower separative man, that this divine law of sacrifice is wielded with the selfish intent of personal and individual salvation. But the travestied truth remains the unsullied truth on its own plane, and this dominant world law governs the appearing and the disappearing of universes, of solar systems, of races and of nations, of world leaders and world rulers, of incarnating human beings and of revealing Sons of God.
Let us see if we can interpret or define the true significance of this law, which is in reality the expression of a divine impulse, leading to a defined activity, with its consequent and subsequent results and effects. It was this aspect of sacrifice which led to the creation of the worlds and to the manifestation of the divine Creator. It might help to a better understanding of the Law of Sacrifice if it were expressed through synonymous words and terms.
It means the impulse of giving. The whole secret of the doctrines of "the forgiveness of sins" and of the "at-onement" lies hid in this simple phrase. It is the basis of the Christian doctrine of love and sacrifice. Hence the emphasis laid, in the Piscean Age and through the influence of Christianity, upon just these two things, — forgiveness and atonement. That man, as usual, distorted and misinterpreted the teaching and the truth, and that it fell, as does all else at present, under the glamour and illusion of the astral plane, plus the Piscean influence, is true. Man's thought dominated and distorted the ideal and produced such a damnable doctrine as the elect of God, the chosen of the Lord, or the sole people to benefit by the sacrifice and death of the great Son of God, and who pass, due to the merits of that vicarious death, into a state of bliss in heaven, simply because of an emotional choice, which ignores millions of those who have made no such choice, nor had the opportunity to do so. The symbolic activity of the great Teacher of Nazareth will be properly understood and its significance will be properly appreciated only when group implications are more carefully studied, the meaning of sacrifice and of death come into their rightful place in the human consciousness, and the law of giving, with all that that entails, is correctly understood and applied. Those who thus sacrifice are:
The Solar Deity who gave His life to the universe, to the solar system, to the planet, and the manifested worlds consequently appeared. The cosmic Deity has likewise done the same. But what does this mean to us? Naught, except a symbol. It was His impulse, His will, His desire, His incentive, His idea and purpose to appear. The creative act then took place, and the process of manifestation began its cyclic evolutionary existence. The Cosmic Christ was crucified upon the cross of matter, and by that great sacrifice opportunity was offered to all evolving lives in all kingdoms of nature and in all created worlds. Thus they could progress. The work, in space and time, and the stupendous march of living beings towards an at present unrealised goal, began. We can give no reason for the choice made by Deity thus to act. We do not know His ultimate purpose or plan; and only aspects of His technique and method begin to appear to the illuminated mind. It has been hinted by Those Who know so much more than we, owing to their longer life cycle and experience, that some glimmering of that eternal and cosmic Intent is beginning to dawn in the consciousness of Those who have taken some of the higher initiations. Their nature must necessarily remain incomprehensible to mankind. All that the intelligent human being can grasp as he looks back over the history of the planet (as far as modern history can give it to him) is that there has been:
All this has been brought about as the result of the determined, conditioned activity of a Great Life, Which chose to make a major sacrifice and to be crucified upon the cardinal Cross of the Heavens, and thereby pass through a cosmic initiation; Which, from our minor and relatively uninformed angle, stands today crucified upon the fixed Cross in the Heavens, and through the medium of the mutable Cross is nevertheless producing changes in the evolutionary cycle, increasing refinement of form, and that intensification of life which distinguishes His creation.
A study of the three objectives above will convey to the earnest student a meagre understanding of the lowest aspects of the divine purpose. The wonder of the idea staggers human imagination. If this is a statement of fact, and if these ideas are but the expression of still deeper and more beautiful cosmic purposes, may not the goal be realised as being far beyond human computation, when its lowest expression embraces the highest intuitive and abstract concepts of which the most elevated human consciousness is capable? I commend this thought to your deep consideration.
It will be apparent, therefore, why it is the energy of the fourth ray which is related to this Law of Sacrifice, and who in this fourth planetary scheme and in our fourth globe, (the earth globe) so much emphasis is laid upon this Law of Sacrifice, "the Law of those who choose to die." The fourth ray of conflict (conflict with a view to eventual harmony) is at present not one of the manifesting rays, yet— in the light of the larger cycle—this ray is a major controlling factor in our earth evolution and in the evolution of our solar system, which is one of the fourth order. The realisation of this may indicate why our little planet, the Earth, is of such apparent importance in the solar system. It is not simply because we choose to think so and thus feed our own arrogance, but it is so primarily because the fourth ray of conflict and this first law are—in time and space—dominating factors in the fourth kingdom in nature, the human kingdom. Our planet, the fourth in the series of divine expression with which we are associated, has a peculiar relation to the position of our solar system in the series of solar systems which constitute the body of expression for The One About Whom Naught May Be Said.
It must never be forgotten that this fourth ray of conflict is the ray whose energies, rightly applied and understood, bring about harmony and at-one-ment. The result of this harmonising activity is beauty, but it is a beauty that is achieved through struggle. This produces a livingness through death, a harmony through strife, a Union through diversity and adversity.
The sacrifice of the solar angels brought the fourth kingdom in nature into being. The "returning nirvanis" (as they are called in esoteric literature), with deliberation and full understanding, took human bodies in order to raise those lower forms of life nearer to the goal. These were and are ourselves. The "Lords of Knowledge and Compassion and of ceaseless persevering Devotion" (who are ourselves) chose to die in order that lesser lives might live, and this sacrifice has made possible the evolution of the indwelling consciousness of Deity. This consciousness, having worked its way through the subhuman kingdoms in nature, needed the activity of the solar angels to make further progress possible.
Herein lies:
All this involves the death and sacrifice of a Son of God, a solar angel, for, from the angle of Deity, descent into matter, manifestation through form, the taking of a body, extension of consciousness through the process of incarnation, are all occultly considered to be death. But the angels "chose to die, and in dying, lived." Through their sacrifice, matter is lifted up into Heaven. It is this theme which fills the pages of The Secret Doctrine, and which is discussed in greater elaboration in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire. The sacrifice of the angels, the death of the Sons of God, the immolation of the mystic Christ, the crucifixion in time and space of all living entities, called souls—this is the theme of those books. This is the mystery hinted at in the world of Scriptures, and this is the secret of the ages, which is only discovered by the souls of men as each of them enters individually into conscious relation with his own soul and discovers that which he has joyously done in the past, and so arrives at the realisation of that supreme sacrifice which he made with deliberation. in the early dawn of time itself and which, at some point in his career as a soul on earth, he consciously and symbolically re-enacts for the benefit of other souls, in order to hasten their progress towards their goal. Then comes a life wherein, in some form or another, he portrays or works out within himself, but also before the watching world, that great symbolic drama which we call
The Sacrifice of a World Saviour. This is the theme of the historical romance of all those great Sons of God who down the ages, have arrived at an understanding of the significance of the divine purpose of God, of the Word incarnated through a planet, of those solar angels who are themselves, the Word incarnate through a human form. Whether they enact this drama, as did the Christ, so as to present to man the symbolism of death and sacrifice, or whether they enact this drama, as did the Buddha, so as to demonstrate to man the sacrifice and death of personal desire (to mention only two of the manifested Sons of God), the theme remains the same; the death of that which is lower in order to release that which is higher, or—on a larger scale—the death of that which is higher in the order and scale of being, in order to release that which is lower.
But the lesson needs to be learned (and it is the lesson which man is now engaged in learning) that death as the human consciousness understands it, pain and sorrow loss and, disaster, joy and distress, are only such because man, as yet, identifies himself with the life of the form and not with the life and consciousness of the soul, the solar angel, whose awareness is potentially that of the planetary Deity, Whose greater awareness (in His turn) is potentially that of the solar Deity. The moment a man identifies himself with his soul and not with his form, then he understands the meaning of the Law of Sacrifice; he is spontaneously governed by it; and he is one who will with deliberate intent choose to die. But there is no pain, no sorrow, and no real death involved.
This is the mystery of illusion and glamour. From these two imprisoning factors all World Saviours are free. They are not deceived. It is well, in passing, to point out here that in the New Age, we shall enlarge our concept of this term World Saviour. At present we apply it predominantly to those souls who emerge upon the teaching ray, the second or Christ ray. They enact the drama of salvation. But this is an error, due to the overpowering emotional glamour of the Piscean Age. This astral influence has its roots in the past Atlantean civilisation, which preceded ours. In that age, the astral body was the subject of attention. Much that happens today, and which may develop, has its roots in that aspect of energy. Seeds sown at that time are now brought to flower. This is very good and necessary, even if distressing in experience.
The World Saviours must be recognised as coming forth to serve the race, with sacrifice of some kind along many lines and in many forms. They may be great rulers, or dictators, politicians, statesmen, scientists and artists. Their work is the work of salvage, of restitution, or renovation and revelation, and, through the sacrifice of themselves, they accomplish it. As such, they must be recognised for what they are. Now they are misunderstood, misinterpreted, and judged by their mistakes more than by their aims. But they are dedicated souls. They rescue; they lift; they integrate; they illumine; and the net result of their work, from the angle of ultimate history, is good.
This Law of Sacrifice and the impulse to give can also be traced throughout every kingdom in nature. It is typified for us in the basic sacrifices which take place between the various kingdoms. The essential qualities of the minerals and chemicals of the earth are an instance in point. They are needed by other forms of life and are donated to man through the medium of the vegetable kingdom and through the water which he drinks, and thus, even in the first and densest kingdom in nature (whose consciousness is so far removed from ours) does this process of giving hold good. But the tracing of this Law of Sacrifice in the subhuman kingdoms is not possible here, and we must confine our attention to the world of human living and consciousness.
The Law of Sacrifice means also salvage and underlies all the evolutionary processes and particularly does this emerge into clear significance in the human family. The instinct to betterment, the urge to progress (physical, emotional and intellectual), the effort to ameliorate conditions, the tendency to philanthropy which is so rapidly taking hold of the world, and the sense of responsibility which does make men realise that they are their brother's keeper, are all expressions of this sacrificial instinct. This factor, though not unrecognised by modern psychology, is of far wider significance than has yet been realised. This instinctual tendency is the one that itself governs the Law of Rebirth. It is the expression of a still greater factor in the creative process. It is the major determining impulse which impelled the Soul of God Himself to enter into form life; which impels life, upon the involutionary arc, to progress down into matter, producing thus the immanence of God. It is that also which drives humanity forward into its wild struggle for material well-being. It is that too which urges man eventually to turn his back upon the "world, the flesh and the devil," as the New Testament puts it, and orient himself to the things of spiritual import. The prodigal son sacrificed the Father's home when he chose to wander forth into the far country. He wasted and sacrificed his substance through the use he made of the experience of life on earth, until he had exhausted all his resources and there was naught left but the eventual sacrifice of what he held so dear, but had discovered to be so unsatisfying. For these things of lesser values, he had sacrificed the higher values, and had to return again whence he came. Such is the life story of all the sons of God who came into incarnation, as given to us under the symbolism of the Bible, but the theme in all the world Bibles is the same.
This urge to sacrifice, to relinquish this for that, to choose one way or line of conduct and thus sacrifice another way, to lose in order eventually to gain; such is the underlying story of evolution. This needs psychological understanding. It is a governing principle of life itself, and runs like a golden pattern of beauty through the dark materials of which human history is constructed. When this urge to sacrifice in order to win, gain or salvage that which is deemed desirable is understood, then the whole clue to man's unfoldment will stand revealed. This tendency or urge is something different to desire, as desire is academically understood and studied today. What it really connotes is the emergence of that which is most divine in man. It is an aspect of desire, but it is the dynamic, active side and not the feeling, sensuous side. It is the predominant characteristic of Deity.
It is of interest, however, for students of esotericism to note that this urge to salvage and to sacrifice in order to redeem works out in different ways in the different planetary schemes. Each Ray Lord of a scheme, manifesting through a planet, expresses this urge in varying ways, and each expression is so different from the others that it is hard for a human being to do more than sense that method which exists on our own particular planet. Initiates know that the varying psychological characteristics of the ray Lives condition most peculiarly the method of expressing sacrifice, during the course of manifestation. The great stream of living energy which is manifesting itself in our Earth scheme of evolution is conditioned by a temperament, an attitude and an orientation that is that of a "Divine Rebel." It is only rebellion that produces pain and sorrow, but this rebellion is inherent and innate in the Deity of our planet Himself, the "One in Whom we live and move and have our being." It is, therefore, a tendency greater than the individual unit. It is only possible to express this amazing truth about the planetary Life under a veil of symbology and in terms of human thought. In this there is ever a risk, for men interpret all they read and hear and experience in terms of themselves.
The Old Commentary says:
"He entered into life and knew it to be death. He took a form and grieved to find it dark. He drove Himself forth from the secret place and sought the place of light, and light revealed all that he sought the least. He craved permission to return. He sought the Throne on high and Him who sat thereon. He said, 'I sought not this. I looked for peace, for light, for scope to serve, to prove my love and to reveal my power. Light there is none. Peace is not found. Let me return.'
But He Who sat upon the Throne turned not his head. He seemed not e'en to listen nor to hear. But from the lower sphere of darkness and of pain a voice came forth and cried: 'We suffer here. We seek the light. We need the glory of an entering God. [I can find no other words except these last two to express the ancient symbol from which I am translating.] Lift us to Heaven. Enter, O Lord, the tomb. Raise us into the light and make the sacrifice. Break down for us the prison wall and enter into pain.' The Lord of Life returned. He liked it not, and hence the pain."
The same conditions which blend the Law of Sacrifice with pain and sorrow and difficulty are found also on the planet Mars and on the planet Saturn. They are not found on the other planets. Those who have read The Secret Doctrine and A Treatise on Cosmic Fire with understanding know that our Earth is not a sacred planet. However, Saturn, Mars and our Earth constitute, in a curious esoteric manner, the personality of a stupendous ray Life, Whose energy is that of the third Ray. There are, as has been stated elsewhere, seven sacred planets but ten planetary schemes, and in three cases, (those of the three major rays) three planets constitute the personality of each ray Life. Some esoteric thinkers believe that there are twelve planets to be considered in our solar system, and there is a basis for their conclusion. The personality of this third ray Life functions through the following planets:
The potency of this Life is such that He requires three complete schemes—all three closely allied and interdependent—through which to express Himself. Uranus, Jupiter and Venus are similarly allied in order to manifest or express a great Life.
These facts constitute a tremendous mystery, and in no way negate the truth that Venus has a peculiar and intimate relation to the Earth. The point here being stressed is difficult to express, but of great importance. Let me be more explicit, by means of the following statements:
This instinct towards betterment through sacrifice is itself diverse. There is, first of all, the instinct towards individual betterment, which leads to selfishness, to a grasping, and to an orientation of the materially-minded towards material possessions. There is, secondly, the instinct towards an ameliorating of the conditions of other people, first from a selfish motive (the avoiding of personal distress at the sight of suffering), and secondly, through pure, disinterested service, which is a quality of the soul. There is, finally, the active application and the complete sacrifice of the lower separated self through the power to "stand in spiritual being" which necessarily infers that one has reached that state of consciousness which transcends what may be called, symbolically the "Earth, Saturn and Mars" state of consciousness.
Let it not, however, be forgotten that the contribution to these three great planetary Lives, as They embody pre-eminently the Law of Sacrifice, through pain and rebellion, is a major contribution to the whole, and greatly enriches the sum total. The units of divine life and the atoms of electrical energy who pass through these three planetary schemes are subject to them in order to acquire that psychic sensitivity which would otherwise be impossible. Only those units of life who are coloured predominantly by the third ray of activity pass for any length of time through these three schemes. A hint is here conveyed as to the prevalence of third ray Monads among the sons of men. The ray of active intelligence, expressing itself through the seven ray types, is above everything else the ray upon which the majority of human monads will, particularly, at this time, be found. We shall, therefore, find the following psychological types colouring the bulk of our humanity, and the ray of active intelligence expressing itself through:
Therefore, psychologically speaking, and when greater knowledge has been gained of the energies determining the type of a man, a person, for instance, whose Monad is presumably upon the third ray, his ego being on the fourth ray, and his personality on the seventh ray, will be described as a Three, IV, 7. Within this simple formula there will be lesser differentiations and a seventh ray personality may have a first ray mental body, a fifth ray astral body, and a third ray physical body. The formula which would describe him would be:
Three, IV, 7 { 1-5-3}
This, when interpreted, means:
Monad: Third ray
Ego: Fourth ray.
Personality: Seventh ray.
Mental body: First ray.
Astral body: Fifth ray.
Physical body: Third ray.
Students may find it of value to study themselves and others in conformity with the above, and to establish their personal formulae. This should be done in conjunction with a consultation of their horoscopes. This will be discussed more at length after we have considered the astrological implications of the rays, in the succeeding volume.
The Law of Sacrifice, therefore, can never be eliminated in our Earth scheme, as far as the human and subhuman reactions to sorrow and pain are concerned, nor can it be eliminated on the planets Saturn and Mars. It is relatively unknown in the other schemes. Bliss and Sacrifice are synonymous terms as far as our solar Logos is concerned, and also for the majority of the planetary Logoi. This must be remembered. A touch of this freedom from the limitations of pain and sorrow can be found among the more advanced sons of men on Earth, who know the ecstasy of the mystic, the exaltation of the initiate, and the exquisite agony of sacrifice or of any feeling which is carried forward to the point of sublimation. When this point has been reached, the mechanism of suffering and the ability to register sensuous perception is transcended, and momentarily the man escapes on to the plane of unity. Here there is no pain, no sorrow, no rebellion and no suffering. When the living, vibrating antaskarana or bridge is built, this "way of escape" becomes the normal path of life. Escape from pain is then automatic, for the centre of consciousness is elsewhere. In the cases mentioned above, and where the antaskarana is not a consummated, established fact, the tiny thread of the partially constructed "way of escape", under tremendous pressure and excitation, shoots forward like a quivering band of light, and momentarily touches the light that is the Self. Hence ecstasy and exaltation. But it does not last, and cannot be consciously recovered until the third initiation has been taken. After that the "way of escape" becomes the "way of daily livingness" (to translate inadequately the occult and ancient phrase). Then pain is steadily transcended, and the pairs of opposites—pleasure and pain—have no longer any hold over the disciple.
All this constitutes the theme of esoteric psychology and, when rightly understood, will explain:
This is the basic theme of The Bhagavad Gita. In that treatise on the soul and its unfoldment, we are taught to "perform action without attachment," and thereby lay the foundation for later relinquishings which can be effected without pain and the sense of loss, because we have acquired the power, latent ever within ourselves, to detach ourselves from achieved possessions. This law works out in many ways, and it is not possible to do more than indicate a few of those general significances which embody the major lessons of every disciple.
First, the soul must relinquish the personality. For ages, the soul has identified itself with the lower personal self, and through the agency of that lower self has gained experience and acquired much knowledge. The time has to come when that agency is "no longer dear" to the soul, and their respective positions are reversed. No longer is the soul identified with the personality but the personality becomes identified with the soul and loses its separate quality and position. All that has been acquired through age-long struggle and strife, through pain and pleasure, through disaster and satisfied desire, and all that the wheel of life, which has turned ceaselessly, has brought into the possession of the soul—All has to be relinquished. Life, for the disciple, becomes then a series of detaching processes, until he has learnt the lesson of renunciation.
The sequence is, first dispassion, then discrimination, and finally detachment. On these three words must all disciples meditate, if they are ever to reap the fruits of sacrifice.
"Having pervaded the worlds with a fraction of Myself, I remain." Such is the theme of the soul's endeavor, and such is the spirit which must underlie all creative work. In this thought lies the clue to the symbol of the Law of Sacrifice—a rosy cross with a bird flying over it. This is the loved cross (rose being the colour of affection), with the bird (symbol of the soul) flying free in time and space.
Secondly, the soul has also to relinquish not only its tie and its gain through contact with the personal self, but it has most definitely to relinquish its tie with other personal selves. It must learn to know and to meet other people only on the plane of the soul. In this lies for many a disciple a hard lesson. They may care little for themselves and may have learnt much personal detachment. Little may they cherish the gain of contact with the lower personal self. They are learning to transcend all that, and may have transcended to a great degree, but their love for their children, their family, their friends and intimates is for them of supreme importance and that love holds them prisoners in the lower worlds. They do not stop to recognise that their love is primarily love for the personalities, and only secondarily for the souls. Upon this rock, many disciples are for lives broken, until the time comes when, through pain and suffering and the constant losing of that which they so much cherish, their love enters into a newer, a higher and a truer phase. They rise above the personal, and find again—after felt loss and suffering— those whom now they love as souls. Then they realise that there has been gain and not loss, and that only that which was illusory, ephemeral and untrue has disappeared. The real Man has been gained and can never be lost again.
This is most frequently the problem of parents who are upon the Path of Discipleship, and it is through their children that the lesson is learnt which can release them for initiation. They hold their children to them, and this, being counter to the law of nature, works out disastrously. It is the height of selfishness. And yet, did they but know and see aright, they would realise that to hold, one must detach, and to keep, one must release. Such is the law. The soul has also to learn to relinquish the fruits or gains of service and learn to serve without attachment to results, to means, to persons or to praise. This I will deal with later.
In the fourth place, the soul has to relinquish also the sense of responsibility for that which other disciples may do. So many earnest servers hold on to their fellow workers, and do not relinquish their hold upon them or upon their activities upon the outer plane. This is a subtle error, for it masks itself behind a sense of righteous responsibility, an adherence to principles as they appear to the individual, and the accumulated experience of the disciple; which is necessarily incomplete experience. The relation between disciples is egoic and not personal. The link is of the soul and not of the mind. Each personality pursues its own course, must shoulder its own responsibilities, work out its own dharma, and fulfil its own karma, and so answer for itself to its Lord and Master, the Soul. And answer there will be. Does this itself sound of the nature of separation and aloneness? It does, as far as outer activities are concerned. Only as servers cooperate from the standpoint of an inner subjective linking can a united world be carried forward.
The establishing of an inner contact and relationship, based on a realised oneness of purpose and soul love, is magnificently possible, and for this all disciples must struggle and strive. On the outer plane, owing to the separative mind during this age and time, a complete accord on detail, on method, and on interpretation of principles is not possible. But—the inner relationships and cooperation Must be established and developed, in spite of the outer divergences of opinion. When the inner link is held in love, and when disciples relinquish the sense of authority over each other and of responsibility for each others activities, and at the same time stand shoulder to shoulder in the One Work, then the differences, the divergences, and the points of disagreement will automatically be overcome. There are three rules which are important to disciples at this time:
First, see to it that you permit no rift to appear in the inner relation in which you stand to each other. The integrity of the inner band of servers must be preserved intact.
Secondly, pursue your own duty and task, shoulder your own responsibility, and then leave your fellow disciples to do the same, free from the impact of your thought and criticism. The ways and means are many; the points of view vary with every personality. The principle of work is love for all men and service to the race, preserving at the same time a deeper inner love for those with whom you are destined to work. Each soul grows into the way of light through service rendered, through experience gained, through mistakes made, and through lessons learnt. That necessarily must be personal and individual. But the work itself is one. The Path is one. The love is one. The goal is one. These are the points that matter.
Thirdly, preserve ever in work the attitude of mind which must grow out of the two rules above, faithfully followed. Your point of view and consciousness are your own, and therefore, are for you, right. Not necessarily is that which seems so clear to you and of such vital importance to you, of the same value or importance to your brothers. Your important principle may be realised by an abler mind than yours and by a more advanced disciple as embodying an aspect of a greater principle, an interpretation of a principle, correct and proper at a certain time, but capable of a different application at another time, and by another mind. Under the Law of Sacrifice these three rules might be interpreted thus:
These are hard sayings, but they are the rules by which the Teachers on the inner side guide Their actions and Their thoughts when working with each other and with Their disciples. The inner integrity is necessarily a proven fact to Them. To the disciple it is not. But to the inner Teachers, the outer differences are abhorrent. They leave each other free to serve the Plan. They train Their disciples (no matter what their degree) to serve that Plan with freedom, for in freedom and in the sense of joy and in the strength of inner cooperative love is the best work done. It is sincerity for which They look. The willingness to sacrifice the lesser when the greater is sensed is that for which They search. The spontaneous relinquishing of long-held ideals when a greater and more inclusive presents itself is Their guide. The sacrifice of pride and the sacrifice of personality when the vastness of the work and the urgency of the need are realised, sway Them to cooperation. It is essential that the disciples shall learn to sacrifice the non-essential in order that the work may go forward. Little as one may realise it, the many techniques and methods and ways are secondary to the major world need. There are many ways and many points of view, and many experiments and many efforts—abortive or successful, and all of them come and go. But humanity remains. All of them are in evidence of the multiplicity of minds, and of experiences, but the goal remains. Difference is ever of the personality. When this Law of Sacrifice governs the mind, it will inevitably lead all disciples to relinquish the personal in favor of the universal and of the soul, that knows no separation, no difference. Then no pride, nor a short and myopic perspective, nor love of interference (so dear to many people), nor misunderstanding of motive will hinder their cooperation with each other as disciples, nor their service to the world.
2.
2. The Law of Magnetic Impulse
Esoteric Name: The Law of Polar Union
Symbol: Two fiery balls and triangle.
Ray Energy: Radiatory energy, second ray manifesting.
It would be well to remember that we are not considering here that aspect of the second ray which is peculiarly concerned with form, and which constitutes the cohering, magnetic agent in any form, whether atom, man or solar system. We are not here concerned with the relation between forms, even though due (as is essentially the case) to second ray energy. Nor are we occupied with considering the relation of soul to form, either that of the One Soul to the many forms, or of an individualised soul to its imprisoning form. The laws we are considering are concerned entirely with inter-soul relationship, and with the synthesis underlying the forms. They govern the conscious contact existing between the many aspects of the One Soul. I have expressed this phrase with care.
This Law of Magnetic Impulse governs the relation, the interplay, the intercourse, and the interpenetration between the seven groups of souls on the higher levels of the mental plane which constitute the first of the major form differentiations. These we can only study intelligently from the angle of the seven ray groups, as they compose the spiritual aspect of the human family. This law governs also the relationships between souls, who, whilst in manifestation through form, are en rapport with each other. It is a law, therefore, which concerns the inter-relation of all souls within the periphery of what the Christians call "the Kingdom of God." Through a right understanding of this law, the man arrives at a knowledge of his subjective life; he can wield power subjectively, and thus work consciously in form and with form, yet holding his polarisation and his consciousness in another dimension, and functioning actively behind the scenes. This law concerns those inner esoteric activities which are not primarily related to form life.
This law is of major importance because of the fact that Deity itself is on the second ray; because this is a second ray solar system, and therefore all rays and the varying states or groupings of consciousness, and all forms, in or out of physical manifestation, are coloured and dominated by this ray, and therefore again finally controlled by this law. The Law of Magnetic Impulse is in the soul realm what the Law of Attraction is in the world of phenomena. It is, in reality, the subjective aspect of that Law. It is the Law of Attraction as it functions in the kingdom of souls, but because it is functioning on those levels where the "great heresy of separateness" is not to be found, it is difficult for us—with our active, discriminating minds—to understand its implications and its significance. This Law governs the soul realm, to it the Solar Angels respond, and under its stimulation, the egoic lotuses unfold. It could perhaps be best understood if it is considered as:
This law governs also the relation of the soul of a group to the soul of other groups. It governs the interplay, vital but unrealised yet as a potency, between the soul of the fourth kingdom in nature, the human, and the soul of the three subhuman kingdoms, and likewise that of the three superhuman kingdoms. Owing to the major part which humanity has to play in the great scheme or Plan of God, this is the law which will be the determining law of the race. This will not, however, be the case until the majority of human beings understand something of what it means to function as a soul. Then, under obedience to this law, humanity will act as a transmitter of light, energy and spiritual potency to the subhuman kingdoms, and will constitute a channel of communication between "that which is above and that which is below." Such is the high destiny before the race.
Just as certain human beings have, through meditation, discipline and service, most definitely made a contact with their own souls, and can therefore become channels for soul expression, and mediums for the distribution into the world of soul energy, so men and women, who are oriented to soul living in their aggregate, form a group of souls, en rapport with the source of spiritual supply. They have, as a group, and from the angle of the Hierarchy, established a contact and are "in touch" with the world of spiritual realities. Just as the individual disciple stabilises this contact and learns to make a rapid alignment and then, and only then, can come into touch with the Master of his group and intelligently respond to the Plan, so does this group of aligned souls come into contact with certain greater Lives and Forces of Light, such as the Christ and the Buddha. The aggregated aspiration, consecration and intelligent devotion of the group carries the individuals of which it is composed to greater heights than would be possible alone. The group stimulation and the united effort sweep the entire group to an intensity of realisation that would otherwise be impossible. Just as the Law of Attraction, working on the physical plane, brought them together as men and women into one group effort, so the Law of Magnetic Impulse can begin to control them when, again as a group and only as a group, they unitedly constitute themselves channels for service in pure self-forgetfulness.
This thought embodies the opportunity immediately before all groups of aspirants and allied men of good will in the world today. If they work together as a group of souls, they can accomplish much. This thought illustrates also the significance of this law which does produce polar union. What is needed to be grasped is that in this work, there is no personal ambition implied, even of a spiritual nature and no personal union sought. This is not the mystical union of the scriptures or of the mystical tradition. It is not alignment and union with a Master's group, or fusion with one's inner band of pledged disciples, nor even with one's own Ray life. All these factors constitute preliminary implications and are of an individual application. Upon this sentence I ask you to ponder. This union is a greater and more vital thing because it is a group union.
What we are seeking to do is to carry forward a group endeavor which is of such moment that, at the right time, it could produce, in its growing momentum, such a potent, magnetic impulse that it will reach those Lives Who brood over humanity and our civilisation, and Who work through the Masters of the Wisdom and the assembled Hierarchy. This group endeavor will call forth from Them a responsive and magnetic impulse, which will bring together, through the medium of all the aspiring groups, the overshadowing beneficent Forces. Through the concentrated effort of these groups in the world today (who constitute subjectively One Group) light and inspiration and spiritual revelation can be released in such a flood of power that it will work definite changes in the human consciousness and help to ameliorate conditions in this needy world. It will open men's eyes to the basic realities, which are, as yet, only dimly sensed by the thinking public. Humanity itself must apply the necessary correctives, believing it can do so in the strength of its own sensed wisdom and strength; yet all the time, behind the scenes, stand the grouped world aspirants, working silently, in unison with each other and the Hierarchy, and thus keeping the channel open through which the needed wisdom, strength and love can flow.
There are, therefore, to be found in this great task the following relations and groupings. These must be considered, and are as follows:
You will note that the Buddha focuses in Himself the downpouring forces, whilst the Christ focuses in Himself the outgoing demand and the spiritual aspirations of the entire planet. This makes a planetary alignment of great potency. Should the needed work be accomplished, the needed adjustments in the world can be made. The success or failure lies largely in the hands of those scattered but spiritually aligned men and women whom we call the New Group of World Servers.
In the above tabulation, there is portrayed a little of what is implied in the words "The Law of Polar Union." The whole process concerns consciousness, and the results worked out in consciousness, with the subsequent physical plane happenings, dependent upon the conscious realisations of the men of good will in, or out of, the New Group of World Servers.
This work, carried forward successfully and intelligently, should make it possible to inaugurate a new relation between the Hierarchy and mankind. This effort could mark (and let us hope it will) the beginning of a new type of mediatory work—a work carried forward by a salvaging group of servers, who are in training for the establishing of that group which will eventually save the world under the Law of Sacrifice. This mediatory work, however, involves the recognition of the Law of Magnetic Impulse, and a desire to understand it, and to cooperate with Those Who wield it. Through its medium and the right understanding of the Law, it should be possible to establish the needed union between the liberated souls (who are in themselves the symbol of the Soul in all forms) and the souls in prison.
For the individual disciple, the significance of this Law of Magnetic Impulse and the corresponding relationships in his own life might also be shown in tabulated form:
It is wise always to remember that on the plane of soul existence there is no separation, no "my soul and thy soul." It is only in the three worlds of illusion and of maya that we think in terms of souls and bodies. This is an occult platitude and well known, but the re-emphasis of the well known truth will sometimes serve to bring home to you its exactitude.
The second illustration which may perhaps make clearer the meaning and purpose of this law, and which will be of deep interest to esotericists, is to be found in connection with the symbol that specifies this law in the sacred records and in the archives of the Lodge. It is the symbol of the two balls of fire and the triangle. This has not only a planetary and cosmic significance, but has a very definite relation to the individual unfoldment (in the physical body) of the spiritual life of the disciple. Let me put it very simply. Students know that there are in the head two centres, the ajna centre and the head centre; two balls of fire, symbolic of the fiery consciousness of the soul, and not of the animal consciousness of the body.
These two centres (externalised by the two glands, the pineal gland and the pituitary body) become vibrant and alive and intensely active, through service and meditation and right aspiration. A line of contact between them is eventually set up and established with increasing potency. There is also another line of outgoing fiery power toward the top of the spinal column. As the life of the soul gets stronger, the radiance of the centres increases, and the periphery of their sphere of influence is set up, creating a dual magnetic field. Speaking esoterically they are "magnetically impelled towards each other" and towards the stored up energy to be found in the spine, and localised in the five centres up the spine. Eventually the interplay is so powerful that a triangle of force appears within the radius of the magnetic field, and this triangle of light, of living fire, links the three "laya centres." The symbol is then completed, and the indication is that the disciple is now controlled by the subjective side of his nature. He is now governed by the Law of Magnetic Impulse (as the linking of the head centres demonstrates) and the two aspects of his nature, higher and lower, which constitute the two poles with which he is concerned, are now united. The polar union has been brought about. The subject of this magnetic interplay offers food for thought and indicates the way of group, and of individual service.
As the individual aspirants lose sight of self in service, and as they arrive at the stage of indifference to personality claims and happenings, they learn to cherish a spirit of confidence, of joy and of love, deep and lasting, for each other; they learn to work together whole-heartedly for the helping of the world and the assistance of the Hierarchy.
3.
3. The Law of Service
Esoteric Name: The Law of Water and the Fishes.
Symbol: A man with a pot of water.
Ray Energy: Outpouring energy, sixth ray, vivifying life.
We come now to the consideration of the third Law of the Soul, which is intended to govern all soul activity. It is the Law of Service. However, before we elaborate this theme, there are three things which I seek to say and which merit our careful attention.
First, is the fact that the result of all contact achieved in meditation and the measure of our success, will be determined by the ensuing service to the race. If there is right understanding, there will necessarily be right action.
It has previously been pointed out that the three great sciences which will come to the fore in the New Age, and which will lead humanity from the unreal to the real, and from aspiration to realisation are:
Secondly, this Law of Service is something which may not be escaped. Evasion brings its penalties, if that evasion is conscious. Ability to serve marks a definite stage of advance upon the Path, and until that stage is reached, spontaneous service, rendered in love and guided by wisdom, cannot be given. What is found up to that time is good intention, mixed motives, and oft fanaticism. This we will later elucidate.
This law is the imposition upon the planetary rhythm of certain energies and impulses which emanate from that sign of the zodiac into which we are steadily moving. Therefore, there is no escape. It is the effect of this force which, in some countries, is regimenting the masses in such a way that the individual serves the group by a forced negation of his personal self. His own ideas, his own personal well being and his own individuality are subordinated to the whole, and he is rendered relatively futile from the angle of his soul unfoldment. He is forced to conform, willingly or unwillingly to group conditions. This is one of the lowest manifestations of the impact of this law upon the human consciousness. In its highest expression, we have the service rendered upon the planet in all the kingdoms of nature by the Hierarchy of Masters. Between these two extreme expressions, there is a vast distinction, but both are equally brought about by response (the one consciously rendered and the other unconsciously directed) to the Law of Service.
Thirdly this Law of Service was expressed for the first time fully by the Christ two thousand years ago. He was the forerunner of the Aquarian Age, and hence His constant emphasis upon the fact that He was the "water of life", the "living water" which men needed. Hence the esoteric name of this law is that of "water and the fishes." The Piscean age slowly, very slowly, prepared the way for the divine expression of service, which will be the glory of the coming centuries. Today, we have a world which is steadily coming to the realisation that "no man liveth unto himself", and that only as the love, about which so much has been written and spoken, finds its outlet in service, can man begin to measure up to his innate capacity.
The sign for the Aquarian Age is that of a man, carrying on his shoulders a jar of water so full that it pours over to all and sundry, and yet it diminishes not. The sign for this Law of Service is very similar, but the difference lies in this; that the man stands, perfectly balanced in the form of a cross, with arms stretched out and with the water pot upon his head. In this difference there lies much of real significance. The jar of water, posed upon the shoulders, is a sign of the burden of service. It is not easy to serve. Man is today only beginning to learn how to serve. The jar of water upon the head of the man, who has been upon the cross of sacrifice for so long a time that the position has become to him perfectly natural, indicates that the cross, which has upheld him for so long, has now disappeared. The man with the water jar upon his head indicates to us poise, equilibrium and balance. For this balance, the understanding of the Law of Magnetic Impulse has prepared him. That is the Law of Polar Union and its symbol is the originator of the zodiacal sign for the constellation Libra—balance and service. These are the two expressions of Divinity which are, today, man's next great objective.
Service is usually interpreted as exceedingly desirable and it is seldom realised how very difficult service essentially is. It involves so much sacrifice of time and of interest and of one's own ideas, it requires exceedingly hard work, because it necessitates deliberate effort, conscious wisdom, and the ability to work without attachment. These qualities are not easy of attainment by the average aspirant, and yet today the tendency to serve is an attitude which is true of a vast majority of the people in the world. Such has been the success of the evolutionary process.
Service is frequently regarded as an endeavor to bring people around to the point of view of the one who serves, because what the would-be server has found to be good and true and useful, must necessarily be good and true and useful for all. Service is viewed as something we render to the poor, the afflicted, the diseased and the unhappy, because we think we want to help them, little realising that primarily this help is offered because we ourselves are made uncomfortable by distressing conditions, and must therefore endeavor to ameliorate those conditions in order ourselves to be comfortable again. The act of thus helping releases us from our misery, even if we fail to release or relieve the sufferers.
Service is frequently an indication of a busy and overactive temperament, or of a self-satisfied disposition, which leads its possessor to a strenuous effort to change situations, and make them what he feels they should be, thus forcing people to conform to that which the server feels should be done.
Or again, service can grow out of a fanatical desire to tread in the footsteps of the Christ, that great Son of God Who "went about doing good", leaving an example that we should follow in His footsteps. People, therefore, serve from a sense of obedience, and not from a spontaneous outgoing towards the needy. The essential quality for service is, therefore, lacking, and from the start they fail to do more than make certain gestures. Service can likewise be rendered from a deep seated desire for spiritual perfection. It is regarded as one of the necessary qualifications for discipleship and, therefore, if one is to be a disciple, one must serve. This theory is correct, but the living substance of service is lacking.
The ideal is right and true and meritorious, but the motive behind it all is entirely wrong. Service can also be rendered because it is becoming increasingly the fashion and the custom to be occupied with that form of service the tide is currently on. Many are actively serving in welfare movements, in philanthropic endeavors, in Red Cross work, in educational uplifts, and in the task of ameliorating distressing world conditions. It is fashionable to serve in some way. Service gives a sense of power; service brings one friends; service is a form of group activity, and frequently brings far more to the server (in a worldly sense) than to the served.
And yet, in spite of all this which indicates wrong motives and false aspiration, service of a kind is constantly and readily being rendered. Humanity is on its way to a right understanding of services; it is becoming responsive to this new law and is learning to react to the steadily imposing will of that great Life who informs the constellation Aquarius, just as our solar Logos informs our solar system and our planetary Logos informs our earth planet.
The idea of service is, at this time, the major idea to be grasped for (in grasping it) we open ourselves wide to the new incoming influences. The Law of Service is the expression of the energy of a great Life, who, in cooperation with Him "in Whom we live and move and have our being", is subjecting the human family to certain influences and streams of energy which will eventually do three things:
This unfolding of what we might call "the consciousness of the heart" or the development of true feeling is the first step towards group awareness. This group awareness and this identification with the feeling aspect of all groups is the quality which leads to service—a service to be rendered as the Masters render it, and as the Christ demonstrated it for us in Galilee.
Therefore, the service rendered today is what it is because the response of men to these new Aquarian influences is being registered at present in the astral body and is working out through the solar plexus. This accounts for the emotional nature of most of the service rendered in the world at this time; it is responsible for the hatred engendered by those who react sensitively to suffering and who, because of their emotional identification with suffering, lay the blame for the distressing conditions encountered upon a person or a group of persons. It is responsible also for the generally unsatisfactory nature of much of that which is now being done to relieve conditions. It is unsatisfactory from the higher angle of the soul.
When, however, the service rendered is based upon a mental response to humanity's need, then the whole problem is lifted out of the veil of illusion and out of the valley of the world glamour. Then the impulses to serve are registered in the heart centre and not in the solar plexus, and when this is more generally the case, then we shall have a happier and more successful demonstration of service.
How do we define the word "service"?
The consideration of these questions will enable me to do three things:
How do we define the word "Service"?
The definition of this word is not easy. There has been too much attempt to define it from the angle of personality knowledge. Service can be briefly defined as the spontaneous effect of soul contact. This contact is so definite and fixed that the life of the soul can pour through into the instrument which the soul must perforce use upon the physical plane. It is the manner whereby the nature of that soul can demonstrate in the world of human affairs. Service is not a quality or a performance; it is not an activity towards which people must strenuously strive, nor is it a method of world salvage. This distinction must be clearly grasped, or else our whole attitude to this momentous demonstration of the success of the evolutionary process in humanity will be at fault. Service is a life demonstration. It is a soul urge, and is as much an evolutionary impetus of the soul as the urge to self-preservation or to the reproduction of the species is a demonstration of the animal soul. This is a statement of importance. It is a soul instinct, if we may use such an inadequate expression and is, therefore, innate and peculiar to soul unfoldment. It is the outstanding characteristic of the soul, just as desire is the outstanding characteristic of the lower nature. It is group desire, just as in the lower nature it is personality desire. It is the urge to group good. It cannot, therefore, be taught or imposed upon a person as a desirable evidence of aspiration, functioning from without and based upon a theory of service. It is simply the first real effect, evidenced upon the physical plane, of the fact that the soul is beginning to express itself in outer manifestation.
All these laws of the Soul (and the Law of Service is no exception) manifest inevitably in two ways. First, there is their effect upon the individual. This occurs when the soul has been definitely contacted and the mechanism of the soul begins to respond. Evidence of this should work out now among the esoteric students, scattered over the world, for they have reached a point where the true server can emerge from their ranks, and give evidence of an established soul contact. Secondly, these soul laws are beginning to have a group effect in humanity itself, and to influence the race of men as a whole.
This effect is somewhat in the nature of a reflection in the lower nature of a higher consciousness, and therefore today we have much running after service, and much philanthropic effort. All of it is, however, deeply coloured by personality, and it often produces much harm, for people seek to impose their ideas of service and their personal techniques upon other aspirants. They may have become sensitive to impression, but they oft-times misinterpret the truth and are biassed by personality ends. They must learn to lay the emphasis upon soul contact and upon an active familiarity with the egoic life, and not upon the form side of service. May I beg those of you who respond to these ideas and are sensitive to soul impression (oft-times misinterpreting the truth, being biassed by personality ends) to lay the emphasis upon soul contact and not upon the form side of service. Activity of the form side lays stress upon personality ambition, veiling them with the glamour of service. If care over the essential of service—soul contact—is taken, then the service rendered will flow with spontaneity along the right lines and bear much fruit. Of this, the selfless service and the deep flow of spiritual life, which have been demonstrated in the world work of late, is a hopeful indication.
What is the field of this science, and why do we call it a science?
The next point to consider is the field of this service, and its nature as a science. The field of service, first of all, demonstrates as the life of the Spirit, working within the region of a man's own nature. The first thing the soul has to do when contact has been made and the man knows it in his brain consciousness and owing to the active impression of the mind, is to make the man aware that he is a living principle of divinity, and then to prepare the lower threefold nature so that it can automatically submit to the Law of Sacrifice. Then it will offer no impediment to the life which must and will pour through it. This is the first and hardest task, and with this task the aspirants of the world are at this time engaged.
When the rhythm of this law has been imposed and the natural impetus of the man in incarnation is to be an expression of the soul, and when this rhythm can be established as a natural daily expression, the man begins to "stand in spiritual being" and the life which pours through him, gently and naturally, will then have an effect upon his environment and his associates. This effect can then be called a "life of service "
Too much emphasis has been laid upon the process whereby the lower nature is to be subjugated to the higher Law of Service, and the idea of sacrifice, in its worst implications, has been developed. This idea emphasises the necessary and inevitable clashing between the lower nature, working under its own laws, and the higher aspects as they work under the spiritual laws. Then the sacrifice of the lower to the higher assumes great proportions, and the word becomes quite suitable. There is sacrifice. There is suffering. There is a painful process of detachment. There is a long effort to let the life flow through, whilst steadily the personality throws up one barrier and obstruction after another. This stage and attitude we can view with sympathy and understanding, for there are those who have so much theory about service and its expression that they fail to serve and also fail to comprehend with understanding the period of pain which ever precedes enlarged service. Their theories block the way to true expression and shut the door on real comprehension. The mind element is too active.
When the personal lower self is subordinated to the higher rhythms and obedient to the new Law of Service, then the life of the soul will begin to flow through the man to others, and the effect in a man's immediate family and group will be to demonstrate a real understanding and a true helpfulness. As the flow of life becomes stronger through use, the effect will spread out from the small surrounding family group to the neighborhood. A wider range of contacts becomes possible, until eventually (if several lives have been thus spent under the influence of the Law of Service) the effect of the outpouring life may become nationwide and worldwide. But it will not be planned, nor will it be fought for, as an end in itself. It will be a natural expression of the soul's life, taking form and direction according to a man's ray and past life expression; it will be coloured and ordered by environing conditions; by time, by period, by race and age. It will be a living flow, and a spontaneous giving forth, and the life, power and love demonstrated, being sent forth from soul levels, will have a potent, attractive force upon the group units with which the disciple may come in contact in the three worlds of soul expression.
There are no other worlds wherein the soul may at this time thus express itself. Nothing can stop or arrest the potency of this life of natural, loving service, except in those cases wherein the personality gets in the way. Then service, as the Teachers on the inner side of life understand it, gets distorted and altered into busy-ness. It becomes changed into ambition, into an effort to make others serve as we think service should be rendered, and into a love of power which hinders true service instead of into love of our fellow men. There is a point of danger in every life when the theory of service is grasped, and the higher law is recognised; then the imitative quality of the personality, its monkey nature, and the eagerness of a high grade aspiration can easily mistake theory for reality, and the outer gestures of a life of service for the natural, spontaneous flow of soul life through its mechanism of expression.
The need for an increasing subtlety of discrimination is constant, and all dedicated students are urged to take stock of themselves at this time. They face a new cycle of service and must avail themselves of a new day of opportunity. There is a great need to stand in spiritual being; where there is this poised standing, there will be no need for others to incite one to service. Let the "Forces of Light" flow through, and the ranks of the world servers will be rapidly filled. Let the "Spirit of Peace" use the lower nature as an instrument, and there will be peace and harmony within the personal field of service. Let the "Spirit of Good Will" dominate our minds and there will be no room for the spirit of criticism and the spreading of destructive discussion. It is for this reason and in order to develop a group of servers who can work along true and spiritual lines, that there must be increasing emphasis upon the need for Harmlessness. Harmlessness prepares the way for the inflow of life; harmlessness dissipates the obstructions to the free outpouring of love; harmlessness is the key to the release of the lower nature from the grip of the world illusion and from the power of phenomenal existence.
We have expressed our belief that one of the major sciences of the coming age will be built up around the active rendering of service. We have used the word "Science" because service, as a spiritual quality, will rapidly be recognised as the phenomenal expression of an inner reality, and along the line of a right understanding of service will come much revelation as to the nature of the soul. Service is a method of producing phenomenal outer and tangible results upon the physical plane; I call your attention to this as an evidence of its creative quality. By right of this creative quality, service will eventually be regarded as a world science. It is a creative urge, a creative impulse, a creative momentous energy. This creativity of service has already been vaguely recognized in the world of human affairs under varying names, such as the science of vocational training. Recognition of the impetus coming from a right understanding of social relations and their study is not lacking. Much is also being studied along this same line in connection with criminology and the right handling of the youth of any nation and national group.
Service is, par excellence, the technique of correct group relations, whether it be the right guidance of an anti-social child in a family, the wise assimilation of a trouble-maker in a group, the handling of anti-social groups in our big cities, the correct technique to be employed in child guidance in our educational centres or the relation between the religious and political parties, or between nation and nation. All of this is part of the new and growing Science of Service. The imposition of this soul law will eventually bring light into a distracted world, and release human energies in right directions. It is not here possible to do more than indicate this briefly. The theme is too large, for it includes the awakening of the spiritual consciousness with its responsibilities, and the welding of the individual into an awakened group; it involves the imposition also of a newer and a higher rhythm upon world affairs. This constitutes, therefore, a definitely scientific endeavor and warrants the attention of the best minds. It should also eventually call forth the consecrated effort of the world disciples.
What are the characteristics of the true server?
These characteristics can be easily and briefly noted. They are not exactly what one may have been led to believe. I am not here speaking of the qualifications required for the treading of the Path of Discipleship or the Probationary Path. These are well known; they are the platitudes of the spiritual life, and constitute the battleground, or the Kurukshetra of most aspirants. We are here concerned with those qualities which will emerge when a man is working under the impulse of the Law of Service. They will appear when he is a real channel for the life of the soul. His major characteristics will then be three in number:
3. The third characteristic of the new server is joyfulness. This takes the place of criticism (that dire creator of misery) and is the silence that sounds.
It would be well to ponder on these last words, for their true meaning cannot be conveyed in words, but only through a life dedicated to the newer rhythms and to the service of the whole. Then that "sounding joy" and that "joyful sounding" can make its true meaning felt.
What effect does service have upon the mind, the emotions and the etheric body?
It must be remembered that it is through its effects that the scientist of the future will begin to deduce the effectual existence of an inner cause, of an inner reality, or of a self or soul. When alignment has been effected, when the at-one-ment has been more constantly made, and when the antaskarana (the bridge connecting the higher and the lower) is in definite process of construction, the true nature of service, as practiced by any individual begins to emerge. The first effect of the inflowing force of the soul, which is the major factor leading to demonstrated service, is to integrate the personality, and to bring all the three lower aspects of the man into one serving whole. This is a difficult and elementary stage from the angle of the student in the Hall of Wisdom. The man becomes aware of his power and capacity, and, having pledged himself to service, he begins furiously to serve; he creates this, that and the other channel for the expression of the force which is driving him; he tears down and destroys just as fast as he creates.
He temporarily becomes a serious problem to the other servers with whom he may be associated, for he sees no vision but his own, and the aura of criticism which surrounds him and the strenuous push of the assertive force within him produces the stumbling of the "little ones" and there has to be constant repair work undertaken (on his behalf) by older, more experienced disciples. He becomes the victim, for the time, of his own aspiration to serve, and of the force which is flowing through him. This stage will in some cases fan into flame the latent seeds of ambition. This ambition is, in the last analysis, only the personality urge towards betterment, and in its right place and time is a divine asset, but it has to be rooted out when the personality becomes the instrument of the soul. In other cases, the server will come into a wider and more loving vision, and, taking his eyes off his own accomplishment, will go to work in silent unison with the groups of all true servers. He will submerge his personality tendencies, his ideas and his ambitions in the greater good of the whole, and self will be lost to sight.
As the work of learning to serve proceeds and the inner contact becomes more sure, the next thing which will occur will be a deepening of the life of meditation, and a more frequent illumining of the mind by the light of the soul. Thereby the Plan is revealed. This will not be the shedding of that light upon the plans of the server either for his own life or upon his chosen field of service. This must be clearly grasped. That might only indicate (if it seems to occur) the mental agility of the server to find means for the justification of his own ambition. It will be the recognition, in the mind, of the Plan of God for the world at the particular time in which the server is existing, and the part that he may play in furthering the ends of those who are responsible for the carrying forward of that Plan. He then becomes willing to be a tiny part of a greater Whole, and this attitude never varies, even when the disciple has become a Master of the Wisdom. He is then in contact with a still vaster concept of the Plan and His humility and His sense of proportion remain unchanged.
An integrated, intelligent personality is adequate to deal with the working out of the server's part in the active work of the world, provided his vision is not blurred by personal ambition nor his activity such that it degenerates into a sense of rush and a display of busy feverishness. It takes the soul itself to reveal to the poised and peaceful mind the next step to be taken in the work of world evolution, through the impartation of ideas. Such is the Plan for humanity.
As the force pours through the personality and gives to the server this necessary vision and the sense of power which will enable him to cooperate, it finds its way into the emotional or astral body. Here again the effect will be dual, owing to the condition of the server's astral body and his inner orientation. It may enhance the glamour and deepen the illusion, swinging the server into the psychic illusory effects there to be found. When this happens, he will emerge upon the physical plane glamoured by the idea, for instance, of his amazing personal contacts, whereas he has only contacted some group thought-form of the Great Ones. He will be under the illusion that he is a chosen vessel or mouthpiece for the Hierarchy, when the truth is that he is deceived by the many voices, because the Voice of the Silence has been dimmed by the clamour of the astral plane; he will be deluded by the idea that there is no other way but his way. Such an illusion and deception is common among teachers and workers everywhere today, because so many are definitely making a contact with their souls, and are being swept then into the desire for service; they are not yet free, however, from ambition, and their orientation is still basically towards personality expression, and not to the merging of themselves in the Group of World Servers. If however they can avoid glamour, and can discriminate between the Real and the unreal, then the inflowing force will flood their lives with effective unselfish love and with devotion to the Plan, to those whom the Plan serves, and to Those Who serve the Plan. Note the sequence of these attitudes, and govern yourselves accordingly. There will then be no room for self- interest, self-assertiveness, or selfish ambition. All that is considered is the need and the driving necessity to take the next immediate step to meet that need as it demonstrates before the server's eyes.
With the heart and mind then functioning together (either in selfish coalition for the presentation of an active personality, or in dedicated selflessness and the attitude which is oriented towards soul guidance) the force, flowing through the server will galvanise his etheric body into activity. Then, automatically, the physical body will respond. There is, consequently, a great need for the server to pause upon the astral plane, and there, in a holy and controlled silence, wait, before permitting the force to pour through into the centres in the etheric body. This point of silence is one of the mysteries of spiritual unfoldment. Once the force or energy of the soul—preserved in its purity, or tainted and sidetracked on its way through into physical manifestation—has reached the etheric body, there is nothing more to be done by the average disciple. The result, when it reaches that point, is inevitable and effective. The inner thought and the desire life determine the activity which will be expressed physically. When the force comes through in purity, it brings the centres above the diaphragm steadily into activity; when it comes through, tainted by personality trends, it uses primarily the solar plexus, and then sweeps into manifestation all the astral illusions, the grandiose delusions and the glamours of egoistic phenomena, using the word "egoistic" in its usual worldly, psychological connotation. This can easily be seen today among the leaders of various groups.
Does this science prove that the seven ray types employ distinctive methods in service?
As time goes on this will be proved decidedly, and each ray worker and server will be found to render his service along peculiar and specific lines. These indicate for him the line of least resistance and, consequently, of the greatest efficiency. These methods and techniques will constitute the inner structure of the coming Science of Service, and they will be discovered through the admission of the Ray hypothesis and an observation of the methods employed by these clearly isolated Ray types and groups. These differing ways of service, all of them, work in conformity with the Plan, and together produce a synthetic whole. The ray or rays in manifestation at any one time will determine the general trend of the world service, and those servers whose egoic ray is in incarnation, and who are endeavoring to work with right activity, will find their work facilitated if they understand that the trend of affairs is with them and that they are following the line of least resistance at that period. They will work with greater facility than will the disciples and aspirants whose egoic ray is out of manifestation. This recognition will lead to a careful study of times and seasons, thus there will be no waste effort, and real advantage can be taken of the qualifications and aptitudes of the servers available. All will be in conformity with the Plan.
The emergence of the New Group of World servers today is an indication that there are enough egoic ray types in physical manifestation, and that a sufficient number of personalities are responding to soul contact, so that a group can be formed that can be definitely impressed as a group. This is the first time that such a situation has been possible. Up till this century, individuals could be impressed, here and there, in different parts of the world, and at widely separated times and periods. But today a group can respond and their numbers are relatively so great that there can be formed upon the planet a group composed of a number of persons of such radiatory activity that their auras can meet and contact each other. Thus one group—subjective and objective—can be functioning.
The seven ray types will work in the following ways, which I am stating very briefly for to do more than that might limit the expression of those who do not know enough to be discriminating as to their characteristics, and might unduly qualify and colour the experience of those servers who recognise (as some already do) their ray. They might, with entirely good intention, seek to force the ray qualities of their souls into dominance before the personality ray is adequately known or controlled. Other servers frequently confuse the two rays and deem their soul ray to be of a particular type, whereas it is only their personality ray to which they predominantly conform, and by which they are pre-eminently governed.
Ray I. Servers on this ray, if they are trained disciples, work through what might be called the imposition of the Will of God upon the minds of men. This they do through the powerful impact of ideas upon the minds of men, and the emphasis of the governing principles which must be assimilated by humanity. These ideas, when grasped by the aspirant bring about two developments. First, they initiate a period of destruction and of a breaking up of that which is old and hindering, and this is later followed by the clear shining forth of the new idea and its subsequent grasping by the minds of intelligent humanity. These ideas embody great principles, and constitute the New Age ideas. These servers, therefore, work as God's destroying angels, destroying the old forms, but nevertheless, behind it all lies the impetus of love.
With the average aspirant, however, who is on the first ray, the activity is not so intelligent. He grasps the idea that is needed by the race, but he will seek to impose it primarily as his idea, something which he has seen and grasped and which impatiently he seeks to impose upon his fellow men for their good, as he sees it. He inevitably destroys as fast as he builds, and finally destroys himself. Many worthy aspirants and disciples in training for service at this time work in this sad way
.
Ray II. Servers on this ray ponder, meditate upon and assimilate the new ideas associated with the Plan, and by the power of their attractive love, they gather together those who are at that point in their evolution where they can respond to the measure and rhythm of that Plan. They can select, and train those who can "carry" the idea deeper into the mass of humanity. We should not forget that the work of the Hierarchy at this time, and the task of the new Group of World Servers is primarily associated with ideas. The disciples and servers on the second Ray are "busy building habitations for those dynamic entities whose function it has ever been to charge the thoughts of men and so to usher in that new and better age which will permit the fostering of the souls of men." By magnetic, attractive, sympathetic understanding, and the use use of slow action, based on love, do the servers on this ray work.
Ray III. The servers on this ray have a special function at this time in stimulating the intellect of humanity, sharpening it and inspiring it. They work, manipulating ideas so as to make them more easy of comprehension by the mass of intelligent men and women who are to be found in the world ar this time and whose intuition is not yet awakened. Ideas are taken by the third ray aspirant, as they emerge from the elevated consciousness of Those for whom the first ray works and are rendered attractive by the second ray worker (attractive in the esoteric sense) and adapted to the immediate need and rendered vocal by the force of the intellectual third ray types. In this lies a hint for many of the third ray personalities to be found working in various fields of service at this time.
Ray IV. This ray is not in incarnation at the time and therefore few fourth ray egos are available in world service. There are, however, many fourth ray personalities and they can learn much by the study of the work of the New Group of World Servers. The major task of the fourth ray aspirant is to harmonise the new ideas with the old, so that there can be no dangerous gap or break. They are those who bring about a "righteous compromise", and adapt the new and the old so that the true pattern is preserved. They are engaged with the bridging process, for they are the true intuitives and have a capacity for the art of synthesis so that their work most definitely can help in bringing forward a true presentation of the divine picture.
Ray V. The servers on this ray are coming rapidly into prominence. They are those who investigate the form in order to find its hidden idea, its motivating power, and to this end they work with ideas, proving them either true or false. They gather into their ranks those whose personalities are on this ray and train them in the art of scientific investigation. From the sensed spiritual ideas, lying behind the form side of manifestation, from the many discoveries in the ways of God with man and nature, from the inventions (which are but materialised ideas) and from the witness to the Plan which law portrays, they are preparing that new world in which men will work and live a more deeply conscious, spiritual life. Disciples working along these lines in every country today are more active than at any other time in human history. They are, knowingly and unknowingly, leading men into the world of meaning, and their discoveries will eventually end the present era of unemployment, and their inventions and improvements, added to the steadily growing idea of group interdependence will eventually ameliorate human conditions so that an era of peace and leisure can supervene.
Ray VI. The effect of the activity of this ray, during the past two thousand years, has been to train humanity in the art of recognising ideals, which are the blue prints of ideas. The main work of the disciples on this ray is to capitalise on the developed tendency of humanity to recognise ideas, and— avoiding the rocks of fanaticism, and the dangerous shoals of superficial desire—train the world thinkers so ardently to desire the good, the true and the beautiful, that the idea which should materialise in some form on earth can shift from the plane of the mind and clothe itself in some form on earth.
Some people have to be galvanised into activity by an idea. With these the first ray disciple can be effective. Others can be reached more easily by an ideal, and will then subordinate their personal lives and wishes to that ideal. With these the sixth ray disciple works with facility, and this he should endeavor to do, teaching men to recognise the truth, holding steadily before them the ideal, restraining them from a too energetic and fanatical display of interest, in the need for the long pull. The sixth ray, it should be remembered, when it constitutes the personality ray of a man or a group, can be far more destructive than the first ray, for there is not so much wisdom to be found, and, as it works through desire of some kind, it is following the line of least resistance for the masses, and can therefore the more easily produce physical plane effects. Sixth ray people need handling with care, for they are too one pointed and too full of personal desire, and the tide of evolution has been with this type for a very long time. But the sixth ray method of evoking desire for the materialising of an ideal is indispensable, and, fortunately, there are many aspirants and disciples on this ray available today.
Ray VII. This ray provides at this time an active and necessary grouping of disciples who are eager to aid the Plan. Their work lies naturally on the physical plane. They can organise the evoked ideal which will embody as much of the idea of God as the period and humanity can evidence and produce in form upon the earth. Their work is potent and necessary and calls for much skill in action. This is the ray that is coming into power. None of these ray participants in the hierarchical crusade today can really work without each other, and no group can carry on alone. The difference between the methods of the old age and that of the new can be seen expressed in the idea of leadership by one and leadership by a group. It is the difference between the imposition of an individual's response to an idea upon his fellow men and the reaction of a group to an idea, producing group idealism and focalising it into definite form, carrying forward the emergence of the idea without the dominance of any one individual. This is the major task today of the seventh ray disciple, and to this end he must bend every energy. He must speak those Words of Power which are a group word, and embody the group aspiration in an organised movement, which, it will be noted is quite distinct from an organisation.
All these rays work today for the carrying out of a specific group idea of seven Masters Who, through Their picked and chosen servers, are actively participating in the work which is the initiator work of the seventh ray. It is also linked up with the incoming Aquarian influence. The Masters, with their large group of disciples, functioning on all the five planes of human unfoldment, have studied minutely Their accepted disciples, the disciples under supervision and not yet accepted, and the aspirants of the world. They have selected a number of them to weld together into a group upon the outer physical plane. The basis of this selection is:
Esoteric Name: The Law of all Destroying Angels.
Symbol: The Angel with the Flaming Sword.
Ray Energy: The rejecting energy of the first ray.
We have here a most interesting law to consider. It is one of the major divine laws with which the Pilgrim has much to do on his weary, age-long way, back to the centre. It is the fourth law governing or controlling the life of the soul.
First of all, it is well to realise that this law has certain characteristics and basic effects which might be briefly enumerated as follows:
This law is one which primarily begins to impress the divine purpose upon the consciousness of the aspirant, and dictates to him those higher impulses and those spiritual decisions which mark his progress upon the Path. It is the demonstration of the first ray quality (a subray influence of the second ray), for it should be remembered that to repulse a form, a situation or a condition may be the evidence of spiritual love in the agent of repulsion. This is well pictured for us in the ancient symbol of the Angel with the flaming sword, who stands before the gate of Paradise to turn away those who seek the fancied security of that shelter and condition. This angel acts in love, and has so acted down the ages, for that state of realisation which we call Paradise is a place of essential danger for all, save those who have earned the right to sojourn there. The angel protects the unready aspirant (not the place which he seeks to enter) and safeguards him from the risks and perils of that initiation which must be undergone before he can pass through the five divisions of Paradise to the place where light dwells and the Masters of the Wisdom live and work. This is the thought which lies behind the Masonic procedure whereby the Tyler stands outside the door of the Lodge with a drawn sword to protect the secrets of the Craft from the unready.
I would remind you also that as this law is an aspect of the fundamental Law of Love, it concerns the psyche or soul, and therefore its function is to further the spiritual interests of the true man, and to demonstrate the power of the second aspect, the Christ consciousness, and the power of divinity. It "rejects the undesirable in order to find that which the heart craves, and thus leads the weary pilgrim from one rejection to another, until with unerring choice he makes the Great Decision."
We will divide what we have to say about the functioning and effect of the Law of Repulse into three parts:
the seven spiritual Fathers."
This law works through the soul in all forms. It does not literally affect matter, except in so far as form is affected when the soul "withdraws", or occultly "repudiates." It will be apparent, therefore, that our understanding of its activity will depend largely upon the measure of soul force of which we may individually be aware, and the extent of our soul contact. Our point upon the ladder of evolution will govern our manipulation of this law (if such a term may be used), and determine our capacity to be sensitive to its impact. If we are unable to respond to its influence in any measure, that in itself is sufficient to indicate our development. Unless the mind is active, and unless we are beginning intelligently to use the mind, there is no medium or channel through which this influence can flow or work. Never let it be forgotten that this influence or law of our spiritual being is that which reveals the will, plan or purpose of the divine life, as it expresses itself in the individual or in humanity as a whole. Let us never forget that unless there is a thread of light to act as a channel, that which this law can convey will remain unknown, unrealised and useless. These laws are the laws which govern predominantly the Spiritual Triad, that divine Triplicity which expresses itself through the medium of the soul, just as the three aspects of the soul, in their turn, reflect themselves through the personality.
Therefore, all that can be imparted in connection with this law can be comprehended only by the man who is beginning to be spiritually awakened. The three laws which we have already considered deal with the specific spiritual influences which emanate from the three tiers of petals which compose the egoic lotus. (See A Treatise on Cosmic Fire.)
This fourth Law of Repulse works through the first Law of Sacrifice and carries to the aspirant the quality, influence and tendency of the Spiritual Triad, the threefold expression of the Monad. Its full force is felt only after the third initiation, in which the power of the Spirit is, for the first time, consciously felt. Up to that time it has been the growing control of the soul which was primarily registered. Therefore we have:
Atma. Spiritual Will. This Fourth Law influence comes via the egoic petals of sacrifice and the subsidiary
Law of Sacrifice.
Buddhi. Spiritual Love. This Fifth Law comes via the love petals of the egoic lotus,and the subsidiary Law of
Magnetic Impulse.
Manas. Higher spiritual mind. This Sixth Law comes via the knowledge petals and the subsidiary Law of
Service.
These higher spiritual laws reflect themselves in the three lower spiritual laws, finding their way into the lower consciousness via the egoic lotus and the antaskarana. This statement is the second basic postulate in connection with our study of this Law of Repulse, the first postulate being the earlier statement that unless there is a thread of light to act as a channel, that which this law conveys will remain unknown and unrealised.
These six laws give us the key to the entire psychological problem of every human being, and there is no condition which is not produced by the conscious or unconscious reaction of man, to these basic influences—the natural and spiritual laws. If psychologists would accept the three basic laws of the universe, and the seven laws through which they express their influence, they would arrive at an understanding of the human being far more rapidly than is now the case. The three major laws are, as has been stated elsewhere:
solar system.
There are, then, the seven minor Laws which produce the evolutionary unfoldment of man, the person, and man, the soul. These are:
These seven laws concern the form side of life. To these ten laws must be added the seven laws of the soul which we are here considering. These begin to play upon the man and produce his more rapid spiritual unfoldment after he has been subjected to the discipline of the Probationary Path, or the Path of Purification. He is then ready to tread the final stages of the Path.
These seven laws are the basis of all true psychological understanding and, when their influence is better grasped, man will arrive at real self knowledge. He will then be ready for the fourth initiation which releases him from all further need for rebirth. This is the truth which underlies the Masonic teaching, which is given under the symbolism of the first eighteen degrees. These can be divided into four groups of degrees: Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, (followed by the Mark degree) Master Mason (followed by the H.R.A.) and the grouped degrees, four to seventeen, in the Scottish Rite.
These seventeen degrees prepare the man for the fourth or fundamental degree, taken by a man who is a Master Mason. It can only be taken when the Master is in possession of the true Lost Word. He has risen from the dead; he has been entered, passed, and raised, and now can be perfected. Herein lies a great mystery. These seventeen degrees, leading to the first great step, (taken by the risen Master) are subjectively related to the seventeen laws which we have been considering. There is a parallelism worth noting between:
synthetic purpose.
the Rose Croix Chapter.
An understanding of these symbolic relations will do much to clarify the way of the soul in a body, and will constitute the basis of all true esoteric psychological study.
a. THE LAW OF REPULSE AND DESIRE
The section with which we have now to deal will concern itself specifically with the major problem of humanity. We shall, however, touch upon it most briefly, and will deal particularly with the aspect of it which shifts from the problem as it concerns the aspirant to the problem of the disciple. Underlying the entire psychological problem of humanity as a whole lies that major attitude towards existence which we characterise as Desire. All lesser complexities are based upon, subservient to, or are emergent from, this basic urge. Freud calls this urge "sex," which is, nevertheless, only another name for the impetus of attraction for the not-self. Other psychologists speak of this dominant activity as the "wishlife" of humanity, and account for all allied characteristic tendencies, all emotional reactions and the trend of the mental life, in terms of the underlying wishes, longings and acquisitive aspirations as "defence mechanisms," or "ways of escape" from the inevitability of environing conditions. To these longings and wishes and the labour incidental to their fulfillment, all men give their lives; and everything done is in an effort to meet the realised need, to face the challenge of existence with the demand for happiness, for heaven, and for the eventual fulfillment of the hoped-for ideal state.
Everything is governed by some form of urgency towards satisfaction, and this is distinctive of man's search at every stage of his development—whether it is the instinctual urge to self-preservation, which can be seen in the savage's search for food or in the economic problems of the modern civilised man; whether it is the urge to self-reproduction and the satisfaction of that appetite which works out today in the complexity of the sex life of the race; whether it is the urge to be popular, loved and esteemed; whether it is the urge for intellectual enjoyment and the mental appropriation of truth, or the deep- seated desire for heaven and rest which characterises the Christian, or the aspiration for illumination which is the demand of the mystic, or the longing for identification with reality which is the "wish" of the occultist. All this is desire in some form or another, and by these urges humanity is governed and controlled; I would say most definitely controlled, for this is only a simple statement of the case.
It is this realisation of man's fundamental bias or controlling factor that lies behind the teaching given by the Buddha, and which is embodied in the Four Noble Truths of the Buddhist philosophy, which can be summarised as follows:
The Four Noble Truths:
It was the realisation of the urgency of man's need to be delivered from his own desire-nature which led Christ to emphasise the necessity to seek the good of one's neighbor in contra-distinction to one's own good, and to advise the life of service and self-sacrifice, of self-forgetfulness and love of all beings. Only in this way can man's mind and "the eye of the heart" be turned away from one's own needs and satisfaction to the deeper demands of the race itself.
Until a man stands upon the Path of Perfection, he cannot really grasp the imperative demand of his own soul for release from the search for outer, material, tangible satisfaction, and from desire. It has been this demand which indicated the soul's need to incarnate and to function, for a needed period, under the Law of Rebirth. As the work of purification proceeds upon the Path of Purification, this demand for release becomes stronger and clearer, and when the man steps out upon the Path of Discipleship, then the Law of Repulse can, for the first time, begin to control his reactions. This takes place unconsciously at first, but it becomes more potent and more consciously appreciated as the disciple takes one initiation after another, with increasingly pointed understanding.
It is not our intention in this Treatise to deal with the development of the unevolved and undeveloped man in connection with these Laws of the Soul. I seek only to clear the way of the highly intelligent man, the aspirants of the world and the world disciples. The progress of the undeveloped and the average man can be covered by the following statements, taken sequentially and describing the stages of his progress under the promptings of desire:
Such, briefly and inadequately stated, is the story of man as he searches for happiness, for joy and for bliss, or (expressing it in terms of realisation) as he progresses from the life of the instincts to that of the intellect, and then from that intellectual apprehension to the stage of illumination and final identification with reality, when he is henceforth freed from the Great Illusion.
Two things determine the rapidity with which he can—upon the Path of Discipleship—bring the Law of Repulse into play. One is the quality of his motive. Only the desire to serve is adequate to bring about the necessary reorientation and subjection to the new technique of living. The other is his willingness, at all costs, to be obedient to the light which is in him and around him. Service and obedience are the great methods of release, and constitute the underlying causes which will bring the Law of Repulse into play, thus aiding the aspirant to attain the longed-for liberation. Service releases him from his own thought life and self-determination. Obedience to his own soul integrates him into the larger whole, wherein his own desires and urges are negated in the interest of the wider life of humanity and of God Himself. God is the Great Server and expresses His divine life through the Love of His heart for humanity.
Yet, when these simple truths are enunciated and we are urged to serve our brother and to obey our soul, it seems to us so familiar and so uninteresting that it can evoke but little response. If we were told that the following of a prescribed form of meditation, the practicing of a definite formula of breathing, and regular concentration upon a specific centre would release us from the wheel of life and identify us with the spiritual self and its world of being, gladly and willingly and joyously would we follow out instructions. But when, in the terms of the occult science, we are told to serve and obey, we are not interested. Yet service is the mode, par excellence, for awakening the heart centre, and obedience is equally potent in evoking the response of the two head centres to the impact of soul force, and unifying them into one field of soul recognition. So little do men understand the potency of their urges.
If the urge to satisfy desire is the basic urge of the form life of man, the urge to serve is an equally basic urge of the soul in man. This is one of the most important statements in this section. It is as yet seldom satisfied. Indications of its presence are ever to be found, nevertheless, even in the most undesirable types of human beings; it is evolved in moments of high destiny or immediate urgency, and of supreme difficulty. The heart of man is sound, but oft asleep.
Serve and obey are the watchwords of the disciple's life. They have been distorted into terms of fanatical propaganda and have thus produced the formulas of philosophy and of religious theology; but these formulas do, at the same time, veil a truth. They have been presented to the consideration of man in terms of personality devotions and of obedience to Masters and leaders, instead of service of, and obedience to, the soul in all. The truth is, however, steadily emerging, and must inevitably triumph. Once the aspirant upon the Probationary Path has a vision of this (no matter how slight it may be), then the law of desire which has governed him for ages will slowly and surely give place to the Law of Repulse, which will, in time, free him from the thralldom of not-self. It will lead him to those discriminations and that dispassionate attitude which is the hallmark of the man who is on his way to liberation.
When the discriminating sense (the spiritual correspondence of the sense of smell, the last of the five senses to emerge in humanity) has been adequately developed in the aspirant, and he knows the pairs of opposites and has gained a vision of that which is neither of them, then he can pass on to the Path of Discipleship and enter upon the arduous task of cooperating with the spiritual laws, particularly with the Law of Repulse. At first, he hardly recognises the influence of this Law. It is as difficult for him to grasp its implications and to measure its possible effects as it would be for the average working man, with a mediocre education and a total ignorance of esotericism, to grasp the significance of such an occult truth as that expressed in the words: "The construction of the antaskarana between higher and lower manas by the divine Agnishvatta, the solar angel, functioning through the egoic lotus, is the task to be carried forward during the contemplative stage of meditation." This statement is relatively simple to grasp intellectually by the average occult student, but is utterly meaningless to the man of the world. The Law of Repulse is equally difficult of understanding by the disciple as he enters upon the Path. He has to learn to recognise its influence; then he must himself learn to do three things:
Service, an understanding of the Way, and the building of the true line of escape—that is the task to be carried forward upon the Path of Discipleship. Such is the object set before all the students of the esoteric sciences at this time; provided they desire it enough, and can train themselves to work selflessly for their fellow men. As they succeed in doing this and approximate ever more closely to that which is not the pairs of opposites (and thus achieve "the Central Way"), steadily the Law of Repulse begins to swing into operation. When the third initiation is taken, this law will begin to hold the dominant place in the ruling of the life.
The way of discrimination, the method of dispassion and the discipline of the life have been made plain and clear by the teachings of the past two thousand years, and through the many books written to emphasise the teaching of the Christ and of the Buddha. Through a right understanding of these, right choice can be made, and that which should not be cherished or desired can be "repulsed". Many an earnest student (such as those who will read this Treatise) has found it of advantage to write down for himself his own personal understanding of the four words:
One page given to each definition should suffice, if it embodies truly one's highest thought. Students will realise that as they practice these four virtues, the prime characteristics of a disciple, they are thereby automatically calling into play the Law of Repulse, which, upon the Path of Initiation, brings revelation and realisation. The expression of this law upon the Path of Initiation is too advanced for those who are not yet versed in the basic discriminations, and who are still far from being dispassionate. Is there need therefore to enlarge upon this law as it works out in the life of the initiate? I think not. The disciple seeks to achieve, without passion, pain or suffering, the distinction which lies between:
Many, many other dualities can thus be listed. Having then discovered the fact of these pairs of opposites, the task of the disciple is to discover that which is neither of them. It is this central, intermediate way that is revealed to the initiate, through the working of the Law of Repulse which occultly enables him to "push with either hand, to a distance afar from his way, that which intrudes and veils the central way of light. For neither on the right nor on the left lies safety for the man who seeks that lighted way."
c. THE LAW OF REPULSE AND THE PILGRIM ON THE WAY OF LIFE
We shall base our thoughts upon the words earlier quoted: “The Law of Repulse drives in seven directions, and forces all it thus contacts back to the bosom of the seven spiritual Fathers." We have come definitely to a consideration of the Way of Repulsion, governed by this law, which is the way or technique for each ray type. Though the same law can be seen working in all seven cases and in all seven directions, yet the results will differ, because the quality and the phenomenal appearance upon which the law of the divine will makes its impact and consequent impression, differ so widely. The complexity of the problem is therefore great. These seven soul laws lie behind all the various presentations of truth as they have been given out by the world Teachers down the ages. It requires much spiritual insight, however, to enable the average disciple to see the correspondence or the trend of ideas which link, for instance:
Students would find it of interest to test their understanding of the esoteric relationships existing between these groups of teaching and see if they can, for themselves, trace the basic meanings. Let us, by way of illustration, trace or indicate the relation between the seven laws and the eight means to Yoga, because this will give us an illustration of the difference existing between the means to Yoga as understood by the average yogi or esotericist, and as they can be understood by the trained disciple or initiate.
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1. The five Commandments - Second ray force - The Law of Magnetic Impulse. The universal duty. Inclusion.
Attraction.
2. The Rules - Fourth ray force - The Law of Sacrifice. For self training "I die daily."
3. Posture - Sixth ray force - The Law of Service. A poised attitude to right relations and the world of right
ideals.
4. Pranayama - Seventh ray force - The Law of Group The law of rhythmic Progress. The Law living of spiritual
development.
5. Abstraction - First ray force - The Law of Repulse. Pratyahara. Withdrawal. The repudiation of desire.
6. Attention - Third ray force - The Law of Expansive Correct Orientation. Response.
7. Meditation - Fifth ray force - The Law of the Lower Four. Right use of the mind.
8. Result - Contemplation - Complete spiritual detachment.
A close study of these relationships will be found suggestive to the disciple and illuminating to the initiate. Let us not, however, confuse illumination with a new or bright idea! It is something far different to that. The difference is that between the light of a star, and the light of a steadily waxing sun. One reveals the fact of night. The other reveals the world of daylight and of conscious Being.
It must be remembered that the Law of Repulse, which is the Law of the destroying Angels, works in seven directions; that it produces effects upon seven different types of beings and of men, and that by reason of its activity, it draws the prodigal son back to the Father's home. It causes him to "arise and go." But we must remember that, when Christ was relating this story, He made it abundantly clear that there was no impulse to return until the pilgrim in the far country had come to himself or to his senses, as a result of satisfied desire, through riotous living. This was followed by consequent satiety and loss of contentment, and then by a period of intense suffering, which broke his will to wander or to desire. A study of this story will be found revealing. In no Scripture is the sequence of events (as they deal with the pilgrim's existence and life in a far country and his return) so concisely or so beautifully treated. Seek out your Bibles, and study this tale, and read for yourselves the pilgrim's way.
The effect of this Law of Repulse, as it works out in the world of discipleship and destroys that which hinders, sends the pilgrim hurrying back consciously along one of the seven rays that lead to the centre. This cannot be handled in detail here. Our present task is that of treading the Path of Probation or of Discipleship and of learning discipline, dispassion, and the other two necessities on the Way; discrimination and decentralisation. It is possible, nevertheless, to indicate the goal and point out the potency of the forces to which we shall be increasingly subjected as we pass—as some of us can so pass—on to the Path of Accepted Discipleship. This we will do in the form of seven stanzas which will give a hint (if one is an aspirant) of the technique to which one will be exposed; if one has passed further on the Way, they will give one a command which, as a disciple with spiritual insight one will obey, because one is awakened; if one is an initiate, they will evoke the comment: "This I know."
The Direction of Ray I
"The garden stands revealed. In ordered beauty live its flowers and trees. The murmur of the bees and insects on their winged flight is heard on every side. The air is rich with perfume. The colours riot to the blue of heaven.
The wind of God, His breath divine, sweeps through the garden. Low lie the flowers. Bending, the trees are devastated by the wind. Destruction of all beauty is followed by the rain. The sky is black. Ruin is seen. Then death.
Later, another garden! but the time seems far away. Call for a gardener. The gardener, the soul, responds. Call for the rain, the wind, the scorching sun. Call for the gardener. Then let the work go on. Ever destruction goes before the rule of beauty. Ruin precedes the real. The garden and the gardener must awake! The work proceeds.
The Direction of Ray II
"The Scholar knows the truth. All is revealed to him. Surrounded by his books, and sheltered in the world of thought, he burrows like a mole, and finds his way into the darkness; he arrives at knowledge of the world of natural things. His eye is closed. His eyes are opened wide. He dwells within his world in deep content.
Detail on detail enter into the content of his world of thought. He stores the nuggets of the knowledge of the world, as a squirrel stores its nuts. The storehouse now is adequately full. Suddenly a spade descends, for the thinker tends the garden of his thought, and thus destroys the passages of mind. Ruin arrives, destroying fast the storehouse of the mind, the safe security, the darkness and the warmth of a satisfied enquiry. All is removed. The light of summer enters in and the darkened crannies of the mind see light. Naught is left but light, and that cannot be used. The eyes are blinded and the one eye seeth not as yet.
Slowly the eye of wisdom must be opened. Slowly the love of that which is the true, the beautiful and good must enter the dark passages of worldly thought. Slowly the torch of light, the fire of right must burn the garnered treasures of the past, yet show their basic usefulness.
The seven ways of light must wean away the attention of the Scholar from all that has been found and stored and used. This he repulses and finds his way into that Hall of Wisdom which is built upon a hill, and not deep under ground. Only the opened eye can find this way."
The Direction of Ray III
"Surrounded by a multitude of threads, buried in folds and folds of woven goods, the Weaver sits. No Light can enter where he sits. By the light of a tiny candle, carried upon the summit of his head, he dimly sees. He gathers handful after handful of the threads and seeks to weave the carpet of his thoughts and dreams, his desires and his aims. His feet move steadily; his hands work swiftly; his voice, without cessation, chants the words: 'I weave the pattern which I seek and like. The warp and woof is planned by my desire. I gather here a thread and here a colour. I gather there another. I blend the colours and I mix and blend the threads. As yet I cannot see the pattern, but it will surely measure up to my desire.'
Loud voices, and a movement from outside the darkened chamber where the Weaver sits; they grow in volume and in power. A window breaks and, though the Weaver cries aloud, blinded by the sudden light, the sun shines in upon his woven carpet. Its ugliness is thus revealed.
A voice proclaims: 'Look from out thy window, Weaver, and see the pattern in the skies, the model of the plan, the colour and the beauty of the whole. Destroy the carpet which you have for ages wrought. It does not meet your need. Then weave again, Weaver. Weave in the light of day. Weave, as you see the plan."
The Direction of Ray IV
"'I take and mix and blend. I bring together that which I desire. I harmonise the whole.' Thus spoke the Mixer, as he stood within his darkened chamber. 'I realise the unseen beauty of the world. Colour I know and sound I know. I hear the music of the spheres, and note on note and chord on chord, they speak their thought to me. The voices which I hear intrigue and draw me, and with the sources of these sounds I seek to work. I seek to paint and blend the pigments needed. I must create the music which will draw to me those who like the pictures which I make, the colours which I blend, the music which I can evoke. Me, they will therefore like, and me, they will adore.'
But crashing came a note of music, a chord of sound which drove the Mixer of sweet sounds to quiet. His sounds died out within the Sound and only the great chord of God was heard. A flood of light poured in. His colours faded out. Around him naught but darkness could be seen, yet in the distance loomed the light of God. He stood between his nether darkness and the blinding light. His world in ruins lay around. His friends were gone. Instead of harmony, there was dissonance. Instead of beauty, there was found the darkness of the grave.
The voice then chanted forth these words: 'Create again, my child, and build and paint and blend the tones of beauty, but this time for the world and not thyself.' The Mixer started then his work anew and worked again."
The Direction of Ray V
"Deep in a pyramid, on all sides built around by stone, in the deep dark of that stupendous place, a mind and brain (embodied in a man) were working. Outside the pyramid, the world of God established itself. The sky was blue; the winds blew free; the trees and flowers opened themselves unto the sun.
But in the pyramid, down in its dim laboratory, a Worker stood, toiling at work. His test tubes and his frail appliances he used with skill. In rows and rows, the retorts for fusing, and for blending, for crystallising and for that which sought division, stood with their flaming fires. The heat was great, the toil severe.
Dim passages, in steady progress, led upward to the summit. There a wide window stood, open unto the blue of heaven, and carrying one clear ray down to the worker in the depths. He worked and toiled. He struggled onwards toward his dream, the vision of an ultimate discovery. He sometimes found the thing he sought, and sometimes failed; but never found that which could give to him the key to all the rest....In deep despair, he cried aloud unto the God he had forgot: 'Give me the key. I alone can do no more good. Give me the key.' Then silence reigned.
Through the opening on the summit of the pyramid, dropped from the blue of heaven, a key came down. It landed at the feet of the discouraged worker. The key was of pure gold; the shaft of light; upon the key a label, and writ in blue, these words: 'Destroy that which thou has built and build anew. But only build when thou has climbed the upward way, traversed the gallery of tribulation and entered into light within the chamber of the king. Build from the heights, and thus shew forth the value of the depths.'
The Worker then destroyed the objects of his previous toil, sparing three treasures which he knew were good, and upon which the light could shine. He struggled towards the chamber of the king. And still he struggles."
The Direction of Ray VI
"'I love and live and love again,' the frenzied Follower cried aloud, blinded by his desire for the teacher and the truth, but seeing naught but that which lay before his eyes. He wore on either side the blinding aids of every fanatic divine adventure. Only the long and narrow tunnel was his home and place of high endeavor. He had no vision except of that which was the space before his eyes. He had no scope for sight; no height, no depth, no wide extension. He had but room to go one way. He went that way alone, or dragging those who asked the way of him. He saw a vision, shifting as he moved, and taking varying form; each vision was to him the symbol of his highest dreams, the height of his desire.
He rushed along the tunnel, seeking that which lay ahead. He saw not much and only one thing at a time; a person or a truth, a bible or his picture of his God, an appetite, a dream, but only one! Sometimes he gathered in his arms the vision that he saw, and found it naught. Sometimes, he reached the person whom he loved and found, instead of visioned beauty, a person like himself. And thus he tried. He wearied of his search; he whipped himself to effort new.
The opening dimmed its light. A shutter seemed to close. The vision he had seen no longer shone. The Follower stumbled in the dark. Life ended and the world of thought was lost...Pendent he seemed. He hung with naught below, before, behind, above. To him, naught was.
From deep within the temple of his heart, he heard a Word. It spoke with clarity and power: 'Look, deep within, around on every hand. The light is everywhere, within the heart, in Me, in all that breathes, in all that is. Destroy thy tunnel, which thou has for ages long constructed. Stand free, in custody of all the world.' The Follower answered: 'How shall I break my tunnel down? How can I find a way?' No answer came.
Another pilgrim in the dark came up, and groping, found the Follower. 'Lead me and others to the Light,' he cried. The Follower found no words, no indicated Leader, no formulas of truth, no forms or ceremonies. He found himself a leader, and drew others to the light; the light that shone on every hand. He worked and struggled forward. His hand held others, and for their sake, he hid his shame, his fear, his hopelessness and his despair. He uttered words of surety and faith in life, and light and God, in love and understanding.
His tunnel disappeared. He noticed not its loss. Upon the playground of the world he stood with many fellow-players, wide to the light of day. In the far distance stood a mountain blue, and from its summit issued forth a voice which said: 'Come forward to the mountain top and on its summit learn the invocation of a Saviour.' To this great task the Follower, now a leader, bent his energies. He still pursues this way."
The Direction of Ray VII
"Under an arch between two rooms, the seventh Magician stood. One room was full of light and life and power, of stillness which was purpose and a beauty which was space. The other room was full of movement, a sound of great activity, a chaos without form, of work which had no true objective. The eyes of the Magician were fixed on chaos. He liked it not. His back was towards the room of vital stillness. He knew it not. The arch was tottering overhead.
He murmured in despair: 'For ages I have stood and sought to solve the problem of this room; to rearrange the chaos so that beauty might shine forth, and the goal of my desire. I sought to weave these colours into a dream of beauty, and to harmonise the many sounds. Achievement lacks. Naught but my failure can be seen. And yet I know there is a difference between that which I can see before my eyes and that which I begin to sense behind my back. What shall I do?'
Above the head of the Magician, and just behind his back, and yet within the room of ordered beauty, a magnet vast began to oscillate. It caused the revolution of the man, within the arch, which tottered to a future fall. The magnet turned him round until he faced the scene and room, unseen before.
Then through the centre of his heart the magnet poured its force attractive. The magnet poured its force repulsive. It reduced the chaos until its forms no longer could be seen. Some aspects of a beauty, unrevealed before, emerged. And from the room a light shone forth and, by its powers and life, forced the Magician to move forward into light, and leave the arch of peril."
We have studied an interesting sequence of Laws. In Law One, we find that three major ideas emerge:
First of all, that the Eternal Pilgrim, of his own free will and accord, chose "occultly" to die and took a body or series of bodies in order to raise or elevate the lives of the form nature which he embodied. In the process of so doing, he himself "died", in the sense that, for a free soul, death and the taking of a form and the consequent immersion of the life in the form, are synonymous terms.
Secondly, that in so doing, the soul is recapitulating on a small scale what the solar Logos and the planetary Logos have likewise done, and are doing. These great Lives come under the rule of the laws of the soul during the period of manifestations, even though they are not governed or controlled by the laws of the natural world, as we call it. Their consciousness remains unidentified with the world of phenomena, though ours is identified with it until such time that we come under the rule of the higher laws. By the occult "death" of these great Lives, all lesser lives can live and are proffered opportunity.
Thirdly, that through death, a great at-one-ing process is carried forward. In the "fall of a leaf" and its consequent identification with the soil on which it falls, we have a tiny illustration of this great and eternal process of at-one-ing, through becoming and dying as a result of becoming.
In Law Two, the sacrificing unit—again freely and by choice—comes under the influence of the method whereby this death is brought about. By the impact of the pairs of opposites and through his being "pendent" 'twixt the two, he knows the outer darkness as Christ knew it finally at the Crucifixion, where He hung, symbolically pendent 'twixt heaven and earth, and through the potency of His own inner vibration and magnetism, has drawn and will draw all men to Himself. This is the first great idea emerging. The second emerging idea concerns the balancing of the forces which have been mastered. The symbol of the scales is here appropriate, and, of this truth, the three Crosses on Mount Golgotha are also symbols. Libra governs this law, and certain forces from that constellation can be sensed when the soul consciousness comes under the influence of the law. These forces are quiescent where the personality is concerned; their effect does not register, even though necessarily present.
In Law Three, the sacrificing God and the God of the dualities come under certain influences which produce more easily recognised effects. By his death and by his victory over the pairs of opposites, the disciple becomes so magnetic and vibrant, that he serves the race by becoming what he knows he is. Immersed, physically, from the angle of the personality, in the waters of earthly existence, yet at the same time he is aware—in consciousness—of other conditions, of his essential purpose in dying for other lives, and aware also of the method which he must employ in achieving and attaining the releasing equilibrium. When these ideas are dominant in the mind, he can serve his fellow men. These laws have this effect only as they emerge in the consciousness of the man who is building the antaskarana and who is proceeding with the Science of Union.
It is when the fourth Law of Repulse is beginning to produce its effects that the disciple becomes aware of the Angel with the Flaming Sword, Who stands before the portal of initiation. By this portent, he knows that he can now enter; but, this time, not as a poor blind candidate, but as an initiate in the mysteries of the world. The truth of this has been summed up for us in an ancient chant which used to be sung in the ante-chamber of the Temples. Some of the words may be roughly expressed as follows:
"He enters free, he who has known the prison walls. He passes into light with open eyes, he who for aeons long has groped the darkened corridor. He passes on his way, he who has stood for ages before a fast closed door. He speaks with power the Word which opens wide the Gate of Life. He stands before the Angel and takes away his sword, releasing thus the Angel unto a higher task. He himself guards the doorway into the Holy Place. He died. He entered the strife. He learnt the way of service. He stands before the door."
5.
The Law of Group Progress
Esoteric Name: The Law of Elevation.
Symbol: The Mountain and the Goat.
Ray Energy: Progressive energy, seventh ray, factor of evolution.
This law begins to function and to be registered in the personal consciousness when the aspirant has achieved certain definite realisations, and knows certain ideals as facts in his experience. These might be listed in a very simple way and would then connote to the superficial student the simplest achievement of the Probationary Path. It would, however, be well if we could grasp this fact with clarity, that this simple formulation of requirements and their achievement within the aspirant's consciousness, demonstrate as the outer and veiled reactions of his mind to some deeply esoteric cosmic truths. This statement contains the very essence of the esoteric knowledge. The quite ordinary formulations of loving, living and of daily instinctive self-sacrifice suffer from being so vitally familiar and yet—if we could only realise it—they are only on the outer fringe of the deepest world truths. They are the A.B.C. of esotericism and through them, and only through them, shall we arrive at the words and sentences which are, in their turn, the essential key to the highest knowledge.
A brief example will serve to illustrate this, and we can then consider some simple facts which indicate that the aspirant is beginning to function as a soul and is ready for conscious life in the kingdom of God.
The disciple in training for these higher realisations is urged to practice the faculty of discrimination. You have been so urged. The initial and normal interpretation and the immediate effect of the practice is to teach the disciple to distinguish between the pairs of opposites. Yet just as the disciple in his early training discovers that the discriminating process has naught to do with the choice between recognised evil (so-called) and recognised good, but concerns the more subtle pairs of opposites such as right and wrong silences, right and wrong speech, right understanding and right indifference and their opposites, so the man who is reacting to these higher laws discovers that the discrimination to be shown is again still more subtle and is—for the bulk of the aspirants in the world today—still a meaningless objective. This type of discrimination is not even being evoked. It is that which must be shown in relation to the following subtle contacts:
These are only some instances of the type of discriminations which are required. These he will learn to distinguish instinctively when he is further developed. I would like to remind you that it is when we try to discriminate entirely mentally that the problem seems insuperable. When the rule of the soul and the recognition of the soul have been firmly established, these different recognitions become instinctual reactions. Intuitional response is the name we give to the instinctual life of the soul—the higher correspondence to the instinctual life of the human body. In the above paragraphs we have a simple summary of some of the deeper significances of the simple injunction: "Learn to discriminate." How much have we truly understood this injunction? Intellectually, the mind may give assent. Practically, the words frequently mean nothing. Do they signify to us the power of the soul to separate vibrations into differing categories? Yet we are told that the soul knows naught of separation; such are some of the paradoxes of esotericism to the uninitiate.
The Law of Group Progress can only begin to have a conscious effect in the life of the disciple who has been pledged and accepted. When he has established certain rhythms, when he is working effectively along certain well recognised group lines, and when he is definitely and in understanding consciousness preparing himself for the expansions of initiation, then this law begins to sway him and he learns to obey it instinctively, intuitively and intellectually. It is through obedience to this law that preparation for initiation is instituted by the disciple. The previous sentence is so worded because it is important that all should grasp the self-initiated necessity of initiation. Do we understand this importance? Some of the effects earlier mentioned in the initial discussion of this fifth law can here be enumerated. Let us not forget their esoteric and unseen significances.
It would be possible to go on listing the various developments which indicate to the onlooking Hierarchy that a disciple, or a group of disciples, are now ready for "more light." The major indication is, however, their reaction to the Law of Group Progress. It is this Law which is the coming new law to be sensed by the world disciples and which is already becoming more effective in its potency, even though this will not be realised by humanity for a long while yet. It will bring into activity the work of the world groups. In the past, groups have been formed for mutual benefit, for mutual interest and study, for mutual strengthening. This has been their glory, and also their curse, for great and good though their motives may have been, yet these groups have been basically and primarily selfish, with a form of spiritual selfishness most difficult to overcome, and calling for the expression of the true discrimination to which I have earlier referred. Such groups have ever been battlegrounds wherein the least able and the least integrated have been absorbed and standardised or regimented, and the most powerful have dominated eventually, and the indefinite ones have been eliminated and rendered totally quiescent. The successful group has eventually turned out to be one composed of kindred souls who are all thinking alike, because no one thinks with intuition, but who are governed by some school of thought, or because some central figure in the group dominates all the rest, hypnotising them into an instinctual, quiescent, static condition. This may be to the glory of the teacher and of the group, but it certainly is not to the glory of God.
Today the new groups are slowly and gradually coming into being and being governed by these soul laws. They will, therefore, strike a different note and produce groups which are welded together by a united aspiration and objective. Yet they will be constituted of free souls, individual and developed, who recognise no authority but that of their own souls, and submerge their interests to the soul purpose of the group as a whole. Just as the achievement of an individual has, down the ages, served to raise the race, so a paralleling achievement in group formation will tend to raise humanity still more rapidly. Hence this law is called that of Elevation.
The time has now come when this method of raising the race can begin to be tried. Those who have entered upon the Path of Probation have attempted to raise humanity and have failed. Those who have passed upon the Path of Discipleship have also tried and failed. Those who have themselves mastered circumstance and the illusion of death, and have consequently been raised unto life, can now attempt the task in united formation. They will succeed. The word has gone forth with the request for this united activity, and the urge to bend every effort to raise the dead body of humanity. A great and possible achievement of the Lodge of Masters is now imminent and all aspirants and all disciples can be swung into a synthetic recognition of power and of opportunity.
It is for this end that the teaching anent the New Group of World Servers was given out broadly. This is the first attempt to form a group which would work as a group and attempt a world task. They can act as an intermediate group between the world of men and the Hierarchy. They stand between what is occultly called the "dead Master" and the "living Masters." Masons will understand what is here described. The true esotericist will also see the same truth from another angle.
I would like here to give you some thoughts anent the new groups which come into functioning activity under the Law of Group Progress. It must be constantly remembered, as one considers these coming new groups, that they are primarily an experiment in Group Activity, and are not formed for the purpose of perfecting the individual member in any group. This is a fundamental and essential statement, if the objectives are rightly to be understood.
In these groups the members supplement and fortify each other, and, in the aggregate of their qualities and capacities, they should eventually provide groups capable of useful spiritual expression, and through which spiritual energy can flow, unimpeded, for the helping of humanity. The work to be done is very largely upon mental levels. The spheres of daily service of the individual members of the new groups remain as their destiny and inner urge indicates upon the physical plane; but—to the differing fields of individual effort — there will be added (and this is the point of importance) a group activity which will be a joint and united service. Each person in such groups has to learn to work in a close mental and spiritual cooperation with all the others, and this takes time, given the present point of evolutionary development of the world aspirants. Each has to pour forth love on all, and this is not easy. Each has to learn to subordinate his own personality ideas and his personal growth to the group requirements, for at present some will have to hasten their progress in certain directions, and some must slow it down as a service to the others. This process will take place automatically as the group identity and integration becomes the dominant thought in the group consciousness, and the desire for personal growth and spiritual satisfaction is relegated to a secondary place.
This contemplated group unity will have its roots in group meditation, or in the contemplative life (in which the soul knows itself to be one with all souls). This in its turn will work out in some form of group activity which will constitute the distinguishing contribution of any particular group to the raising of the human race esoterically. Within the group life, the individual will not be dealt with as such by those who seek to train, teach and weld the group into an instrument for service. Each person will he regarded as a transmitter of the type of energy which is the predominant energy in any ray type, either egoic or personality rays. Each can, in time, learn to transmit the quality of his soul ray to the group, stimulating his brothers to greater courage, clearer vision, finer purity of motive, and deeper love, and yet avoid the danger of vitalising his personality characteristics. This is the major difficulty. To do this effectively and correctly, we must all learn to think of each other as souls, and not as human beings.
Therefore, as a preliminary statement, we have the following objectives in the group work of the New Age, as they make their tentative beginnings at this time. The later and more esoteric objectives will emerge as the earlier ones are reached:
When the groups are properly established (and the time is imminent) and after they have worked together subjectively for a certain necessary period of time (to be determined by the quality of the life of the individuals composing it, and their selflessness and service) then they will begin to function outwardly and their life aspect will begin to make its presence felt. The various lines of activity will emerge when the group vibration is strong enough to make a definite impact on the consciousness of the race. Therefore, it will be apparent that the first and foremost requirements are group integrity and group cohesion. Nothing can be accomplished without these. The subjective linking of each group member with each, and the emergence of a group consciousness is a vital objective for the next few decades. Thus there will emerge a group circulation or transmission of energy which will be of real value in world salvage. For the individual it should be remembered that purity of body, control of the emotions, and stability of mind are fundamental requirements and should be the goal of the daily practice. Again and again we must come back to these prime character requirements, and tiresome as the reiteration may be, I urge upon you the cultivation of these qualities. Through these groups it may be possible to restore some of the ancient Mysteries, and some of the groups mentioned previously in Letters on Occult Meditation, will be found among the emerging New Age groups.
This brief summary will serve to give some of the elementary requirements and, by means of a broad generalisation, to indicate the major reasons why such groups are being formed. We can now perhaps widen our vision a little and at the same time look at the groups in greater detail.
One of the characteristics distinguishing the groups of world servers and knowers, is that the outer organisation, which will hold them integrated, will be so nebulous and fine that, to the outer observation, it will be practically nonexistent. The group will be held together by an inner structure of thought and a close telepathic interrelation. The Great Ones, Whom we all seek to serve, are thus linked, and can at the slightest need and with the least expenditure of force, get into rapport with each other. They are all attuned to a particular vibration, and so must these groups be attuned. There will be thus collected together, people demonstrating the wide difference in nature, who are found on differing rays, who are of varying nationalities, and the product of widely separated environments and heredity. Besides these factors, which immediately attract attention, there will also be found an equal diversity in the life experience of the souls concerned. The complexity of the problem confronting the group members is also tremendously increased when one remembers the long road which each has travelled, and the many factors and characteristics, emerging out of a dim and distant past, which have tended to make each person what he now is. When, therefore, one dwells on the difficulties and the possible barriers to success, the question will arise and rightly so: What makes it possible to establish this group inter-relation? What provides a common meeting ground? The answer to these questions is of paramount importance and necessitates a frank handling.
We find in the Bible the words: "In Him we live and move and have our being". This is the statement of a fundamental law in nature, and the enunciated basis of the relation which exists between the unit soul, functioning in a human body, and God. It determines also, in so far as it is realised, the relation between soul and soul. We live in an ocean of energies. We ourselves are congeries of energies, and all these energies are closely interrelated and constitute the one synthetic energy body of our planet.
It must be carefully borne in mind that the etheric body of every form in nature is an integral part of the substantial form of God Himself—not the dense physical form, but what the esotericists regard as the form-making substance. We use the word "God" to signify the one expression of the One Life which animates every form on the outer objective plane. The etheric or energy body, therefore, of every human being, is an integral part of the etheric body of the planet itself and consequently of the solar system. Through this medium, every human being is basically related to every other expression of the Divine Life, minute or great. The function of the etheric body is to receive energy impulses and to be swept into activity by these impulses or streams of force, emanating from some originating source or other. The etheric body is in reality naught but energy. It is composed of myriads of threads of force or tiny streams of energy, held in relation to the emotional and mental bodies and to the soul by their co-ordinating effect. These streams of energy, in their turn, have an effect on the physical body and swing it into activity of some kind or another, according to the nature and power of whatever type of energy may be dominating the etheric body at any particular time.
Through the etheric body, therefore, circulates energy emanating from some mind. With humanity in the mass, response is made unconsciously to the rulings of the Universal Mind; this is complicated in our time and age by a growing responsiveness to the mass ideas—called sometimes public opinion—of the rapidly evolving human mentality. Within the human family are also found those who respond to that inner group of Thinkers, Who, working in mental matter, control from the subjective side of life, the emergence of the great Plan and the manifestation of divine purpose.
This group of Thinkers falls into seven main divisions and is presided over by three great Lives or super-conscious entities. These Three are the Manu, the Christ and the Mahachohan. These three work primarily through the method of influencing the minds of the adepts and initiates. These latter, in Their turn, influence the disciples of the world and these disciples, each in his own place and on his own responsibility, work out their concept of the Plan and seek to give expression to it as far as possible. These disciples have hitherto worked very much alone except when karmic relationships have revealed them to each other and telepathic intercommunication has been fundamentally confined to the Hierarchy of adepts and initiates, both in and out of incarnation, and to Their individual work with Their disciples.
These groups, therefore, which have hitherto worked entirely subjectively, can and will be duplicated externally, and, the new groups will come into being largely as an externalisation—experimental as yet—of the groups which have functioned behind the scenes, motivated from the central group, the Hierarchy of Masters.
This experiment is primarily as yet one of group integration and the method whereby it can be developed. The reason why Those on the Inner Side are now experimenting with this group idea is because it is definitely a New Age trend. They are seeking to utilise the increasing bias of the human being towards coherence and integration. It must be remembered, however, and with constancy, that unless there is a subjective coherence, all outer forms must eventually disintegrate or never cohere at all. It is only the subjective links and the subjective work that determines success, and these must (particularly in the new group work) be based on egoic relations and not on personal attachments and predilections. These help where there is at the same time a recognition of the egoic relation. Where that exists, then something can be formed which is immortal and as lasting as the soul itself.
One practical point should be made clear. These groups will for some time be what might be called "pattern-groups" and, therefore, must be formed very slowly and with much care. Each person forming part of the new groups will be tested and tried and subjected to much pressure. This will be necessary if the groups are to stand through this transition period of the present. It will not be easy for disciples to form these groups. The methods and techniques will be so different to those of the past. People may evince real desire to participate in the group life and to form part of the group activity, but their real difficulty will consist in bringing their personal life and vibration into conformity with the group life and rhythm. The narrow path which all disciples have to tread requires obedience to certain instructions which have been handed down to us from the ancient past. These are followed willingly and with the eyes open, but no rigid adherence to the letter of the law is ever asked or expected. Flexibility within certain self-imposed limits is always needed, yet that flexibility must not be set in motion by any personality inertia or mental questioning.
This great group training experiment, now being initiated on earth through a new activity of the Hierarchy, will demonstrate to the watching Guides of the race just how far the disciples and aspirants of the world are ready to submerge their personal interests in group good; how sensitive they are, as a group, to instruction and guidance; how free the channels of communication are between the groups on the outer plane and the Inner Group, and between them also and the masses whom they are expected eventually to reach. A Masters group of disciples, on the inner side of life, forms an integrated organism, characterised by mutual love, life and interplay. The relationships in that group are entirely mental and astral, and hence the limitations of the etheric force body and of the physical brain and dense physical body are not felt. This leads to a greater inner facility in understanding and to a reciprocal interplay. It is wise here to remember that the astral potency is far more strongly felt than on the physical levels, and hence the emphasis laid upon emotional-desire control in all treatises on discipleship and on preparation for that state.
Now an effort is being made to see if such a group activity and interplay can be set up on the physical plane, which will consequently include the physical body apparatus and the brain. The difficulties are, therefore, great. What has to be the technique employed in handling this more difficult situation, which is only possible because the work of the Masters' groups has been so effective? Much may depend upon just how far we will react to this interplay and how much it will mean to us in our lives. This embodies a most practical occult method of work. The astral-physical brain reactions should be regarded as non-existent and allowed to lapse below the threshold of the group consciousness, there to die for lack of attention. The emphasis is held steadily on mental and egoic relations.
I have said that these groups constitute an experiment. This experiment is fourfold in nature and a concise statement about it may clarify conjecture:
brain are completely at-one.
personality or lower self, so that mind and brain are at-one.
Students must remember these two distinctive contacts, and bear in mind also that the greater contact need not necessarily include the lesser. Telepathic communication between the different aspects of the human being is entirely possible at varying stages of unfoldment.
This, consequently, necessitates the materialisation of things. They have a most difficult task and that is why it is only during the past one hundred and fifty years that the science of world finance has made its appearance. They will deal with the divine aspect of money. They will regard money as the means whereby divine purpose can be carried forward. They will handle money as the agency through which the building forces of the universe can carry forward the work needed; and (herein lies the clue) those building forces will be increasingly occupied with the building of the subjective Temple of the Lord rather than with the materialising of that which meets mans desire. This distinction merits consideration.
This Law of Group Progress embodies one of the energies which have gradually been released over the past two centuries. A fuller tide was swept into activity at the time of the May, 1936, full moon and now the growth of the group idea, both in its good and bad aspects, can be imminently expected. As has several times been pointed out to students, this law is connected with a certain realised impulse in the minds of men, and this is, in its turn, the effect of various types of energy, which are playing upon the earth. The name "Law of Group Progress" is the phrase given by human beings to a particular type of energy which is producing the coherence of units in a group, thus forming them into one living organism. The recognitions eventuating are those of group affinity, group objective, and group goal. It is the emergence into the subjective consciousness of the same type of energy which produces that aspect of cohesive action which demonstrates as tribal, national or racial unity. In this case, however, the determining factor is not of a physical connotation nor have these groups a physical plane basis. They are based on a group idealism which can only be consciously registered when the units in the group are beginning to function upon the mental plane and are developing the capacity to "think things through"—that is, to register in the brain that which the soul has imparted to the mind. We have here a definition of the meditation process as it should be followed by those who, through alignment, have made some measure of soul contact. These groups are functioning entirely through a subjective relation, which produces a subjective integration and activity.
When we come to study the astrological implications in connection with these laws, we shall discover that the energies of the zodiacal signs have a specific effect upon the energy of a Being, Whose purpose works out into manifestation through these laws, which are regarded by us as great and inevitable natural laws and also spiritual laws. This effect produces a blending of energies which is both balancing and, at the same time, impelling.
In December, 1935, the energies of Capricorn were augmented by the pouring in of forces from a still greater constellation which is—to our zodiac—what the zodiac is to the earth. This augmentation will take place again in 1942. It must be remembered that, from certain angles, the circle of twelve signs or constellations constitutes a special unity which revolves within our universe of heavens as our planet revolves in the centre of our circle of influences. By means of this augmentation—during the coming Aquarian zodiacal cycle—groups on earth can avail themselves of the tide of Capricornian influences which will flow into our radius of registration every seven years. The one just past, gave a tremendous impetus to the work of the New Group of World Servers, and was the cause of the very good reaction in the world to their particular impulse. This worked out in every nation and in every group as a marked tendency to good will.
In 1942, there will come another planetary inflow of which we all are begged to avail ourselves, and for which we are urged to make due preparation. This "week of group impact" occurring every seven years, will run from December 21st till December 28th, and if this should at any time fall at the period of the full moon, the opportunity will be most significant. This possibility must be watched. This week should be regarded as pre-eminently the "festival week" of the New Group of World Servers, and after 1942 advantage must be taken of this period, and special preparation made. This fact invites the attention of all of us.
These new groups are appearing everywhere all over the world. The groups upon the outer plane, with their diversity of names and stated aims, are not connected with this inner group which is sponsoring or "projecting" the new groups, except in so far as they have a definite, even if nebulous, connection. This becomes always possible where there are three members of the New Group of World Servers found in any one exoteric group; it then becomes "linked by a triple thread of golden light" to the New Group of World Servers, and can in some measure be used. This great and spiritual grouping of servers is, on the physical plane, only very loosely linked. On the astral plane the linking is stronger and is based upon love of humanity; on the mental plane the major linking takes place, from the angle of the three worlds as a whole. It will be apparent, therefore, that certain developments must have taken place in the individual before he can consciously become a functioning member of the New Group of World Servers, which is the principal group at this time definitely working under the Law of Group Progress.
All this involves personality integration and alignment and that magnetic, attractive appeal which is distinctive of all disciples in some form or another. In this way from the standpoint of esotericism, certain great triangles of energy will be found in the individual and consequently increasingly in humanity. Then too the "forces of creative life" will circulate from the "point within the head" (the head centre) along the "line to the heart" and then, with the throat centre, form a "triangle of fiery light". Such is the Way of Group Progress, and when this is being consummated, then the Law of Group Progress begins definitely to function and to control. It might be of interest, if we here listed the recognised effects of the five laws with which we have been dealing:
Law Effect Physical Effect Reaction Quality
We can now, with great brevity, however, touch upon the sixth law and the seventh, for we will speak of them together. The other five laws have worked out into a definite activity upon the physical plane. The effect or consequences of the impulses behind them produce the working out of the purpose of the Most High, and can be recognised upon the plane of phenomena. They can all be so recognised, but at this time, the conscious awareness of humanity is such that only in five instances can the effect of these laws be noted, and then only by the most advanced of the world aspirants. The disciple and the initiate can dimly begin to recognise the effect of the sixth and the seventh laws, but no one else at this time.
These two laws are not capable of interpretation as above, because only those who are initiated or in preparation for initiation can begin to understand them. The enlightenment which is the result of initiation is necessary before one can touch the idea behind these expressions of purpose. We shall not, therefore, take any time dealing with The Law of Expansive Response, or with The Law of the Lower Four, beyond giving two ancient stanzas which will convey much to the initiate but may only be sounding words and meaningless symbolic phrases to the average reader and student.
"The Sun, in all its glory, has arisen and cast its beams athwart the Eastern sky. The union of the pairs of opposites produce, in the cycles of the time and space, both clouds and mists. These veil a mighty conflagration. The flood pours forth. The ark floats free...the flames devour. The three stand free; and then again the mists envelop. Above the clouds of earth, a sign shines forth. Only the eye of vision sees this sign. Only the heart at peace can hear the thunder of the Voice which issues from the dark depths of the cloud. Only an understanding of the law which elevates and lifts can teach the man of fire and son of water to enter into mist. From thence he climbs on to the mountain top and there again stands free.
The triple freedom thus achieved has naught to do with earth, or water, or with fire. It is a freedom, triple in its kind, which greets the man who passes freely from the sphere of earth into the ocean of the watery sphere, and thence on to the burning ground of sacrifice. The sun augments the fire; it dissipates the mist and dries the earth. And thus the work is done."
"Four sons of God went forth. But only one returned.
Four Saviours merged themselves in two, and then the two became the One."
We stand today on the verge of great things. Humanity is on its way with renewed impetus. It stands no longer at the crossroads, but irrevocable decisions have been made, and the race is moving forward along a path which will lead it eventually into light and peace. It will find its way into "the peace which passeth understanding" because it will be a peace which is independent of outer conditions and which is not based upon what present humanity defines as peace. The peace which lies ahead of the race is the peace of serenity and of joy—a serenity, based upon spiritual understanding; and a serenity is not an astral condition but a soul reaction. These qualities are not achieved as the result of disciplining the emotional nature, but demonstrate as a natural, automatic realignment. These two qualities of the soul—serenity and joy—are the indications that the soul, the ego, the One Who stands alone, is controlling or dominating the personality, circumstance, and all environing conditions of life in the three worlds.
We now begin our study of the five groups of souls. For purposes of classification and comparison, we shall divide our earth humanity into the following groups:
We enter, therefore, upon a brief consideration of a subject that, to the ordinary psychologist and student who is not familiar with the occult teaching and terms, will sound fanciful and unintelligent. The reason for this is that we are considering the origin of the souls which are expressing themselves through human beings, of the selves who are functioning through form and are therefore intangible and—scientifically speaking—non-provable. They are only to be inferred by those who can accept inference, deduction and conclusions which cannot be demonstrated, with the type of human equipment now in use. Modern psychology, speaking generally, regards the soul in one or another of the following ways:
The occult teaching accepts all these hypotheses as correct, but as relative in time and space, and as having reference to different forms of divine life and to differing aspects of those forms. It is with the occult teaching, right or wrong, that we are at present engaged, and our premises and conclusions can be stated in the following propositions:
Higher than this we need not go, except by inference. A detailed analysis is not, however, in order, owing to the limitations of men's minds. The above is only a wide generalisation, and the various groupings shade into each other in a bewildering way. The varieties of intermediate types are myriad, but this analysis will serve as a skeleton structure upon which to build.
In connection with individualisation the following points should be remembered:
It is well to remember that the soul who came into incarnation in old Atlantis individualised upon that chain which is called the moon chain. This was a period of unfoldment so much earlier than that of our earth that we know nothing about it. These egos, therefore, did not individualise on our earth at all but came into our cycle of evolution as human beings; of a low order as far as the lowest of our present humanity is concerned, but somewhat higher than the egos which individualised upon ancient Lemuria.
It might be of interest here to note that Christ was the first of our earth humanity to achieve the goal, whereas the Buddha was the last of the moon chain humanity to do so. As far as the development of these two sons of God was concerned, so rapid was the development of the Christ that in Atlantean days He found Himself upon the Path of Probation as did also the Buddha. He, coming into incarnation from the moon chain (having been held in what the occult teaching calls "pralaya" till that time), entered upon the probationary Path a very short time ahead of His Brother, the Christ. From the angle of evolution the rapid unfoldment of the evolution of Christ was, and has been, totally unparallelled. It has never been duplicated, though there are people living today upon the planet who are beginning to develop now with equal rapidity (but not earlier, so that they have a background of slow individual development, which is only now being accelerated). This rapidity is, however, a different matter altogether, for many of the disciples today came into this earth evolution from the moon chain where already much had been unfolded. They have not worked up to their present point from Lemurian times as the Christ has done. He, therefore, stands uniquely alone.
Just how and why egos come into our planetary evolution from earlier cycles and from other planetary systems is a subject of the greatest interest, but it is of no real importance to the students of this Treatise. We shall not therefore consider it or deal with it. It is of a speculative nature and utterly past their possible corroboration or capacity to check. There is no standard of comparison nor can they judge by inference what is important. All that can be said is that the three major monadic types came into being, either from the moon chain or during the Lemurian stage of individualisation, and that these three determine much that is transpiring today. All that it is here possible to do is to give some information which may throw a light on the subject, and colour our general thought, but which it is impossible either to check or accept except as being inferential or possible. All this can later be determined by the student when his knowledge and powers are greater than they are at present and adequate for that purpose.
The three major types are, as is well known, those of will or power, of love-wisdom and of active intelligence. The following facts must, therefore, be remembered:
These all, with the egos which individualised upon the moon chain and which came in steadily, as the planetary conditions fitted them, until the final stages of the Atlantean period, constitute the bulk of our modern humanity, plus some rare egos which drift into our planetary evolution for some reason or other, and never become properly adapted to or fitted into our planetary life. They persistently remain abnormalities.
Two happenings of great import will occur before so very long. The door will be opened, for the admittance of rare and peculiar souls who will bring into our world civilisation new aspects and rare and new qualities of Deity, though it will not be opened for ordinary individualisation. These rare and unexpected types will cause much bewilderment to our psychologists. It should here be pointed out that individualisation is a crisis and not an unfoldment. This is of real importance and should be borne in mind in all consideration of this difficult subject. It is the result of development, but such development need not lead to this particular crisis. What causes this crisis in the lives of souls remains as yet hidden in the consciousness of the planetary Logos and is only revealed at initiation. There are as yet characteristics and qualities of the planetary Logos which remain incomprehensible to us.
When the animal kingdom, viewing it from the angle of the whole and not from the angle of species, had reached a particular stage of development, then there was an inrush into the planetary life of the energy of all the seven rays simultaneously. This occurs very rarely and the tremendous stimulation then undergone by the sensitive forms of life (and of these the animal was at that time the most sensitive), produced the emergence of a new form, that of infant humanity. It was the reaction of that kingdom, as expressed through its indwelling life, the animal Being (who is the informing Life of that kingdom in nature), which produced individualisation in the more advanced animal-man of the time.
The statements found in occult books that dogs and other animals responded to the divine impulse through an activity of the will or of love, may be symbolic in nature, but are not correct literally, as so many devout occult students may think. Such specific forms of life did not exist in those far off times, particularly upon the moon chain. The consideration of species and of types may not be permitted; it is futile and a waste of time. What really occurred was a reaction throughout the entire animal kingdom to the inpouring of the three major types of energy, which expressed themselves through the usual seven types and thus called forth response from those forms of life which were energised through the medium of the three major centres—heart, head and throat—of the Being who is the informing life. A tremendous surging upward and a going-forth in response ensued, which enabled a new kingdom to emerge.
A creative act is ever the result of inspiration being seized upon, recognised for what it is, and developed by the form side, and understood and fostered by the brain and the heart of man. Some new thing is thus produced. The instinctive creative act of the physical body is not here discussed. In this way, through a response to inspiration, the animal kingdom came into being. First, there was the pouring in of energy, stimulating and inspiring; then there came the recognition of the responding form, resulting in an initiated activity, and then there was the production of that which had not been theretofore. Thus a new kingdom in nature appeared.
This same thing it is that is again happening today in the world. There is a pouring in of spiritual energy, vitalising, transforming, and rendering humanity creative. Initiatory work becomes possible and a new and higher kingdom can appear upon the earth. But all this is due, as before, to the pouring in of a triple energy in seven ways. The potency of these forces lies behind the disruption of the present time, but a new kingdom in nature will be born.
The interest of this, psychologically speaking, does not lie in the historicity of the facts stated, but in the appearance upon earth today of the higher types at present found amongst men everywhere. Egos of will are relatively and naturally few; egos of love are becoming more frequent in appearance; intelligent egos are widely distributed. There is a balance now being established between the egos of love and of intelligence, and these together must and will inaugurate the new civilisation which will be the field for the culture of the kingdom of God on earth. The coming of this kingdom will be as much a precipitation of an inner reality as an unseen factor, such as a germ, working within a human body. This precipitation and culturing of the germ kingdom is slowly happening.
In considering the rules which can induce soul control, it is not my intention to recapitulate the many rules which the aspirant must follow as he perseveres in his endeavor to tread the path to the source— that path to what the Buddhists call Nirvana. This Path is, in fact, but the beginning of that higher Way which leads to a life incomprehensible, even to the most developed of the Beings in our planetary Hierarchy. Nor is it essential that we emphasize the details of living which must control the man who is seeking to function as a soul in command of the personality. Our immediate problem is the application of these rules for discipleship and a steady progress in their practical technique. My present purpose is a far more difficult one, for this Treatise is written for the future more than for present students. I seek to indicate the basic rules determining the hierarchical government, and conditioning, therefore, world affairs. We are here concerned therefore with the subtle activities of energies which, on the inner side, actuate the outer activities and bring about those events in the world of men which later form history.
The problem before the Hierarchy is twofold and can be expressed in two questions:
Two points should therefore here be noted:First, that the attention of the members of the Hierarchy who work at this time with mankind is not centred upon the individual aspirant in any manner which could be interpreted as personal interest. Interest in him is evoked just in so far as he is occupied with matters which concern group good. The second point is one well known and often stressed of late. At this time we are passing through a period of unprecedented opportunity and crisis, and the attention of the Hierarchy is consequently focused upon men in an exceedingly one-pointed manner as They attempt to capitalise, for the benefit of man, upon this opportunity. Herein lie both responsibility and the ground for hope.
The rules, therefore, which we are to consider are not the laws of the soul or the laws controlling the stages of human development upon the Path. They have a much wider scope, and pertain to the broad sweep of the evolutionary cycle as it concerns the human family as a whole, particularly in relation to its contribution to the entire evolutionary scheme. However—owing to the lack of trained understanding—we shall have to confine ourselves to the consideration of these rules solely as they govern human unfoldment.
What we are seeking to reveal (if possible) is some of the factors which govern the effort which the Hierarchy of Control and the Custodians of the Plan utilise, as They proceed to work with the factors already present in man, and the energies already in objective use on this planet. What we shall say will not be of great simplicity, for it is hard, even for the advanced disciple, to see the purpose of certain of these factors. That which is here set forth on these matters must await later developments during the coming century, and certain lines of scientific and spiritual unfoldment must eventuate before the hidden implications can be adequately comprehended. If it seems simple and clear it might be wise to distrust the obvious interpretation. The matter is abstruse. It is well to ponder on the thought here presented, but not to be quick to assume understanding. There are many ways in which the work of the Hierarchy can be expressed, and according to the type of mind will be the interpretation.
1. The Aim of These Rules
The objectives can be stated as four in number, but each of these is capable of re-expression in a number of ways. They simply indicate the four major goals which the Workers with the Plan have set Themselves. Let us state them succinctly, and later we can somewhat elaborate them:
In these four statements we have sought to express the wider possibility or occasion as the Hierarchy sees it today. Their plans and purposes are destined and oriented to a larger accomplishment than it is as yet possible for normal man to vision. If it were not so, the unfoldment of the soul in man would be a prime objective in the planet. But this is not the case. It may be so from the point of view of man himself, considering him as an essentially separable and identifiable unity in the great cosmic scheme. But it is not so for that greater whole of which humanity is only a part. Those great Sons of God, Who have passed beyond the point of development of those Masters Who work entirely with the human kingdom, have plans of a still vaster and broader sweep, and Their objectives involve humanity only as an item in the Plan of the great Life "in whom we live and move and have our being."
One may rightly ask wherein all this information can be of use to us in the midst of a troubled and bewildered world. For obvious reasons, a vision of the Plan, nebulous as it must necessarily be, confers a sense of proportion and also of stability. It leads to a much-needed re-adjustment of values, indicating as it does, that there is purpose and objective behind all the difficult happenings of daily life. It broadens and widens and expands the consciousness, as we study the great volume of the planetary life, embracing as it does the detail and the finished structure, the item man, and the entire life of the planet, with their relation to the greater Whole. This is of far more importance than the minute detail of the human being's individual capacity to grasp his own immediate place within the larger picture. It is easy and natural for man to emphasise those aspects of the hierarchical work which concern himself.
The Masters of the Wisdom Who are advanced enough to work upon the larger areas of the spiritual plan are oft amused at the importance which the disciples and aspirants of the world attach to Them, and at the manner in which They are overestimated. Can we not realise that there are members of the Hierarchy Whose grasp of truth and Whose knowledge of the divine Plan is as much in advance of the Masters known to us as They are in advance of the savage and of the undeveloped man? We do well to ponder on this fact.
It is not, however, a profitless task for the disciples and aspirants to catch the dim outline of that structure, that purpose and that destiny which will result from the consummation and fruition of the Plan on earth. It need evoke no sense of futility or of endless striving or of an almost permanent struggle. Given the fact of the finiteness of man and of his life, given the tremendous periphery of the cosmos and the minute nature of our planet, given the vastness of the universe and the realisation that it is but one of countless (literally countless) greater and smaller universes, yet there is present in men and upon our planet a factor and a quality which can enable all these facts to be seen and realised as parts in a whole, and which permits man (escaping, as he can, from his human self-consciousness) to expand his sense of awareness and identity so that the form aspects of life offer no barrier to his all- embracing spirit. It is of use also to write these words and to deal with these ideas, for there are those now coming into incarnation who can and will understand, when present readers are dead and gone. I and you will pass on to other work, but there will be those on earth who can vision the Plan with clarity, and whose vision will be far more inclusive and comprehending than ours. Vision is of the nature of divinity. Expansion is a vital power and prerogative of Deity. Therefore let us struggle to grasp what is possible at our particular stage of development, and leave eternity to reveal its hidden secrets.
The factors which determine this peculiar process of hierarchical work, and which therefore constitute the major rules of the evolving life of God in the human family, are seven in number. These—if we may so express it—determine hierarchical activity, leaving wide scope for individual effort, but providing the vital active trends beyond which no worker with the Plan will dare to go. We should be aware that there are forces and energies which are kept in abeyance as the result of the interposition, consciously effected, by the Hierarchy. It is possible for us to grasp the fact that there are lives and types of activity which have been unable to manifest (fortunately for the planet) since the Hierarchy was founded upon the earth. There has not always been a Hierarchy of perfected souls, and this concept opens up vistas in the realms of immature expression (from the angle of human vision) as difficult to comprehend as those opened up when we pass, in dim and nebulous imaginative consciousness, beyond the department of the Hierarchy which deals with human affairs, and catch faint glimpses of the other departments which work on broader and more inclusive lines.
The seven factors or "Rules for Inducing Soul Control" are:
side it produces illumination. This includes the widespread illumination reflected by our planet in the
heavens, as well as that which makes an individual man a light-bearer, and which will eventually enable
humanity, (as a whole) to constitute a station of light upon earth.
in all its many phases. With this quality the Hierarchy has to work, intensifying it and giving it magnetic
power.
itself into instinctual activity, intelligent activity, intuitional or purposive activity, and illumined activity,
as far as mankind is concerned. This includes that department of the Hierarchy which works with
humanity. The higher phases of planned activity are many and diverse, and are all synthesised under the
third ray activity, at present focused in the seventh ray.
life side, it leads to a blended cooperation which swings each unit of energy in every form, in all its
subjective and unified aspects, into the task of unification. This is potently taking place in the world today.
It is the tendency to at-one-ment which leads the human being, first of all, to the development of an
integrated personality, and then to the submergence of that personality in the good of the greater whole.
the peculiar quality or instinctual nature through the means of which humanity empresses the first Ray of
Willed Intent, fostered by desire, and transmuted into intelligent activity.
closely connected with the fourth Ray of Harmony, producing unity and beauty, won through conflict.
On the life side, it leads to quality, vibratory radiance and the revelation upon earth of the world of
meaning.
form in each kingdom in nature. There seems to be no better term by which to express this hidden wonder which must be revealed than the revelation of meaning. This is beginning to happen today.
to reveal its measure of control by the Plan, and its response to the larger intent. It is upon this response
that the Members of the Hierarchy are today counting, as They endeavor to bring the hidden meaning to
the fore in the consciousness of man.
discriminate, to analyse and to criticise. It is, however, a basic, divine quality, producing wise participation
in the Plan and skill in action.
On the life side, it leads to that understanding which tends to identification, through the wider choice and comprehension.
higher than the human, which is strictly that of the soul, and will produce the manifestation upon earth of
the fifth kingdom in nature, that of the kingdom of gods. This phrase should be noted.
contributing to the total planetary contribution, as part of the great systemic Plan. The Hierarchy itself is
the outer and inner manifestation of the sacrifice of the divine Manasaputras, and its members respond to Their sensed vision of the Plan for the whole. The Hierarchy is essentially the germ or nucleus of the fifth kingdom in nature.
sought originally to awaken in man the following responses: right desire, right vision and right creative
activity, based upon right interpretation of ideals. This triplicity of purpose merits thoughtful
consideration.
extreme sadistic expression. On the life side, it has led to sacrifice, one pointed purpose, progress on the path, and devotion.
Plan. This is brought to humanity in the form of ideas, which become, in time, ideals—to be desired and
fought for. In order to materialise these ideals, the trend to organise comes into being.
humanity under the name of World Saviours. These are the Founders of those forms through which the
divine ideas become the ideals of the masses, in all realms of human thought. Every great world leader is
necessarily a "suffering Saviour."
dualities. Through the activity engendered by this interplay, and through the results achieved (producing
always a third factor), the whole manifested world is swept into line with the divine Purpose. This does not become apparent to the man who is immersed in the detail of life, but could we see the planetary life as it can be seen by the Masters Themselves, we would note the pattern emerging in all its beauty, and the structure of God's thought for the universe appearing today in clearer outline and greater synthesis and beauty of detail than ever before.
the implacable forces of all life activity, as they play upon the imprisoned human being. On the life side, it results in rhythmic living and conscious adaptation of energy to the immediate purpose and goal.
constructed.
In the preceding introductory outline, we have considered very briefly the rules which can induce on earth that soul control which is the immediate goal of the evolutionary process. We have seen that we are considering no simple exercises or discipline, nor are we dealing with the development of those required characteristics which precede the stage of technical Initiation. We are, in reality, concerned with those basic trends and those innate tendencies in the divine expression which will ultimately bring about the manifestation of the Oversoul upon our planet. We have seen also that these governing tendencies are already beginning to be expressed and realised, and that the fourth kingdom in nature, the human, occupies a unique position in this development. In the downward and the upward flow of the divine life, as it expresses itself through the involutionary and evolutionary urges, humanity constitutes one of the fundamental "original centres of force" which can and will form an outpost of the divine Consciousness, an expression of the divine Psyche, manifesting eventually those three outstanding psychological characteristics of divinity: Light, Energy, and Magnetism. In the human being, the microcosmic reflection of the Macrocosm, these qualities are expressed by the words: Illumination or Wisdom, Intelligent Activity, and Attractiveness or Love. It is well to ponder on this attempt to simplify the divine potencies into words, and thus to indicate how they may express themselves in and through a human vehicle.
We can now enlarge somewhat upon the previous statements, so as to give a clearer idea upon two matters:
One of the points which I have sought to bring out in all the previous writings already published, is that the Laws of the Universe, the Laws of Nature and those basic controlling factors which determine all life and circumstance, remaining for us fixed and unalterable, are the expression—as far as man can understand them—of the Will of God. The rules or living factors which we are now considering and which (when understood and obeyed) will induce soul control in the individual and in the universe, are the expression of the Quality or Nature of God. They will ultimately lead to the full expression of the divine Psyche. They will bring into evidence the instinctual, emotional nature of Deity, if such human words can in any way express the divine qualitative potencies.
The Laws of the Universe express the divine Will, and lead to the manifestation of divine Purpose. This is wisdom. They ordain and nurture the Plan.
The Rules for Inducing Soul Control express the divine quality and lead to the revelation of God's Nature, which is love.
The Laws of Nature, or the so-called physical laws, express the stage of manifestation or the point reached in the divine expression. They concern multiplicity, or the quality aspect. They govern or express that which the divine Spirit (which is will, functioning in love) has been able to effect in conjunction with matter for the production of form. This emerging revelation will produce the recognition of beauty.
The first category, the Laws of the Universe, are touched upon in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire and occasionally mentioned in the other writings. Modern science has done much to bring about an understanding of the Laws of Nature, and can be trusted to do so, for the soul drives all things on to knowledge. In what is here presented I seek to lay the basis for the new science of psychology which must be founded upon a broad and general understanding of the divine Psyche as it seeks expression through the manifested Whole, the solar system, and, for our purposes, the planet and all that is upon it.
When the potency of the divine psychology and its major trends and characteristics are recognised, and when modern psychology shifts its attention away from the minute study of the psyche of the individual man (and usually an abnormal individual) to a concentrated consideration of the psychological attributes of the greater Whole of which we are but a part, we shall arrive at a new comprehension of Deity and of the relation of the microcosm to the Macrocosm. This has been left too much to the department of philosophy in the past, but must now engross the attention of the psychologist. This desirable event will be brought about when the true meaning of history is grasped, when the wide sweep of human unfoldment down the ages is understood, and when the soul is seen to be functioning through all parts of all forms. At present, man alone is really credited with a soul, and the soul of all things is overlooked. Yet man is but the macrocosm of the other kingdoms in nature.
The seven rules which we are now studying are, therefore, of supreme importance, for they embody the key ideas which will reveal Deity in operation as the Soul of all things; They will reveal the nature and method of activity of the Cosmic Christ, and will indicate the governing qualitative tendencies which determine the psychical life of all forms—from a universe to an atom—in the body of any so-called material revelation of life. Let us bear these thoughts in mind as we read and study.
These rules express themselves with equal potency on all the seven rays, and they produce the manifestation of consciousness on earth in any and every form. We shall first deal mainly with the greater Whole, without emphasising the differentiation into rays. The seven rays, as has often been stated, colour or qualify the divine instincts and potencies, but that is not all. They are themselves determined and controlled by these potencies. It must never be forgotten that the rays are the seven major expressions of the divine quality as it limits (and it does so limit) the purposes of Deity. God Himself hews to a pattern, set for Him in a still more distant vision. This purpose or defined will is conditioned by His instinctual quality or psyche, in just the same way as the life purpose of a human being is both limited and conditioned by the psychological equipment with which he enters into manifestation. I have earlier stated that we were dealing with abstruse and difficult matters, and that much presented might lie beyond our immediate concrete understanding. The above statement is, however, relatively simple, if interpreted in terms of one's own life purpose, and quality.
We have spoken here of God in terms of Person, and we have used therefore the pronouns, He and His. Must it therefore be inferred that we are dealing with a stupendous Personality which we call God, and do we therefore belong to that school of thought which we call the anthropomorphic? The Buddhist teaching recognises no God or Person. Is it, therefore, wrong from our point of view and approach, or is it right? Only an understanding of man as a divine expression in time and space can reveal this mystery.
Both schools of thought are right and in no way contradict each other. In their synthesis and in their blending the truth as it really is can begin—aye, dimly—to appear. There is a God Transcendent Who "having pervaded the whole universe with a fragment of Himself" can still say: "I remain." There is a God Immanent Whose life is the source of the activity, intelligence, growth and attractiveness of every form in all the kingdoms in nature.
There is likewise in every human being a transcendent soul which, when the life cycle on earth has come and gone and when the period of manifestation is over, becomes again the unmanifest and the formless, and which can also say: "I remain." In form and when in manifestation, the only way in which the human mind and brain can express its recognition of the conditioning divine life is to speak in terms of Person, of Individuality. Hence we speak of God as a Person, of His will, His nature and His form.
Behind the manifested universe, however, stands the formless One, That which is not an individual, being free from the limitations of individualised existence. Therefore the Buddhist is right when he emphasises the non-individualised nature of Deity and refuses to personalise Divinity. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit of the Christian theology, embodying as they do the triplicities of all theologies, disappear also into the One when the period of manifestation is over. They remain as One, with quality and life untouched and undifferentiated, as they are when in manifestation.
An analogy to this appears when a man dies. Then his three aspects—mind or will, emotion or love, and physical appearance—vanish. There is then no person. Yet, if one accepts the fact of immortality, the conscious being remains; his quality and purpose and life are united with his undying soul. The outer form with its differentiations into a manifested trinity, has gone—never again to return in exactly the same form or expression in time and space.
The interplay of soul and mind produces the manifested universe, with all that is therein. When that interplay is persisting, either in God or in man, we use terms of human origin and therefore limiting, such is our present stage of enlightenment—or should we say, unenlightenment? Thus the idea of individuality, of personality, and of form is built up. When the interplay ceases and manifestation ends, such terms are no longer suitable; they have no meaning. Yet the undying one, whether God or man, persists.
Thus in human thought, preserved for us by the great Teacher of the East, the Buddha, we have the concept of the transcendent Deity, divorced from the triplicities, the dualities and the multiplicity of manifestation. There is but life, formless, freed from the individuality, unknown. In the teaching of the West, preserved for us and formulated for us by the Christ, the concept of God immanent is preserved; God in us and in all forms. In the synthesis of the Eastern and the Western teachings, and in the merging of these two great schools of thought, something of the superlative Whole can be sensed—sensed merely—not known.
The first of the factors revealing the divine nature and the first of the great psychological aspects of God is the tendency to synthesis. This tendency runs through all nature, all consciousness, and is life itself. The motivating urge of God, His outstanding desire, is towards union and at-one-ment. It was this tendency or quality which Christ sought both to reveal and to dramatise for humanity. As far as the fourth kingdom in nature is concerned, His tremendous utterances, expressed for us in St. John XVII, are the call to synthesis, and urge us towards our goal.
"And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou has given me, that they may be one, as we are. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one; Father, I will that they also, whom thou has given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."
Here we have the synthesis of soul with spirit pointed out to us, and the synthesis of soul with matter also emphasised, thus completing the unification and the desired at-one-ment.
But the synthesis of Deity, His tendency to blend and fuse, is far more inclusive and universal than any possible expression in the human kingdom, which is, after all, but a small part of the greater whole. Man is not all that is possible, nor the consummation of God's thought. The sweep of this instinct to synthesis underlies all universes, constellations, solar systems, planets, and kingdoms in nature, as well as the activity aspect and achievement of man, the individual. This instinct is the governing principle of consciousness itself, and consciousness is the psyche or soul, producing psychical life; it is awareness—sub-human, human and divine.
In connection with man, we have the following psychological expressions postulated:
Thus the trend to synthesis is an instinct inherent in the entire universe, and man is today only awakening to its immediacy and potency. It is this divine attribute in man which makes his physical body an integral part of the physical world; which makes him psychically gregarious and willing to herd (of choice or perforce) with his fellow man. It is this principle, working or functioning through the human consciousness, which has led to the formation of our huge modern cities—symbols of a coming higher civilisation which we call the kingdom of God, wherein the relationship between men will be exceedingly close psychically. It is this instinct to unify which underlies all mysticism and all religions, for man seeks ever a closer union with God and naught can arrest his at-onement (in consciousness) with Deity. It is this instinct which is the basis of his sense of immortality, and which is his guarantee of union with the opposite pole to the personality—the Soul.
Being an attribute of Deity, and being a divine instinct and, therefore, part of the subconscious life of God Himself, it will be obvious that, given the original premise that there is a God, transcendent and immanent, we have, therefore, no cause for real fear or foreboding. God's instincts are stronger and more vital and pure than are those of humanity, and must eventually triumph, coming forth into full flower and expression. All the lower instincts with which man battles are but the distortions (in time and space) of reality, and hence the value of the occult teaching that by pondering upon the good, the beautiful and the true, we transmute our lower instincts into higher divine qualities. The attractive power of God's instinctual nature, with its capacity to synthesise, to attract and to blend, cooperates with the unrealised potencies of man's own nature, and makes his eventual at-one-ment with God, in life and purpose, an inevitable, irresistible occurrence.
This instinct or trend towards synthesis and unification can be linked up by students with the laws of the universe and of nature. It is closely related to the Law of Attraction and to the Principle of Coherence. Later, we shall see much study done along these relations. This series of text books of occultism and of the occult forces which I have written are intended to act as sign posts, and as beacon lights upon the way to knowledge. They contain hints and suggestions, but must be interpreted by each student according to the measure of light which is in him. Let him study what is going on around him in the light of the Plan and of the knowledge here imparted, and let him seek to trace for himself the emergence of the instinctual psychical nature of Deity in world affairs and in his own life, for it is happening all the time. He must ever remember that he himself possesses a psychical nature which is a part of a greater whole, and, therefore, subject to impression from divine sources. Let him cultivate in himself the trend to synthesis; let him make the words, "I will not be separative in my consciousness," one of the key thoughts of his daily life.
The comprehension of the nature of these compelling psychical attributes of God should enable a man to throw the weight of his psychical aspiration on the side of these emerging qualities. He will, for instance, in his daily life, work toward at-one-ment with all beings, seeking to penetrate to the heart of his brother; endeavoring to be at one with the life in all forms; rejecting every tendency to separative reactions, because he knows that they concern the innate, inherited psyche of the atoms of matter and substance which constitute his form nature. These have been brought over and reassembled and rebuilt into the forms found in the present manifestation of God. They carry with them the seeds of psychical material life from an earlier universe. There is no other evil.
We have been taught much anent the great heresy of separativeness; it is this that is offset when a man permits the "trend towards synthesis" to pour through him as a divine potency, and thus to condition his conduct. These divine trends have constituted the basic, subconscious urges since the dawn of evolution. Today humanity can consciously adjust itself to them, and thus hasten the time wherein truth, beauty and goodness will reign.
The disciples of the world and the New Group of World Servers, as well as all intelligent and active aspirants, have today the responsibility of recognising these trends, and particularly this trend to unification. The work of the Hierarchy at this time is peculiarly connected with this, and They, and all of us, must foster and nurture this tendency, wherever found. The standardisation and regimentation of nations is but an aspect of this move towards synthesis, but one that is being misapplied and prematurely enforced. All moves towards national and world synthesis are good and right, but they must be consciously and willingly undertaken by intelligent men and women, and the methods employed to bring about this fusion must not infringe the law of love. The swing at this time towards religious unity is also a part of the emerging beauty, and though forms must disappear (because they are a source of separation) the inner, spiritual synthesis must be developed. These two outstanding instances of this divine trend, as they emerge in the human consciousness, are here mentioned because they must be recognised, and all awakening souls must work for these ends. The moment there is knowledge and a flash of understanding, that moment a man's responsibility begins.
Let us study, therefore, the tendencies in the world today, which indicate the active presence of this trend, and foster it where we can. It will be discovered to be a practical and hard task. The imposition of a sensed, divine, psychical attribute upon the form life (with its own psychical habits) will test the powers of any disciple. To this we are called, for the sake of the greater Whole.
The next emerging trend is one most difficult to express. It is not easy to discover the right words to define its meaning. It is the quality of the inner vision. This cannot readily be expressed in words that man can comprehend, for we refer not to man's vision of God but to God's own vision of His purpose. Down the ages, men have sensed a vision; they have seen it, and have merged themselves with it after much struggle and effort; they have then passed out of human life into he silence of the unknown. The mystic and the occultist have both testified to this vision, and to it all that is beautiful and colourful in the world of nature and of thought also bears silent witness. But what is it? How define it? Men are no longer satisfied to call it God, and they are right, for it is, in the last analysis, that to which God bends every effort.
Yet the quality and the nature of the vision wh is God's own vision, dream and thought, have held His purpose steady throughout the aeons and have motivated His creative processes. Great Sons of God have come and gone and challenged us to follow the light, to seek the vision of reality, to open our eyes and see truth as it is. Down the ages, men have sought to do this and have called the method of their search by many names—life experience, scientific research, philosophic questionings, history, adventure, religion, mysticism, occultism and many other terms applied to the adventurous excursions of the human mind in search of knowledge, of reality, of God. Some have ended up in a maze of astral phenomena, and must continue their search later when they emerge, chastened, from the depths of the Great Illusion. Others have wandered back into the dark cave of a pronounced materialism, of phenomenalism, and must likewise return and reorient themselves, or rather perhaps, complete the circle, for who shall say that God is here or there, or from what point His vision can be seen? Some lose themselves in thought processes and self-induced imaginings, and the vision gets hidden behind a multitude of words, both spoken and written. Still others find themselves lost in the clouds of their own devotion and self-awareness, and in the misty speculations of their own minds and desires. They are at a standstill, lost in the fog of their own dreams of what the vision should be and thus it eludes them.
Others—the theologians of any school of thought—have sought to define the vision, and have endeavored to reduce God's hidden goal and intent to forms and rituals and to say, with emphasis: "We know." Yet they have never touched the reality, and the truth is as yet unknown to them. The possibility of the Vision which lies beyond, or behind the vision of the mystic is forgotten in the forms built up in time; and the symbols of the teachings of those Sons of God Who have seen the reality is lost to sight in rituals and ceremonies, which (though they have their place and teaching value) must be used to reveal and not to obscure.
The vision is ever on ahead; it eludes our grasp; it haunts our dreams and our high moments of aspiration. Only when a man can function as a soul, and can turn the developed inner eye outward into the world of phenomena and inward into the world of reality, can he begin to sense God's true objective and purpose, to catch a brief glimpse of God's Own pattern and the Plan to which he so willingly conditions His own Life, and for which the Eternal Sacrifice of the Cosmic Christ is essential.
With these two divine trends (towards synthesis and towards the vision) the Hierarchy is at this time primarily occupied. Their watchwords are unification and sight. For humanity, these developments will produce the integration of the soul and the personality, and the awakening of that inner vision which will permit a flash of the Reality to enter into man's consciousness. This is not a flash of his own divinity, or a sensing of God as Creator. It is a flash of the divinity inherent in the Whole, as it works out a vaster scheme of evolutionary process than any hitherto grasped or sensed by the keenest minds on earth. It concerns the vision granted when a man achieves Nirvana, and enters upon the first stage of that endless Path which leads towards a beauty, comprehension and unfoldment, untouched as yet by the highest type of human insight.
It would be well to point out here that beyond the stage of illumination, as it can be achieved by man, lies that which we might call the unfoldment of divine Insight. We have, therefore, the following unfoldments and possible developments, each of which constitutes an expansion in consciousness, and each of which admits man more closely and more definitely into the heart and mind of God.
Instinct |
Intellect |
Intuition | > All of them leading up to lnsight.
Illumination |
In these words, sequentially presented, there is perhaps made clearer to us the fact of God's own vision. More is not possible until each of those words signifies something practical in our own inner experience. This quality of the inner vision with which the Hierarchy are seeking to work and to develop in the souls of men (it would be of use to ponder on this last phrase, as it presents an aspect of hierarchical endeavor not hitherto considered in occult books) is an expression of the Principle of Continuance, which finds its distorted reflection in the word so often used by disciples: Endurance. This principle of continuance constitutes the capacity of God to persist and "to remain." It is an attribute of the cosmic Ray of Love as are all the principles which we are now considering in connection with these soul rules or factors—these trends of divinity and these tendencies of the divine life. Let us not forget that all the seven rays are subrays of the cosmic Ray of Love. We shall, therefore, see why these principles are determining soul activities, and can only come into play when the kingdom of God, or of souls, begins to materialise on earth.
This principle of continuance is based upon the clearer vision of Deity and upon the consequent continuity of God's plan and purpose which results when the objective is clearly seen by Him and developed in plain and formulated outline. It is the macrocosmic correspondence to the continuance and the continuity found in man when—after a night of sleep and of unconsciousness—he proceeds with his daily avocation and consciously resumes his planned activities.
From the hints given above it will be seen how the work of the Hierarchy in connection with mankind falls into two parts: the work with individual human beings, in order to awaken them to soul consciousness, and then the work with them, as souls, so that (functioning then on soul levels and as conscious units in the kingdom of God) they can begin to vision the objective of God Himself. This second division of Their effort is only now becoming possible on a wide scale, as men begin to respond to the trend towards synthesis, and to react to the divine principle of coherence, so that (stimulated by their group relation) they can unitedly sense the vision and react to the principle of continuance. A hint is here given as to the true and future purpose of group meditation.
The third divine instinct or hidden inner trend is the urge to formulate a plan. It will be apparent that this urge grows out of, or is dependent upon, the previous two trends considered. It finds its microcosmic reflection in the many plans and projects of finite man as he lives his little life or runs busily about the planet in connection with his tiny personal affairs. It is this universal capacity to work and plan which is the guarantee that there exists in man the capacity to respond eventually and in group formation to God's plan, based on God's vision. All these basic, developing, divine instincts and expressions of God's consciousness and awareness find their embryonic reflections in our modern humanity. It is no part of my purpose to indicate my understanding of God's Plan. This is limited naturally by my capacity. Only dimly do I sense it, and only occasionally and faintly does the outline of God's stupendous objective dawn on my mind. This Plan can only be sensed visioned and known in truth by the Hierarchy, and then only in group formation and by those Masters Who can function in full monadic consciousness. They alone are beginning to comprehend what it is. Suffice it for the rest of those in the Hierarchy—the initiates and disciples in their ordered ranks and various gradings—to cooperate with that immediate aspect of the Plan which they can grasp and which comes down to them through the inspired minds of their Directors at certain stated times, and in certain specific years. Such a year was 1933. Such another will be the year 1942. At those times, when the Hierarchy meets in silent conclave, a part of God's vision, and His formulation of that vision for the immediate present, is revealed for the next nine year cycle. They then, in perfect freedom and with full mutual cooperation lay Their plans to bring about the desired objectives of the Heads of the Hierarchy, as They in Their turn cooperate with still higher Forces and Knowers.
This instinct of Deity is closely connected with the Law of Economy and is an expression of the Principle of Materialisation. For man, it has to be studied, grasped, and wrought out through the right use of the mental body, working under the influence of Atma or Spirit. The principle of Continuance has to be wrought out into conscious knowledge by the right use of the astral or desire nature, working under the influence of Buddhi. The Trend to Synthesis has finally to be wrought out in the brain consciousness upon the physical plane, under the influence of the Monad, but its real expression and man's true response to this urge only become possible after the third initiation.
We have here received much upon which to ponder, to think and to meditate. Let us search for the thread of gold which will lead us, in waking consciousness, into the treasure house of our own souls, and there let us learn to be at-one with all that breathes, to sense the vision for the whole, as far as we can, and to work in unison with God's plan as far as it has been revealed to us by Those Who know.
These ancient rules, or determining factors—the essential conditioning laws in the life of the Soul—are in their nature basically psychological. For that reason, they warrant our study. On its own plane, the soul knows no separation, and the factor of synthesis governs all soul relations. The soul is occupied not only with the form that the vision of its objective may take, but with the quality or the meaning which that vision veils or hides. The soul knows the Plan; its form, outline, methods and objective are known. Through the use of the creative imagination, the soul creates; it builds thoughtforms on the mental plane and objectifies desire on the astral plane. It proceeds then to externalise its thought and its desire upon the physical plane through applied force, creatively actuated by the imagination of the etheric or vital vehicle. Yet because the soul is intelligence, motivated by love, it can (within the realised synthesis which governs its activities) analyse, discriminate and divide. The soul likewise aspires to that which is greater than itself, and reaches out to the world of divine ideas, and thus itself occupies a midway position between the world of ideation and the world of forms. This is its difficulty and its opportunity.
In this way the life of the soul is affirmed in terms of its conditioning factors. The value of this lies in the fact that, upon the Path of Discipleship, these factors must begin to play their part in the life of the personality. They must begin to condition the lower man so that his life, his habits, his desires and his thoughts are brought into line with the higher impulses initiated by the soul. This is only another way of dealing with those expressions of the spiritual life which every initiate must demonstrate.
Every aspirant must, as time elapses, develop the power to see the whole and not only the part, and to view his life and sphere of influence in terms of its corporate relationships and not in terms of the separated self. He must not only see the vision (for that the mystic has always done) but he must penetrate behind it to those essential qualities which give meaning to the vision. The instinct to formulate plans, inherent in all and so dominant in the highly evolved, must give way to the tendency to make plans in tune with the Plan of God, as expressed through the planetary Hierarchy. This in time will produce the urge to create those forms, conveying meaning, which will transmute evil into good and produce the transfiguration of life.
To do this within the Plan and at the same time to recognise the basic synthesis in which we live and move, the disciple must learn to analyse, discriminate and discern those aspects, qualities and forces which must be creatively used in the materialisation of the intuited Plan, based on the sensed vision. We might well ponder on this rapport between the man, and the Hierarchy, via a man's own soul. The Hierarchy exists in order to render possible in form that sensed Plan and divine Vision. To produce this emergence of truth, the man stands also at the midway point, and in handling the great dualities of life, must produce the new world.
As we study these rules of soul control, it should not be necessary constantly to affirm the three basic relationships of the soul:
These thoughts will serve to set the stage for what should now be made clear. It is of use at times to swing the consciousness back to the centre, when the orbit the mind travels is of vast extent. The synthesis of the divine concept, the vision of its structural outline and the plan for its materialisation— these are the factors which govern souls on their plane, condition their activity, and, within the limits wherein they work, are the factors which (in time and space) condition and limit Deity, for such is His divine Will. Looking at the whole subject from another angle, it is these rules of soul contact which set the rhythm and determine the pulsation of the life of God as it steadily beats upon the lower rhythms and will finally obliterate them. This happens in the case of individual human beings; it will happen in the case of humanity, as a whole, some day; it will determine finally the life, purpose and activity of all forms in and upon our planet.
This realisation brings us to the consideration in a little more detail of our fourth point, which is the urge to creative life through the divine use of the imagination. As we have seen, it is necessary for humanity to recognise that there is a world of meaning behind the world of appearances, of form— behind what has been called the "world of seeming." It is the revelation of this world of inner meaning that lies immediately ahead of the race. Hitherto we have—as a race—been occupied with the symbol and not with that for which it stands, and of which it is the outer appearance. But we have today largely exhausted our interest in the tangible symbol, and are searching—again as a race—for that which the outer world of appearance is intended to express.
Much is heard today of the New Age, of the coming revelation, of the imminent leap forward into an intuitive recognition of that which has hitherto been only dimly sensed by the mystics, the seer, the inspired poet, the intuitive scientist and the occult investigator who is not too preoccupied with the technicalities and the academic activities of the lower mind. But one thing is oft forgotten in the great expectancy. There is no need for too great an upward straining or too intense an outward looking, to use terms which the usual limited point of view can grasp. That which is to be revealed lies all around us, and within us. It is the significance of all that is embodied in form, the meaning behind the appearance, the reality veiled by the symbol, the truth expressed in substance.
Only two things will enable man to penetrate into this inner realm of causes and of revelation. These are:
First, the constant effort, based on a subjective impulse, to create those forms which will express some sensed truth; for thereby and through this effort, the emphasis is constantly shifted from the outer world of seeming to the inner side of phenomena. By this means, a focusing of consciousness is produced which eventually becomes stable and withdrawn from its present intense exteriorisation. An initiate is essentially one whose sense of awareness is occupied with subjective contacts and impacts and is not predominantly preoccupied with the world of outer sense perceptions. This cultivated interest in the inner world of meaning will produce not only a pronounced effect upon the spiritual seeker himself but will eventually bring about the emphasis, recognised in the brain consciousness of the race, that the world of meaning is the sole world of reality for humanity. This realisation will, in its turn, bring about two subsequent effects:
Secondly, the constant effort to render oneself sensitive to the world of significant realities and to produce, therefore, those forms on the outer plane which will run true to the hidden impulse. This is brought about by the cultivation of the creative imagination. As yet, humanity knows little about this faculty, latent in all men. A flash of light breaks through to the aspiring mind; a sense of unveiled splendour for a moment sweeps through the aspirant, tensed for revelation; a sudden realisation of a colour, a beauty, a wisdom and a glory beyond words breaks out before the attuned consciousness of the artist, in a high moment of applied attention, and life is then seen for a second as it essentially is. But the vision is gone and the fervour departs and the beauty fades out. The man is left with a sense of bereavement, of loss, and yet with a certainty of knowledge and a desire to express that which he has contacted, such as he has never experienced before. He must recover that which he has seen; he must discover it to those who have not had his secret moment of revelation; he must express it in some form, and reveal to others the realised significance behind the phenomenal appearance.
How can he do this? How can he recover that which he has once had and which seems to have disappeared, and to have retired out of his field of consciousness? He must realise that that which he has seen and touched is still there and embodies reality; that it is he who has withdrawn and not the vision. The pain in all moments of intensity must be undergone and lived again and again until the mechanism of contact is accustomed to the heightened vibration and can not only sense and touch, but can hold and contact at will this hidden world of beauty. The cultivation of this power to enter, hold and transmit is dependent upon three things:
If the creative artist will ponder upon these three requirements—endurance, meditation, and imagination—he will develop in himself the power to respond to this fourth rule of soul control, and will know the soul eventually as the secret of persistence, the revealer of the rewards of contemplation and the creator of all forms upon the physical plane.
This use of the creative imagination and the fruits of its endeavor will work out into the many fields of human art according to the ray of the creative artist. We must not forget that the artist is found on all rays; there is no particular ray which produces more artists than another. The form will apparently take spontaneous expression when the inner life of the artist is regulated, producing the outer organisation of his life forms. True creative art is a soul function; the primary task, therefore, of the artist is alignment, meditation and the focusing of his attention upon the world of meaning. This is followed by the attempt to express divine ideas in adequate forms, according to the innate capacity and the ray tendencies of the artist in any field which he may choose and which is for him the best medium for his endeavor. It is paralleled by the effort, constantly made upon the physical plane, to equip, instruct, and train the mechanism of brain and hand and voice through which the inspiration must flow, so that there may be right expression and a correct externalisation of the inner reality.
The discipline involved is great and it is here that many artists fail. Their failure is based on various things—on a fear that the use of the mind will cripple endeavor, and that spontaneous creative art is, and must be primarily emotional and intuitive, and must not be crippled and handicapped by too great an attention to mental training. It is based on inertia which finds creative work the line of least resistance and which seeks not to understand the way in which the inspiration comes, or how the externalisation of the vision becomes possible, or the technique of the inner activities, but simply follows an impulse. Again it indicates an uneven, unbalanced development which results from the fact that, through specialisation or focused intense interest over a period of lives, there comes a capacity to make a soul contact along one line of endeavor, but not the capacity to be in contact with the soul.
This is facilitated by the fact that the artist for many lives comes under the influence of one particular personality ray. Hence the occult paradox stated above, which warrants the attention of artists. Another factor upon which failure is often based is the supreme conceit and ambition of many artists. There is the ability to excel in some field and, in that one particular, to evidence greater capacity than the average man. But there is not the ability to live as a soul and the vaunted excellence is only in one direction. There is frequently no life discipline or self-control but instead there are flights of genius, stupendous achievement in the chosen line of art, and a life lived in contradiction to the divinity expressed through the artistic achievement. The understanding of the significance and technique of genius is one of the tasks of the new psychology. Genius is ever the expression of the soul in some creative activity, thus revealing the world of meaning, of divinity, and hidden beauty which the phenomenal world usually veils but will some day indicate in truth.
The fifth conditioning quality or activity of the soul is the factor of analysis. It constitutes a law, governing humanity. This must ever be remembered. Analysis, discrimination, differentiation, and the power to distinguish are divine attributes. When they produce a sense of separateness and of difference, they are then stimulating personality reactions and are consequently personally misused and misapplied. When, however, they are preserved within the sense of synthesis and used in the application of the Plan for the whole, they are soul qualities and laws and are essential to the right unfolding of divine purpose. The Plan of God comes into being through the right use of emphasis, and when we emphasise one aspect or quality, temporarily we exclude or relegate into brief abeyance another aspect or aspects. This is a major part of the activity of the law of cycles with which the Masters work. It involves, on Their part, the constant use of the faculty to analyse, and the power to discriminate.
The fact that in time and space the pairs of opposites hold sway and that they are used by the Masters to weave the web of life is indicative of this primary differentiation of the One into the two, and the two into three, the three into the basic seven and these seven into the many. From unity to diversity the work proceeds and all of it emerges under the soul law which is the law of analysis within the field of synthesis.
The "seeds of difference", as they are called, are major factors used in producing the phenomenal world. The Hierarchy works with the seeds, as a gardener works with the seeds of flowers, and from these seeds the needed differentiated forms appear, producing still further distinctions. The sowing of these seeds, their care and nurturing is part of the phenomenal task of the Hierarchy, particularly at the inauguration of a New Age, as is the case today. The Masters have to understand, first of all, what is the meaning which the will of God is seeking to express in any particular world cycle. They must comprehend the significance of the impulses emanating from sources higher than Their own field of expression and of dharma, and They must see to it that the seeds of the new forms are adequate to the desired intent. They must appreciate the nature of the reality which any age must reveal in the progressive unfoldment of divine purpose; and then They have the responsibility of so working that the outer reality approximates (in appearance and in quality) the inner truth. All this is made possible through an understanding of the factor or rule of analysis, regarding it as a law governing or producing soul control, both on soul levels and on the level of appearances. This is one of the major tasks of the Hierarchy, and involves the keenest type of mind control, of intuitive apprehension and of analytical desire. We would do well to ponder upon these terms.
It should be remembered that analysis governs the emergence of the fifth kingdom in nature, the Kingdom of God, upon the phenomenal plane. This appearing presupposes a distinction between the fifth kingdom and the other four kingdoms. It is, however, a distinction in one direction only and that is in the direction of consciousness. Herein lies its major interest, for in this respect the fifth kingdom differs from the other kingdoms. The other four kingdoms have separate phenomenal types and differentiated groups of forms. The phenomena of the vegetable kingdom, for instance, and that of the animal kingdom are vastly unlike each other. In the fifth kingdom, however, a new condition or state of affairs will be found. The outer phenomenal appearance will be retained as far as the form is concerned, though refinement and quality will be intensified. The kingdom of God materialises in and through humanity. But in the realm of consciousness a very different state of affairs will be found.
A Master of the Wisdom appears phenomenally to be a human being. He has the physical attributes, functions, habits and mechanism of the fourth kingdom in nature, but within the form, the consciousness is entirely changed. The analysis, therefore, referred to in these pages relates to a distinction in consciousness and not to a distinction in form. The symbol persists unchanged though perfected upon the outer plane, but its quality and state of awareness is as much changed as is that existing between a human being and a vegetable. This is somewhat a new thought and its implications are stupendous. It is the secret of the entire shift at this time into the world of meaning and involves a new awareness and a fresh appreciation by humanity of a greater world of values. But—and here is a point of interest—it is an awareness carried forward into a new kingdom in nature whilst remaining a part of the old. It is here that the new synthesis and fusion takes place.
It is not a part of the plan of God for a constant cyclic appearance of new and unpredictable forms to continue indefinitely. Humanity will go on perfecting the human mechanism so as to keep pace with the growth of the divine consciousness in man, but because in man the three lines of divinity meet and blend, there is no need for further drastic distinctions to continue to appear in the outer world of phenomena as further states of consciousness are attained. In the past each great unfoldment of consciousness has precipitated new forms. This will no longer occur. The consciousness of God working in and upon substance in the mineral kingdom produced totally different forms to those which the same consciousness, working upon higher substance, employed in the animal and human kingdoms. Under the divine plan for this solar system, this form-differentiation has its limitations and cannot proceed beyond a certain point. This point was reached in the human kingdom for this world cycle.
Now, in the future, the consciousness aspect of Deity will continue to perfect the forms in the fourth kingdom in nature through the instrumentality of those whose consciousness is that of the fifth kingdom. This is the task of the Hierarchy of Masters. This is the delegated task of the New Group of World Servers who, upon the physical plane, can become the instrument of Their will. Through this group, the inner divine qualities of good will, peace and love can increase and express themselves through human beings, functioning in the forms of the fourth kingdom.
These points of interest have been discussed as it is essential that some understanding of the factor of analysis within the field of synthesis should be grasped. Analysis is too often confused with separativeness. The problem is complex and difficult, but an understanding of the underlying implications will emerge as the race grows in wisdom and in knowledge. We are here concerned with the concept of the Plan as initiates have grasped it.
It is interesting to note how automatically and naturally the factors inducing soul control, as outlined up to this point, have brought us to the sixth law or rule, the power—innate, inherent, and spiritually instinctual—to idealise. Instinct, intellect, intuition, ideation, and illumination—these are but differentiations and distinctive aspects of one great inherent capacity in man, and are found in all forms in all kingdoms in varying degree. Whether it is the power of the tiny seed, deeply hidden in the dark earth, to penetrate through its surrounding barriers and to emerge into the light, or whether it is the power of a human being to rise from death in matter to life in God, and to penetrate into the world of the Real from the realm of the unreal, it is all the one basic factor of idealism. Anthropology and history give us an account of the evolution of individual man and of nations and their activities upon the plane of appearances. But there is a history which today is slowly being formulated which is the history of the seed of consciousness in nature and the growth of the power to recognise ideas and to push forward towards their fulfillment. This is the new history which—as might be expected—is carrying us steadily into the world of meaning and revealing to us gradually the nature of those impulses and tendencies which have led the race steadily forward from the densest point of concrete, primitive life into the world of sensitive perception.
The seventh of these Rules—that of the interplay of the great dualities—is one of the basic rules of soul control and it is by no means an easy one for the student to grasp. It is a fundamental law of soul life. The reason why it is so hard to understand the paradox of soul unity through duality is that in speaking of the pairs of opposites, emphasis has for ages been laid upon the astral dualities and the need for humanity to choose the narrow path which runs between them. Upon the battlefield of the dualities he stands and must find the razor-edged path which opens up before him and lands him before the portal of initiation. But, essentially, these pairs of opposites are only reflections of a higher and divine correspondence. The law here considered is that which governs the relations between life and forms, between spirit and matter. Upon this we cannot here enlarge for only those initiates who have, in their own lives, transcended the lower reflection of the dualities can even begin to grasp the true spiritual significance of this rule for soul control in its wider and more essential meaning. Ours is rather the task to gain a wise understanding of the vision, as far as the capacity of each of us will permit. Only in this way will there come to us not only eventual release, but also the strength to live in this world and to be of service to our fellow men.
The Ray of Personality
As we start this new part of our study, we can proceed to consider man as he is upon the physical plane, in the majority of cases. Speaking with a broad generalisation, we could say that human beings can be grouped into four classes:
In every phase of human history, the quality of the civilisation is the only thing that can in any way be conditioned by the Great White Lodge. The Members of the Lodge are only permitted to work with the emerging qualitative aspects of the divine nature. This is, in its turn, slowly conditioning the form life, and in this way the form aspect is steadily altered and adapted, as it progresses towards an increasing perfection. This conditioning process is carried forward through the souls who are returning to incarnation, for just in so far as they are awakened or are in process of awakening, is it possible for the Hierarchy to prevail upon them or influence them to regard the time factor as a definitely important matter in considering the subject of incarnation.
The majority of the souls in the human family come into incarnation in obedience to the urge or the desire to experience, and the magnetic pull of the physical plane is the final determining factor. They are, as souls, oriented towards earth life. Increasingly, awakening souls, or those who are (occultly speaking) "coming to themselves", enter into physical life experience only dimly aware of another and higher "pull." They are, therefore, without as true an orientation to the physical plane as are the bulk of their fellow men. These awakening souls are the ones who can at times be influenced to retard or delay their entry into physical life in order to effect a conditioning of the processes of civilisation. Or again, they can be prevailed upon to hasten their entrance into life so as to be available as agents for such a conditioning process. This process is not carried forward by them through any emphasised or intelligently appreciated activity, but it is naturally brought about by the simple effect of their living in the world and there pursuing their life objectives. They thus condition their surroundings by the beauty, the power, or the influence of their lives, and are themselves frequently quite unconscious of the effect that they are having. It will be apparent therefore, that the needed changes in our civilisation can be brought about rapidly or slowly, according to the number of those who are living as souls in training.
About the beginning of the eighteenth century, after a meeting of the Hierarchy at its great centennial gathering in 1725, an effort was determined upon which would bring a more definite influence to bear upon a group of souls awaiting incarnation, and thus induce them to hasten their entry into the life of the physical plane. This was done, and the civilisation of modern times came into being, with both good and bad results. The era of culture which was the outstanding characteristic of the Victorian age, the great movements which awakened the human consciousness to a recognition of its essential freedom, the reaction against the dogmatism of the Church, the great and wonderful scientific developments of the immediate past, and the present sexual and proletarian revolutions now going on, are the result of the "impulsive" hastenings into incarnation of souls whose time had not truly come but whose conditioning influence was needed if certain difficulties (present since 1525) were to be averted. The bad effects above mentioned are indicative of the difficulties incident to premature development and to the undesirable unfoldments of what might be termed (injudiciously nevertheless) evil.
These incoming souls have, through their highly developed understanding and by means of their "self- willed power," frequently wrought havoc in various directions. However, if we could look on, as can Those on the inner side and if we were in a position to contrast the "light" of humanity as it is today with what it was two or three hundred years ago, we would recognise that enormous strides had been made. This is evidenced by the fact that the emergence of a band of "conditioning souls", under the name of the New Group of World Servers, has been possible since 1925. They can now come in because of the work already done by the group of souls who hastened their entrance into incarnation, under the impulse of the Hierarchy. The words "condition" or "conditioning" are here used quite frequently because of the aptness of the phrase to indicate function. These souls, because of their point in evolution, because of their stage in unfoldment and because of their impressibility to the group idea and to the Plan, can come into incarnation and begin, more or less, to work out that Plan and evoke a response to it in the human consciousness. They are thus in a position to "prepare the way for the coming of the Lord." This latter is a symbolic phrase indicating a certain level of spiritual culture in humanity. They are sometimes dimly conscious of this stupendous task, but they are, in the majority of cases, quite unconscious of their "qualifying" destiny. As souls, under the guidance of the Hierarchy and prior to incarnation, they are conscious of the impulse to "go in and help the sorrowing planet and thus release the prisoners held in durance hard by low desire" (quoting from the Old Commentary), but once the garment of flesh has been assumed, that consciousness too dies out and in the physical brain they are not aware of that which their souls have purposed. Only the urge for specific activities remains. The work nevertheless proceeds.
A few souls come into incarnation of their own free will and accord; they work with clear knowledge and proceed to the task of the day. They are the key people in any age, and the determining factors, psychologically, in any historical period. It is they who set the pace and do the pioneering work. They focus in themselves both the hatred and the love of the world; they work as the Builders or as the Destroyers, and they return eventually to their own place, carrying with them the spoils of victory in the shape of the freedom which they have won for themselves or for others. They bear the scars, psychologically speaking, which have been given to them by opposing workers, and they bear also the assurance that they have carried forward the task to which they have been assigned and which they have successfully undertaken.
This first category of people in incarnation has been greatly augmented during the past century and it is for this reason that we can look for the rapid development of the characteristics of the incoming Aquarian Age.
The second category of human beings, who are here designated as personalities, is also becoming powerful. It merges with both the first group and the third.
We have in the world today the following types of personalities:
It is with these personalities in their three groups that we are primarily to deal in this division of our treatise. The word, however, is very loosely used, and it might be of value to give here a list of definitions of the word "personality", both those in common usage and those used in the true spiritual significance. It is of value (is it not?) if students know the many ways in which this word is used, both correctly and erroneously. Let us here list them:
A personality is a separated human being. We could perhaps equally well say a separative human being. This is the poorest and most loosely used definition; it applies to common usage, and regards each human being as a person. This definition is consequently not true. Many people are simply animals with vague higher impulses, which remain simply impulses. There are those also who are primarily nothing more or less than mediums. This term is here used to apply to all those types of persons who go blindly and impotently upon their way, swayed by their lower and dense desire nature, of which the physical body is only the expression or medium. They are influenced by the mass consciousness, by mass ideas, and mass reactions, and therefore find themselves quite incapable of being anything definitely self-initiated, but are standardised by mass complexes. They are, therefore, mediums with mass ideas; they are swept by urges which are imposed upon them by teachers and demagogues, and are receptive—without any thought or reasoning—to every school of thought (spiritual, occult, political, religious and philosophical). May I repeat that they are simply mediums; they are receptive to ideas which are not their own or self-achieved.
A personality is one who functions with coordination, owing to his endowment and the relative stability of his emotional nature, and his sound and rounded out glandular equipment. This is aided by his urge to power and the proper environing conditions. The above situation can work out in any field of human endeavor, making a man either a good foreman in a factory or a dictator, according to his circumstances, his karma, and his opportunity. I am not here referring in any sense whatever to the desirable coordination of soul and body, which is a later development. I am simply postulating a good physical equipment, and a sound emotional control and mental development. It is possible to have a superlative inner development and yet have such a poor instrument on the physical plane that coordination is not possible. In such cases the subject seldom affects his environment in any permanent or powerful sense. He cannot bring through or radiate out his inner power because he is blocked at every point by his physical equipment. A man of much less inner development but with a responsive physical body and glands which are functioning well will frequently prove a more effective agent of influence in his environing circumstances.
A personality is a man with a sense of destiny. Such a man has sufficient will power to subject his lower nature to such a discipline that he can fulfil the destiny of which he is subconsciously aware. These people fall into two groups:
A personality is a completely integrated human being. In this case, we have a man whose physical, emotional and mental natures can be fused and can subsequently function as one, and thus produce a mechanism which is subordinated to the will of the personality. This can take place with or without a definite soul contact, and it is at this stage that there comes a predisposition to the right, or to the left hand path. The coordination proceeds as follows:
A man can be regarded as a personality in truth when the form aspect and the soul nature are at-one. When the soul influences the personality and pervades all the lower manifestation, then and only then, does the personality measure up to its true significance, which is to constitute the mask of the soul, that which is the outer appearance of inner spiritual forces. These forces are expressions of the soul, and the soul is the central identity or fundamental focus upon the mental plane of the life of God Himself. Essence, consciousness and appearance are the three aspects of divinity and of man; the personality, when fully developed, is the "appearance of God on earth." Life, quality, and form is another way of expressing this same triplicity.
The final definition which is given here, leads up to our consideration of the subject of the rays. The personality is the fusion of three major forces and their subjection (finally and after the fusion) to the impact of soul energy to the impact of soul energy. This impact is made in three different stages or in what are occultly termed "three impulsive movements"—using the word "impulsive" in its true connotation and not in the usual emotional and enthusiastic significance. These impulsive movements are:
This stage is succeeded by a long period of adjustment and of gradual development and unfoldment. This takes place upon the way of experience, and during that period the soul tightens its hold upon its instrument, the lower form nature.
The impact of the soul is called forth by the dilemmas and through the emergencies of the later stages of the path of experience. During this stage, the urgency of the need, and the dilemmas brought about by the forces of opposition, lead the man to submit to a higher influence. He calls then in desperation upon the soul and upon the spiritual resources laid up in his divine nature and hitherto remaining unused. This impact is called the "Touch of Acquiescence," and marks the acceptance by the soul of the demand of the personality for help and light. The soul acquiesces in the plea of the personality for guidance.
It is to be noted that we are here considering the attitude of the soul to the personality and not that of the personality to the soul, which is the attitude usually under consideration. We are dealing primarily in this treatise with the reactions and activities of the soul through its ray energy, and its response to the demand of the forces—focused, combined and integrated—of the personality.
In these three impacts:
there is summarised clearly and concisely the attitude of the soul towards its rapidly preparing instrument.
The great Touch of Appropriation lies racially in the past. The Touch of Acquiescence takes place upon the battlefield of the emotional nature, and the Touch of Enlightenment is effected through the mind.
The first three initiations are expressions of these three stages or impacts, and it might also be stated that the Lemurian, the Atlantean and the Aryan races are also expressions of man's reactions to these three soul approaches. The third initiation sees the soul and the personality perfectly blended so that the light blazes forth and the great Approaches between soul and form are consummated.
Today, in this particular cycle and in this Aryan race, the Hierarchy (as an expression of the kingdom of souls) is recapitulating these three inevitable steps and making certain advances or approaches to the race. We can therefore divide humanity into three groups and relate humanity to the three major approaches.
The Mysteries of the world, the flesh and the devil (to use the symbolic formal terminology of Christianity) are to be transmuted with rapidity into those of the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God, the energy of the soul, and the revelation of divinity. The secret hid by the inverted lotus (the world) is to be revealed by the opened lotus of the kingdom of souls. The secret of the flesh, which is the prison of the soul, is revealed by the perfume of the unfolding lotus of the soul. The mystery of the devil will eventually be seen to be that of the light of God's countenance, which reveals that which is undesirable and must be changed and renounced, and which thus transforms life by the light that God's nature pours forth.
It would be of use to us all to study these three soul approaches—individual or hierarchical—and to ponder upon them and put ourselves in training, so that we may make the needed recognitions. Let us also ponder upon the following triplicities:
A comparative study of these stages and phases will reveal how the relationship of the ego and the personality emerges, and that the distinctive feature between the two, as far as the aspirant is concerned, is the focus or the concentration of the life aspect. In the personality the focus of consciousness is Form. In the individuality, that focus is transferred to the Soul. It is all a question of where lies the centre of attention. The "approaches" which take place between the soul and the personality are the processes of relationship in the periods of transition. In connection with the race, these are called the Great Approaches of the Hierarchy, and they represent the soul of humanity within the racial form. The New Group of World Servers is that body of men and women who have responded to one of these major approaches. As soon as they have done this, they become a bridging or a linking group between the Hierarchy and the race, thus facilitating the task of the planetary Hierarchy.
The revelation of these Approaches, during the time in which they are going on, is only now possible. At the first Great Approach in Lemurian days, when the race of men individualised, only the members of the approaching Hierarchy were in any way aware of the purpose. Those who were approached registered dimly a deepened urge to rise to better things. Aspiration was born—conscious aspiration, if such a word can be employed in connection with the vague yearning of animal man. Today, such is the progress made through the effect of evolution that many people can and do consciously register the influence of the soul and the nearing approach of the Hierarchy. This ability to register the Approach, or the Touch of Enlightenment, is largely due to the successful work of the Christ when He came down to the earth some two thousand years ago. He accustomed us to the idea of divinity—an entirely new concept as far as man was concerned. He thus paved the way for the nearer approach, upon a large scale, of the Kingdom of Souls, through its agent, the Hierarchy and the hierarchical agency, The New Group of World Servers. This may convey something of an understanding of an aspect of Christ's work which is frequently overlooked.
Today, as the seventh ray comes into manifestation, we shall see the approaches between the two higher kingdoms of men and of souls greatly facilitated, as the magical work in the producing and bringing about of relationship begins to go forward as desired. It is the work of the Ray of Magical Order which will bring about sensitivity to one of the Major Approaches which is being now attempted. Only as history is made and we learn later the amazing nature of the epoch through which the race is passing, will humanity appreciate the significance of the work of the present Hierarchy, and the magnitude and the success of its achievement since 1925, as a result of the initial impulse instituted in 1875.
No more need be said on this point except to observe that the first indications of the work done during the Wesak Festival of 1936 and the response engendered among humanity would warrant the assumptions of success. Let us all stand poised and ready, unafraid and sure, thus preserving the gain of past effort and (in company with all true servers throughout the world) ensuring to us a positive focal point for the transmission of spiritual energy.
It would be well, before we proceed with our consideration of the Ray of the Personality, to add a word more to the information given above anent the three great Approaches of the soul or the three Touches which are transforming or initiating agencies in the life of the personality. Students would do well to remember that there must ever be an analogy or a correspondence carried out in the life of the little self—a reflection of the activities of the greater Self. Just as the soul makes three approaches towards its instrument or reflection, a human being, so the integrated personality approaches also towards union with the soul by three similar or related touches. It might be of interest if we were to enlarge somewhat upon this matter.
The corresponding activity in the personality to the Approach of Appropriation comes as a result of the reorientation and the readjustment which takes place in the personality life when upon the probationary path. Then the individual aspirant—after much struggle and effort—suddenly "touches", for one brief moment, the level of the soul, and knows the meaning of the words "soul contact." That contact is no longer a desire, a vision or a theoretical belief or hope. It is experience and fact. The terms "soul contact" and "sensing the vibratory quality of the soul" are phrases oft used. It should prove useful to students if they could learn to appreciate the fact that when "in meditation deep" a certain sudden and recognised relationship is established, the personality has responded for the first time in such a manner that the "appropriation" by the soul of its instrument (called individualisation) is duplicated by the appropriation by the personality of the inspiring and overshadowing soul.
This experience marks a significant moment in the life of the soul and the personality, and the man is never again the same. He has participated in a soul activity. This great event, when looked at from this angle, should throw new light and a fresh spirit of enterprise into the meditation work of the aspirant. Just as the soul through a planned activity, individualised itself in a human form, so the probationary aspirant, also as a result of a planned activity, takes the first step in individualising himself in a spiritual form, and the shift of consciousness from a body nature into a body "not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" takes place. The little self repeats the activity of the great Self. An event upon the path of ascent explains the significance of what occurred on the way of descent.
We are told that a long time transpires between the first initiation (wherein the crisis of appropriation on the Path of Ascent, finds its culmination) and the second initiation. Here again there is a correspondence to earlier happenings, for much time has transpired since individualisation, technically understood, has taken place. That individualisation, the first great soul approach took place either in Lemurian days or in a still earlier crisis upon that dead planet, the moon. Today, just as the form of animal man had to reach a certain level of development, so the human form has to reach the level of personality integration before the re-enactment of the Approach of Appropriation can be consciously carried forward.
Next there comes a period in the life of the aspirant when he shifts off the probationary path and moves on to the path of discipleship. This is the result of an activity which is a reflection in his individual personality life of the Approach of Acquiescence. This takes place upon the battlefield of the astral plane. There the disciple acquiesces consciously in the inevitable process of transmutation which takes place before the personality can be a fit instrument for the soul. He stands between the pairs of opposites, learning the secret of duality, and like Arjuna (fixed at the midway point) he seeks the way out, eventually acquiescing in the task ahead. This is the stage of submission to which every disciple subjects himself.
It is through acquiescence that the astral aspect of the personality is brought into line with the divine purpose of the indwelling soul. This is not, a negative, weak submission, or a sad, sweet acceptance, so-called, of the will of God, but it is a positive, dynamic assumption of a certain position or attitude upon the battlefield of life. This attitude recognises rightly, as did Arjuna, the demands of both armies (the army of the Lord and the army of the Personality) and whilst acquiescing in the facts of the case, the disciple stands up and fights as best he may for the privilege of right understanding and right activity. Just as the soul in far off days acquiesced, and gave the touch of acquiescence in the obligation assumed when the approach of appropriation took place and the demands of the personality upon the soul became steadily more definite, so now the personality reverses the process, and recognises the demands of the soul. This marks, as may well be seen, a very definite stage in the life of the aspirant, and is the cause of that unhappy sense of duality which produces distress and sorrow in the life of all disciples.
It is at this point upon the Way that many very well-meaning disciples fall. Instead of standing in spiritual being and taking a firm position upon the middle way between the pairs of opposites, and thus intensifying the touch of appropriation and endeavoring to make the approach of acquiescence, they fall into the illusions of self-pity. These prevent the process of appropriation. A furious conflict then ensues in the endeavor to change the theme of their lives, and the disciples forget that that theme is the embodiment of the Word of their souls in any particular incarnation, and that no theme—calling as it does, particular conditions into being—could provide the right and needed circumstances for full and complete development. They become so occupied with the theme that they forget the composer of that theme.
The dramatic rehearsal by the personality of the Approach or Touch of Enlightenment (as enacted by the soul) takes place upon the Path of Initiation. It has been portrayed for us by the Buddha when He took illumination and became the Enlightened One.
There is one peculiarly interesting point which can perhaps be made clear. God, or whatever word anyone may employ to express the Originator of all that exists, constantly re-enacts these dramatic approaches for His people. In so doing and as history proceeds, two great classes of Avatars must inevitably emerge, or have emerged. There are, first of all, Those Who embody in Themselves the great major soul approaches. There will be (and I would ask you to note the change of tense) Those Who will embody the human approaches, or the corresponding activities of the personality to the soul approaches. These are called in the language of esotericism "the Avatars of logoic descent upon the radiant path of..." and "the Avatars of divine descent upon the Claiming Way."
On the Way of Descending Approaches, the Buddha from the mental plane and also upon it, embodied in Himself the blazing enlightenment which is the result of a rare occurrence—a Cosmic Touch. He challenged the people to the Path of Light, of which knowledge and wisdom are two aspects. These, when brought into relationship with each other, produce the light. In a curious and esoteric manner, therefore, the Buddha embodied in Himself the force and activity of the third ray, of the third aspect of divinity—the divine cosmic principle of Intelligence. By its fusion with the ray of our solar system (the ray of Love) He expressed perfectly the significance of light in matter, of the intelligence principle as found in form, and was the Avatar Who carried in Himself the fully ripened seeds of the past solar system. We should not forget that our present solar system is, as was stated in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, the second in a series of three systems.
Then came the next great Avatar, the Christ, Who, enfolding in Himself all that the Buddha had of light and wisdom (being fully enlightened in the occult and spiritual sense) on the Ray of Descending Approach, embodied also the peace of inclusiveness, which comes from the Touch of Divine Acquiescence. He was the embodied force of submission, and He carried the divine approach to the astral plane, the plane of feeling.
Thus two great stations of energy and two major powerhouses of light have been established by these two Sons of God, and the descent of the divine life into manifestation has been greatly facilitated. The Way is now opened so that the ascent of the sons of men can become entirely possible. It is around these two ideas of divine descent and of human corresponding ascent that the coming new religion must be built.
Stations of power exist and have been founded through the work of the various World Saviours. These stations of power must be contacted by humanity as time transpires, through their individual re- enactment (on a tiny scale) of the cosmic approaches, or the touches of divinity, dramatically engineered by the cosmic Avatars, the Buddha and the Christ. It is because the Christ has approached closer to humanity by focusing divine energy upon the astral plane through His divine acquiescence that He is the First Initiator.
From one point of view, these two centres of force constitute the Temples of Initiation through which all disciples have to pass. This passing is the theme of the coming new religion.
Mankind has entered into the Temples at the great cosmic Approach of Appropriation in Lemurian times. Certain of the more advanced sons of men were passed in Atlantean times and still more will be passed in the immediate future, whilst a fair number will also be raised to immortality, but from the angle of the race it is the initiation of passing which is ahead for a very large number, and not the initiation of being raised. I am not here speaking of the so-called five major initiations, but of certain group events which are predominantly cosmic in nature. The major initiations which are the goal of human endeavor are individual in nature, and constitute, as it were, a preparatory period of expansions of consciousness. There were, if I might so express it, seven steps or approaches on the part of the life of God in the subhuman kingdoms prior to the Approach of Appropriation when humanity individualised. There are, as we know, five initiations ahead of the world disciples and these are steps towards the Approach of Acquiescence which will become possible on our planet before long. There are—after these seven and five steps—three more to be taken before the cosmic Approach of Enlightenment can take place in a far distant future. So humanity enters into the outer Court of God's love, passes into the Holy Place and is raised in the Secret Place of the Most High.
Later, the Avatar will emerge Who will embody in Himself all that the Buddha had of enlightenment and all that Christ had of acquiescing love. He will, however, also embody the energy which produced the Approach of Appropriation, and when He comes forth, there will transpire a great appropriation by humanity of its recognised divinity, and the establishing upon earth of a station of light and of power which will make possible the externalising of the Mysteries of Initiation upon earth. This approach is the cause of much of the present turmoil, for the Avatar is on His way.
Much of the above can mean but little to those who are not yet upon the path of accepted discipleship. We are here dealing with some of the major mysteries. But a mystery only remains a mystery when ignorance and unbelief exist. There is no mystery where there is knowledge and faith. The coming of the Avatar Who will fuse in Himself three principles of divinity is an inevitable future happening, and when He shall appear "the light that always has been will be seen; the love that never ceases will be realised, and the radiance deep concealed will break forth into being." We shall then have a new world—one which will express the light, the love and the knowledge of God.
These three Temples of the Mysteries (of which two are already existing, and the third will later appear) are each of them related to one of the three divine aspects, and the energy of the three major rays pours through them. In the corresponding approaches upon the path of ascent by humanity, it is the energy of the four minor Rays of Attribute which produce the power to make the needed approach. Through the active work and the guidance of the "presiding guardians" of these temples, the fifth kingdom in nature will be brought into manifested being. Over the Temple upon the mental plane, the Buddha presides and there will consummate His unfinished work. Over the Temple upon the plane of sentient feeling and of loving aspiration, the Christ presides, for this is the Temple of the most difficult initiatory processes. The reason for this difficulty and for the importance of this Temple is due to the fact that our solar system is a system of Love, of sentient response to the love of God, and of the development of that response through the innate faculty of feeling or sentiency. This calls for the cooperation of a Son of God who will embody two divine principles. Later will come an Avatar Who will achieve neither the full enlightenment of the Buddha nor the full expression of the divine love of the Christ, but Who will have a large measure of wisdom and of love, plus that "materialising power" which will enable Him to found a divine powerhouse upon the physical plane. His task, in many ways, is far more difficult than that of the two preceding Avatars, for He carries in Himself not only the energies of the two divine principles, already "duly anchored" upon the planet by His two great Brothers, but He has also within Himself much of a third divine principle, hitherto not used upon our planet. He carries the will of God into manifestation, and of that will we, as yet, know really nothing. So difficult is His task that the New Group of World Servers is being trained to assist Him. Thus an aspect of the first ray principle will be anchored by Him upon earth.
All that the student can grasp is that the Plan will be the dynamic impulse of this third and vital energy which will pervade the outer court of the Temple, constituting a Temple of Initiation upon the physical plane, thus externalising the activities of the Hierarchy in certain possible respects. The first initiation will then take place upon earth. It will be then no longer a veiled secret. This is the initiation of the outer court, wherein the approach of the soul upon the Way of Descent into manifestation, and the subsequent appropriation of the proffered divine energy by the personality upon the Way of Ascent will take place.
The Holy Place is the place where the second initiation is enacted, and this will some day be given upon the astral plane when the illusion there persisting has been somewhat dissipated. Over this second initiation, the Christ presides and, as was said above, it is for us the most difficult and most transforming of the initiations. The acquiescence of the soul to the demands of the personality for spiritual life, and the submission of the personality to the soul, find therein their consummation.
Finally will come the initiation of the Transfiguration, wherein the light breaks forth, the Touch of Enlightenment is given, and the soul and the personality stand forth as one. This process requires also the aid of the Buddha and the inspiration of the Christ, and it is "occultly guarded" by the Avatar of the physical plane.
In all the above information there is given a hint as to what will take place when human personalities are actively functioning and steadily awakening. The rapid coming of the Avatar Who will found the station of light and power upon the physical plane is dependent upon the rapid unfoldment and appearance of integrated personalities who love and think and seek to serve. There has here been given a new hint upon one of the more esoteric aspects of the work of the New Group of World Servers, and a hint at the same time as to the reason that this Treatise upon the Seven Rays has been written. An understanding of the rays and of the impelling forces in, through, and with which the personality has to work was essential if the work of this third Avatar from cosmic sources, was to be made possible.
We have thus endeavored to outline something of the problems of the personality from the angle of the larger issues. We have, as the occult law dictates, begun with the relation of the form to the soul, with the descent of life and the ascent of the sons of God, and we have carried the thought forward to the fact of the Hierarchy, working under the same law, and its relation to the New Group of World Servers. Information on initiation has hitherto been primarily occupied with the relations of the individual man to the soul and to the Hierarchy. There are here presented some of the group implications. The New Group of World Servers is related to the Hierarchy as body to soul, and they in their turn as a group of souls are similarly related to the human family.
Therefore we have:
1. Soul Body
5. A Soul A Personality
The one unit descends towards the ascending related unit, (speaking in terms of an approach from two directions). This takes place under divine impulsion and human aspiration, and both act equally under:
Three types of energy meet and blend in the personality, finding their expression through the medium of an outer tangible form which is itself coloured, motivated and conditioned by a fourth type of energy—the energy of basic matter. This basic matter is the product of the first solar system, and the energy of which it is composed does not, therefore, belong to our solar system at all, except through an act of appropriation, performed by our planetary Logos at the dawn of the creative activity of God. Seeking to impress, impel and motivate this group of four energies is the energy of the informing, indwelling soul. This fifth type of energy is itself dual in nature, being the transcendent archetype of both mind and emotion, or will and love. These six energies in their turn are animated or impelled by the life of God Himself, thus making the seven energies now in manifestation. This is, of course, well known, as the theory constitutes the very bones of the occult body of truth, and in this statement is formulated the essential structure upon which esotericism is built. I have stated it purely in terms of energy, and not of principles or bodies, so as to bring the Ageless Wisdom into line with modern truth and scientific conclusions. We therefore have:
The Personality
The Soul
The Spirit
These energies constitute the human being, a unit of energy. They make him essentially an active, intelligent, loving, living, human being. They are unfolded sequentially in time and space and, as a result of the great experiment of evolution, bring him eventually to the full flowering of his nature, and to a full expression of the seven types of energy which condition him.
The question arises as to when man can become aware in his own personal and separated consciousness (as registered in the waking brain) of the truth of the existence of this septenate of energies. I would reply as follows:
These three aspects of mind energy are thus blended and are a synthesis of the intelligent force of deity. They embody as much of the mind of God as a human being can embrace in time and space, for they are:
This is the second panel, if one might so express it, of the picture here being drawn, of the divine life as it manifests through the consciousness of humanity. I am seeking to give it in such terms that comprehension may ensue. The first panel gave some of the universal implications. This was elaborated in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire. The second panel, contained in this Treatise on the Seven Rays, gives a general view of the synthetic unfoldment of man. The third panel entered the realm of synthetic work and was embodied in A Treatise of White Magic.
It would be useful to bear in mind here what was earlier pointed out:
This is often forgotten and people will have to readjust their ideas in this matter. It is by an understanding of these dominant types of force as they condition the various vehicles that the true nature of the problem of psychology will emerge and the right clue to the solution will appear. The above tabulation and statement is one of the most important ever made in this Treatise in connection with psychology. Gradually it will be noted that certain ray meditations can be used to bring in the influence of the soul and these will be later discussed. Some simple yet powerful meditation formulas will be given, which can be used by the man who is an integrated personality, in order to bring one or another of his vehicles into alignment and consequent control.
It will be observed that the rays governing the mind include one which links the mind nature with the ray of the solar system, which is the cosmic ray of love. This one is the Ray of Harmony, the fourth ray, but it is also Harmony through Conflict. It is a most important ray, for it gives us the clue to the whole problem of pain and of suffering. Our attention should be directed to this ray and to the mind nature which is related to it. In an understanding of this relationship, we have indicated to us the way out, or the use of that type of force which will lead humanity out. Every man who has reached the point of personality integration has eventually to call in this fourth type of energy when upon the Path, in order rightly to condition his mind and through the mind, his personality.
In considering the personality, therefore, and its conditioning rays we will study:
the soul.
We have before us in this study much food for thought. The subjects touched upon are deep, difficult to understand, and hard to grasp. Careful reading, however, quiet reflection, and a practical application of the sensed truth and of the intuited idea will gradually bring enlightenment and lead to acquiescence in the techniques of the soul, and the appropriation of the teaching.
In theosophical literature, there is much talk anent the various elementals or lunar lords which compose, constitute and control the lower nature. These, in their triple totality, form the personality. They are of man's own creation, and form the basis of the problem which he, as a soul, has always to face until the final liberation is achieved. The mental elemental, the astral elemental and the physical elemental have a definite life of their own which is coloured by the rays upon which these various bodies or elementals have their being, until the man has reached a relatively high point in evolution.
The elementals composing the mental body are spoken of in the Old Commentary in the following terms:
"The Lord of Will took being. His dim reflection followed in His steps.
The little lord of force manasic appeared on earth.
The Lord Who sought for harmony took form.
The little lord, who loved to fight for what he sought, followed with swiftness in His wake.
The Lord Who in this world of ours knew mind and thought, swept into incarnation.
He was not, then He was.
The little lord of mental stuff also took form. Man's troublous journey then began."
These old phrases bear out the statement earlier made that the mental body of every human being is composed of substance which is governed by the rays, one, four and five. Exceptions to this rule appear, sometimes, upon the Path of Discipleship, and are the result of the direct and intelligent action of the Soul, prior to incarnation. The soul builds a body of mental substance or attracts to it that particular type of mental energy which will enable it to possess (whilst in incarnation) the type of vehicle which will make a chosen experience possible. This freedom of choice never occurs except in the case of the awakening disciple. The reason for this will be seen if it is realised that the energy of these three rays, when focused in a personality, provides exactly the right impulse to govern the lower life, both in the case of an undeveloped human being and of a man in the early stages of discipleship and aspiration. It might be well for us to elaborate this a little by means of certain tabulations:
THE MENTAL BODY
This provides (in the case of the unevolved or the highly developed) the following possibilities:
Ray One
In the Average Man:
In the Advanced Man:
Ray Four
In the Average Man:
In the Advanced Man:
It will be noted in this connection how accurate was the earlier statement that the artist is found upon all the rays, and that the so-called Ray of Harmony or Beauty is not the only ray upon which the creative worker is found. The mental body of every human being, at some time or another, is found upon the fourth ray and usually when the man is nearing the probationary path. This means that the mental vehicle is governed by an elemental of fourth ray nature or quality and that, therefore, creative, artistic activity is the line of least resistance. We then have a man with an artistic tendency or we have a genius along some line of creative work. When, at the same time, the soul or the personality is also upon the fourth ray, then we will find a Leonardo da Vinci or a Shakespeare.
Ray Five
In the Average Man:
In the Advanced Man:
I have given the above in connection with the rays of the mental body in order to enable us to grasp not only the complexity of the problem but also the inevitability of success through the play of the many energies upon and through any one single human mind. It is not necessary here to elaborate upon the energies which create and form the emotional body, or the physical body. The second and the sixth rays colour the astral body of every human being, whilst the physical body is controlled by the third and the seventh rays.
It is interesting to remember that the etheric body is uniquely constituted; it is the instrument of life, predominantly, more so than the instrument of quality. It is the factor which produces and sustains the instrument of appearance, the physical body. It will be recalled that in Volume One of this Treatise, the human being was differentiated into the three divine aspects: Life, Quality, and Appearance. Through the seven centres in the etheric body, the seven ray energies make their appearance and produce their effects, but at the very heart of each chakra or lotus, there is a vortex of force to be found which is composed of pure manasic energy, and, therefore, is purely energy of the first three rays. This energy is quiescent until an advanced stage of discipleship is reached. It only sweeps into its divine rhythm and activity when the three tiers of petals, found in the egoic lotus (the higher correspondence), are beginning to unfold, and the centre of the egoic lotus is becoming vibrant. Though the etheric body of man is an expression of the seven ray qualities in varying degrees of force, the etheric body of a Master is an expression of monadic energy, and comes into full activity after the third initiation.
It will be obvious, therefore, that when the psychologist takes into consideration the various types of energy which go to the constitution of a human being and can distinguish (from study and investigation, plus an understanding of the rays) what the energies are which are conditioning a patient, then great strides will be made in handling people. The nature of the human equipment and its internal relationship, as well as the external effects, will be better comprehended. Speaking technically, the extreme psychological position will fall into its rightful place.
Materialistic psychologists have been dealing with the substance energies and with the instinctual life of the organism. These constitute the sum total of the available energies, organised into the form of the automatic physical body, coloured as its atoms are by the tendencies and qualities developed in a previous solar system. In our solar system, we are arriving at an understanding and a development of the consciousness aspect of divinity, its quality and characteristic, just as instinctual intelligence or automatic activity was the contribution of the earlier manifestation of God, in which the third aspect was dominant.
The problem can be posited and its extent made clear by the following tabulation which gives the rays that may be supposed or imagined to govern or control a problematical or hypothetical man in a particular incarnation.
Certain ideas should here be considered. They are here given in the form of statements, but we will not elaborate them, simply leaving them to the student for his pondering and careful thinking.
You will note also that the monad (2nd ray), the astral body (6th ray) and the physical body (2nd ray) are all along the same line of activity, or of divine energy, creating a most interesting psychological problem. The soul (1st ray) and the mental body (5th ray) are along another line entirely, and this combination presents great opportunity and much difficulty.
Many such charts could be drawn up and studied, and many such hypothetical cases could present the basis for occult investigation, for diagram, and for the study of the Law of Correspondences. Students would find it of interest to study themselves in this way, and, in the light of the information given in this Treatise on the Seven Rays, they could formulate their own charts, study what they think may be their own rays and the consequent ray effect in their lives, and thus draw up most interesting charts of their own nature, qualities and characteristics.
It might be of interest to mention the fact that the moment a man becomes an accepted disciple, some such chart is prepared and placed in the hands of his Master. In fact, four such charts are available, for the rays of the personality vary from one cycle of expression to another and necessitate the keeping of the personality chart up to date. The four basic charts are:
These four charts, depicted or drawn in colour according to ray, form the dossier of a disciple, for the Master only deals with general tendencies and never with detail. General trends and predispositions and emphasised characteristics concern him, and the obvious life patterns.
I would call to your attention the increasing use by the psychologists and thinkers of the race of the word "pattern". It is a word which has a deep occult significance. One of the exercises given to the disciple upon the inner planes is connected with these psychological charts or these life patterns. He is asked to study them with care, all four of them, and then to draw up the pattern which embodies for him the goal as far as he, at his present point of development, can sense it. When he takes the first initiation, then the Master adds another pattern or chart to the dossier of the disciple, and the latter can then study:
By a careful analysis and comparison of the three charts, he can discover the accuracy or the inaccuracy of his own diagnosis, and thus develop a better sense of proportion as to his own mental perception of himself.
It would be interesting later, if students could be set some such task as drawing up an analysis of themselves which could be embodied in a chart, giving the rays that they believe govern their equipment, and stating the reasons for assigning these ray qualities.
When the psychologist of the future employs all the available sciences at his disposal and, at the same time, lays the emphasis upon those sciences which deal with the subjective man and not so predominantly with the objective man (though that should not be omitted) we shall then have a fundamental change in the handling of the human problem or equation. This is today a problem which is seriously confronting and distressing the psychologist, the psychiatrist, the neurologist, the social worker and the humanitarian.
The psychologist will then employ:
It will be recognised that the astrology with which we are here concerned and which I will later somewhat elaborate, does not deal with the expression of the personality. It is the planetary and racial astrology which Those who work on the inner side, know to be of deep significance. It is the astrology of discipleship and the relation of the stars to the activities of the soul which They regard of importance. It is the astrology of initiation with which They are most profoundly concerned. Though the time is not yet, we shall some day be able to cast the horoscope of the soul, and make more clear to the awakening human being the way that he should go.
It will also be apparent that, as the relationships of the different aspects of a man's manifested life appear, his seven centres are related to the seven aspects or qualities which embody a man's essential divinity. The following is therefore of interest:
These are the three major centres for the advanced man.
The latter centre is only awakened in its true and final sense at the third initiation. At that time the circle is completed. As was earlier stated, the etheric body is related to the monad and is the exteriorisation of the life aspect. It is the etheric body, with all its seven centres, which is swept into activity when the basic centre is awakened, and the kundalini fire is aroused. It might be of value to students to point out that frequently when a student is under the impression or belief that the kundalini fire has been aroused in him, all that has really happened is that the energy of the sacral centre (i.e. the sex centre) is being transmuted and raised to the throat, or that the energy of the solar plexus centre is being raised to the heart. Aspirants do, however, love to play with the idea that they have succeeded in arousing the kundalini fire. Many advanced occultists have mistaken the raising of the sacral fire or of the solar plexus force to a position above the diaphragm for the "lifting of the kundalini" and have therefore regarded themselves or others as initiates. Their sincerity has been very real and their mistake an easy one to make. C. W. Leadbeater frequently made this mistake, yet of his sincerity and of his point of attainment there is no question.
The abstruseness and the difficulty of all of the above is very real and, living as the disciple does in the world of glamour and illusion, it is not easy for the average aspirant to sort out his ideas on these matters, or to see the extent of the subject with the perspective that is necessary. He has to start, first of all, by accepting the premise of the rays, and this he cannot prove, though he may do two things:
What is here presented is of sufficient difficulty and of adequate interest to merit careful consideration. I wonder if the students have any idea how the ideals I seek to bring to their attention could illumine their lives if they took them into their "brooding consciousness" for the space even of a month. This aspect of consciousness is the correspondence in the soul body to the mother aspect, as it broods over, guards and eventually brings to the birth the Christ aspect. Lives are changed primarily by reflection; qualities are developed by directed conscious thought; characteristics are unfolded by brooding consideration. To all this I call your attention.
I diverged briefly for a moment and took up the subject of the rays of the three bodies of the personality before completing the detail of the outline previously given on the ray of personality. This I did with deliberation, as I was anxious to have clearly established the difference which will be found existing between the rays governing the elementals of the three lower bodies and that of the personality. The life of these three elementals is founded primarily in the three lowest centres in the etheric body:
The life of the indwelling soul is focused in the three higher centres:
Two important stages in the life of the man take place during the evolutionary process:
First: The stage wherein there comes the first great fusion or "assertion of control" by the soul. At this time the ajna centre comes alive. This stage precedes a man's passing on to the Probationary Path and is the stage which distinguishes the average man and woman at this time in the world.
Second: The stage wherein there comes a more definite spiritual awakening. At this time the centre at the base of the spine comes into rapport—through its circulating life—with all the centres in the etheric body. This step precedes what is called initiation and signalises the arousing into activity of the central focus of power at the heart of each of the chakras or etheric lotuses. In all the previous stages, it has been the petals of the various lotuses, chakras or vortices of force which have come into increased motion. At this later stage, the "hub" of the wheel, the "point in the centre" or the "heart of the lotus" comes into dynamic action and the whole inner force-body becomes related in all its parts and begins to function harmoniously.
This is of value to remember and upon this the teaching of esoteric psychology is based. We have therefore, three stages of activity spread over a long evolutionary cycle, and differing according to ray and to the karmic conditions engendered.
In summarising, it might be said:
personality:
glows with a faint light, but there is no true activity.
impact and inflow of life.
into activity.
lotus is becoming more and more brilliant and living.
All the above process takes much time, and it includes the Path of Probation or Purification and the Path of Discipleship.
aspect, of the soul, and of the spirit (fire by friction, solar fire, and electric fire) merge and blend.
or one at a time, according to the demand and the need which must be met by the initiate.
All the above takes place progressively upon the Path of Initiation. This same truth can also be expressed in terms of the rays:
soul ray is scarcely felt and only flickers with a dim light at the heart of each lotus.
divided into two stages:
At each of these latter two stages, the rays of the lower nature become increasingly powerful. Self- consciousness is developed, and then the personality becomes clearer and clearer, and the three elementals of the lower nature, the force of the so-called "three lunar Lords" (the triple energies of the integrated personality) come steadily under the control of the ray of the personality. At this stage, therefore, four rays are active in the man, four streams of energy make him what he is and the ray of the soul is beginning, though very faintly, to make its presence felt, producing the conflict which all thinkers recognise.
At the stage of Discipleship, the soul ray comes into increased conflict with the personality ray and the great battle of the pairs of opposites begins. The soul ray or energy slowly dominates the personality ray, as it in its turn has dominated the rays of the three lower bodies.
At the stage of Initiation, the domination continues and at the third initiation the highest kind of energy which a man can express in this solar system—that of the monad, begins to control.
At the stage of individualisation, a man comes into being; he begins to exist. At the stage of intellection, the personality emerges with clarity and becomes naturally expressive. At the stage of discipleship, he becomes magnetic. At the stage of initiation, he becomes dynamic.
Students would do well to bear in mind that there are several pairs of opposites with which they have sequentially to deal. This is a point oft forgotten. Emphasis is usually laid upon the pairs of opposites to be found upon the astral plane, whilst those to be found upon the physical plane and the mental levels are omitted from the recognition of the aspirant. Yet it is essential that these other pairs of opposites receive due recognition.
Etheric energy, focused in an individual etheric body, passes through two stages prior to the period of discipleship:
It is interesting to note that it is during this stage that the emphasis is laid upon physical disciplines, upon such controlling factors as total abstinence, celibacy and vegetarianism, and upon physical hygienes and exercises. Through these, the control of the life by the form, the lowest expression of the third aspect of divinity, can be offset and the man set free for the true battle of the pairs of opposites.
This second battle is the true kurukshetra and is fought out in the astral nature, between the pairs of opposites which are distinctive of our solar system, just as the physical pairs of opposites are distinctive of the past solar system. From one interesting angle, the battle of the opposites upon the lower spiral (in which the physical body in its dual aspect is concerned) can be seen taking place in the animal kingdom. In this process, human beings act as the agents of discipline (as the Hierarchy in its turn acts towards the human family) and the domestic animals, forced to conform to human control, are wrestling (even if unconsciously from our point of view) with the problem of the lower pairs of opposites. Their battle is fought out through the medium of the dense physical body and the etheric forces, and in this way a higher aspiration is brought into being. This produces in time the experience which we call individualisation, wherein the seed of personality is sown. On the human battlefield, the kurukshetra, the higher aspect of the soul begins to operate and eventually to dominate, producing the process of divine-human integration which we call initiation. Students might find it of use to ponder upon this thought.
When an aspirant reaches that point in his evolution wherein the control of the physical nature is an urgent necessity, he recapitulates in his own life this earlier battle with the lower pairs of opposites, and begins to discipline his dense physical nature.
Making a sweeping generalisation, it might be stated that, for the human family en masse, this dense-etheric conflict was fought out in the world war, which was the imposition of a tremendous test and discipline. We should ever remember that our tests and disciplines are self-imposed and grow out of our limitations and opportunities. The result of this test was the passing on to the Path of Probation of a very large number of human beings, owing to the purging and the purification to which they had been subjected. This purificatory process in some measure prepared them for the prolonged conflict upon the astral plane which lies ahead of all aspirants, prior to achieving the goal of initiation. It is the "Arjuna" experience which lies definitely ahead of many today. This is an interesting point upon which to think and reflect; it holds much of mystery and of difficulty in the sequence of human unfoldment. The individual aspirant is prone to think only in terms of himself, and of his individual tests and trials. He must learn to think in terms of the mass activity, and the preparatory effect where humanity, as a whole is concerned. The world war was a climaxing point in the process of "devitalising" the world maya, as far as humanity is concerned. Much force was released and exhausted, and much energy also was expended. Much was consequently clarified.
Many people are occupied today, in their individual lives, with exactly the same process and conflict. On a tiny scale, that which was worked out in the world war is being worked out in their lives. They are busy with the problems of maya. Hence today we find an increasing emphasis upon the physical cultures, disciplines, and upon the vogue for physical training, which finds its expression in the world of sport, in athletic exercises, military training and preparation for the Olympic Games. These latter are in themselves an initiation. In spite of all the wrong motives and the terrible and evil effects (speaking again with a wide generalisation), the training of the body and organised physical direction (which is taking place today in connection with the youth of all nations) is preparing the way for millions to pass upon the Path of Purification. Is this a hard saying? Humanity is under right direction, e'en if, during a brief interlude, they misunderstand the process and apply wrong motives to right activities.
There is a higher duality to which it is necessary that we refer. There is, for the disciples, the duality which becomes obvious when the Dweller on the Threshold and the Angel of the Presence face each other. This constitutes the final pair of opposites.
The Dweller on the Threshold is oft regarded as a disaster, as a horror to be avoided, and as a final and culminating evil. I would here remind you, nevertheless, that the Dweller is "one who stands before the gate of God", who dwells in the shadow of the portal of initiation, and who faces the Angel of the Presence open-eyed, as the ancient Scriptures call it. The Dweller can be defined as the sum total of the forces of the lower nature as expressed in the personality, prior to illumination, to inspiration and to initiation. The personality per se, is, at this stage, exceedingly potent, and the Dweller embodies all the psychic and mental forces which, down the ages, have been unfolded in a man and nurtured with care. It can be looked upon as the potency of the threefold material form, prior to its conscious cooperation and dedication to the life of the soul and to the service of the Hierarchy, of God, and of humanity.
The Dweller on the Threshold is all that a man is, apart from the higher spiritual self; it is the third aspect of divinity as expressed in and through the human mechanism. This third aspect must be eventually subordinated to the second aspect, the soul. The two great contrasting forces, the Angel and the Dweller, are brought together—face to face—and the final conflict takes place. Again, you will note, that it is a meeting and battle between another and a higher pair of opposites. The aspirant, therefore, has three pairs of opposites with which to deal as he progresses towards light and liberation:
THE PAIRS OF OPPOSITES
(These are all faced upon the Path of Initiation)
After these preliminary remarks, we can come now to a study of the previous tabulation in connection with the method whereby the soul appropriates the various bodies, how they are developed and inter-related, and finally how coordination and alignment is brought about. The last part of the tabulation was outlined in such a manner that many of the problems facing the psychologist at this time can be dealt with from an esoteric angle, and perhaps some light on these problems may then be forthcoming.
In the current occult literature, the careful student will come to the conclusion that the emphasis has been laid upon the process whereby the ego or soul draws to itself the form, utilising for that purpose a mental unit and two permanent atoms, thus anchoring itself in three worlds of human experience. The matter, or rather the substance, aspect has been the subject of immediate importance. Hence this subject was covered in my earlier books which are intended to aid in the bridging process between the older "techniques of understanding" and the esotericism which the new age will sponsor. We should, however, bear in mind two things:
The soul itself is a major centre of experience in the life of the monad; the lower bodies are centres of expression in the life of the soul. As the consciousness of the man shifts continuously into the higher bodies through which expression can become possible, the soul gradually becomes the paramount centre of experience in consciousness and the lesser centres of experience (the lower bodies) assume less and less importance. The soul experiences less through them, but uses them increasingly in service.
This same thought must be carried into our concept of the soul as a centre of consciousness. The soul uses the bodies in the earlier stages of evolution as centres of conscious experience, and upon them and upon the experience is the emphasis laid. But as time progresses, the man becomes more soul-conscious and the consciousness which he experiences (as a soul in the three bodies) is of decreasing importance, until finally the bodies become simply instruments of contact through which the soul comes into understanding relationship with the world of the physical plane, of the feeling, sentient levels, and with the world of thought.
In considering, therefore, the section with which we are now concerned, it is essential for right understanding and eventual psychological usefulness, that we remember constantly that we shall be talking always in terms of consciousness and of soul energy, and are only dealing with sentient substance from the point of view of its usefulness in terms of time and space, or of manifestation. In thinking of the focal points of soul energy upon the mental, astral and physical planes, we will not think of the permanent atoms as material centres, or as germs of form, which is the prevailing idea. We will think of them simply as an expression—attractive or magnetic in quality as the case may be—of soul energy, playing upon energies which have in them the quality of responsiveness to the positive aspects of energy with which they are brought in contact. In elucidating this most difficult problem it might be said that the problems of psychology fall into two major groups:
There is a third class of difficulties which concern those who are on the Path of Discipleship, but these we will not consider here. In these latter cases there is an abnormal over-sensitivity in the vehicles, the rush of force through from the soul, via the centres, presents real difficulty, and responsiveness to the environment is over-developed in many cases.
These conditions are governed, as will be recognised, by the point in evolution, the ray type, the quality of past karma, and the present family, national and racial inherited characteristics. As we study, let us bear clearly in mind that it is the soul as a centre of consciousness and the vehicles as centres of experience with which we are concerning ourselves. We should seek to eliminate from our minds the more material connotations which past teachings have emphasised. Remember also that a man's consciousness is first of all, and usually, centred sequentially in the three bodies, and the centres of experience for him are primarily the field of his consciousness. He is identified for long with the field of experience and not with the real self. He has not yet identified himself with the conscious subject, or with the One Who is aware, but as time goes on, his centre of identification shifts, and he becomes less interested in the field of experience and more aware of the soul as the conscious, thinking Individual.
The comprehension of each of us will depend upon where we each, as individuals, lay the emphasis, and where we are awake and alive, and of what we are conscious. When we have achieved the experience of the third initiation and are no longer identified with the vehicles of expression, then—on a higher turn of the spiral—another shift in the life expression and experience will take place. Then neither the centre of experience, the soul, nor the vehicles of expression, the lower threefold man, will be considered from the angle of consciousness at all. The Life aspect will supersede all others.
It was for this reason (when giving the earlier tabulation) that the words "building psychologically" were used, with the intent to direct the attention of the student to the soul or psyche as the building agency, but at the same time to negate or offset the material concept of body-building. Occultism is the science of energy manipulation, of the attractive or the repulsive aspect of force, and it is with this that we shall concern ourselves.
In this soul activity is to be found the source or the germ of all the experiences which—on the physical plane today—are recognised and considered by the psychologist. In this thought is to be found the fact that there is no difficulty in the vehicles of expression but finds its correspondence and higher truth in the centre of experience which we call the soul.
Much is being written today which is the result of the development of the science of psycho-analysis. This is the problem of what is commonly called a "split personality". This division in the continuity of consciousness (for that is what it basically is) takes many forms and sometimes produces more than simply a duality. The great expression of the continuity of desire is voiced for us by Paul, the initiate, in The Epistle to the Romans where he refers to the constant battle between the will-to-good and the will-to-evil, as it takes place within the periphery of consciousness of a human being. From certain angles this passage is prophetic, for the writer (perhaps unknowingly) was looking forward to that period in the evolution of mankind when the "battle of the opposites" would be waged in its full strength, both individually and within all nations and races. Such a time is now upon us.
As far as the individual is concerned, the psychologist is attempting to deal with the problem. As far as the race is concerned, the great social, philanthropic, political and religious movements are equally concerned with the same problem. This should be of interest to all for it indicates that the planetary kurukshetra is now being fought out and, therefore, that present affairs must be viewed from the angle of a basic psychology, which is expressive—in time and space—of that great centre of soul expression which we call the human family. It indicates also the advanced point of attainment in consciousness upon the path of evolution. When the battle is successfully fought, and there is a realisation in consciousness of the nature of the issue involved (and such an awareness is most rapidly developing), then we shall have a bridging of the gap and the fusing of the fundamental pairs of opposites (the soul and the form). This will bring in the new era of spiritual attainment or of soul contact.
The thought which should be dominant in our minds today, in order that we may rightly understand the correct use of this whole section is simply this:that the right appropriation of form by the soul is the result of an initial wish or desire. It is the result of a fundamental outgoing impulse on the part of the centre of energy. This tendency outwards is expressed in many differing words or expressions in the literature of the world, such as:
Many such expressions can be found, having in them symbolic quality and which are not to be interpreted literally, or with a physical connotation. Each idea, however, involves a duality, and the concept that there is "that which is manifesting through the form of the manifest". This is "the soul and the form", and many other similar phrases are familiar to all of us.
I would urge you to preserve, as far as possible, the thought of the psychological implications, considering this whole section from the angle in sentiency, for in sentiency (as you well know) lies the entire psychological problem. It is always and in every case the problem of response to environment and opportunity, and in this idea lies much for the esoteric psychologist. In sensitive awareness lies the secret of progress for the psyche, and also the secret of the many states of consciousness which the sentient or feeling factor, the soul, experiences on the path of evolution as it expands:
I have expressed these three in the order of their appearance. We are apt to consider these appearances from the point of view of man upon the physical plane. It is necessary to consider them from the point of view of the soul and the process of experiencing. This is an angle of vision which is only truly possible to the man who is beginning to function as a soul.
It is here that the ray nature of any specific soul is first of all brought into activity, for its colouring, tone, quality and its basic vibration determine psychologically the colour, tone, quality and basic vibration of the mind-energy demonstrated. It conditions the sentient form attracted and the vital body which constitutes the attractive agency upon the physical plane, drawing to itself the type of negative energy or substance through which the quality, tone or vibration of the specific centre of experience can be expressed, and the environment contacted. In the early stages of manifestation, it is the nature of the form or of the vehicle which dominates and is the outstanding characteristic. The nature of quality, of the underlying soul, is not apparent. Then the form or vehicle is sentient in two directions: outwards towards the environment, which leads (as evolution proceeds) to the perfecting of the vehicle, and inwards towards the higher progressive impulse, which leads to the definite expansion of consciousness. These higher impulses are progressive in their appearance. It might, in this connection be stated that:
The fusion of the sentient, astral body and the physical body then becomes complete.
This produces an integration of the three energies which constitute the threefold lower man.
and the mental) becomes dominant.
be an instrument of a higher force.
A few students may get the symbolic significance of the process, if they grasp the fact that, in the earlier stages upon the evolutionary path, the Monad is the source of the exhalation or of the expiration which brought the soul into being upon the physical plane: upon the Path of Return, with which we are concerned in the latter stage, the Monad is the source of inhalation or of the inspiration.
In the process of exhalation or of the breathing-out, a certain type of divine energy focused itself as a centre of experience in that type of sentient substance which we call higher mental matter. This eventually formed that aspect of man which we call the soul. In its turn, the soul continued in this process of exhalation or breathing out, initiated by the monad, or the One Life. The energy thus sent forth forms centres of experience in the three worlds through the process of "attractive appropriation" of qualified material or substance. Through these centres, the needed experience is gained, the life process is intensified, the range of experience through contact with an ever-widening environment becomes possible, leading to successive expansions of consciousness which are called initiations in the later stages, when consciously undergone and definitely self-initiated. Thus the field of soul influence is steadily enlarged. Whilst this soul activity is proceeding, a paralleling activity in the material substance is going on, which steadily brings the negative aspect of matter or substance up to the positive requirements of the soul. The vehicles of expression, the mechanism of manifestation and the centres for experience improve as the consciousness widens and deepens.
The integration of an individual into his environment is proceeding apace, and the psychological adjustment of man to his field of experience will steadily improve. Upon this, humanity can count, and to this, the history of man's development as a knowing being testifies. But the integration of the human being into time has not been accomplished and even this statement will be little understood. Man's origin and his goal remain largely unconsidered, and he is studied from the angle of this one short life, and from the point of view of his present equipment. Until he is integrated into time as well as into his environment and until the Law of Rebirth is admitted as the most likely hypothesis, there will be no real understanding of the process of evolution, of the relationships of individuals, and the nature of the unfoldment of the equipment. There will be no true wisdom. Knowledge comes, as the individual integrates into his environment. Wisdom comes as he becomes coordinated into the processes of time. The mechanism is related to the environment, and is the apparatus of contact and the means through which the experiencing soul arrives at a full awareness of the field of knowledge. This soul is the identity—which is time—conscious in the true sense of the word, and which views the period of manifestation as a whole, gaining thus a sense of proportion, an understanding of values and an inner sense of synthesis.
Little by little the triple mechanism is developed and the centre of experience expands in knowledge. Today this knowledge is of a very high order, and the world is full of personalities. Supplementing our earlier definitions, a personality might be simply defined as:
begin to use the instrument effectively.
It is not my intention to deal with the building of the various bodies. I seek here to generalise and to take up the theme from the point of attainment of modern humanity. Hints are given in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire which, if duly studied, will serve to elucidate the early problem of the soul's impulse to creation. We will, therefore, accept the fact of the initial creation of the forms, based upon the wish or desire to manifest, and proceed with our theme along the idea of experience, expression, and expansion, dealing with modern man and his problems from the standpoint of the psychological development of his problems.
In dealing now with the esoteric aspect of the appropriation of the vehicles through which a manifesting Son of God can express himself, it is impossible to avoid the use of some form of symbolic rendering of words. So long, however, as the student remembers that they are symbolic, there is no real danger of a basic misunderstanding. The analytical, intelligent mind uses forms of speech in order to limit the concept intuited within terms which can be comprehended, and abstract ideas are thereby brought down to the level of the understanding.
We have seen that our major consideration must be that of the soul as a centre of consciousness and of the bodies as a centre of experience, and with this postulate we lay the foundation for our future psychological investigations. We are not here dealing with the question of why this is so, or of how it may have come about. We accept the statement as basic and fundamental, and take our stand upon the premise that the nature of life in the world is experience-gaining, because we see this happening around us on every side and can note it occurring in our own lives.
We can divide people into three groups:
This is a rough and broad generalisation, but it accounts for human experience and consequent attitudes in the three major groupings. It is of interest to bear in mind that the process of the appropriation of the bodies, presents similar stages with respect to the evolution of the form and to the evolution of the indwelling life. In the history of the material aspect of manifestation, there have been the following stages:
It is the same in the psychological history of the human being. There too we find a somewhat similar process, divided into two stages, marking the involution and the evolution of consciousness. Hitherto in the occult books the emphasis has been upon the development of the form side of life, and upon the nature and quality of that form as it responds, upon different levels of the planetary life, to the impact of the environment in the early stages and to the impress of the soul at the later stages.
In this Treatise with which we are now engaged, our primary aim is to point out the effect upon the soul of the experiences undergone in the bodies, and the process whereby the consciousness aspect of divinity is expanded, culminating as it does in what is technically called an initiation. Each of the two major divisions of this process—involution and evolution—could be divided into six definite expansions of consciousness. Those upon the upward arc differ from those upon the downward arc in objective and motive and in scope, and are essentially sublimations of the lower aspects of the unfoldment of consciousness. These six stages might be called:
Each stage, when at its height of expression, involves a period of crisis. This crisis precedes the unfoldment of the next stage in the conscious awakening of man. We here are viewing Man as a conscious thinker, and not man as a member of the fourth kingdom in nature. Ponder upon this distinction, for it marks the points of emphasis and the focus of the identification.
In the first stage of appropriation, we have the soul or the conscious thinker (the divine son of God, or manasaputra) doing three things:
plane.
thereby satisfy the demand for existence.
With these processes, formulated as theories, we are familiar. The speculations and pronouncements of teachers everywhere, and down the ages, have familiarised us with the many symbolic ways of dealing with these matters. Upon them there is no need to enlarge. The whole series of events involved in the decision are to be considered here only from the angle of consciousness and of a defined involutionary procedure.
The second stage of aspiration concerns the aspiration or the desire of the soul to appear, and brings the consciousness down on to what we call the astral plane. The inclination of the soul is towards that which is material. We must not forget this fact. We have been apt to regard aspiration as the consummation or the transmutation of desire. However, in the last analysis, it might be said that aspiration is the basis or root of all desire and that we have only used the word "desire" to signify aspiration which has a natural object in the consciousness of man, confining the word "aspiration" to that transmuted desire which makes the soul the fixed objective in the life of the man in incarnation. But all phases of desire are essentially forms of aspiration and, on the involutionary arc, aspiration shows itself as the desire of the soul to experience in consciousness those processes which will make it conscious and dynamic in the world of human affairs.
When this conscious realisation is established and the soul has appropriated a form upon the mental plane through the will to exist, and one also upon the astral plane through aspiration, then the third stage of approach takes place upon etheric levels. The consciousness becomes focused there, preparatory to the intense crisis of "appearing", and there takes place what might be regarded as a ranging or a gathering of all the forces of the consciousness in order to force the issue and thus emerge into manifestation. This is a vital moment in consciousness; it is a period of vital preparation for a great spiritual event—the coming into incarnation of a son of God. This involves the taking of a dense physical body which will act either as a complete prison for the soul or as a "form for revelation", as it has been called, in the cases of those advanced men whom we regard as the revealed sons of God.
The crisis of approach is one of the most important and one of the least understood of the various stages. Students should find it of interest to make a comparative study of the approaches which have previously been mentioned in connection with such episodes in human history as those occurring at the time of the Wesak Full Moon. There is a close underlying relationship between the approaches upon the path of involution and those upon the path of evolution, and also between those taken by an individual and those by a group.
Then, when the gathering of forces during the stage of approach is consummated, the fourth stage takes place, that of appearance, and the man emerges into the light of day and runs his little cycle upon the physical plane, developing increased sensitivity in consciousness, through the medium of experience gained through the processes of life in a physical body. After appearing in form, he becomes (with each new appearance) increasingly active and alive and awake, and the stage of activity grows in intensity until the consciousness of the man is swept by ambition.
The two final stages of activity and of ambition are those covered by the ordinary man and dealt with by the ordinary psychologist. This is itself of interest, because it shows how very little of the life of the real man, of the conscious thinking Being is touched by the orthodox, exoteric psychologist. The four stages of man's development which lie behind his active appearance upon the physical plane are not considered at all. The intensity of the process of approach which preceded that appearance is not dealt with, yet it is basically a determining factor. But this activity upon the physical plane and the nature of his desire life (which is only translated into terms of ambition later on in his life experience) are the dominant factors to be considered. It is, of course, exceedingly difficult for there to be a true understanding of man until the theory of rebirth is admitted and man is accounted for in terms of a long preceding history. In this age of intensest separative thinking and attitudes, it is the individual life of the individual man, separate in time and space from all that has gone before, and from all that surrounds him in the present, which is considered as of importance and as constituting a man. Man, as an expression of a soul process, is not dealt with in any way.
Thus we have the stages succeeding each other from the initial appropriation upon the mental plane until the man, in consciousness, has worked his way down through the planes and back again to the mental plane, which brings him to the stage of the coordination of the personality, and the emergence into full expression of what we call the personality ray. Life after life takes place. Again and again, the soul incarnates and, in consciousness, passes through the stages outlined above. But gradually a higher sense of values supervenes; there comes a period when desire for material experience and for ambitious personality satisfactions begins to fade out; newer and better values and higher standards of thought and desire begin slowly to appear.
The consciousness aspect then passes through all the stages upon which we have touched but in reverse order, and this time upon the upward arc, corresponding to the evolutionary stage in the great cycle of natural processes, concerned with the form life. It expands slowly from the consciousness of ambition through activity and the succeeding unfoldments, to the stage of approach to the divine reality upon the mental plane and that of the final appropriation, wherein the consciousness of man, becomes merged in that of the soul upon its own level, and finally appropriates in full awareness (if one can use so paradoxical a phrase) the One.
When the consciousness of the soul, incarnate in a human form, arrives at a realisation of the futility of material ambition, it marks a high stage of personality integration and precedes a period of change or of a shift in activity. During this second stage upon the Path of Return, the shift of the consciousness is away from the physical body altogether, into the etheric or vital body, and from thence into the astral body. There duality is sensed and the battle of the pairs of opposites takes place. The disciple makes his appearance as Arjuna. Only after the battle and only when Arjuna has made his fateful decisions, is it possible for him to make his approach upon the mental plane to the soul. This he does by:
Then comes that peculiar stage of transcendent aspiration, wherein desire for individual experience is lost and only the longing to function as a conscious part of the greater Whole remains. Then and only then can the conscious soul appropriate the "body of light and of splendour, the expression of the glory of the One" which, when once assumed, makes all future incarnations in the three worlds impossible, except as an act of the spiritual will. The significance of the above may be found difficult of comprehension for it is one of the mysteries of a higher initiation.
Therefore, it will be seen that we begin and we end with an expansion of consciousness. The first one led to the inclusion of the material world, and the second one includes or appropriates, consciously and intelligently, the spiritual world. We see the desire consciousness transmuted into aspiration for the spiritual realities and the focused, vital approach to the kingdom of God. We see the appearance on the physical plane of the imprisoned consciousness, limited and confined for purposes of defined, intelligent development, within an evolving form, and the final emergence upon the mental plane of the enriched, released consciousness into the full freedom of the Mind of God. We see the activity of the conscious mind of man slowly expanding and intensifying, until it becomes the activity of the illumined mind, reflecting the divine consciousness of the soul. We see the ambition of the conscious man transformed at first into the spiritual ambition of the pledged disciple and finally into the expression of the Will of God or of the Monad, in the initiate.
Thus the three aspects of divinity are released upon earth through the medium of an incarnated and fully developed consciousness, that of a Son of God. From the conscious appropriation of form back again to the conscious appropriation of divinity is the work carried forward and the plan of Deity worked out. Laying the ground, as we are now proposing to do, for the study of integration in connection with the human being, it will not be necessary for us to deal in detail with the many phases of the various stages we have been considering. Thousands of human beings, indeed perhaps millions, will be found on our planet, at any one time, who will illustrate in their lives and activities some one point or other upon the downward or the upward arc. For the majority, the expert assistance of the modern trained educator and psychologist, the churchman or the physician, will suffice to give the needed aid, particularly when three happenings eventuate, which will inevitably be the case before so many decades have gone by:
We shall study the process of coordination and the methods whereby two great integrations take place:
This will lead us to confine ourselves to the study of the more advanced or pronounced types, which are primarily the mystic, the aspirant, the notable people, and those who constitute the people with psychological problems of our present time and period.
Step by step, the various bodies have been developed, utilised, refined and organised; step by step the sensory apparatus of man has been sensitised and used, until the world today is full of men and women whose response apparatus, and whose instruments of contact are as far removed in effectiveness from those of primitive man as are the vehicles of the average modern man from those of the Christ and the Buddha, with Their immensely wide range of subjective and divine awareness. Step by step, the unfoldment of the nervous system has paralleled that of the inner psychical apparatus, and the glandular equipment has faithfully reflected that of the great centres of force, with their inter-connecting lines of energy. Step by step, the consciousness of man has shifted from:
When this stage is reached, the focus of the life is predominantly material, and the man is ambitious, effective, and powerful. Yet there slowly arises in him a divine discontent; the savor of his life experience and enterprises begins to prove unsatisfactory. Another shift in consciousness takes place, and he reaches out—at first unconsciously and later consciously—to the life and significance of a dimly sensed reality. The soul is beginning to make its presence felt, and to grip in a different sense than hitherto, and in a more active manner, its vehicles of expression and of service.
Little by little, the consciousness of the third aspect of divinity is coordinated with that of the second, and the Christ consciousness is aroused into activity through the medium of experience in form. Man begins to add to the gained personality experience of the three worlds of human endeavour, the intuitive spiritual perception which is the heritage of those who are awake within the kingdom of God. Paralleling this development of the consciousness in man is the evolution of the instruments whereby that consciousness is brought en rapport with a rapidly expanding world of sensory perception, of intellectual concepts and of intuitive recognitions. With the development of this form aspect we will not concern ourselves, beyond pointing out that, as the consciousness shifts from one body to another and its range of contacts, therefore, steadily expands, the centres in man's etheric body (three below and four above the diaphragm) are awakened in three major stages, though through the medium of many smaller awakenings.
This process of unfoldment is itself brought about by five crises of awakening, so that we have a threefold process and a fivefold movement.
Forget not that there are at all times those who are characteristically expressing one or another of all of these various stages and states of consciousness. There are but a few on earth today who are capable of expressing as low a state of relative development as the Lemurian consciousness. There are a few at the extreme end of the Way who are expressing divine perfection, and in between these two extremes are all possible grades of development and unfoldment.
Man is therefore (from the angle of force expression) a mass of conflicting energies and an active centre of moving forces with a shift of emphasis constantly going on, and with the aggregation of the numerous streams of energy presenting a confusing kaleidoscope of active inter-relations, interpenetration, internecine warfare, and interdependence until such time as the personality forces (symbolic of divine multiplicity) are subdued or "brought into line" by the dominant soul. That is what we really mean by the use of the word "alignment". This alignment results from:
Eventually, the monadic ray takes control, absorbing into itself the rays of the personality and of the soul (at the third and fifth initiations) and thus duality is finally and definitely overcome and "only the One Who Is remains."
We have considered, cursorily I realise, the fact that the ego appropriates to itself forms, through which expression can be made possible upon the various levels of divine manifestation. We observed that these forms, in due process of time, become embodiments of the will and purpose of their divine Indweller. This Indweller is the soul. As the evolutionary cycle runs its course, three developments take place:
It is thus that we progress, and in this manner form and consciousness, appearance and quality, are brought together and divine unity is achieved, thus ending the duality hitherto sensed, which up till this time has handicapped the aspirant.
We will deal with the work of the disciples of the world as, having endeavoured to bring about the desired reorientation, they learn the basic necessity of integrating the personality, and from that pass on to achieve contact or fusion with the Self, the ego or soul. It will be wise to keep these three stages carefully in mind, because all the many modern psychological problems are founded upon:
Let us now proceed to a consideration of the seven techniques of integration, bearing in mind that we shall here be dealing with the integration of the threefold lower nature into an active, conscious personality, prior to its fusion into a unity with the soul. We must remember that we are here dealing with the consciousness aspect of manifestation and its apprehension and appreciation of purpose and of truth. We are so apt always to think in terms of form and form activity, that it seems necessary again and again to reiterate the necessity for thinking in terms of consciousness and awareness, leading to an eventual realisation. This purpose and truth, when grasped, brings into direct conflict the will of the personality (the separative individual, governed by the concrete, analytical mind) and the will of the soul, which is the will of the Hierarchy of Souls, or of the Kingdom of God. In the fourth kingdom, the human, the controlling factor is that of desire, ending in aspiration. In the fifth kingdom, the spiritual, the controlling factor is that of divine purpose or the will of God. Then we find this purpose, though free from what we call desire, is actuated by love, expressed through devotion and service, wrought out into full expression upon the physical plane.
It is difficult to make easily comprehensible the nature and purpose of these techniques. All that it is possible to do is to indicate the seven ray techniques as they are applied to the rapidly aligning bodies of the lower man. We will divide our theme, for the sake of clarity and for an understanding of the significance, into two parts. The first one is that in which the first ray aspect of the technique is applied to the form nature, producing destruction through crystallisation. This brings about the "death of the form" in order that it may "again arise and live". The other is the second ray aspect of the technique, wherein the rebuilding, reabsorption, and recognition of the form takes place in the light which is thrown around, over and upon the personality. In that light, the man sees Light, and thus becomes eventually a light-bearer.
What I have to say concerning each ray and its work with the individuals upon it in integrating the personalities, will be conveyed by means of a formula of integration. This will itself be divided into two parts, dealing with those processes in time and space which bring about the integration of the personality.
The words, covering the process in every case, are Alignment, Crisis, Light, Revelation, Integration.
Under the heading of each ray we shall have therefore:
magical power of the soul".
which is suited to his ray type.
This will bring us to our second point which concerns the Technique of Fusion and the emergence into activity of the personality ray.
Just what do we mean by Integration? It has to be regarded as an essential step, prior to passing (in full and waking consciousness) into the fifth, or spiritual kingdom. We regard the physical body as a functioning aggregate of physical organs, each with its own duties and purposes. These, when combined and acting in unison, we regard as constituting a living organism. The many parts form one whole, working under the direction of the intelligent, conscious Thinker, the soul, as far as man is concerned. At the same time, this conscious form is slowly arriving at a point where integration into the larger whole becomes desirable and is finally achieved—again in the waking consciousness. This process of conscious assimilation is carried forward progressively by the gradual integration of the part into the family unit, the nation, the social order, the current civilisation, the world of nations, and finally into humanity itself. This integration is, therefore, both physical in nature, and an attitude of mind. The consciousness of the man is gradually aroused so that it recognises this relation of the part to the whole, with the implied inter-relation of all parts within the whole.
The man who has awakened to full consciousness in the various aspects of his nature—emotional, mental and egoic—realises himself first of all as a personality. He integrates his various bodies with their different states of consciousness into one active reality. He is then definitely a personality and has passed a major milestone on the Path of Return. This is the first great step. Inevitably, the evolutionary process must bring to pass this phenomenal occurrence in the case of every human being, but it can be produced (and is increasingly so produced today) by a planned mental application to the task, and an intelligent consideration of the relation of the part to the whole. It will be found that the purely selfish, material personality will eventually arrive at the condition, wherein the man will be conscious of integrated activity and power, because he:
The progress of humanity is from one realised integration to another; man's basic integrity is, however, in the realm of consciousness. This is a statement of importance. It might be remarked—speaking loosely and generally—that:
This integration constitutes alignment and—when a man has achieved this—he passes eventually through a process of reorientation. This reveals to him, as he slowly changes his direction, the still greater Whole of humanity. Later, upon the Path of Initiation, there will dawn upon his vision, the Whole of which humanity itself is only an expression. This is the subjective world of reality, into which we begin definitely to enter as we become members of the Kingdom of God.
All these various integrations work out into some definite form of activity. First, there is the service of the personality, selfish and separative, wherein man sacrifices much in the interests of his own desire. Then comes the stage of service of humanity, and, finally, the service of the Plan. However, the integration with which we shall primarily deal as we study the seven Techniques of Integration is that of the personality as it integrates into the whole of which it is a part, through service to the race and to the Plan. Bear in mind that these ray techniques are imposed by the soul upon the personality after it has been somewhat integrated into a functioning entity and is, therefore, becoming slightly responsive to the soul, the directing Intelligence.
Ray One
"The love of power must dominate. There must also be repudiation of those forms which wield no power. The word goes forth from soul to form; 'Stand up. Press outward into life. Achieve a goal. For you, there must be not a circle, but a line. Prepare the form. Let the eyes look forward, not on either side. Let the ears be closed to all the outer voices, and the hands clenched, the body braced, and mind alert. Emotion is not used in furthering of the Plan. Love takes its place.'
The symbol of a moving point of light appears above the brow. The keynote of the life though uttered not, yet still is clearly heard: 'I move to power. I am the One. We are a Unity in power. And all is for the power and glory of the One.'"
Such is the pattern of the thought and the process of the life of the man upon the first ray who is seeking first of all to control his personality, and then to dominate his environment. His progress is that of "achieved control; that of being controlled, and then again controlling." At first, his motive is that of selfish, separative achievement, and then comes failure to be satisfied. A higher achievement then takes place as a result of the service of the Plan, until the time eventually comes when the first ray man can be trusted to be God's Destroying Angel—the Angel who brings life through the destruction of the form. Such integrated personalities are frequently ruthless at first, selfish, ambitious, self-centered, cruel, one-pointed, implacable, undeviating, aware of implications, of significances, and of the results of action but, at the same time, unalterable and undeviating, moving forward to their purposes. They destroy and tear down in order to rise to greater heights upon the ruin they have wrought. They do thus rise. They trample on other men and upon the destinies of the little person. They integrate their surroundings into an instrument for their will and move relentlessly forward upon their own occasions. This type of man will be found expressing these qualities in all walks of life and spheres of action, and is a destroying force in his home, business or in the nation.
All this is made possible because the first ray has at this stage integrated the personality vehicles and has achieved their simultaneous control. The man functions as a whole. This process and method of work brings him eventually to a point of crisis; a crisis based upon the unalterable fact of his essentially divine nature or being, which cannot remain satisfied with the gaining of power in a personality sense and in a material world. Power selfishly used exhausts its user and evokes a display of power antagonistic to him; he is thereby destroyed, because he has destroyed. He is separated off from his fellow men because he has been isolated and separative in his nature. He walks alone because he has cried forth to the world: "I will brook no companion; I am the one alone."
This crisis of evocation brings him to an inner point of change which involves an alteration in his direction, a change of method, and a different attitude. These three changes are described in the Old Commentary (in which these techniques are to be found) in the following terms:
"The one who travels on a line returns upon his way. Back to the centre of his life he goes, and there he waits. He reaches out his arms and cries: I cannot stand and walk alone. And standing thus, a cross is formed and on that cross he takes his place with others."
The change of direction takes him back to the centre of his being, the heart; a change of method takes place, for, instead of moving straight forward, he waits in patience and seeks to feel. A change of attitude can be noted, for he reaches out his arms to his fellow men—to the greater whole—and thus becomes inclusive.
Standing thus in quietness at the centre, and searching within himself for responsiveness to his environment, he thus loses sight of self and the light breaks in. It is as if a curtain were raised. In that light, the first thing which is revealed to him is the devastating sight of that which he has destroyed. He is subjected to what has esoterically been called "the light which shocks." Slowly and laboriously, using every power of his aligned personality and, in his realised desperation, calling in the power of his soul, he proceeds one-pointedly to rebuild that which he has destroyed. In rebuilding, he lifts the entire structure on to a higher level than any he has hitherto touched. This is the task of the destroyers and of those who work with civilisations and who can be trusted to act as agents of destruction under the Plan.
It is interesting to note that when this stage is reached (the stage of rebuilding as the first ray man understands it), he will usually pass through four incarnations in which he is first of all "the man at the centre," a local point of immobile power. He is conscious of his power, gained whilst functioning as a selfish destroyer, but he is also conscious of frustration and futility. Next he passes through a life in which he begins to reorganise himself for a different type of activity, and it will be found that in these cases he will have a third or a seventh ray personality. In the third incarnation he definitely begins rebuilding and works through a second ray personality until, in the fourth life, he can function safely through a first ray personality without losing his spiritual balance, if we might use such a phrase.
Through this type of personality, his first ray soul can demonstrate, because the disciple has "recovered feeling, gained divine emotion, and filled his waiting heart with love." In such cases as this, the astral body is usually on the second ray, the mental body upon the fourth ray, and the physical body upon the sixth ray. This naturally tends to balance or upset the intensity of the first ray vibrations of the personality and soul. It is in the third life of reorientation that he gains the reward for the arresting of his selfish efforts, and aspects of the Plan are then revealed to him.
Ray Two
"'Again I stand; a point within a circle and yet myself.' The love of love must dominate, not love of being loved. The power to draw unto oneself must dominate, but into the worlds of form that power must some day fail to penetrate. This is the first step towards a deeper search. The word goes forth from soul to form: 'Release thyself from all that stands around, for it has naught for thee, so look to me. I am the One who builds, sustains and draws thee on and up. Look unto me with eyes of love, and seek the path which leads from the outer circle to the point.
I, at the point, sustain. I, at the point, attract. I, at the point, direct and choose and dominate. I, at the point, love all, drawing them to the centre and moving forward with the travelling points towards that great Centre where the One Point stands. What mean you by that Word?"
In reference to this second ray, it is advisable to recollect that all the rays are but the subrays of the second Ray of Love-Wisdom. The One in the centre, Who is the "point within the circle" of manifestation, has three major qualities: life or activity in form, love and the power of abstraction. It is these last two qualities of Deity with which we are concerned in these formulas and (in connection with the second ray) the dualities of attraction and abstraction emerge, both latent and both capable of perfected activity in their own field.
There comes ever the moment in the life of the aspirant when he begins to consider with wonder the significance of that familiar reaction of finding no satisfaction in the familiar things; the old life of desire for well known forms of existence and expression ceases to attract his interest. The pull or attractive power of the One at the centre (Who is his true self) also fails. It is not yet a familiar "call." The aspirant is left, unsatisfied and with a deepening sense of futility and emptiness, "pendent upon the periphery" of the divine "ring-pass-not" which he has himself established. It is at this point and in this situation that he must reflect upon and use this formula.
It is this period of crisis which presents the major problem to the advanced aspirants of today and evokes consequently the concern of the psychiatrist and psychologist. Instead of treating the difficulty as a sign of progress and as indicating a relatively high point in the evolutionary scale and therefore a reason for a sense of encouragement, it is treated as a disease of the mind and of the personality. Instead of regarding the condition as one warranting explanation and understanding but no real concern, the attempt is made to arrest the difficulty by elimination and not by solution, and though the personality may be temporarily relieved, the work of the soul is for that particular life cycle arrested, and delay ensues. With this problem we will later deal.
Light reveals, and the stage of revelation now follows. This light upon the way produces vision and the vision shows itself as:
integrations of the threefold lower nature.
It is at this moment of "integration as the result of revelation" that there comes the fusion of the personality ray with the egoic ray. This we will consider later, but at this point a fact should be mentioned which has not hitherto been emphasised or elucidated. This point is that the personality ray is always a subray of the egoic ray, in the same sense that the seven major rays of our solar system are the seven subrays of the Cosmic Ray of Love-Wisdom, or the seven planes of our system are the seven subplanes of the cosmic physical plane. We will suppose, for instance, that a man's egoic ray is the third ray of active intelligence or adaptability, and his personality ray is the second ray of love-wisdom. This personality ray is the second subray of the third ray of active intelligence. Then, in addition, there might be the following rays governing the three personality vehicles:
Egoic Ray—3rd Ray of Active Intelligence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Personality
Mental Body
Astral body
Physical body
This is a valuable point for all who are real students to remember and to grasp. Ponder upon it, for it is self-explanatory and an understanding of it will make it possible to solve the problems of:
The lack of balance will also emerge if the chart is studied and man can then arrive at an understanding of what he has to do. A study of the two formulas of the first and second rays will make it clear why in humanity (and in the solar system also) these two major rays are always so closely associated, and why all esoteric schools throughout the world are predominantly expressions of these two rays. At a certain stage upon the Path all the rays governing the mental body shift their focus onto rays one and two, doing this via the third ray. This ray holds the same position to the other rays that the solar plexus centre does to the other six centres, for it constitutes a great clearing house. The first ray penetrates, pierces and produces the line along which Light comes; the second ray is the "light-carrier," and supplements the work of the first ray.
Ray Three
"'Pulling the threads of Life, I stand, enmeshed within my self-created glamour. Surrounded am I by the fabric I have woven. I see naught else. The love of truth must dominate, not love of my own thoughts, or love of my ideas or forms; love of the ordered process must control, not love of my own wild activity.'
The word goes forth from soul to form: 'Be still. Learn to stand silent, quiet and unafraid. I, at the centre, Am. Look up along the line and not along the many lines which, in the space of aeons, you have woven. These hold thee prisoner. Be still. Rush not from point to point, nor be deluded by the outer forms and that which disappears. Behind the forms, the Weaver stands and silently he weaves.'"
It is this enforced quiet which brings about the true alignment. This is the quiet not of meditation but of living. The aspirant upon the third ray is apt to waste much energy in perpetuating the glamourous forms with which he persistently surrounds himself. To offset this, he must stand quiet at the centre and (for a time at any rate) cease from weaving; he must no longer make opportunities for himself but—meeting the opportunities which come his way (a very different thing)—apply himself to the need to be met. This is a very different matter and swings into activity a very different psychology. When he can do this and be willing to achieve divine idleness (from the angle of a glamoured third ray attitude), he will discover that he has suddenly achieved alignment. This alignment naturally produces a crisis which is characterised by two qualities:
"Cease from thy doing. Walk not on the Path until thou hast learnt the art of standing still.
Study the spider, brother, entangled not in its own web, as thou art today entangled in thine own."
This crisis evokes understanding, which is, as many will recognise, an aspect of light. The aspirant slowly begins to work with the Plan as it is, and not as he thinks it is. As he works, revelation comes, and he sees clearly what he has to do. Usually this entails first of all a disentangling and a release from his own ideas. This process takes much time, being commensurate with the time wasted in building up the agelong glamour. The third ray aspirant is always slower to learn than the second ray, just as the first ray aspirant learns more rapidly than the second ray. When, however, he has least to be quiet and still, he can achieve his goal with greater rapidity. The second ray aspirant has to achieve the quiet which is ever present at the heart of a storm or the centre of a whirlpool. The third ray aspirant has to achieve the quiet which is like to that of a quiet mill pond, which he much dislikes to do. Having, however, learned to do it, integration then takes place. The man stands ready to play his part.
It is interesting to note that the first result of the use of these three formulas can each be summed up in one word, for the sake of clarity. These words embody the first and simplest steps upon the way of at- one-ment. They embody the simplest aspects of the necessary technique.
Ray One: Inclusion
Ray Two: Centralisation
Ray Three: Stillness
The above will suffice for the techniques of integration of these three major rays. We will now take the formulas which will embody the techniques of integration for the four minor rays, and glimpse the possibilities which they may unfold. We will emphasize in connection with each of them the same five stages of the technique we are studying:
At the same time, we will bear in mind that the alignment with which we have hitherto been occupying ourselves is that of a form of expression and that this is achieved through discipline, meditation, and service. These techniques of integration, however, refer to the establishing of a continuity of consciousness, within the aligned forms. Therefore we begin with alignment in these cases and do not end with it.
Ray Four
"'Midway I stand between the forces which oppose each other. Longing am I for harmony and peace, and for the beauty which results from unity. I see the two. I see naught else but forces ranged opposing, and I, the one, who stands within the circle at the centre. Peace I demand. My mind is bent upon it. Oneness with all I seek, yet form divides. War upon every side I find, and separation. Alone I stand and am. I know too much.'
The love of unity must dominate, and love of peace and harmony. Yet not that love, based on a longing for relief, for peace to self, for unity because it carries with it that which is pleasantness.
The word goes forth from soul to form. 'Both sides are one. There is no war, no difference and no isolation. The warring forces seem to war from the point at which you stand. Move on a pace. See truly with the opened eye of inner vision and you will find, not two but one; not war but peace; not isolation but a heart which rests upon the centre. Thus shall the beauty of the Lord shine forth. The hour is now.'"
It is well to remember that this fourth ray is preeminently the ray of the fourth Creative Hierarchy, the human kingdom, and therefore has a peculiar relation to the functions, relationships and the service of man, as an intermediate group, a bridging group, upon our planet. The function of this intermediate group is to embody a type of energy, which is that of at-one-ment. This is essentially a healing force which brings all forms to an ultimate perfection through the power of the indwelling life, with which it becomes perfectly atoned. This is brought about by the soul or consciousness aspect, qualified by the ray in question. The relation of the human family to the divine scheme, as it exists, is that of bringing into close rapport the three higher kingdoms upon our planet and the three lower kingdoms of nature, thus acting as a clearing house for divine energy. The service humanity is to render is that of producing unity, harmony, and beauty in nature, through blending into one functioning, related unity the soul in all forms. This is achieved individually at first, then it takes place in group formation, and finally it demonstrates through an entire kingdom in nature. When this takes place, the fourth Creative Hierarchy will be controlled predominantly by the fourth ray (by which I mean that the majority of its egos will have fourth ray personalities, thus facilitating the task of fusion), and the consciousness of its advanced units will function normally upon the fourth plane of buddhic energy or intuitional awareness.
It is this realisation which will provide adequate incentive for alignment. This alignment or sense of oneness is not in any way a mystical realisation, or that of the mystic who puts himself en rapport with divinity. The mystic still has a sense of duality. Nor is it the sense of identification which can characterise the occultist; with that there is still an awareness of individuality, though it is that of an individual who can merge at will with the whole. It is an almost undefinable consciousness of group fusion with a greater whole, and not so much individual fusion with the whole. Until this is experienced, it is well nigh impossible to comprehend, through the medium of words, its significance and meaning. It is the reflection, if I might so express it, of the Nirvanic consciousness; the reflection I would point out, but not that consciousness itself.
When this fourth ray alignment is produced and the disciple becomes aware of it, a crisis is evoked. The phrase "the disciple becomes aware of it," is significant, for it indicates that states of consciousness can exist and the disciple remain unaware of them. However, until they are brought down into the area of the brain and are recognised by the disciple in waking, physical consciousness, they remain subjective and are not usable. They are of no practical benefit to the man upon the physical plane. The crisis thus precipitated leads to fresh illumination when it is properly handled. These crises are produced by the bringing together (oft the clashing together) of the higher forces of the personality and soul energy. They cannot therefore be produced at a low stage of evolutionary development, in which low grade energies are active and the personality is neither integrated nor of a high grade and character. (Is such a phrase as "low grade energies" permissible? When all are divine? It conveys the idea, and that is what is desired.) The forces which are involved in such a crisis are the forces of integration at work in a personality of a very high order, and they are themselves necessarily of a relatively high potency. It is the integrated personality force, brought into relation with soul energy, which ever produces the type of crisis which is here discussed. These constitute, consequently, a very difficult moment or moments in the life of the disciple.
This fourth ray crisis, evoked by a right understanding and a right use of the fourth ray formula, produces the following sequential results:
When, therefore, this state of mind is achieved, and the disciple and inner Master, the soldier and the Warrior are known to be at-one, then there takes place what has been called in some of the ancient books "the breaking forth of the light of victory"—a victory which does not inflict defeat upon those who are at war, but which results in that triple victory of the two sides and of the One Who is at the centre. All three more forward to perfection. This is typical of a fourth ray consummation, and if this thought is applied with due reflection to the problem of the fourth kingdom in nature, the fourth Creative Hierarchy, humanity itself, the beauty of the phrasing and the truth of the statement must inevitably appear.
With this blazing forth of light comes the revelation expressed for us so adequately in the closing words of the fourth ray formula. Man sees and grasps the final purpose for the race and the objective ahead of this fourth kingdom in the great sweep of the divine manifestation. It is valuable also to remember that this revelation comes to the race in three stages:
This series of spiritual happenings or unfoldments of consciousness in the life of the individual and the group produces a definite integration upon the three levels of personality work (mental, emotional and physical). It also lays the ground for those processes of fusion which will blend the rays of the personality and of the soul. If you will carry this concept of integration (achieved upon the three levels of the three worlds of human endeavour) into the activities and relationships of groups, you will find much of interest and of informative value anent the work of the New Group of World Servers.
Let us now add to the three words expressing the three ray formulas already given, the word for this ray: Steadfastness. Therefore we have:
Ray One: Inclusion
Ray Two: Centralisation
Ray Three: Stillness
Ray Four: Steadfastness
As we brood on these words and on the remaining three which are indicated hereafter, we shall bring clearly into our consciousness the keynote for the disciples of the world at this time, who are in a position to discover that their personalities or their souls are on some one or other of these rays. The use of these words by those who are not pledged disciples in connection with their personality rays and personality expression might be definitely undesirable. The third ray personality, emphasising stillness, for instance, might find himself descending into the sloughs of lethargy; the first ray personality, seeking to develop inclusiveness might go to extremes, deeming himself a centre of inclusiveness. These are Words of Power, when used by a disciple, and must be employed in the light of the soul or may have a striking harmful effect.
Ray Five
"Towards me I draw the garment of my God. I see and know His form. I take that garment, piece by piece. I know its shape and colour, its form and type, its parts component and its purposes and use. I stand amazed, I see naught else. I penetrate the mysteries of form, but not the Mystery. I see the garment of my God. I see naught else.
Love of the form is good but only as the form is known for what it is—the veiling vase of life. Love of the form must never hide the Life which has its place behind, the One who brought the form into the light of day, and preserves it for His use; The One Who lives, and loves and serves the form, the One Who Is.
The Word goes forth from soul to form: 'Behind that form, I am. Know Me. Cherish and know and understand the nature of the veils of life, but know as well the One Who lives. Know Me. Let not the forms of nature, their processes and powers prevent thy searching for the Mystery which brought the mysteries to thee. Know well the form, but leave it joyously and search for Me.
Detach thy thought from form and find Me waiting underneath the veils, the many-sided shapes, the glamours and the thoughtforms which hide my real Self. Be not deceived. Find Me. Know Me. Then use the forms which then will neither veil nor hide the Self, but will permit the nature of that Self to penetrate the veils of life, revealing all the radiance of God, His power and magnetism; revealing all there is of form, of life, of beauty and usefulness. The mind reveals the One. The mind can blend and fuse the form and life. Thou art the One. Thou art the form. Thou art the mind. Know this.'"
This fifth ray formula is of exceeding potency at this time and should be used often, but with care, by those upon this line of divine energy. It has most powerful integrating properties, but the person who employs it must be mindful to visualise and hold in his mind's eye the even, balanced, equilibrised distribution of the divine energy set in motion by the use of this fifth ray formula so that the three aspects of the spiritual entity concerned—the mind, the One Who uses it (the Self) and the form nature—may be equally stimulated. This statement means, for instance, that if all the emphasis of the soul energy available is poured into the lower nature, the natural man, it might result in the shattering of the form and the consequent uselessness of the man in service. If all of it, on the other hand, is poured into the receiving chalice of the astral nature, it might only serve to intensify the glamour and to produce fanaticism.
other two.
This is a replica of the experience of the Monad when coming into manifestation, for the monad retains a measure of energy within itself, it sends energy forth which is anchored in that centre of energy which we call a soul. Still more energy pours forth also, via the soul, for the production of a human being—an expression of the soul upon the physical plane, just as the soul is an expression of the monad upon the mental plane, and both are expressions also of that one monad.
The use of this formula, which produces eventually a definite relation between the soul and the various aspects of the form, brings about a needed alignment, and again (as in the other cases considered previously) produces also, and evokes, a crisis. This crisis must be regarded as producing two lesser crises in the consciousness of the personality:
When this dual crisis is over and that which it has evoked has been rightly handled, then the light streams forth, leading to the revelation of the relationships of form to soul. These two are then seen as one in a sense never before realised and are then regarded as possessing a relation quite different to the theoretical relationships posited in ordinary occult and religious work. It will be apparent, therefore, how a new relationship and a new type of integration then becomes possible and how the mind quality of the fifth ray (critical, analytical, separative and over-discriminating) can become, what in the middle ages it used to be called, the "common sense."
When this takes place, form and life are indeed one unity and the disciple uses the form at will as the instrument of the soul for the working out of the plans of God. These plans are at-one with the intention of the Hierarchy. We now have five words for disciples upon the five rays to study:
Ray One: Inclusion
Ray Two: Centralisation
Ray Three: Stillness
Ray Four: Steadfastness
Ray Five: Detachment
Ray Six
"I see a vision. It satisfies desire; it feeds and stimulates its growth. I lay my life upon the altar of desire—the seen, the sensed, that which appeals to me, the satisfaction of my need—a need for that which is material, for that which feeds emotion, that satisfies the mind, that answers my demand for truth, for service, and my vision of the goal. It is the vision which I see, the dream I dream, the truth I hold, the active form which meets my need, that which I grasp and understand. My truth, my peace, my satisfied desire, my dream, my vision of reality, my limited ideal, my finite thought of God;—for these I struggle, fight and die.
Love of the truth must always be. Desire and aspiration, reaching out for that which is material or soaring upward towards the vision of reality must ever find their satisfaction. For this men work, driving themselves and irking others. They love the truth as they interpret it; they love the vision and the dream, forgetting that the truth is limited by mind—narrow and set, one-pointed, not inclusive; forgetting that the vision touches but the outer fringe of mystery, and veils and hides reality.
The word goes out from soul to form: 'Run not so straight. The path that you are on leads to the outer circle of the life of God; the line goes forward to the outer rim. Stand at the centre. Look on every side. Die not for outer forms. Forget not God, Who dwells behind the vision. Love more your fellow men.'"
It will be apparent, therefore, that the sixth ray disciple has first of all to achieve the arduous task of dissociating himself from his vision, from his adored truth, from his loved ideals, from his painted picture of himself as the devoted follower and disciple, following his Master unto death, if need be; forcing himself (from very love of form) and forcing all his fellowmen to dedicate themselves to that which he sees.
It must be recognised that he lacks the wide love of the second ray disciple which is a reflection of the love of God. He is all the time occupied with himself, with his work, his sacrifice, his task, his ideas, and his activities. He, the devotee, is lost in his devotion. He, the idealist, is driven by his idea. He, the follower, runs blindly after his Master, his chosen ideal and loses himself in the chaos of his uncontrolled aspirations and the glamour of his own thoughts. Curiously enough, there is a close relation between the third and the sixth rays, just as there is between the first and the second rays, and the second and the fourth. The fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rays have no such paralleling relations.
1 added to 1 equals 2, 2 added to 2 equals 4, 3 added to 3 equals 6. Between these pairs of rays there is a line of special energy flowing which warrants the attention of disciples who are becoming conscious of their relationships. This relation and interplay only becomes active at a relatively high stage of evolution.
The problem, therefore, of the sixth ray aspirant is to divorce himself from the thralldom of form (though not from form) and to stand quietly at the centre, just as the third ray disciple has to learn to do. There he learns breadth of vision and a right sense of proportion. These two qualities he always lacks until the time comes when he can take his stand and there align himself with all visions, all forms of truth, all dreams of reality, and find behind them all—God and his fellow men. Then and only then can he be trusted to work with the Plan.
The alignment evoked by this "peaceful standing still" naturally produces a crisis and it is, as usual, a most difficult one for the aspirant to handle. It is a crisis which seems to leave him destitute of incentive, of motive, of sensation, of appreciation by others and of life purpose. The idea of "my truth, my master, my idea, my way" leaves him and as yet he has nothing to take its place. Being sixth ray, and therefore linked with the world of astral psychic life, the sixth plane, he is peculiarly sensitive to his own reactions and to the ideas of others where he and his truths are concerned. He feels a fool and considers that others are thinking him so. The crisis therefore is severe, for it has to produce a complete readjustment of the Self to the self. His fanaticism, his devotion, his furious driving of himself and others, his wasted efforts, and his lack of understanding of the point of view of others have all gone, but as yet nothing has taken their place. He is swept by futility and his world rocks under him. Let him stand still at the centre, fixing his eyes on the soul and ceasing activity for a brief period of time until the light breaks in.
It is interesting here to note that the Master Jesus, as He hung upon the Cross, experienced (on a much higher turn of the spiral than is possible to the disciple) the acme and the height of this crisis, though in His case—being attuned to God and to all God's children—there swept over Him the sum total of the dilemma of the world disciples and all the agony of the astral awareness of this dilemma, voicing itself in the agonising words: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"
But by facing futility and himself and by surrendering himself to the life at the centre and there holding himself poised and still, yet alert, the light will break in and reveal to the disciple that which he needs to know. He learns to express that inclusive love which is his major requirement and to let go the narrow, one-pointed attitude which he has hitherto regarded as love. He welcomes then all visions, if they serve to lift and comfort his brothers; he welcomes all truths, if they are the agents of revelation to other minds; he welcomes all dreams if they can act as incentives to his fellow men. He shares in them all, yet retains his poised position at the centre. Thus we can see that the essential integration of this unit into his group can now take place.
The problem of the disciple upon this ray is greatly increased by the fact that the sixth ray has been the dominant ray for so many centuries and is only now passing out. Therefore the idealistic, fanatical thought-forms, built up by the devotees upon this ray, are powerful and persistent. The world today is fanatically idealistic, and this is one of the causes of the present world situation. It is hard for the man who is the one-pointed devotee to free himself from the prevailing influence, for the energy thus generated feeds that which he seeks to leave behind. If he can, however, grasp the fact that devotion, expressing itself through a personality, engenders fanaticism and that fanaticism is separative, frequently cruel, often motivated by good ideals, but that it usually overlooks the immediate reality by rushing off after a self-engendered vision of truth, he will go far along the way to solving his problem. If he can then realise that devotion, expressing itself through the soul, is love and inclusiveness plus understanding, then he will learn eventually to free himself from the idealism of others and of himself and will identify himself with that of the Hierarchy, which is the loving working out of God's Plan. It is free from hatred, from intense emphasis upon an aspect or a part, and is not limited by the sense of time.
Ray Seven
"'I seek to bring the two together. The plan is in my hands. How shall I work? Where lay the emphasis? In the far distance stands the One Who Is. Here at my hand is form, activity, substance, and desire. Can I relate these and fashion thus a form for God? Where shall I send my thought, my power the word that I can speak?
I, at the centre, stand, the worker in the field of magic. I know some rules, some magical controls, some Words of Power, some forces which I can direct. What shall I do? Danger there is. The task that I have undertaken is not easy of accomplishment, yet I love power. I love to see the forms emerge, created by my mind, and do their work, fulfill the plan and disappear. I can create. The rituals of the Temple of the Lord are known to me. How shall I work?
Love not the work. Let love of God's eternal Plan control your life, your mind, your hand, your eye. Work towards the unity of plan and purpose which must find its lasting place on earth. Work with the Plan; focus upon your share in that great work.'
The Word goes forth from soul to form: 'Stand in the centre of the pentagram, drawn upon that high place in the East within the light which ever shines. From that illumined centre work. Leave not the pentagram. Stand steady in the midst. Then draw a line from that which is without to that which is within and see the Plan take form.'"
This great and powerful ray is now coming into manifestation and it brings new energies to man of so potent a nature that the disciples of today must move and work with care. They are literally handling fire. It is the children who are now coming into incarnation who will eventually work more safely and more correctly with these new potencies. There is much, however, to be done in the meantime, and the disciples upon this seventh ray can ponder on this formula and seek their own interpretation of it, endeavouring first of all to stand in the East, within the protection of the pentagram. As he realises the task to be carried out and the nature of the work to be done by the seventh ray worker, and appreciates the fact that it is the magical work of producing those forms on earth which will embody the spirit of God (and in our particular time, this necessitates the building of new forms), each seventh ray disciple will see himself as a relating agent, as the one who stands in the midst of the building processes, attending to his portion of the task. This, if really grasped and deeply considered will have the effect of producing alignment.
The moment that this alignment is achieved, then let the disciple remember that it will mean a tremendous inflow of power, of energy from both the aligned points, from both directions, converging upon him, as he stands in the midway place. Ponder deeply upon this truth, for it is this fact which always evokes a seventh ray crisis. It will be obvious what this crisis is. If the man concerned is materially minded, selfishly ambitious and unloving, the inpouring energy will stimulate the personality nature and he will immediately be warring furiously with all that we mean by the instinctual, psychic, intellectual nature. When all these three are stimulated, the disciple is often for a time swung off the centre into a maelstrom of magical work of the lower kind—sex magic and many forms of black magic. He is glamoured by the beauty of his motive, and deceived by the acquired potency of his personality.
If, however, he is warned of the danger and aware of the possibility, he will stand steady at the centre within the mystical pentagram, and there suffer until the light in the East rises upon his darkness, discovering him still at the midway point. Then comes the revelation of the Plan, for this has ever to be the motivating power of the seventh ray disciple. He works on earth, upon the outer plane of manifestation, with the construction of those forms through which the divine will can express itself. In the field of religion, he works in collaboration with the second and sixth ray disciples. In the field of government he labours, building those forms which will enable the first ray activity to be expressed. In the field of business, he cooperates with third ray energies and the executives of the Plan. In the field of science, he aids and assists the fifth ray workers. He is the expression of the builder, and the creator, bringing into outer manifestation God's Plan. He begins, however, with himself, and seeks to bring into expression the plan of his soul in his own setting and worldly situation. Until he can do this, he is unable to stand in the East within the pentagram.
It is occultly said that "the pentagram is open and a place of danger when the disciple knows not order within his own life, and when the ritual of the soul is not imposed and its rhythm not obeyed. The pentagram is closed when order is restored and the ritual of the Master is imposed." The writing goes on to say that "if the disciple enters through the open pentagram, he dies. If he passes over into the closed pentagram, he lives. If he transmutes the pentagram into a ring of fire, he serves the Plan."
We come now to the consideration of a very practical matter where the world disciples are concerned, and one with which I intend to deal very simply. The point which we are to study is the Technique of Fusion, leading, as it inevitably does, to the emergence (into controlling prominence) of the Ray of the Personality. After a brief study of this we will refer briefly to the Technique of Duality. The brevity is necessary because only disciples of some experience and initiates will really comprehend the things whereof I speak. A study of the Technique of Duality would serve to elucidate the relationship which should exist between the two rays of manifesting energy, which constitute that phenomenal being we call man. Therefore, it will be apparent to you from the start, how necessary it will be to deal with these abstruse subjects in the simplest way. Our study of the Techniques of Integration was definitely abstruse and couched in language quite symbolic. We were there dealing with the relationship of five rays: Those of the personality, of the ego or soul, and of the rays of the three personality vehicles, prior to their integration into a functioning whole.
It might be of value here if I pointed out to you that the three words: Integration, Fusion and Duality when dealt with, as they are, in connection with the final stages of the Path of Evolution, are significantly different. For one thing it might be said that:
I am here using these three terms only in relation to what we call the Aryan Race, or to what might be more adequately called the Aryan consciousness, for that consciousness demonstrates in a two-fold manner as mental power and personality force. It is found at a certain stage in every human being and in every race; it must therefore be remembered that I am not using the word Aryan as synonymous with Nordic but as descriptive of the intellectual goal of humanity, of which our Occidental civilisation is in the early stages, but which men of all time and all races have individually demonstrated. The Aryan state of consciousness is one into which all men eventually pass.
Integration here refers to the bringing into one field of resultant magnetic activity of five differing types of energy:
These five energies, when rightly related to each other, produce one active force centre, through which the Monad can work, using the word Monad to express the first differentiation of the One Life, if such a paradoxical phrase can be employed. Its use is only permissible from the standpoint of the personal self, still limited and imprisoned in the "I" consciousness.
The Technique of Fusion deals with the production of a close interplay of the five above enumerated aspects of energy which have been, in due time, integrated into a unity. It is really a fusion of the four forces and the one energy. This fusion produces:
It will be seen, therefore, that we are dealing here with relatively advanced stages of human development. What I have now to say will veil, under extremely simplified phrases, truths which will be apparent to two groups of aspirants:
It should be remembered also that we are here dealing with the primordial duality of spirit and matter and not with the secondary duality of soul and body. This point is of deep importance and will bear most careful consideration.
The man who will seek to use the Technique of Fusion is the disciple who is conscious of personality power, owing to the fact that his mind is beginning to dominate his sentient emotional nature, much in the same way as his emotional-sentient nature has, for ages, controlled his physical body. The use of the mind is becoming "second nature" to certain advanced types of men, and it is called into play, when they reach this stage, almost automatically. The result is that the integration of the three energies is proceeding fast. At the same time, the man is definitely oriented to soul contact and knowledge, and frequently the mind (when it is the controlling personality factor) is itself brought suddenly and dynamically under the control of the soul.
This accounts for the intense difficulty of the life of every disciple at this stage. Several processes are simultaneously going on:
time in individual potency.
environment) is equally increasing.
turmoils which are usually of a distressing kind.
It is at this stage therefore that the Technique of Fusion can profitably be used, preserving at the same time the realised integrity of the motive which, if correctly apprehended, should be:
existence.
Again you will note that we have swung back to our three major themes: Soul control, Service, and the Plan. It might, therefore, seem that this particular technique will be a sevenfold one like the Technique of Integration, but in this you would be mistaken. It is a threefold technique based upon the fact that all souls are eventually divided (again a paradoxical phrase when dealing with souls, but what can be done when modern language proves inadequate to the demands of soul knowledge) into three major groups, or rather distinguished by three major qualities, those of the first, second and third rays. Life, the One Life, manifests through these three major qualities, which condition its sevenfold appearance, and which are essentially Will, Love and Intelligence.
This Technique of Fusion evokes these three qualities in relation to the soul, to service and to the Plan. At the same time, it brings illumination to the mind (thus revealing the soul and the kingdom of God); it brings increased imagination (creative and dynamic) to the emotional sentient nature, the astral body (thus revealing relationship and responsibility); it brings likewise inspiration to the physical life, to the physical body, via the brain (revealing actual capacity to cooperate intelligently with the Plan).
Therefore, we shall have to consider a technique which will do three things:
soul in all forms.
If we study this triplicity with care, we shall see that the process outlined brings the higher aspect of the personal self, the mind, to the lowest point of contact and into control of the physical body; we shall see that it brings the soul into conscious control of the astral, desire-sentient body, and that it also brings the will aspect (the highest aspect of divinity) into control of mind.
There are, therefore, two thoughts which we will have in our minds as we study this Technique of Fusion. First, that it is a threefold technique and is coloured by and conditioned by the qualities of the first, second and third major rays. Secondly, that this technique of whichever of these three natures it may be, will be of such a kind that it will produce illumination through the evocation of the will. It is right here that esotericists will recognise the importance of the teaching in connection with the centre at the base of the spine. It is awakened by an act of the will, which really means by the mind, functioning forcefully, under the influence of the spiritual man, through the medium of the brain.
It infers also that this technique will so stimulate the faculty of the imagination that an ever expanding or an all inclusive love will increasingly be expressed, and therefore that the heart centre will be forcefully affected and awakened into full activity. It infers also that the spiritual plane life of the disciple, as it expresses itself in his environment will become inspired and creative through the full and conscious use of the intelligence. This, in its turn, brings about the rounded out activity of the throat centre, and thus the three major centres, which are aroused into activity upon the Path of Discipleship, are brought to full and measured and controlled activity. Upon the Path of Initiation, the awakening and full-conditioned functioning of the two head centres is completed. This is the result of the use of the Technique of Duality by the initiate.
One head centre, the thousand-petalled lotus, represents the spirit or life aspect; the other, the ajna centre, represents matter or the form aspect. Thus the work carried forward upon the paths of evolution, of probation, and of discipleship is completed upon the path of initiation, and thus, when the rays are understood, you have the possibility of a new system of awakening the centres, or chakras. But this system concerns only the awakening of the central part of the centre or lotus of force. The teaching given in the oriental and theosophical books refers primarily to the awakening and right relation of the centres when the aspirant is upon the probationary path.
The teaching which I have here given has not before been so explicitly made public and has hitherto only been communicated orally. One half of the centre, the outer half (therefore one half of the lotus petals) is brought into increased activity upon the probationary path; the other half begins its intensified vibratory activity upon the path of discipleship, but the intensification of the centre of the lotus (though the One Life controls both soul and body) only takes place when the two later techniques of fusion and of duality are carried successfully forward.
Certain questions therefore arise:
Another point should here be made; Disciples upon the minor rays likewise employ one or other of these three major techniques. Fourth ray disciples employ the second ray technique, as do sixth ray disciples; disciples upon the fifth ray employ the first ray technique. It is interesting to note that (prior to the first initiation) the personalities of all aspirants to this great expansion of consciousness will be found upon the third ray which is—like the solar plexus centre—a great clearing house for energies, and a great transmuting station, if I may use this term.
The first ray technique must, therefore, do the following things and produce the following results:
It will interest students to note how the first ray disciple, when employing this first ray technique of fusion, ends by producing second ray characteristics of which illumination, producing understanding love and sympathetic cooperation, is the predominant note. The second ray disciple, through rightly applied technique, produces curiously enough, third ray results, of which the use of the creative imagination is the outstanding characteristic. The third ray disciple through the development of the "power to inspire" adds to his innate qualities certain definitely first ray potencies. All are, however, subordinated to the second ray nature of the divine expression in this solar system.
The technique of Fusion, employed by the second ray disciple, will produce the following results:
phenomenal man. "The spirit of God moves upon the face of the waters."
We have here also a correspondence to the descent of the fire of the will to the base of the spine with its
subsequent raising, along the spinal column, to the head.
The third ray disciple, employing the Technique of Fusion, finds that:
a. That which is useful and so contributing to man's present civilisation.
b. That which is beautiful, thus gradually developing the aesthetic consciousness, the sense of colour, and the
recognition of the use of symbolic forms in order to express quality and meaning.
the higher mind.
The result of this inflow of supremely high energies is that the processes set in motion by the Technique of Integration are completed and the rays of the lower man are welded or fused into the Personality Ray. This itself is later blended with the egoic ray, enabling that spiritual Identity which we recognise as standing behind phenomenal man to work through both these rays, thus bringing about a correspondence to that grouping within the divine expression which we call the major and minor rays. The rays of the triple lower nature then form one single avenue through which the soul, and later the energy of spirit can contact the larger Whole in manifestation upon the physical, astral and mental planes.
When the Techniques of Integration and Fusion have done their intended work, this spiritual Identity can work in service to humanity and in cooperation with the Plan in the three worlds of human endeavour and in the five states of consciousness, human and superhuman. This brings the disciple to the period wherein the third initiation can be taken; then still higher forces can be brought into play and the Technique of Duality can be considered, mastered and used. It will be obvious to you that I cannot give you the rules of this technique, as they constitute part of the veiled secrets of initiation. Though duality is emphasised, it is a duality which produces simplification, merging and synthesis. Man is then viewed as a duality of spirit and matter and not as the well known triplicity of spirit, soul and body.
Now let us for a moment consider the Technique of Fusion. The keynotes of the three techniques are as follows:
First Ray: Isolated Unity
Second Ray: Inclusive Reason
Third Ray: Presented Attributes
The first thing the disciple who seeks to use these techniques undertakes is to arrive at an understanding (practical, experimental and subjective) of the appropriate phrase for his ray. Let me paraphrase or elucidate each of them, inadequately perforce owing to the lack of comprehension and the limited evolution of the average disciple, but in any case in order to bring suggestion to your minds.
Isolated Unity is that stage of consciousness which sees the whole as one and regards itself, not theoretically but as a realised fact, as identified with that whole. It is a whole which is "isolated" in the consciousness of the man, and not the man himself who regards himself as isolated. The word "isolated" refers to that complete organised organism of which the man can feel and know himself to be a part. The word "unity" expresses his relationship to the whole. It will be apparent therefore that this whole is something progressively realised. For the bringing about of this progressed realisation the great expansions of consciousness, called initiations, have been temporarily arranged as a hastening or forcing process. This progression of realised "isolations in unity" may begin with the disciple's group, environment or nation and, through right use of the understanding, will end by enabling him to isolate the whole divine scheme or living structure, and to identify himself with it in an active capable manner.
The result of meditation upon this theme will be:
I cannot too strongly call to your attention that I am not here dealing with the normal service and the self-enforced cooperation of the aspirant—a cooperation based upon theory and a determination to prove theory and plan and service to be evolutionary facts—but with that spontaneous illumination, creativity and inspiration which is the result of the use of the Technique of Fusion by the soul—by the soul, and not by the aspiring struggling disciple. Here lies the clue to meaning. We are dealing consequently with that stage of development wherein, in deep contemplation, the man is consciously merged with the soul and that soul, in meditation, decides, plans and works. He functions as the soul and has achieved a definite measure of success in living as a soul, consciously upon the physical plane.
This particular technique of meditation involves the use of the head centre, demands the ability to focus the consciousness in the soul form, the spiritual body, and, at the same time, to preserve soul consciousness, mind consciousness and brain consciousness—no easy task for the neophyte and something which lies far ahead for the majority of students who read these words. This condition has been described as "the intensest reflection of the man, isolated in God Who is the negation of isolation and is nevertheless the Whole which is set apart from other Wholes." When this state of awareness has been achieved (and Patanjali hints at it in the last book of the Sutras) the disciple becomes invincible upon the physical plane, for he is completely unified and linked up with all aspects of himself in the greater Whole of which he is a part, is fusing all attributes and is at-one with the Whole, not simply subjectively and unconsciously (as are all human beings) but in full, waking, understanding awareness.
Inclusive Reason, which is the theme for the initiatory meditation of the second ray disciple, produces that inherent divine capacity which enables the detail of the sensed Whole to be grasped in meticulous entirety. This wide, yet detailed, scope or universal recognition is extremely difficult for me to explain or for you to understand. The second ray has been called the Ray of Detailed Knowledge and where this term has been employed, the beginner has necessarily laid the emphasis upon the word "detail". It might rather be called the Ray of Detailed Unity or the Ray of the Divine Pattern, or of beauty in relationship. It involves on the part of the disciple a very high point of synthetic comprehension.
You will note how, in all these three keynotes for advanced meditation, there is the calling of the disciples attention to those related arrangements which constitute the whole when brought into relation with each other. The word "isolated", the words "detail" and "presented" would seem to indicate separative recognition, but this is emphatically not so. They simply indicate and refer to the intricate internal life of the organised creation of God wherein the consciousness (released from all material pettiness and self-centredness) sees not only the periphery of the Whole but the beauty and purpose of every aspect of the inner structure. Just as the average, yet unthinking human being knows that he is a person of intricate design, of multiple interior organisms which produce an aggregate of living forms, co-related and functioning as a unity, but of which he in fact knows nothing except their general nature, so the aspirant upon the probationary path may see the whole of which he is similarly a part. Just as the intelligent student of humanity and the highly educated thinker knows in greater detail and fuller comprehension the general equipment and more detailed purpose of the organised whole which we call a man, so the disciple, in the early stages of his career upon the path of discipleship, comes to see and grasp wider aspects of the inner relationships of the organised organism through which Deity is working out His Plans and Purposes. The living structure as it expresses ideas, the intricate beauty of the inner relationships within the expressing Whole, the circulation of the energy which is working out the divine Idea, the points of force and local points of energy which act as power and light stations within that Whole—all these stand revealed to the man who is permitted, as a soul, to meditate upon such a phrase as inclusive reason.
There are a few today, and there will be an increasing number in the next two decades, who—grasping the beauty of the presented idea—will be urged by their souls to work towards these ends. By so doing, they will succeed in raising the consciousness of the entire human family.
The results of using this meditation on the synthetic detail of the manifested Life will be:
Presented Attributes may appear to you a more simple phrase upon which to meditate and easier for the average aspirant to contemplate and understand. Perhaps this apparent simplicity may be due to your failure to comprehend the significance and meaning of the word "attribute".
This third ray meditation concerns itself essentially with inherent forces, and students would do well to recognise the fact that there are inherent or innate qualities and attributes in the divine Whole which remain as yet unrevealed, and are as much unexpressed as are the divine tendencies in the majority of human beings. It is with these mysterious and slowly emerging energies that the man, ready for initiation, will have to deal, and of them he will become increasingly aware. He has to learn to occupy himself with the task of cooperating with those great Lives Who, working on formless levels, are busy with the development of an inner and as yet unrealised development within the Whole, and which can only be contacted and sensed by those on, or nearing, the Path of Initiation.
There is a mystery within the mystery. The four minor rays, or rays of attribute, are concerned with the attributes which are definitely and slowly coming into expression and to fruition—knowledge, synthesis, beauty, science, idealism and order. But there are others, further back behind the scenes, held in latency for the proper period and time (if I may speak of these things in terms of modern usage), and these are the theme of this higher meditation. Only those who have freed themselves from the thralldom of the senses can truly thus meditate. The attributes of Deity might be divided into three main groups:
In connection with the problem of "presented attributes", it might be stated that those which characterise the soul and which cannot express themselves until the soul is consciously known and steadily achieving control, could be illustrated through attention to the word Love. Love is such a presented attribute, and it took a great Avatar, such as the Christ, to grasp for humanity and present to humanity its significance. It has taken two thousand years for this presented attribute to take even the form it has in the consciousness of the human family, and those of us who are students of world affairs well know how unknown real love is. Even today, in relation to the entire planetary population, there is only a very small group who have even a beginner's grasp of what the love of God really is.
Love is the presented attribute which is at this time working into manifestation. Wisdom began to emerge in the time of the Buddha, and was the specified forerunner of love. Synthesis is another of the presented attributes and is only now making its appeal for recognition—an appeal which can only evoke response from the higher types of men, even though centuries have elapsed since Plato endeavoured to picture forth the completeness of the Whole and the intricacy of the ideas which have come forth as an expression of that Whole. Such great Revealers of emerging divine attributes as are Plato, the Buddha or Christ differ radically from other Avatars in that They are so constituted that They are focal points through which a new presented attribute can emerge as a thought form, and, therefore, impinge definitely upon the minds of the racial thinkers. These Avatars are possessed by the attribute; They intelligently comprehend it and are used to "anchor" the attribute in human consciousness. There then ensues a long period of adjustment, development and emergence before the presented attribute becomes the expressed attribute. The above few comments may serve to simplify your thought on these abstruse matters, and give you a better idea of the true scope of these advanced meditations.
The result of using this meditation on the presented attributes will be:
I have briefly indicated the triple techniques of Integration, Fusion and Duality, and have shown you how, by means of them, the three rays of the Personality, the Ego and the Monad can be fused and blended until Deity, the essential divine Life, is revealed and from a materialised Triplicity only an eventual Unity can be seen. We will next take up some of the problems of Psychology, studying them from the angle of the soul.
INTRODUCTION
What I have here to say should be of general interest. I intend to write with great simplicity, avoiding the technical terms of academic psychology, and putting the human psychological problem so plainly that real help may eventuate to many. These days are fraught with difficulty and it would sometimes appear that the necessary environmental adjustments are so hard and the equipment so inadequate to the demanded task that humanity is being asked to perform the impossible. It is as if the human frame had accumulated so much physical disability, so much emotional stress and had inherited so much disease and over-sensitivity that men fall back defeated. It is as if the attitude of man to the past, to the present and to the future was of such a nature that there seems no reason for existence, that there is nothing toward which to look, and no help to be found in retrospection.
I am, therefore, widely generalising. There are those to whom this generalisation does not apply, but even they, if they are students of human affairs, of sociological conditions, and of human equipment, are prone to question and at times to despair. Life is so difficult these days; the tension to which men are subjected is so extreme; the future appears so threatening; and the masses of men are so ignorant, diseased and distressed. I am putting this gloomy picture before you at the start of our discussion in order to evade no issue, to paint no silly optimistic and glamourous situation, or to portray no easy way of escape which would only lead us deeper into the gloomy forest of human error and illusion.
Yet, could we but know it, present conditions indicate their own cause and cure. I trust that by the time we have studied the problem (cursorily, I realise, for that is all that is possible) I shall have been able to indicate a possible way out and to have offered such practical suggestions that light may appear in the dense darkness, the future hold much promise, and the present much of experiment, leading to improvement and understanding.
The major science today is Psychology. It is one that is yet in its infancy but it holds the fate of humanity in its grasp and it has the power (rightly developed and employed) to save the race. The reason for its greatness and usefulness lies in the fact that it lays the emphasis upon the relation of the unit to the whole, to the environment and contacts; it studies man's equipment and apparatus of such contact, and seeks to produce right adaptation, correct integration and coordination and the release of the individual to a life of usefulness, fulfillment and service.
Some of the difficulties which have to be faced as one considers the conclusions of the many, many schools of Psychology are based upon the fact of their failure to relate the many points of view to each other. The same cleavage and even warfare is to be found within the confines of this science as are found in the individual man or in the religious field. There is to be found a lack of synthesis, a failure to correlate results, and a tendency to overemphasise one aspect of the ascertained truth to the exclusion of others equally important. The outstanding weakness or weaknesses in an individual's equipment or presentation of life (and also those of the group or social order) are considered to the exclusion and even negation of other weaknesses not so obvious but equally crippling.
Prejudice, dependent upon a biassed scholastic training, often frustrates the outlook so that the weakness in the psychologist's own equipment negates his efforts to aid the patient. The failure of education today to take into consideration the whole man, or to allow scope for the activity of an integrating centre, a central point of consciousness, and a determining factor within the mechanism of the one who must be helped to adapt himself to his life condition—this above everything else is responsible for much of the trouble. The assertion of the purely materialistic and scientific attitude which recognises only the definitely proven, or that which can be proved by the acceptance of an immediate hypothesis, has led to much loss of time. When again the creative imagination can be released in every department of human thought we shall see many new things brought to light that are at present only accepted by the religiously inclined and by the pioneering minds. One of the first fields of investigation to be benefited by this release will be that of psychology.
Organised religion has, alas, much to answer for, because of its fanatical emphasis upon doctrinal pronouncements, and its penalisation of those who fail to accept such dicta has served to stultify the human approach to God and to reality. Its over-emphasis upon the unattainable and its culture of the sense of sin down the centuries have led to many disastrous conditions, to interior conflicts which have distorted life, to morbidity, sadistic attitudes, self-righteousness and an ultimate despair which is the negation of truth.
When right education (which is the true science of adaptation) and right religion (which is the culture of the sense of divinity) and right scientific unfoldment (which is the correct appreciation of the form or forms through which the subjective life of divinity is revealing itself) can be brought into right relation to each other and thus supplement each other's conclusions and efforts, we shall then have men and women trained and developed in all parts of their natures. They will then be simultaneously citizens of the kingdom of souls, creative members of the great human family, and sound animals with the animal body so developed that it will provide the necessary instrument upon the outer plane of life for divine, human and animal revelation. This, the coming New Age, will see take place and for it men are today consciously or unconsciously preparing.
We will divide the problems of psychology into the following groupings:
modern complexes.
consequent crippling of the individual.
For the right understanding of our subject, and of my method of handling it, I would like to lay down four fundamental propositions:
Past Integrations
Between the animal body and the vital body. Between these two and the sensitive desire nature. Between these three and the lower concrete mind.
Present Integrations
Between these four aspects thus producing a coordinated personality.
Future Integration
Between the personality and the Soul.
There are other and higher integrations but with these we need not here concern ourselves. They are reached through the processes of initiation and of service. The point to be remembered is that in racial history, many of these integrations have already taken place unconsciously as the result of life- stimulation, the evolutionary urge, the normal processes of living, experience through contact with the environment, and also of satisfaction leading to satiety of the desire nature. But there comes a time in racial unfoldment, as in the lives of individuals, when the blind process of evolutionary acquiescence becomes the living conscious effort, and it is right at this point that humanity stands today.
Hence the realisation of the human problem in terms of modern psychology; hence the widespread suffering of human units everywhere; hence the effort of modern education; and hence also the emergence in every country on a wide scale and in increasingly large numbers of three kinds of people:
Humanity provides a cultural field for all types, i.e. for those who are today expressions of past integrations, and those who are in process of becoming thinking human beings. The two earliest integrations, between the vital body and the physical form, and between these two and the desire nature, are no longer represented. They are universal and lie below the threshold of conscious activity and far behind in racial history. The only field in which they can be studied is in those processes of recapitulatory history of infancy wherein one can see the power to move and respond to the sensory apparatus, and the power to express desire, most clearly demonstrated. The same thing can also be noticed in infant and savage races. But the third stage of integration, that of gradual mental development, is proceeding apace and can be, and is being, most carefully studied. Today, modern education is occupied almost exclusively with this stage and when educators cease to train the brain cells or to deal with the evocation of memory, and when they cease to regard the brain and the mind as one, but learn to differentiate between the two, then great strides forward will be made. When the child receives training in mind control and when that mind is taught to direct the desire nature and the brain, producing direction of the physical vehicle from the mental level, then we shall see these three integrations carried forward with precision and with rapidity. Attention will then be given to the integration of the personality, so that all three aspects shall function as one unit. We have, therefore:
The difficulty today is that we have on every hand people at all different stages in the integrative process; all of them in a "state of crisis" and all of them therefore providing the problems of modern psychology.
These problems may be divided more precisely into three major groupings:
a. The problems of integration.
b. Those arising out of a sense of duality.
This sense of duality, as the result of realised cleavage, ranges all the way from the "split personality" difficulties of so many people to those of the mystic with his emphasis upon the lover and the loved, the seeker and the sought, upon God and His child.
Arising from these problems we find also:
These difficulties will call for increasing attention as the race proceeds towards personality integration and from thence to soul contact. It will be apparent to you, therefore, how wide is our subject and of what real importance. It will be obvious to you also that much of our nervous disease, our inhibitions, suppressions, submissions, or their reverse aspects, are tied up with this whole process of successive syntheses or fusions.
Two points should be touched upon here: First, that in any consideration of the human being—whether we regard him simply as a man or as a spiritual entity—we are in reality dealing with a most complex aggregate of differentiated energies, through which or among which the consciousness plays. This consciousness is, in the early stages, nothing more than a vague diffused awareness, undefined, unidentified and free from any definite focus of attention. Later, it becomes more awake and aware and the focus becomes centred in the realm of selfish desire, and its satisfaction and assuagement. To this condition we can give the general name of the "wish life" with its objective, personal happiness, leading eventually to consummated desire, but a consummated desire postponed till after death and to which we have given the name "heaven". Later (again as the mind nature integrates with the other more developed aspects), we have the emergence of a definitely self-conscious entity, and a strictly human being, characterised by intelligence, comes into active expression. The focus of attention is still the satisfaction of desire, but it is the desire to know, the will to understand through investigation, discrimination and analysis.
Finally comes the period of personality integration wherein there is the will-to-power, with self- consciousness directed to the domination of the lower nature, and with the objective of the domination of the environment, of other human beings in small or large numbers, and of circumstance. When this has been grasped and understood, the focus of attention shifts into the realm of the higher energies, and the soul factor becomes increasingly active and prominent, dominating and disciplining the personality, interpreting its environment in new terms, and producing a synthesis, hitherto unrecognised, between the two kingdoms of nature—the human and the spiritual.
Throughout all these processes we see the bringing together of many types of energy, all of them distinguished by quality of some kind or another, which—when brought into relation with each other— produce first of all a period of chaos, of anarchy and of difficulty. Later ensues a period of synthesis, of organised activity and of a fuller expression of divinity. But there remains for a long time the need for recognition of energy and its right use.
The second point I seek to make is that these inner energies make their contact through the medium of the vital or etheric body, which is composed of energy streams; these work through seven focal points or centres of force in the etheric body. These centres of energy are found in close proximity to, or in relation to, the seven sets of major glands:
These centres are closely concerned with the endocrine system, which they determine and condition according to the quality and source of the energy which flows through them. With this I have dealt at length in my other books, and so shall not here enlarge upon it beyond calling your attention to the relation between the centres of force in the etheric body, the processes of integration, which bring one centre after another into activity, and the eventual control of the soul, after the final at-one-ment of the entire personality.
Only when modern psychologists add to the amazingly interesting knowledge they have of the lower man, an occidental interpretation of the oriental teaching about the centres of force through which the subjective aspects of man—lower, personal and divine—are to be expressed, will they solve the human problem and arrive at an understanding of the technique of unfoldment and of integration which will lead to intelligent comprehension, a wise solution of the difficulties, and a correct interpretation of the peculiarities with which they are so frequently confronted. When to this acceptance can be added a study of the seven major types, the science of psychology will be brought another step nearer its eventual usefulness as a major instrument in the technique of human perfecting. They will be greatly helped also by a study of astrology from the angle of energy contacts, of the lines of least resistance, and as one of the determining influences and characteristics of the type under consideration. I refer not here to the casting of a horoscope with the objective of discovering the future or of determining action. This aspect of astrological interpretation will become less and less useful as men achieve the power to control and to govern their stars and so direct their own lives. I refer to the recognition of the astrological types, of their characteristics and qualities and tendencies.
Bearing in mind the analysis earlier made of the various aspects of the human being, which—during the evolutionary process—are gradually fused into one integrated person, let us remember that the fusion effected and the changes brought about are the result of the steady shift of the consciousness. It becomes increasingly inclusive. We are not dealing here with the form aspect as much as with the conscious realisation of the dweller in the body. It is in this region that our problems lie, and it is with this developing consciousness that the psychologist has primarily to deal. From the angle of the omniscient soul, the consciousness is limited, disturbed, exclusive, self-centred, distorted, erratic and, in the early stages, deceived. It is only when the processes of development have been carried forward to a relatively high point and the awareness of duality is beginning to emerge, that the real problems and the major difficulties and dangers are encountered and the man becomes aware of his situation. Before that time, the difficulties are of a different nature and revolve largely around the physical equipment, are concerned with the slowness of the vital reactions and the low grade desires of the animal nature. The human being is, at that stage, largely an animal, and the conscious man is deeply hidden and imprisoned. It is the life principle and urge which dominate and the instinctual nature which controls. The solar plexus is the seat of the consciousness and the head and brain are inactive.
It should also be remembered here that the reality which we call the soul is basically an expression of three types of energy—life, love and intelligence. For the reception of these three energies, the triple lower nature has been prepared and the intelligence aspect reflects itself in the mind, the love nature in the emotional desire body, and the life principle in and through the etheric or vital body. As regards the physical body in its more dense expression (for the etheric body is the more subtle aspect or expression of the physical body), the soul anchors itself in two streams of energy at two points of contact: the life stream in the heart and the consciousness stream in the head. This consciousness aspect is itself dual, and that which we call self-consciousness is gradually unfolded and perfected until the ajna centre, or the centre between the eyebrows, is awakened. The latent group- consciousness, which brings realisation of the greater Whole, is quiescent for the greater part of the evolutionary cycle, until the integrative process has proceeded to such a point that the personality is functioning. Then the head centre begins to awaken and the man becomes conscious in the larger sense. Head and heart then link up, and the spiritual man appears in fuller expression.
Thinkers are today awakening to this particular type of difficulty and finding the cleavages in human nature so widespread and so deep seated in the very constitution of the race itself that they are viewing the situation with much concern. These cleavages seem basic, and produce the divisions we find everywhere between race and race and between religion and religion, and can be traced back to the fundamental condition of manifestation which we call the relationship of positive and negative, of male and female and, esoterically speaking, of the sun and the moon. The mystery of sex itself is bound up with the re-establishment of the sense of unity and of balance, of oneness or of wholeness. In its higher human aspect, this sexual differentiation is only the symbol or lowest expression of the cleavage or separativeness of which the mystic is aware and which makes him seek at-one-ment or union with what he calls divinity. In between this physical cleavage and this spiritual recognition of divinity lie a large number of lesser cleavages of which man becomes aware.
Behind all of this is to be found a still more fundamental cleavage—that between the human kingdom and the kingdom of souls—a cleavage in consciousness more than in fact. The cleavage between the animal and the human kingdom has been largely resolved through the recognition of the physical identity of the animal nature and the uniformity in expression of the instinctual nature. Within the human family, the various cleavages of which man is so distressingly aware will be bridged and ended when the mind is trained to control and to dominate within the realm of the personality and is correctly used as an analytical, integrating factor instead of as a critical, discriminating, separative factor. The right use of the intellect is essential to the healing of the personality cleavages. I commend these ideas to your careful consideration and assure you that rightly understood they will aid in the solution of the problems connected with the various cleavages in human nature.
The cleavage between personality and the soul is resolved by the right use of:
govern soul unfoldment.
illumination.
appearance of separativeness.
Thus it will be apparent to you that the cleavages are "healed" by a right and intelligent use of the quality aspect of the form nature:
There is no cleavage to be found today between the vital body and the physical body. There is only at times a partial cleavage and what one might call a "loose connection". The two streams of living energy—life and consciousness—are usually anchored in the head and heart. In the case of certain forms of idiocy however, the consciousness stream is not anchored at all in the body, but only the life stream has made its contact in the heart. There is, therefore, no self-consciousness, no power of centralised control and no capacity to direct action or to provide in any way a life programme or plan. There is only responsiveness to aspects of the instinctual nature.
Certain forms of epilepsy are due to what we might call "a loose connection", the consciousness stream or thread of energy is subject at times to withdrawal or abstraction, and this produces the familiar epileptoid symptoms and the distressing conditions seen in the usual fit. In a lesser degree, and producing no permanent, dangerous results, the same basic cause produces the so-called "petit mal" and certain types of fainting fits; these are caused by the brief and temporary withdrawal of the thread of consciousness energy. It should be remembered that when this withdrawal takes place and there is a separation of the consciousness from the vehicle of conscious contact, all that we understand by the term consciousness, such as self-consciousness, desire and intelligence, is abstracted and only life and the consciousness inherent in the physical body cells remain.
As a rule, however, the average man today is a closely knit and functioning unit. He is firmly integrated physically, etherically and emotionally. His physical body, his vital body and his desire nature (for emotion is but expressed desire of some kind or another) are closely knit. At the same time there can be a weakness in the etheric integration, of such a nature that there is a low vitality, a lack of desire impulses, a failure to register adequate dynamic incentives, immaturity and sometimes obsession or possession. Frequently what is called a lack of will and the labelling of a person as "weak-willed" or "weak-minded" has in reality nothing to do with the will, but is apt to be the result of this feeble integration and loose connection between the consciousness and the brain which renders the man negative to the desire impulses which should normally stream through into his brain, galvanising his physical vehicle into some form of activity.
The will, which usually demonstrates itself through a programme or ordered plan, originates in the mind and not on the desire levels of awareness, and this programme is based on a sense of direction and a definite orientation of the will to a recognised objective, and it is not, in these cases, the cause of the difficulty. The trouble is simpler and lies nearer home. The handling of these difficulties and their right solution is of a definitely material nature, and the trouble is frequently overcome by increasing the vitality of the body, building up the etheric body, through sunshine, vitaminous foods and exercise, plus correct treatment and balancing of the endocrine system. Along these lines much work is being done today and the less serious forms of etheric cleavage are rapidly yielding to treatment. Lack of vitality, immaturity, depression based upon a weak vital connection and lack of interest in life (so prevalent at this time) will become less frequent.
I cannot here deal at length with the problems of obsession, due to the withdrawal of the self-conscious aspect of the dweller in the body. This process of abstraction leaves only a living shell, an empty house. Too much would have to be considered for a treatise such as this.
It is not easy for the scientific psychological investigator to accept the premise of the substitution of the consciousness of another entity in the place of the consciousness of the one who has been unable to hold the link within the brain with adequate positiveness. But, speaking as one who knows, such cases frequently occur, leading to many of the problems of so-called "split personality" which is in reality the ownership of a particular physical body by the two persons—one providing the life stream (anchored in the heart) and the other providing the stream of consciousness (anchored in the brain) and thus controlling the body directing its activities and expressing itself through the organs of speech. Sometimes this possession alternates between the two individuals concerned. Sometimes more than two are concerned, and several persons upon the inner side of life use the same physical body. Then you have multiple personalities.
This is however due to a definite weakness in the etheric connection of the original dweller; or again it may be due to that dweller's great dislike for physical incarnation; again it may be caused by some shock or disaster which suddenly severs the link of consciousness, and in this latter case there is no hope of restoration. Each case has to be diagnosed and dealt with on its individual merits and preferably by dealing directly with the real dweller when he is "at home in his own dwelling". Furthermore, the consciousness of this dweller is sometimes so strongly orientated in directions other than those of physical existence that a process of abstraction has taken place, with the focus of the conscious interest elsewhere. This is the undesirable side or expression of the same power of abstraction which enables the mystic to see his visions and to participate in heavenly happenings, and which enables the advanced adept to enter into the state of Samadhi. In the one case, the vehicle is left unguarded and the prey of any passing visitor; and in the other it is left duly guarded and positively attentive to the call and the note of its owner.
The true sense of cleavage and really serious difficulty comes, however, when two things have occurred. These might be stated to be as follows:
I have mentioned only three of many possible recognitions but the resolution of the cleavage for which these are responsible will result in the liberation of a large majority of sufferers. It might perhaps be said that the release of many whose cleavage lies primarily in the realm of the desire nature, leading to the sense of frustration and a break in the life continuity of interest, can be cured by—
regulation of the diet.
inner process of integration and much can be done by training.
providing the sense of satisfaction which comes from accomplishment and appreciation.
not so advanced as to be impossible.
One point I feel the need definitely to re-emphasise and that is the necessity, when considering the human being and his expression and existence, to remember that we are really considering energy, and the relation or non-relation of forces. As long as we regard our problem as consisting of the inter-relation of many energies, their fusion and their balancing, plus the final synthesis of two major energies, their fusion and their balancing we shall arrive at some measure of understanding and subsequent solution. The field of energy which we call the soul (the major energy with which man is concerned) absorbs, dominates or utilises the lesser energy which we call the personality. This it is necessary for us to realise; and to remember, at the same time, that this personality is itself composed of four types of energy. According to our ray type, so will be our use of the words "absorbs, dominates and utilises".
We have already somewhat considered the problem of the cleavages to which man is subject, and we saw that the human evolutionary process was, in the last analysis, a series of at-one-ments; each step forward meant the bringing together of certain types of energy in order that their fusion might produce a more complete person. May I state here an interesting point? The problem itself is brought about by the fact that there Is an Observer. This Observer, at certain points in the normal development of the man, comes to the realisation that there are cleavages. This Observer suffers because of their existence in his self-awareness. He realises that he is the victim of the divisions in his nature. Yet—and this is of importance—the man upon the physical plane is unable either to understand them or, apparently, to heal them without aid from the soul, the Observer, the higher aspect of himself. For instance, a man suffering from dissociation between the emotional, sentient part of himself and the mental aspect is aware of need, of frustration and of intense suffering and difficulty, yet needs the understanding help of a trained psychologist or of his own soul before fusion can be made and he, as an individual, can "be made whole".
This same truth exists in connection with all the cleavages found in man, but three of these cleavages are of major importance:
Parallels to these states of consciousness are found in the adolescent. They are found also in the man who is integrating into his life work, and also in the thinking aspirant. This is true, whether his thoughts, purposes and ambitions are selfishly polarised or spiritually inclined. The sense of cleavage, the need for orientation, the bridging process and the ultimate sense of achievement are identical in both cases.
In dealing with these situations certain general rules should govern the psychologist, and certain general premises should eventually be accepted by the man who constitutes the problem case. These same rules and premises can be considered and accepted by the man who, without the aid of a trained psychologist, manages to train himself and to bridge his realised cleavages. These basic premises are:
When modern psychologists comprehend more fully the creative purpose of humanity, and seek to develop the creative imagination more constructively, and also to train the directional will, much will be accomplished. When these two factors (which are the signal evidence of divinity in man) are studied and scientifically developed and utilised, they will produce the self-releasing of all the problem cases which are found in our clinics at this time. Thus we shall, through experiment, arrive at a more rapid understanding of man. Psychology can count definitely upon the innate ability of the human unit to understand the use of the creative imagination and the use of directed purpose, for it is found frequently even in children. The development of the sense of fantasy and the training of children to make choices (to the end that ordered purpose may emerge in their lives) will be two of the governing ideals of the new education. The sense of fantasy calls into play the imagination, perception of beauty, and the concept of the subjective worlds; the power of choice, with its implications of why and wherefore and to what end (if wisely taught from early days), will do much for the race, particularly if, at the time of adolescence, the general world picture and the world plan are brought to the attention of the developing intelligence. Therefore:
should govern our training of the children which are coming into incarnation. The sense of fantasy brings the creative imagination into play, thus providing the emotional nature with constructive outlets; this should be balanced and motivated by the recognition of the power of right choice and the significance of the higher values. These, in turn, can be developed selflessly by a due recognition of the environing whole in which the individual has to play his part, whilst the entire range of reactions are increasingly subordinated by the understanding of the ordered purpose which is working out in the world.
These are the basic premises which should emerge in the new techniques which psychology will use when it has reached the point of accepting (or at least experimenting with) the above ideas. By their use, it will be found that the problem case itself can be brought into functioning right activity, for all the innate, and unused faculties of man will be swept into integrating activity. The process is always and inevitably the same:
I would like to stop here and point out that the foundation of the new psychology must inevitably be built upon the premise that this one life is not man's sole opportunity in which to achieve integration and eventual perfection. The great Law of Rebirth must be accepted and it will then be found to be, in itself, a major releasing agent in any moment of crisis or any psychological problem case. The recognition of further opportunity and a lengthened sense of time are both quieting and helpful to many types of mind; its interpretative value will be found illuminating as the patient grasps the fact that behind him lie points of crisis wherein it can be demonstrated by his present equipment that he achieved integration, thus guaranteeing to him victory in his present point of crisis and of difficult conflict. The light which this throws on relationships and environment will serve to stabilise his purpose and make him comprehend the inevitability of responsibility. When this great law is understood in its true implications and not interpreted in terms of its present childish presentation, then man will shoulder the responsibility of living with a daily recognition of the past, an understanding of the purpose of the present, and with an eye to the future. This will also greatly lessen the growing tendency towards suicide which humanity is showing.
It will be apparent to you, therefore, that the time element can enter into the problem most helpfully and it is here that a real understanding of the Law of Rebirth, or of the Law of Opportunity (as I would prefer to call it) will be of definite usefulness. Above everything else, it will bring into the attitude of both psychologist and problem case, the idea of hope, the thought of fulfillment and of ultimate achievement.
It will also be essential that the psychologist of the future should arrive at a recognition and an admittance of the inner structure of the human being—of his emotional vehicle, his mind body and their close inter-relation through the medium of the vital or etheric body which serves ever as the linking web between the dense physical body and the other bodies. The soul and its triplicity of energies (life itself, expressing will or purpose, love and intelligence) work through the seven major centres, whilst the mind body and the astral body work through many other centres, though possessing also within themselves seven centres which are the transmitting counterparts of those found in the etheric body. The integrations which evolution eventually effects are carried out through the medium of all these centres. Through the heightening of vibration, through the swinging into activity of the centres, and through the subsequent and consequent development of the human response apparatus, new avenues of approach to reality, new qualities of awareness, new sensitivity to that which has hitherto been unrecognised, and new powers begin to open up.
Each man is, therefore, within himself, a hierarchy, a reflection of a great chain of being—the Being which the universe expresses. Psychology has to recognise eventually:
It is interesting to note that practically all the teaching given anent rebirth or reincarnation has emphasised the material phenomenal side though there has always been a more or less casual reference to the spiritual and mental gains acquired in the school of life upon this planet, from incarnation to incarnation. The true nature of the unfolding awarenesses and the growth in the inner consciousness of the true man have been little noted; the gain of each life in added grasp of the mechanism of contact, and the result of increased sensitivity to the environment (which are the only values with which the self concerns itself), are seldom, if ever, stressed. Details of living conditions, statements about possible material situations, descriptions of places, clothes, and of personality human relations are imaginatively displayed, and the "recovery of past incarnations" has usually been the so-called recovery of dramatic episodes which feed the innate sense of individuality of the reincarnating man, and usually feed his vanity as well.
This curious presentation has been due to several things. First of all, to the fact that the world of illusion is the dominating factor as yet in the lives of the best of men; secondly, that the point in evolution has been such that the writer or speaker has not been able to view the life cycle from the angle of the soul, detached and undeluded, for had he done so, the material phenomenal descriptions would have been omitted and probably not even perceived, and only the values—spiritual and mental—and those matters which concern the group interior life would have been emphasised. The methods used to present this age-old doctrine of rebirth, and the false emphasis laid upon the form aspect to the exclusion of the soul values, have brought about a bad reaction to the whole subject in the minds of intelligent people and of the scientific investigator. Yet, in spite of this, real good has been accomplished, for the whole theory has been seeping steadily into the racial consciousness, becoming an integral part of it and, therefore, moving on to popular and finally scientific recognition.
In considering the inner structure of man and those factors which produce the outer appearance and quality and condition it, thus producing the resultant behaviour and conduct, psychologists will have to study the following subjects, beginning with the lowest aspect and expanding their ideas to include the highest possible. These might be grouped and listed as follows:
If the above is carefully studied, it will become apparent that the cleavages which exist in man are cleavages in certain inherent or basic relations:
The at-oning of the higher and the lower nature will produce results which will be determined in their field of expression by a man's ray. These ray conditions will result in a man's finding his right field of usefulness and right expression in the political, religious, or scientific fields, and in other modes of divine manifestation.
Here again I would like to pause and to point out that the concepts of death, of substitution, of the vicarious at-one-ment and of sacrifice, will in the New Age be superseded by the concepts of resurrection or of livingness, of spiritual unity, of transference and of service, so that a new note will enter into human life, bringing hope and joy and power and freedom.
b. PROBLEMS OF INTEGRATION
One of the first things which happens when a man has succeeded (alone or with academic psychological aid) in healing or bridging certain cleavages is the recognition of an immediate sense of well-being and of demand for expression. This in its turn, brings its own problems among which are these:
A sense of power, which makes the man, temporarily at least, selfish, dominant, sure of himself and full of arrogance. He is aware of himself as facing a larger world, a wider horizon, and greater opportunities. This larger sense can bring, therefore, serious troubles and difficulties. This type of person, under the influence of this extension of consciousness, is often beautifully motivated and actuated by the highest intentions, but only succeeds in producing inharmony in his surroundings.
These tendencies, when allowed to rule unchecked, can lead eventually to a serious state of egomania, for egomania is outstandingly a problem of integration. All these difficulties can be obviated and offset if the man can be brought to realise himself as an integral part of a much greater whole. His sense of values will then be adjusted and his sense of power rightly oriented.
A tendency to over-emphasis may also show itself, turning the man (as a result of integration and a sense of well-being or power and capacity) into a fanatic, at any rate for a time. Again with the best motives in the world, he seeks to drive everyone the way that he has come, failing to recognise the differences in background, ray type, point in evolution, and tradition and heredity. He becomes a source of distress to himself and to his friends. A little learning can be a dangerous thing, and the cure for many ills, particularly of a psychological nature, is the recognition of this. Progress can then be made on the Path of Wisdom.
The over-development of the sense of direction or of vocation, if you like to call it so, though the two are not identical, for the sense of direction is less definite than the recognition of vocation. In the schools of esoteric psychology, a phrase is sometimes used in connection with this sense of direction or inner guidance which runs as follows: "the bridging of the gaps induces a man continuously to run across the bridge." Certain aspects of the man are now consciously recognised, and the higher of these constantly attracts him. When, for instance, the gap between the astral or emotional body and the mind has been bridged, and the man discovers the vast field of mental activity which has opened up before him, he may for a long time become materialistically intellectual and will tune out as far as he can all emotional reactions and psychic sensitivity, glamouring himself with the belief that they are, for him, non-existent. He will then work intensively on mental levels. This will prove only a passing matter from the point of vision of the soul (e'en if it last an entire incarnation or several incarnations); but it can cause definite psychological problems, and create in the man's perception of life, "blind spots." However, much trouble is cured by leaving people alone, provided the abnormality is not too excessive.
Once the fact of the soul is admitted, we shall see an increasing tendency to leave people to the directing purpose and guidance of their own souls, provided that they understand what is happening to them and can discriminate between:
These words—subconscious, conscious and super-conscious—need definition, for the purpose of this treatise; they are bandied about so freely and mean different things according to the school of psychological thought to which the student belongs.
I use the term subconscious to signify the entire instinctual life of the form nature, all the inherited tendencies and innate predispositions, all the acquired and accumulated characteristics (acquired in past incarnations and frequently lying dormant unless suddenly evoked by stress of circumstance) and all the unformulated wishes and urges which drive a man into activity, plus the suppressed and unrecognised desires, and the unexpressed ideas which are present, though unrealised. The subconscious nature is like a deep pool from which a man can draw almost anything from his past experience, if he so desires, and which can be stirred up until it becomes a boiling cauldron, causing much distress.
The conscious is limited to that which the man knows himself to be and have in the present—the category of qualities, characteristics, powers, tendencies and knowledges of all kinds which constitute a mans stock in trade and of which he is definitely aware or of which the psychologist is aware. These are displayed in his window for all to see, and they make him what he apparently is to the outer onlooking world.
By the super-conscious, I mean those potencies and knowledges which are available but which are as yet uncontacted and unrecognised and, therefore, of no immediate use. These are the wisdom, love and abstract idealism which are inherent in the nature of the soul but which are not yet, and never have been a part of the equipment available for use. Eventually, all these powers will be recognised and used by the man. These potencies and realisations are called in The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by the interesting name of "the raincloud of knowable things." These "knowable things" will eventually drop into the conscious aspect of a man's nature and become an integral part of his intellectual equipment. Finally, as evolution proceeds and the ages pass away, they will drop into the subconscious aspect of his nature, as his power to grasp the super-conscious grows in capacity. I might make this point clearer to you if I pointed out that just as the instinctual nature is today found largely in the realm of the subconscious, so in due time, the intellectual part of man (of which he is at this time becoming increasingly aware) will be relegated to a similar position and will drop below the threshold of consciousness. The intuition will then take its place. For most people, the free use of the intuition is not possible, because it lies in the realm of the super-conscious.
All these movements within the realm of consciousness; from the subconscious to the immediately conscious and from thence to the super-conscious—are essentially crises of integration, producing temporary situations which must be handled. I would like here to point out that when an individual becomes aware of the higher aspect of himself which is demanding integration and is conscious of its nature and of the part which it could play in his life expression, he frequently becomes afflicted with an inferiority complex. This is the reaction of the lower, integrated aspects to the higher one. He experiences a sense of futility; the comparison which he makes within himself of the possible achievement and the point already attained leaves him with a sense of failure and of impotence. The reason for this is that the vision is at first too big, and he feels that he cannot make the grade.
Humanity today has made so much progress upon the path of evolution that two groups of men are thus powerfully affected:
mind and has thus, through their integration, reached the level of intelligence.
the gap between the personality and the soul.
These groups include a very large number of people at this time; the sense of inferiority is very great and causes many types of difficulty. If, however, the cause is more intelligently approached and handled, it will be found that the growth of a truer perspective will be rapid.
Another real difficulty in the field of achieved integration is to be found in the case of those who have integrated the entire lower nature and have fused the energies of the personality. All the energies involved in this fusion have quality, and the combination and interplay of these qualities (each determined by some particular ray energy) constitute the character of the person. For a long while after integration has been reached there will frequently be much conflict, strictly within the realm of character and within the Man's immediate consciousness. First one energy and then another will assert itself and battle for the supremacy. It might be of value here if I posited a hypothetical case, giving you the governing ray energies and reminding you that their fusion is the objective. In the case in point the subject has fused the personality vehicles into one functioning whole and is definitely a personality, but the major fusion of soul and personality has not been made.
Major energies
Egoic energy Ray 1 - The energy of will or power.
Personality energy Ray 4 - The energy of harmony through conflict.
Minor Energies
Mental energy Ray 3 - The energy of intelligence.
Astral energy Ray 6 - The energy of devotion Idealism.
Physical energy Ray 1 - The energy of will or power.
Here we have a fivefold field of energy in which all factors are active except the energy of the ego or soul. They have been definitely fused. There is at the same time a growing awareness of the need for a still higher or more inclusive fusion and the establishing of a definite relation with the soul. The process has been as follows: First, the man was simply an animal, aware only of physical energy. Then he began to include within his field of awareness the emotional nature, with its desires, demands and sensitive reactions. Next, he discovered himself as a mind, and mental energy proceeded to complicate his problem. Finally, he arrived at the life expression we are hypothetically considering in which he has:
You will, therefore, have a man who is ambitious for power, but with right motive, because he is truly idealistic; who will fight intelligently to achieve it, but will fight fanatically to bring about these ends because his fourth ray personality and sixth ray astral body will force him to do so, and his first ray body and brain will enable him to put up a strong fight. At the same time, his first ray soul energy is seeking to dominate, and will eventually do so through the medium of third ray mental energy, influencing the first ray brain. The first result of soul influence will be an intensification of every thing in the personality. The trouble will be localised in the mental body or in the brain and can range all the way down from idee fixe and mental crystallisation to insanity. He can express arrogant success in his chosen field of work, which will make him a dominant and unpleasant person, or he can express the fluidity of the third ray mind which will make him a scheming manipulator or a fighter for immense schemes which can never really materialise. In this analysis I have not considered the tendencies evoked in past lives and lying hidden in the subconscious, or his heredity and environment. I have simply sought to show one thing: that the conflict of energies within a man can produce serious situations, but most of them can be corrected through right understanding.
It will be apparent to you, therefore, that one of the first studies to be made in this new approach to the psychological field will be to discover:
These constitute the larger areas of difficulty, and in each of these fields of conflicting energies there are lesser centres of conflict. These are frequently brought about by environing circumstances and events.
Given all these factors, and considering our hypothetical case as being that of a man with a highly intelligent nature and a good equipment for daily expression, how would the esoteric psychologist proceed? How would he deal with the man and what would he do? On what broad and general principles would he proceed? I can but briefly indicate some of them, reminding you that, in the case which we are considering, the subject is definitely cooperating with the psychologist and is interested in bringing about the right results.
The answers to the following questions will be the goal of the psychologist's effort:
Is this problem:
To esotericists, this whole problem of the at-one-ment is closely connected with the building of the antaskarana. This name is given to the line of living energy which links the various human aspects and the soul, and it holds the clue to the occult truism that "before a man can tread the Path, he must become the path itself." When the cleavages are all bridged, the various points of crisis have been surmounted and passed, and the required fusions (which are simply stages in process) have taken place, then unification or atone-ment occurs. New fields of energy then are entered, recognised and mastered, and then again new areas of consciousness open up before the advancing pilgrim.
The great planetary achievement of Christ was expressed by St. Paul in the words that He made "in himself of twain one new man, so making peace." (Ephesians II. 15)
In the two words "peace" and "good will" you have two keywords which express the bridging of two cleavages: One in the psychic nature of man, particularly that between the mind and the emotional vehicle which means the attainment of peace, and the other between the personality and the soul. This latter is the resolution of a basic "split", and it is definitely brought about by the will-to-good. This bridges not only the major cleavage in individual man, but it is that which will bring about the great and imminent fusion between intelligent humanity and the great spiritual centre which we call the spiritual Hierarchy of the planet.
It has been the almost unconscious recognition of these cleavages and of the need for their fusion which has made marriage, and the consummating act of marriage, the great mystical symbol of the greater inner fusions. I remind you that these cleavages are cleavages in consciousness or awareness and not in fact.
This theme is of outstanding interest at this time because of the mystical tendency and the spiritual urge which distinguishes humanity as a whole, and because of the definite results—some of them bad, many of them good—which the growing practice of meditation is bringing about in the world of men. These results of mystical and spiritual aspiration and of applied occult or intellectual meditation (in contradistinction to the mystical approach) must be faced and understood or a great opportunity will be lost and certain undesirable developments will appear and need later to be offset.
This is a time of unusual crisis. One point, nevertheless, seems impressed upon my mind, and I would like to emphasise it. In these times of crisis and consequent opportunity, it is essential that men should realise two things: first, that it is a time of stimulation, and also that it is a time of crisis for the Hierarchy as well as for men. This latter point is oft forgotten; the hierarchical crisis is of great importance, owing to its relative rarity. Human crises are frequent and—from the time angle—of almost regular occurrence. But this is not the case where the Hierarchy is concerned. Also when a human crisis and a hierarchical crisis coincide and are simultaneous, there emerges an hour of dominant opportunity, and for the following reasons:
I have consistently emphasised the necessity for our recognition of the existence of energy. In occultism (or esotericism) we use the word "energy" to connote the living activity of the spiritual realms, and of that spiritual entity, the soul. We use the word "force" to connote the activity of the form nature in the realms of the various kingdoms in nature. This is a point of dominant interest and of implied distinction.
Stimulation might, therefore, be defined as the effect which energy has upon force. It is the effect which soul has upon form, and which the higher expression of divinity has upon what we call the lower expression. Yet all is equally divine in time and space and in relation to the point in evolution and the whole. This energy has the following effects and I state these effects in various ways in order to produce clarification in the many differing types of minds:
It should be remembered here that all stimulation is based upon the reaction (or the power to receive and register) of the lower nature when brought into relation to the higher. It is not based upon the reaction of the higher to the lower. Upon this reception, there eventuates a speeding up of the atoms which compose the personality vehicles; there follows a galvanising into activity of cells in the brain which have been hitherto dormant and also of the body areas around the seven centres, particularly in the organic and physiological correspondences to the centres, plus a grasp of possibilities and of opportunities. These results may work out either in the form of disastrous failure or in the form of significant development.
To all this, the stimulation of the nervous system of the subject responds and hence the effects are pronouncedly physical. These effects may mean release through the proper expenditure of the inflowing energy and consequently no serious effects, even when there may exist undesirable conditions, or they may mean that the instrument is in such a condition that the energy pouring through will be disruptive and dangerous and all kinds of bad results may be incurred. These include:
Mental problems
It is with this theme that we shall now deal primarily. Mental stimulation is comparatively rare, if the total population of the planet is considered; nevertheless among the peoples of our Western civilisation and among the cream of the Eastern civilisation it is frequently to be found. These particular problems can, for the sake of clarity, be divided into three groups or categories:
The last three groups of problems under sensitivity are most definite and real in the experience of disciples.
The first group of problems (those arising out of intense mental activity) are those of the pronounced intellectual and they range all the way from a narrow crystallised sectarianism to that psychological phenomenon called idee fixe. They are largely the problems of thought-form making, and by their means the man becomes the victim of that which he has himself constructed; he is the creature of a Frankenstein of his own creation. This tendency can be seen working out in all schools of thought and of cultures and is primarily applicable to the leader type of man and to the man who is independent in his thought life and, therefore, capable of clear thinking and the free movement of the chitta or mind stuff. It is necessary, therefore, in the coming days to deal with this particular problem, for minds will be met with increasing frequency. As the race proceeds towards a mental polarisation which will be as powerful as the present astral polarisation from which it is emerging, it will be found increasingly necessary to educate the race in:
Creative thought is not the same as creative feeling and this distinction is often not grasped. All that can be created in the future will be based upon the expression of ideas. This will be brought about, first of all, through thought perception, then through thought concretion and finally through thought vitalisation. It is only later that the created thought form will descend into the world of feeling and there assume the needed sensuous quality which will add colour and beauty to the already constructed thought form.
It is at this point that danger eventuates for the student. The thought form of an idea has been potently constructed. It has taken to itself also colour and beauty. It is, therefore, capable of holding a man both mentally and emotionally. If he has no sense of balance, no sense of proportion and no sense of humour, the thought form can become so potent that he finds he is an avowed devotee, unable to retreat from his position. He can see nothing and believe nothing and work for nothing except that embodied idea which is so powerfully holding him a captive. Such people are the violent partisans in any group, in any church, order or government. They are frequently sadistic in temperament and are the adherents of cults and sciences; they are willing to sacrifice or to damage anyone who seems to them inimical to their fixed idea of what is right and true. The men who engineered the Spanish Inquisition and those who were responsible for the outrages in the times of the Covenanters are samples of the worst forms of this line of thought and development.
I have no intention of dealing with problems of insanity. These exist and are of constant occurrence, and we esoterically divide them into three divisions:
These three forms of insanity, being incurable, will not permit of psychological help. All that can be done is the amelioration of the condition, the providing of adequate care of the patient and the protection of society until death shall bring to an end this interlude in the life of the soul. It is interesting to remember that these conditions are related far more to the karma of the parents or of those who have charge of the case than to the patient himself. In many of these cases, there is no person present within the form at all, but only an animated living body, informed by the animal soul but not by a human soul.
We are primarily engaged with those problems which arise in the mental nature of man and from his power to create in mental substance. There is one aspect of this difficulty to which I have not yet referred, and that is the potency of thought of such a case, and the dynamic stimulation of the mind which we are considering, to evoke response from the desire body and thus swing the entire lower nature into unison with the recognised mental urge and the dominant mental demand. This, when strong enough, may work out on the physical plane as powerful action and even violent action, and may lead a man into much trouble, into conflict with organised society, thus making him anti-social and at variance with the forces of law and order.
These people fall into three groups and it would be wise for students of psychology to study these types with care, for there is going to be an increasing number of them, because humanity is shifting its focus of attention more and more on to the mental plane:
his focused attention and period of thought.
result of his inner brooding along the chosen line.
These all vary in expression, because of the original equipment with which the man began his life of thought upon the mental plane. In the first case, you have genius; in the other (if paralleled by a rich emotional nature) you will have some creative imaginative production, and in the third case, you will have what will be regarded by the world as insanity, curable in time and not permanent in its effects, provided some form of creative imaginative emotional release is provided. This is often the struggle point of the 2nd, the 4th and the 6th ray personality.
Only two things can really help: First, the steady, loving presentation of a wider vision, which must be held before the man's eyes by some one who is so inclusive that understanding is the keynote of his life, or, secondly, by the action of a man's own soul. The first method takes much time and patience. The second method may be instantaneous in its effects, as in conversion, or it may be a gradual breaking down of the walls of thought by means of which a man has separated himself off from the rest of the world and from his fellowmen. The trumpets of the Lord, the soul, can sound forth and cause the walls of Jericho to fall. This task of evoking soul action of a dynamic character on behalf of an imprisoned personality, impregnably surrounded by a wall of mental matter, will constitute a part of the science of psychology which the future will see developed.
Problems arising from meditation, and its result: Illumination.
I would like first of all to point out that when I use the word meditation in this place I am using it in only one of its connotations. The intense mental focusing, producing undue mental emphasis, wrong attitudes and anti-social living, is also a form of meditation, but it is meditation carried forward entirely within the periphery of the small area of a particular man's mind. This is a statement of fact and of importance. This restricts him and leaves out all contact with other areas of mental perception and induces an intense one-pointed mental stimulation of a particularly powerful kind, and which has no outlet except towards the brain, via the desire nature.
The meditation to which we shall refer in this part of our study relates to a mental focusing and attitude which attempts to relate itself to that which lies beyond the individual's mental world. It is part of an effort to put him in touch with a world of being and phenomena which lie beyond. I am phrasing this in this manner so as to convey the ideas of expansion, of inclusion, and of enlightenment. Such expansions and attitude should not render a man anti-social or incarcerate him in a prison of his own making. They should make him a citizen of the world; they should induce in him a desire to blend and fuse with his fellowmen; they should awaken him to the higher issues and realities; they should pour light into the dark places of his life and into that of humanity as a whole. The problems which arise as a result of illumination are practically the reverse of those just considered. Nevertheless, they in their turn constitute real problems and, because the intelligent people of the world are learning to meditate today on a large scale they must be faced.
Again, let me remind you that the reason for this is that the man sees and knows and realises more than he is able to do simply as a personality, functioning in the three worlds, and so oblivious in any true sense to the world of soul activity. He has "let in" energies which are stronger than the forces of which he is usually aware. They are intrinsically strong, though not yet apparently the stronger, owing to the well established habits and the ancient rhythms of the personality forces with which the soul energy is brought into conflict. This necessarily leads to strain and difficulty, and unless there is a proper understanding of this battle, dire results may be produced, and with these the trained psychologist must be prepared to deal.
With the type and nature of the concentration, with the theme of the meditation, I will not deal, for I am considering here only results and not the methods for producing them. Suffice it to say, that the man's efforts in meditation have opened a door through which he can pass at will (and eventually with facility) into a new world of phenomena, of directed activity, and of different ideals. He has unlatched a window through which light can pour in, revealing that which is, and always has been, existent within the consciousness of man, and throwing illumination into the dark places of his life; into other lives; and into the environment in which he moves. He has released within himself a world of sound and of impressions which are at first so new and so different that he does not know what to make of them. His situation becomes one requiring much care and balanced adjustment.
Exhilaration is also sometimes found as a result of the contact with a new world, and strong mental stimulation. Depression is as frequently a result, based upon a sensed incapacity to measure up to the realised opportunity. The man sees and knows too much. He can no longer be satisfied with the old measure of living, with the old satisfactions, and with the old idealisms. He has touched and now longs for the larger measures, for the new and vibrant ideas, and for the broader vision. The way of life of the soul has gripped and attracts him. But his nature, his environment, his equipment and his opportunities appear somehow to frustrate him consistently, and he feels he cannot march forward into this new and wonderful world. He feels the need to temporise and to live in the same state of mind as heretofore, or so he thinks, and so he decides.
These expansions which he has undergone as the result of successful meditation need not be along the line of recognised religious effort, or produced by so-called occult revelation. They may come to him along the line of a man's chosen life activity, for there is no life activity, no vocational calling, no mental occupation and no condition which cannot provide the key to the unlocking of the door into the desired wider world, or serve to lead a man to the mountain top from which the wider horizon can be seen, and the larger vision grasped. A man must learn to recognise that his chosen school of thought, his peculiar vocation, his particular calling in life and his personal trend are only part of a greater whole, and his problem is to integrate consciously his small life activity into the world activity.
It is this we call illumination for lack of a better word. All knowledge is a form of light, for it throws light into areas of awareness of which we have hitherto been unconscious. All wisdom is a form of light, for it reveals to us the world of meaning which lies behind the outer form. All understanding is an evocation of light, for it causes us to become aware of, or conscious of, the causes which are producing the outer forms which surround us (including our own) and which condition the world of meaning of which they are the expression. But when this fact is first seen, grasped, and when the initial revelation has come, when the place of the part in relation to the whole is sensed, and when the world which includes our little world is first contacted, there is always a moment of crisis and a period of danger.
Then, as familiarity grows and our feet have wandered in and out of the door we have opened, and we have accustomed ourselves to the light which the unshuttered window has released into our little world of daily living, other psychological dangers eventuate. We are in danger of thinking that what we have seen is all there is to see, and thus—on a higher turn of the spiral and in a larger sense—we repeat the dangers earlier considered of undue emphasis, of wrong focus, of narrow minded belief, and idee fixe. We become obsessed with the idea of the soul; we forget its need of a vehicle of expression; we begin to live in an abstracted detached world of being and of feeling, and we fail to keep in contact with the factual life of physical plane expression. We thus repeat—again on a higher turn of the spiral—the condition we considered in which the soul or ego was not present, reversing the condition so that there is no form life really present in the focused consciousness of the man. There is only the world of souls and a desire for creative activity. The handling of daily living on the physical plane drops below the threshold of consciousness, and the man becomes a vague, impractical, visionary mystic. These states of mind are dangerous, if they are permitted to exist.
There are, however, certain phases of this mental trouble which are induced by the illumination of the mind through meditation with which it might be profitable to deal. In the handling of many of these cases, ordinary common sense is of value, and the effort to impress upon the patient that his troubles, though small in the beginning, can open the door to serious situations.
The first of these is the over-activity of the mind in quite a number of cases, which—sometimes with suddenness and sometimes—slowly grasps and sees too much. It becomes aware of too much knowledge. This produces irregularities in the organisation of the man's life, and interjects so much variation, so much fluidity and so much restlessness that he is forever in a seething turmoil. Let the man thus afflicted realise the futility of his mental life as he is living it. Then, choosing one of the many possible methods of work and one of the many channels of service whereby the sensed plan can be developed, let him force himself to bring it through into physical manifestation, letting all other possibilities drop. In this way, he can begin again to regulate and control his mind and to take his place among those who are accomplishing something—no matter how small the contribution may be. He becomes then constructive.
I have illustrated this type of difficulty in terms of the aspirant who, in meditation, comes into touch with the influences of the Hierarchy, and thus is in a position to tap the stream of thought forms created by Them and by Their disciples. But the same type of difficulty will be found among all those who (through discovery of the mental plane and the use of focused attention) penetrate into that larger world of ideas which are just ready to precipitate on to the concrete levels of mental substance. This accounts for the futility and the apparent arid fruitlessness of many quite intelligent people. They are occupied with so many possibilities that they end by achieving nothing. One plan carried through, one line of thought developed to its concrete conclusion, one mental process unfolded and presented in consciousness will save the situation, and bring creative usefulness into otherwise negative and futile lives. I use the word "negative" in this place to indicate a negativity in the achievement of results.
It should be realised that the man is suffering from a sort of mental fever, with its accompaniments of hallucination, over-activity, and mental irritability. The cure lies in the patient's own hands. It involves earnest application to one chosen plan to prove its effectiveness, using common sense and ordinary good judgment.
The second is the revelation of the maya of the senses. This maya is a generic term covering three aspects of the phenomenal life, of the three worlds or the three major results of force activity. These serve to bewilder the man and make difficult the lot of the earnest aspirant. It might be of value if I here defined for you the three terms which are applied to these three phenomenal effects: Illusion, Glamour and Maya.
Glamour has oft been regarded as a curious attempt of what are called the "black forces" to deceive and hoodwink well-meaning aspirants. Many fine people are almost flattered when they are "up against" some aspect of glamour, feeling that their demonstration of discipline has been so good that the black forces are interested sufficiently to attempt to hinder their fine work by submerging them in clouds of glamour. Nothing could be further from the truth. That idea is itself a part of the glamour of the present time, and has its root in human pride and satisfaction.
Maya is oft regarded as being of the same nature as the concept promulgated by the Christian Scientist that there is no such thing as matter. We are asked to regard the entire world phenomena as maya and to believe that its existence is simply an error of mortal mind, and a form of auto-suggestion or self- hypnotism. Through this induced belief, we force ourselves into a state of mind which recognises that the tangible and the objective are only figments of mans imaginative mind. This, in its turn, is likewise a travesty of reality.
lllusion is regarded in rather the same way, only (as we define it) we lay the emphasis upon the finiteness of man's mind. The world of phenomena is not denied, but we regard the mind as misinterpreting it and as refusing to see it as it is in reality. We consider this misinterpretation as constituting the Great Illusion.
I would point out here that (generally speaking) these three expressions are three aspects of a universal condition that is the result of the activity—in time and space—of the human mind.
The Problem of Illusion lies in the fact that it is a soul activity, and is the result of the mind aspect of all the souls in manifestation. It is the soul which is submerged in the illusion, and the soul that fails to see with clarity until such time as it has learnt to pour the light of the soul through into the mind and the brain.
The Problem of Glamour is found when the mental illusion is intensified by desire. What the theosophist calls "Kamamanas" produces glamour. It is illusion on the astral plane.
The Problem of Maya is really the same as above, plus the intense activity produced when both glamour and illusion are realised on etheric levels. It is that vital, unthinking, emotional mess (yes, that is the word I seek to use) in which the majority of human beings seem always to live. Therefore:
The vastness of the subject is overwhelming, and it takes time for the aspirant to learn the rules whereby he can find his way out of the worlds of glamour. I seek here only to deal with the theme as it produces effects in the life of the man who has evoked a measure of light within himself. This has served to reveal the three worlds of lower force to him. This revelation, in the early stages, oft deceives him and he becomes the victim of that which has been revealed. It might justly be remarked that all human beings are the victims of the Great Illusion and of its various correlations and aspects. In the cases which we are here considering, the difference lies in the fact that:
psychical phenomena. He regards it all as wonderful, revealing, true and desirable.
Because he has achieved integration and is able to function in the mind nature; because his orientation is good and right; because he is on the Path of Probation; and because he knows himself to be an aspirant and even a disciple, that which the lights reveals upon the astral plane, for instance, is naturally of a very high order. It is, consequently, most deceptive in its effects. Vast cosmic schemes which have emerged from the minds of thinkers in the past and which have succeeded in reaching the astral plane; the ancient forms embodying the "wish life" and the imaginary conceptions of the race and which are of such potency that they have persisted in the desire life of many; the symbolic forms employed down the ages in the attempt to materialise certain realities; the tentative and experimental forms of great and good endeavours which have been or are at this time being worked out, plus the life activity of the astral plane itself, the dream world of the planet—all this tends to preoccupy him and to lead him into danger and error. It retards his progress on the way and sidetracks his energies and attention.
It should be remembered that this constitutes the line of least resistance for the man because of the potency of the astral body in this world period. The result of all this is that the powers and faculties of the mind become over developed and what are called the "lower siddhis" (the lower psychic powers) begin to assert control. The man is, in reality, reverting to states of awareness and to conditions of functioning which were normal and right in Atlantean times, but undesirable and unnecessary in our day. He is recovering, through stimulation, ancient habits of psychic awareness which should lie normally below the threshold of consciousness.
The light has revealed this world of phenomena to him; he deems it desirable and interprets its activities as a wonderful spiritual development within himself. This stimulation by the mind (itself stimulated in meditation) as it turns downward on to the astral plane, evokes the renewed and the reawakened active reaction from the lower powers. It is as definitely a recovery and as definitely undesirable as are some of the Hatha-yoga practices in India which enable the yogin to recover the conscious control of his bodily functions. This conscious control was a distinguishing mark of the early Lemurian races but for ages the activity of the body-organs has lain, most desirably and safely, below the threshold of consciousness, and the body performs its functions automatically and unconsciously, except in the case of disease or maladjustment of some kind. It is not intended that the race (when the work of this present cycle is accomplished) should function consciously in forgotten areas of awareness, as did the Lemurian or the Atlantean races. It is intended that men should function as Caucasians, though no really satisfactory term has yet been coined to distinguish the race which is developing under the impact of our occidental civilization. I am referring to states of consciousness and realms of awareness which are the prerogative of all races and peoples at certain stages of development, and I only use the three, scientific, racial nomenclatures as symbols of these stages:
The Lemurian consciousness - physical.
The Atlantean consciousness - astral, emotional, sensuous.
The Caucasian or Aryan - mental or intellectual.
The man who is suffering from the revelations of light in the three worlds (particularly in the astral world) is, therefore, really doing two things:
I would like to pause here and point out two things which should be borne in mind:
First, that many people are today living in the Atlantean state of awareness, in the Atlantean consciousness and for them the expression of these lower psychic powers is normal, though undesirable. For the man who is a mental type or who is overcoming gradually the psychic nature, these powers are abnormal (or should I say subnormal) and most undesirable. In this discussion with which we are now engaged, I am not dealing with the man with the Atlantean consciousness but with the modern aspirant. For him to develop the previous racial consciousness and to revert to the lower type of development (which should have been left far behind) is dangerous and retarding. It is a form of atavistic expression.
Secondly: that when a man is firmly polarised upon the mental plane, when he has achieved some measure of contact with the soul, and when his entire orientation is towards the world of spiritual realities and his life is one of discipline and service, then, at times, and when necessary, he can at will call into use these lower psychic powers in the service of the Plan and in order to do some special work upon the astral plane. But this is a case where the greater consciousness includes normally the lesser consciousness. This is however seldom done even by the adepts, for the powers of the soul—spiritual perception, telepathic sensitivity and psychometrical facility—are usually adequate to the demand and the need to be met. I interject these remarks, as there are some enlightened men who use these powers, but it is always along the line of some specific service to the Hierarchy and humanity, and not along any line connected with the individual.
When a man has wandered into the bypaths of the astral plane, and has left the secure place of mental poise and intellectual altitude (again I am speaking symbolically) when he has succumbed to glamour and illusion (usually being quite sincerely deceived and well-intentioned) and when he has unfolded in himself—through misapplied stimulation and experiment—old habits of contact, such as clairvoyance and clairaudience, what can he do, or what shall be done to him to bring about right conditions?
Many of these people find their way into the hands of psychologists and psychiatrists; many are to be found today in our sanitariums and asylums, placed there because they "saw things" or heard voices, or dreamed dreams, and because they had unfitted themselves for normal living. They appear to be a danger, both to themselves and to others. They constitute a problem and a difficulty. The ancient habits must be dropped, but because of their antiquity they are very powerful, and to drop them is easier said than done. The practices whereby the lower psychic powers have been developed must be given up. If these faculties of response to an environing astral world appear to have been developed with no difficulty and to be natural to the man, they should nevertheless be discontinued and the avenues of approach to this lower world of phenomena should be closed. If human beings make so poor a success of living consciously on the physical plane and in handling the phenomena there contacted, and if the life of mental attention and mental living is still so difficult to the vast majority, why complicate the problem by trying to live in a world of phenomena which is admittedly the most powerful at this time?
The task of release from the thralldom of astral sensitivity is unique and stupendous. The details of the method whereby it can be done are too numerous for us to consider them here. But certain words hold the keynotes of release and three basic suggestions will aid the psychologist in dealing with these types of difficulty. The words which hold the secret are:
The nature of the human response apparatus in the three worlds should be carefully explained to the man who is in difficulty and the distinction between the Lemurian, the Atlantean and the Caucasian consciousness should be made clear to him, if possible. His pride of place upon the ladder of evolution should be evoked at this point again if possible, and it will prove a constructive evocation. The effort to focus his attention should be progressively and sympathetically attempted. According to his type so will the effort be directed to focusing his attention and directing his interest upon the physical plane or the mental plane, thus directing it away from the intermediate plane. Definite physical or mental occupation (again arranged according to type) should be arranged and the man forced to occupy himself in some chosen manner.
The three suggestions I would make to the psychologist or the mental healer are:
Problems of guidance, dreams, and depression.
I am dealing with these problems because of their exceeding prevalence at this time, due to the activities of various religiously or psychologically motivated groups, to the trend of certain schools, dedicated to the spread of religion or of psychology, and to the present world situation which has plunged so many sensitive people into a state of lowered spiritual vitality, accompanied usually by lowered physical vitality. This condition is widespread and based on wrong economic conditions. I am dealing with these before we take up our fourth point, The Diseases and Problems of Mystics, as they form an intermediate group, including many intelligent and well-intentioned citizens.
The Problem of Guidance is a peculiarly difficult one to handle, for it is based on an innate instinctive recognition of the fact of God and of God's Plan. This inherent, instinctual, spiritual reaction is being exploited today by many well meaning reformers who have, however, given no real attention to the subject, or to the phenomena of the outer response to a subjective urge. They are, in the majority of cases, blind leaders of the blind. We might define the problem of guidance as the problem of the method whereby a man, through processes of auto-suggestion, throws himself into a state of negativity and (whilst in that state) becomes aware of inclinations, urges, voices, clearly impressed commands, revelations of courses of conduct which should be pursued or of careers which should be followed, plus a general indication of lines of activity which "God" is proposing to the attentive, negative, receptive subject. In this state of almost sublimated awareness to the insistent demands of the subjective realms of being or of thought, the man is swept into a current of activity which may succeed in permanently orienting his life (often quite harmlessly and sometimes most desirably) or which may have only a temporary effect, once the urge of response has exhausted itself. But in any case, the source of the direction and the origin of the guidance is vaguely called "God", is regarded as divine, is spoken of as the voice of the "Christ within", or as spiritual direction. Many analogous terms are used, according to the school of thought to which the man may belong, or which has succeeded in attracting his attention.
We shall see this tendency towards subjective guidance of some kind or another developing increasingly as humanity becomes more subjectively oriented, more definitely aware of the realms of inner being, and more inclined towards the world of meaning. It is for this reason that I desire to make a relatively careful analysis of the possible sources of guidance so that at least men may know that the whole subject is vaster and more complicated than they had thought, and that it would be the part of wisdom to ascertain the origin of the guidance vouchsafed, and so know, with greater definiteness, the direction in which they were headed. Forget not that the blind, unreasoning subjecting of oneself to guidance renders a man eventually a negative impressionable automaton.
Should this become universally prevalent and the present methods become established habits, the race would forfeit its most divine possession, i.e., free will. There is no immediate fear of this, however, if the intelligent men and women of the world think this problem out. Also there are too many egos of advanced nature coming into incarnation at this time to permit the danger to grow out of all bounds, and there are too many disciples in the world today whose voices are ringing loudly and clearly along the lines of free choice, and the intelligent comprehension of God's plan.
It might be of profit if I indicated anew the various schools of thought who feature "guidance" or whose methods and doctrines tend to the development of an inner attentive ear, and yet who fail to teach the distinctiveness of the sources of guidance, or to differentiate between the various sounds, voices and
so-called inspired indications which that attentive ear may be trained to register.
The emotionally inclined people in the Churches of all denominations and persuasions are ever prone to find a way of escape from the troubles and difficulties of life by living always with a sense of the guiding Presence of God, coupled to a blind acquiescence in what is generalised as the "will of God". The practice of the Presence of God is most definitely a desirable and needed step but people should understand what it means and steadily change the sense of duality into the sense of identification. The will of God can take the form of the imposition of life circumstance and conditions from which there is no possible escape; the subject of this imposition accepts it and does literally nothing to improve or truly better (and perhaps avoid) the circumstances. Their destiny and situation is interpreted by them as such that within the imposed ring-pass-not and lines of limitation they determine placidly, submissively to live. A spirit of submission and acquiescence is inevitably developed, and by calling the situation in which they find themselves an expression of God's will they are enabled to bear it all. In some of the more sublimated states of this acquiescence, the sensitively inclined person voices his submission, but fails to recognise that the voice is his own. He regards it as God's voice. For them, the way of understanding, the recognition of the great Law of Cause and Effect (working out from life to life) and the interpretation of the problem in terms of a lesson to be mastered would spell release from negativity and blind, unintelligent acceptance. Life does not demand acquiescence and acceptance. It demands activity, the separation of the good and high values from the undesirable, the cultivation of that spirit of fight which will produce organisation, understanding, and eventual emergence into a realm of useful spiritual activity.
People who participate in the activity of those schools of thought which are called by many names such as Mental Science schools, New Thought groups, Christian Science and other similar bodies are also prone to drift into a state of negativity, based on auto-suggestion. The constant re-iteration of the voiced, but unrealised, fact of divinity will eventually evoke a response from the form side of life which (even if it is not worded guidance) is, nevertheless, the recognition of a form of guidance and leaves no scope for free will. This is a reaction on a large scale, from the one dealt with above.
Whereas in the one case there is found a blind acceptance of an undesirable lot because it is the will of God and that Will therefore must be good and right, in the second group there is an attempt to stir the subjective man into the acceptance of a definitely opposite condition. He is taught that there are no wrong conditions except as he himself creates them; that there is no pain and nothing undesirable; he is urged to recognise that he is divine and the heir of the ages and that the wrong conditions, limited circumstances and unhappy occurrences are the result of his own creative imagination. He is told they are really non-existent.
In the two schools of thought, the truth about destiny as it works out under the Law of Cause and Effect and the truth about man's innate divinity are taught and emphasised, but, in both cases, the man himself is a negative subject, and the victim either of a cruel fate or of his divinity. I am wording this with deliberation because I am anxious for my readers to realise that destiny never intended man to be a helpless victim of circumstance or the self-hypnotised tool of an affirmed, but undeveloped, divinity. Man is intended to be the intelligent arbiter of his own destiny, and a conscious exponent of his own innate divinity, of the God within.
Again, schools of esotericists, theosophists and rosicrucians (particularly in their inner schools) have also their own forms of this illusion of guidance. It is of a different nature to the two dealt with above, but the results are nevertheless of much the same quality and reduce the student to a condition of being guided, often of being directed, by illusionary voices. Frequently the heads of the organisation claim to be in direct communication with a Master or the entire Hierarchy of Masters, from whom orders come. These orders are passed on to the rank and file of the membership of the organisation and prompt unquestioning obedience is expected from them. Under the system of training, imparted under the name of esoteric development, the goal of a similar relationship to the Master or the Hierarchy is held out as an inducement to work or to meditation practice, and some day the aspirant is led to believe that he will hear his Master's voice, giving him guidance, telling him what to do and outlining to him his participation in various roles.
Much of the psychological difficulties found in esoteric groups can be traced to this attitude and to the holding out to the neophyte of this glamorous hope. In view of this, I cannot too strongly re-iterate the following facts:
own soul and not with the Master.
All these differentiations relate to grades of work and not to grades of persons; they indicate soul expansions but not graded contacts with personalities. According to the realised soul development upon the physical plane will be the response to the world of souls of which the occult Hierarchy is the heart and mind. The guidance to which the adherents of many esoteric schools so often respond is not that of the Hierarchy but that of the astral reflection of the Hierarchy; they respond therefore to an illusory, distorted, man-made presentation of a great spiritual fact. They could, if they so chose, respond to the reality.
The result of all this is twofold. One is the development of a spirit of great hopefulness among the spiritual workers of the world as they note how rapidly humanity is turning towards the world of right meaning, of true spiritual values and of esoteric phenomena. They realise that in spite of errors and mistakes, the whole trend of the racial consciousness today is "inwards towards the Centre of spiritual life and peace." The other result or recognition is that during this process of re-adjustment to the finer values, periods of real danger transpire and that unless there is some immediate understanding of the psychological conditions and possibilities and that unless the mentality of the race is evoked on the side of understanding and common sense, we shall have to pass through a cycle of profound, psychological, and racial disturbance before the end of this century. Two factors today are, for instance, having a deep psychological effect upon humanity:
Therefore, it is of real value to us to study the sources from which much of this so-called "guidance" can come. For the sake of clarity and impressiveness, I propose to list these sources very briefly and without any prolonged comment. This will give the earnest and intelligent investigator the opportunity to realise that the whole theme is vaster and far more important than has been surmised and may lead to a more careful analysis of the "types of guidance" and an understanding of the possible directing agencies to which the poor and ignorant neophyte may fall a victim.
solar plexus.
Dreams
We will now touch upon the subject of dreams, which is assuming such importance in the minds of certain prominent psychologists and in certain schools of psychology. It is not my intention to criticise or attack their theories in any way. They have arrived at a most important and indicative fact—the fact of the interior, inner subjective life of humanity, which is based on ancient memories, on present teachings, and on contacts of various kinds.
A true understanding of the dream-life of humanity would establish three facts:
The origin of the word "dream" is in itself debateable and nothing really sure and proved is known. Yet what is inferred and suggested is of itself of real significance. In a great standard authority, Webster's Dictionary, two origins of the word are given. One traces the word back to a Sanskrit root, meaning "to harm or to hurt"; the other traces it back to an old Anglo-Saxon root, signifying "joy or bliss." Is there not a chance, that both derivations have in them a measure of truth, and that in their mutual tracing back to some most ancient origin and root we should discover a real meaning? In any case two thoughts emerge from an understanding study of these derivations.
The first is that dreams were originally regarded as undesirable, probably because they revealed or indicated, in the majority of cases, the astral life of the dreamer. In Atlantean times, when man was basically astral in his consciousness, his outer physical consciousness was largely controlled by his dreams. In those days, the guidance of the daily life, of the religious life, and of the psychological life (such as it was) was founded on a lost science of dreams, and it is this lost science (little as he may like the idea) which the modern psychologist is rapidly recovering and seeking to interpret. Most of the people who find themselves needing the care and instruction of the psychologist are Atlantean in consciousness, and it is this fact which has predisposed the psychologist unconsciously to lay the present emphasis upon dreams and their interpretation.
May I point out again that the true psychology will only appear and right techniques be used when psychologists ascertain (as a first and needed measure) the rays, the astrological implications and the type of consciousness (Aryan or Atlantean) of the patient.
However, as time elapsed, the dreams of the more intelligent minds became of an increasingly forward- looking, idealistic nature; these, as they came to the surface and were remembered and recorded, began to control the brain of man so that the Anglo-Saxon emphasis on joy and bliss eventually became descriptive of many so-called dreams. We have then the emergence of the utopias, the fantasies, the idealistic presentations of future beauty and joy which distinguishes the thought life of the advanced human being, and which find their expression in such presented (and as yet unfulfilled) hopes as Plato's Republic, Milton's Paradise Regained and the best Utopian, idealistic creative productions of our Western poets and writers. Thus Occident and Orient together present a theory of dreams—of a lower astral or higher intuitional nature—which are a complete picture of the wish life of the race. These range all the way from the dirty ideas and the bestial filth, drawn forth at times from their patients by psychologists (thus revealing a wish life and an astral consciousness of a very low order), up to the idealistic schemes and the carefully thought-out paradises and cosmic orders of the higher types of aspirants. All, however, come into the realm of Dreams. This is true, whether such dreams are tied up with frustrated sex or unfulfilled idealism; they are all indicative of an urge, a powerful urge, either to selfish satisfaction or group betterment and group welfare.
These dreams can embody in themselves ancient astral illusions and glamours, potent and strong because of ancient origin and racial desire, or they can embody the sensitive response of advanced humanity to systems and regimes of existence which are hovering on the borderland of manifestation, awaiting future precipitation and expression.
This will indicate to you how vast is this subject, for it includes not only the past astral habits of the race, ready—when given certain pathological conditions or fostered by fretting frustrations—to assert themselves, but they also include the ability of the spiritually-minded aspirant in the world today to touch the intended plans for the race and thus see them as desirable possibilities.
Having thus indicated the scope of our theme, I would like to point out that I seek only, in the limited space at my disposal, to do two things:
The major cause of a distressing dream life is, in every case, a frustration or an inability of the soul to impose its wishes and designs upon its instrument, the man. Where these three types of frustration exist, you will frequently have a vivid, unwholesome dream life, physical liabilities of many kinds and a steadily deepening unhappiness. These frustrations fall into three categories:
You will note that all these frustrations are, as might be expected, simply expressions of frustrated desire, and it is in this particular field (tied up as it is with the Atlantean consciousness) that the work of the modern psychologist primarily and necessarily lies. In an effort to bring the patient to an understanding of his difficulty and in line with that which constitutes the way of least resistance, the psychologist endeavours to relieve the situation by teaching him to evoke and bring to the surface of his consciousness forgotten episodes and his dream life.
Two important facts are sometimes forgotten and hence constitute a fruitful source of the frequent failure to bring relief. First, the patient as he descends into the depths of his dream life, will bring to the surface not only those things which are undesirable in his unrecognised "wish-life" but also those which were present in previous lives. He is penetrating into a very ancient astral past. Not only is this the case, but also—through the open door of his own astral life—he can tap or tune in on the astral life of the race. He then succeeds in producing the emergence of racial evil which may have absolutely no personal relation to him at all. This is definitely a dangerous thing to do, for it may prove stronger than the man's present capacity to handle.
Secondly, in his desire to be freed from the things in himself which are producing trouble, in his desire to please the psychologist (which is encouraged by certain of them under the method of "transference") and in his desire to produce what he believes the psychologist wants him to produce, he will frequently draw upon his personal imagination, upon the collective imagination or, telepathically, tune in on the imagination of the one who is seeking to treat and help him. He, therefore, produces something which is basically untrue and misleading.
I would like, at this point, to make what I feel to be a needed and suggestive interpolation. There are three main ways in which the person who seeks psychological aid can be helped and this is true of all types and cases. There is, first of all, the method with which we have been dealing. This method delves into the patients past; it seeks to unearth the basic determining conditions which lie hidden in the happenings of childhood or infancy. These discovered events, it is held, gave a wrong direction or twist to the desire nature or to the thought life; they initiated predisposing germ-complexes, and therefore constitute the source of all the trouble. This method (even if the psychologist does not realise it) can carry over into past lives, and thus open doors which it might be well to leave shut until they can be more safely opened.
The second method which is sometimes combined with the previous one is to fill the present moment with constructive creative occupation and so drive out the undesirable elements in the life through the dynamic expulsive power of new and paramount, engrossing interests. I would like to point out that this method could be more safely applied if the subjective dream life and the hidden difficulties were left untreated—temporarily at least. This method is (for the average ordinary person who is pure Atlantean in consciousness but is just beginning to develop mental activity) usually a sound and safe way to work, provided the psychologist can gain the understanding cooperation of the person concerned.
The third method, which has the sanction of the Hierarchy and which is the one its members employ in Their work, is to bring in consciously the power of the soul. This power then pours through the personality life, vehicles and consciousness, and thus cleanses and purifies all aspects of the lower nature. It will be apparent to you, however, that this method is of use only to those who have reached the point in their unfoldment (and there are many such today) where the mind can be reached and trained, and where the soul can consequently impress the brain, via the mind.
If these three methods are studied, you can arrive at an understanding as to the three systems which psychologists could elaborate and develop in order to handle the three types of modern consciousness—the Lemurian, which is the lowest found upon our planet at this time; the Atlantean, which is the commonest found today, and the Aryan, which is developing and unfolding with great rapidity. At present, psychologists are using the lowest type of aid for all groups and states of consciousness.
The Source of Dreams
The question now arises as to the source of dreams. Again, as in those cases we considered in connection with the sources of guidance, I shall simply enumerate such origins and leave the student of psychology to make adequate application of the information, when faced with a dream problem. These sources are ten in number and could be enumerated as follows:
The effort to make people dream and to train them to recover their dream life when they are naturally sound sleepers, and drop easily into deep and dreamless sleep is not good. The evocation of the dream life, as brought about through the methods of certain schools of psychology, should only be brought about forcibly (if one may use this word in that connection) through the determination of the will during the later stages upon the Path. To do so earlier produces frequently a kind of continuity of consciousness which adds the complexities of the astral plane to those of daily living upon the physical plane; few people are competent to handle the two and, when there is persistence in the endeavor to evoke the dream life, the brain cells get no rest and forms of sleeplessness are apt to supervene. Nature wills that all forms of life should "sleep" at times.
We now come to two forms of dreams which are related to the astral or emotional nature and which are of great frequency.
One difficulty can, however, be found. These thought forms (to which the man has responded and in which he has found an imaginative satisfaction) embody the expression of the wish-life of the race and exist, therefore, upon the astral plane for all to see. Many people do see and contact them and can identify themselves with them upon returning to waking consciousness. In fact, however, they have really done no more than register these thought forms in the same manner as one can register the contents of a shop window when passing by. A shocked horror can, for instance, induce a person to relate, quite innocently, a dream which is, in reality, no more than the registering of a sight or experience which was witnessed in the hours of sleep but with which the man has no real connection whatever. This experience he relates with dismay and disgust; most feelingly he tells the experience to the psychologist, and frequently receives an interpretation which reveals to him the depths of evil to which his unrealised desires apparently bear witness. His unexpressed longings are "brought to the surface" by the psychologist. He is told that these longings, when faced, will then leave him, and that the ghost of his mental and psychological disorder will then be laid. Unless the psychologist is of real enlightenment, the subject of his care is then saddled with an experience which was never his but which he simply witnessed. I give this as an example of great frequency and of much damaging value. Until psychologists recognise the actuality of the life of humanity when separated at night from the physical body, such errors will be of increasing occurrence.
The man's dreams will then be, in reality nothing more nor less than the relation of the continuance of the days activities, as they have been carried forward on the astral plane. They will be simply the record, registered on the physical brain, of his doings and emotions, his purposes and intentions, and his recognised experiences. They are as real and as true as any of those which have been recorded by the brain, during waking hours. They are, nevertheless, only partial records in the majority of cases, and mixed in nature, for the glamours, illusions and the perceptions of the doings of others (as recorded in the second category of dreams above) will still have some effect. This condition of mixed recording, of erroneous identifications, etc., leads to much difficulty. The psychologist has to make allowance for:
Where advanced aspirants and disciples are concerned, we have a somewhat different situation. The demonstrated integration has involved the mind nature and is involving the soul likewise. The activity, registered, recorded and related, is that of a server upon the astral plane. The activities which interest a world server are, therefore, quite different in nature to those earlier experienced and related. They will be concerned with deeds which are related to other people, to the fulfillment of duties involving other people, to the teaching of groups rather than individuals, etc. These differences, when carefully studied, will be recognised by the psychologist of the future (who will necessarily be also an esotericist) as most revealing because they will indicate in an interesting manner, the spiritual status and hierarchical relationship of the patient.
Dreams which are of mental origin are fundamentally of three kinds:
I cannot do more than thus indicate the nature of these three basic mental experiences which find their way into the dream life of the man on the physical plane. These are given expression by him in the form of related dreams, creative work, and the expression of the ideals which are building the human consciousness.
from the body, and it is carried on:
These phases and spheres of activity are very real in nature. Aspirants who succeed in functioning with any measure of consciousness on the astral plane are all occupied, at some level or another, with some form of constructive activity or work. This activity, selfishly performed (for many aspirants are selfish) or unselfishly carried forward, constitutes much of the material of many of the so-called dreams, as related by the average intelligent citizen. They warrant no more attention or mysteriously applied interpretation or symbolic elucidation than do the current activities and events of daily life as carried on in waking consciousness upon the physical plane. They are of three kinds:
This category of dreams is becoming increasingly prevalent as the alignment of the astral body and the physical body is perfected and continuity of consciousness is slowly developed. The activity involves religious activity, sexual living in its many phases (for not all of them are physical, though all of them are related to the problem of the polar opposites and the essential duality of manifestation) political activity, creative and artistic activity and the many other forms of human expression. They are as varied and as diverse as those in which humanity indulges on the physical plane; they are the source of much confusion in the mind of the psychologist and need most careful consideration and analysis.
We come now to a group of dreams which are a part of the experience of those people who have made a definite soul contact and are in process of establishing a close link with the world of souls. The "things of the kingdom of God" are opening up before them and the phenomena, the happenings, the ideas, and the life and knowledge of the soul realm are being registered with increasing accuracy in the mind. From the mind, they are being transferred to or imprinted upon the brain cells. We have therefore:
7. Dreams which are dramatisation. This type of dream is a symbolic performance by the soul for the purpose of giving instruction, warning or command to its instrument, man, on the physical plane. These dramatic or symbolic dreams are becoming increasingly numerous in the case of aspirants and disciples, particularly in the early stages of soul contact. They can express themselves in the hours of sleep and also during the meditation period or process. Only the man himself, from his knowledge of himself, can rightly interpret this class of dreams. It will be apparent to you also that the ray type of the soul and of the personality will largely determine the type of symbolism or the nature of the dramatisation employed. This must be determined, therefore, by the psychologist before interpretation can be intelligently given and prove useful.
A consideration of all the above will indicate to you the complexity of the subject. The superficial student or the mystically inclined person is apt to feel that all these technicalities are of minor importance. The charge is often made that the "jargon" of occultism and its academic information is of no true importance where knowledge of the divine is concerned. It is claimed that it is not necessary to know about the planes and their various levels of consciousness, or about the Law of Rebirth and the Law of Attraction; it is an unnecessary tax upon the human mind to study the technical foundation for a belief in brotherhood, or to consider our distant origin and our possible future. It is nevertheless just possible that if the mystics down the ages had recognised these truths we might have had a better managed world.
That good can come from evil, that the bad effects of man's mental laziness can be transmuted into teaching points in the future and that humanity is now intelligent enough to learn wisdom will be the result of the widespread dissemination of the academic truths of the esoteric teaching and its correct interpretation by the trained minds in the Occident. The East has had this teaching for ages and has produced numerous commentaries upon it—the work of the finest analytical minds that the world has ever seen—but it has made no mass use of the knowledge, and the people in the Orient do not profit by it, as a whole. It will be different in the West and is already modifying and influencing human thought on a large scale; it is permeating the structure of our civilisation and will eventually salvage it. Be not, therefore, afraid of the technicalities of wisdom but seek for the reason of the undesirable reaction against them in the latent inertia of the mystical mind, plus the lowered vital condition of the entire race.
Depression
This brings me to a point I would seek to touch upon: that of the widespread depression which is so seriously affecting the whole of humanity. The physical vitality of the races is low, or it is being whipped up into a better condition by the imposition of applied thought. Instead of drawing upon the resources of vitality, stored up in the soil, in food, fresh air and outer environing conditions, men are beginning to draw it from the etheric body itself through the galvanising effect of two things: ideas, as they are presented to them, thereby aligning mind and brain and incidentally stimulating the etheric body; mass impetus or contact which swings the unit into line with mass intention and opens up to him therefore the vast resources of mass intention. This enables him to feed his etheric body at the general etheric centre of power. This can be seen happening in its initial stage in practically every country. In the interim, however, between the establishing of the facility to tap at will the inner sources of vital stimulation and the changing of the old conditions, the masses of the people are left with neither source of sustenance available for their helping. They are consequently depleted, full of fear, and unable to do more than stand ready and hope for a better future for the next generation.
No general covering solution has yet appeared. But inevitably it will, and when it does it will be the direct result of the activity of the New Group of World Servers. It will be a slow process, for humanity is entering into what may be regarded as a long convalescence. It will be brought about in three ways:
Servers. The healing power of such realisations is immense.
We come now to one of the most valuable and practical parts of our study upon the effects of the seven rays of energy as they make their presence felt in the human unit, and particularly as they affect the aspirant, disciple and mystic. During the past three decades, much has been written upon the pathology of the mystic and the physiological disturbances accompanying the mystical experience; much has also been investigated in connection with the neurotic characteristics which are frequently to be found in the spiritually polarised person and the inexplicable conditions which seem to exist—mentally, emotionally and physically—along with deep spiritual knowledge, definite mystical phenomena and high aspiration for divine contact. These conditions are increasing with great rapidity. More and more people are, for instance, becoming clair-voyant and clair-audient, and these reactions to stimulation and these expressions of innate powers are regarded as evidence of mental derangement, of delusions and hallucinations, and sometimes of insanity.
Certain nervous complaints, affecting at times the muscular equipment and other parts of the human body, will be found eventually to have their origin in over- stimulation; instead then of being handled (as they now are) by imposed processes of rest, by the use of soporifics, and other forms of treatment, the patient will he taught methods of divorcing himself temporarily from the source of this mystical or spiritual potency; or he may be taught how to deflect these forces which are pouring into and through the various centres to those centres which can more safely handle them, thus producing a more even distribution of energy. He will also be taught how to use them effectively in outer service. Forms of nervous inflammation and neuritis will be regarded as symptoms of the wrong use made of the energy available in the human equipment or of undue emphasis upon it. We shall discover the sources of certain disorders and find that the difficulty lies in the centres which are found near to the particular organ in the body which seems outwardly to be responsible for the trouble. This is noticeably true in connection with certain forms of heart trouble and brain tensions and, of course, all cases of hypertension. It is true likewise in relation to the metabolism of the body which can be seriously thrown out of balance by the over-stimulation of the throat centre, with consequent evil effects upon the thyroid gland—that master gland which is related to the transference of the various forces (found in the body) to the head. There are two major centres definitely connected with the fact of transference:
There are three aspects connected with this whole subject of the diseases and difficulties of the mystical life which it would be well to bear in mind. Those people who are concerned with the education and training of children or with the esoteric training of the world disciples and aspirants should study the matter with care; they should attempt to understand the causes of many of the nervous complaints and pathological conditions found in the advanced people of the world, plus the problems arising out of the premature development of the lower psychic powers as well as the unfoldment of the higher faculties. The problem, therefore, involves people at all stages of unfoldment and they should carefully consider them from the standpoint of energy activity—a thing which has been little done as yet.
The first of these three aspects could be stated as follows: We are passing at this time through a transition period wherein old energies are passing out and new ray influences are coming in. We are transiting into a new sign of the zodiac. Therefore, the impact of the new forces, plus the withdrawal of the old, is apt to produce clearly felt effects upon humanity, as a whole, and upon mystics and aspirants in particular, and cause definite reactions. With these we shall shortly deal when we consider the influence of the rays today and in the Aquarian Age.
Secondly, the present world problem, the fear and deep anxiety, and the suffering and pain which are so widespread, are producing a mixed and dual result. These two results (with all their intermediate stages) are:
There is, therefore, a mass effect and an individual effect and these two must be more carefully borne in mind. This process of externalisation can be seen working out in all the clamour and in the ardent and oft noisy psychology of the great national movements and experiments, going on today all over the world. Simultaneously, individuals in all these countries and in practically every land are learning a needed (and sometimes enforced) suppression, control of speech and other restraining reactions; they are being turned definitely inward through force of circumstances and in such a powerful manner that—if you could see the play of forces as we on the inner side can see them—you would become aware of these two great movements being carried forward in the three worlds of human endeavour, as if they were opposing currents of force:
It is this dual movement—outward and inward—which is the source of much of the present world crisis. The effect of this "pull" in two directions is having a serious effect upon sensitive individuals. They are pulled in two directions: outward by the pull of the mass consciousness, and by the force of the political, economic and social life of the race; inwards by the pull of the world of higher values, by the kingdom of souls, by the organised work of the spiritual Hierarchy, aided by the age-old religious consciousness.
Psychologists would do well to study their patients from the angle of these two diverging energies. They would thus offset the tendency to cleavage which is one of the major anxieties of the spiritual Workers at this time. In the stress and strain of modern living, men are apt to think that the major task and the most important duty today is to make life more bearable and thus easier for humanity to live. To the spiritual Hierarchy of our planet, the major task is so to safeguard mankind that, when this period of transition is over and the forces that are withdrawing their influences have ceased entirely to have an effect upon humanity, there will be fusion and not cleavage to be found in the world. Thus the kingdom of God and the kingdom of men will be fusing rapidly into a dual manifesting expression. The incoming force will then be stabilised and its note clearly heard.
The third factor to he considered by the man who is working towards the well-being of his fellows is the study of the effects of the new incoming forces upon the present mechanism of man. This is not yet being done but is a determining factor in the successful development of the human unit. Therefore, it is of vital importance to educators, psychologists, parents and esotericists. There is, however, as yet no real recognition of the fact and the urgency of these incoming forces, nor is there any appreciation of the potency of the energies emanating from:
I would like to remind you also that the problem of the human being is essentially and basically the problem of consciousness or awareness. The five aspects of man:
are basically only open doors into the larger whole of which the individual unit is a part. They put the man into relation with the divine expression and manifestation in the same way that his five senses put him in touch with the tangible world and enable him thus to share the general life.
4. Diseases and Problems of Disciples and Mystics
Those of you who have read my other books and treatises will know how immense is the subject with which we are concerned and how little is yet known and taught anent the centres and their force emanations and the activity of the vital or etheric body which is the receiver and the distributor of energies. These energies determine and condition the circumstances and the physique of the human being and produce the phenomenal manifestation of man upon the physical plane, plus his inherent characteristics. One thing I would like here to point out and will later elucidate and that is the relation of the various centres to the rays. This is as follows:
Ray One Power or Will Head centre
Ray Two Love-Wisdom Heart centre
Ray Three Active Intelligence Throat centre
Ray Four Harmony through Conflict Ajna centre
Ray Five Concrete Knowledge Sacral centre
Ray Six Devotion Solar plexus
Ray Seven Ceremonial Order Base of spine
I would ask you to realise five facts:
The whole process is, as you can see, one of development, use and transference, as is the case in all evolutionary development. There are two major transferring centres in the etheric body—the solar plexus and the throat—and one master centre through which the energy of the soul must pour when the right time comes, pouring consciously and with the full awareness of the disciple. That centre is the head centre, called in the Eastern philosophy "the thousand-petalled lotus". The problem of the average man is, therefore, connected with the solar plexus. The problem of the disciple, the advanced aspirant and the initiate of the lower degrees is connected with the creative centre, the throat.
I would here remind students that the following three points, related to the transference of energy, must be borne in mind:
All the centres in the body are then swept into ordered activity by the forces of love and will. Then takes place the final transference of all the bodily and psychic energies into the head centre through the awakening of the centre at the base of the spine. Then the great Polar opposites, as symbolised and expressed by the head centre (the organ of spiritual energy) and the centre at the base of the spine (the organ of the material forces) are fused and blended and from this time on the man is controlled only from above, by the soul.
There are, consequently, two points to be borne in mind as we study the mystic and his difficulties; first of all, the period of awakening and subsequent utilisation of the centres and, secondly, the period of the transference of energy from the solar plexus to the heart, and then from all the four centres up the spine to the throat centre, prior to the focusing of the energy of all the centres in the ajna centre (between the eyebrows). This centre is the controlling one in the personality life and from it goes all personality direction and guidance to the five lower centres which it synthesises. Each of these stages brings with it its own difficulties and problems. We shall, however, concern ourselves with these problems only as they affect present opportunity or hinder the man who finds himself upon the Path and is, therefore, taking his own evolution in hand. Then he stands "midway between the pairs of opposites" and this means (as far as our particular interest at this time is concerned) that we shall find three stages in the mystical work, each of which will mark a definite point of crisis, with its attendant tests and trials:
Period ------------- The later stages of the Path of Probation and the early stages of the Path of Discipleship.
Keynote ----------- Discipline.
Objective ---------- Idealism, plus personality effort. Purification and control.
Period -------------The later stages of the Path of Discipleship and up till the time of the third initiation. Keynote ----------- Expression of the soul, through the medium of the personality.
Objective---------- The understanding of the Plan and consequent cooperation with it.
Then comes the third and final stage with which we need not concern ourselves wherein there is a complete blending of the bodily forces (focused through the ajna centre) with the Soul forces, (focused through the head centre). It is at this time that there comes the final evocation of the personality will (purified and consecrated) which has been "sleeping, coiled like the serpent of wisdom" at the base of the spine; this surges upward on the impulse of devotion, aspiration and enlightened will and thus fuses itself in the head with the spiritual will. This is the final raising, by an act of discriminating determination, of the kundalini fire.
This raising takes place in three stages, or impulses:
Students might here ask: Are there any other energies below the diaphragm, except those of the sacral centre and those focused in the centre at the base of the spine which are carried up to the ajna centre via the solar plexus centre? There are quite a large number of lesser centres and their energies, but I am not specifying them in detail for the sake of clarity; we shall deal here only with the major centres and their effects and inter-relations. The subject is abstruse and difficult in any case without our complicating it unduly. There are energies, for instance, pouring into the spleen from planetary sources as well as into two small centres situated close to the kidneys, one on either side, besides several others and these forces must all be understood, transmuted, transformed and transferred. It is interesting to note that the two little centres close to the kidneys are related to the lower levels of the astral plane and let loose into the system much of the fear, etc., which is the distinguishing factor in those subplanes.
They are, therefore, found close to the centre which can control them because even the modern endocrinologist knows that the adrenal glands, when stimulated, produce (as a psychological result of a physical happening) an access of courage and a form of directed will which enables achievements to be carried out that are, at other time, well-nigh impossible.
I would like here to point out that the statement so frequently made in occult books that "kundalini sleeps" is only partially true. The centre at the base of the spine is subject to the same rhythmic life as are the other centres. The specific period wherein "kundalini awakes" refers to that period wherein the "point at the centre" becomes vibrant, potent and active: its forces can then penetrate throughout the entire spinal area until the highest head centre is reached. This, however, would not be possible had there not been three earlier "uprisings of the latent force of will". These uprisings serve to clear the passage up the spine, penetrating and destroying the etheric web which separates each centre and the area it controls from the next above.
All these transferences and interior organisation produce normally and naturally turmoil and conflict in the life of the mystic, causing difficulties of a definitely psychological nature and frequently pathological trouble as well. You have to note consequently, the series of transference, psychological difficulty and pathological results.
For instance, these ideas may clarify themselves in your mind if I point out certain facts, relating to the sacral centre which for so long a period of time governs the animal and physical creative life of the human being. During the processes of evolution, the sacral centre passes through the stages of automatic unconscious use, such as you find in purely animal man; then use under the urge of desire for pleasure and physical satisfaction, wherein the imagination is beginning to exert its influence; next comes the period wherein there is the conscious subordination of the life to the sex impulse. This is of a different nature to the first mentioned. Sex becomes a dominating thought in the consciousness, and many people today are passing through this stage and everybody at some time or in some life passes through it. This is followed by a period of transference wherein the physical pull of sex and the urge to physical creation is not so dominant and the forces begin to be gathered up into the solar plexus. There they will be controlled largely by the astral imaginative life far more than by the unconscious animal or the conscious desire life. They blend there with the forces of the solar plexus itself and gradually are carried up to the throat centre, but always via the heart centre.
Here we find a major point of difficulty for the mystic who is rapidly coming into being and functioning activity. He becomes painfully conscious of duality, of the pull of the world and of the mystical vision, of divine possibilities and personality potencies, of love in place of desire and attraction, of divine relationship instead of human relations. But this whole subject is still interpreted in terms of duality. Sex is still imaginatively in his consciousness and is not relegated to a balanced place among the other instincts of the human nature; the result is an almost pathological interest in the symbolism of sex and what might be called a spiritualised sex life. This tendency is amply exemplified in the writings and experiences of many of the mystics of the middle ages. We find such expressions as the "bride of Christ", the "marriage in the Heavens", the picture of Christ as the "heavenly bridegroom" and many such symbols and phrases. In the Song of Solomon, you find a masculine rendition of the same basically sexual approach to the soul and its all embracing life.
These and many more unpleasant examples of a sex psychology are to be found, blended with a true and pronounced mystical aspiration and yearning, and a genuine longing for union with the divine. The cause of all this lies in the stage of transference. The lower energies are subject, as you can see, to two stages of transference: first, into the solar plexus and from thence to the throat centre. The throat centre is not, at this period, active enough or sufficiently awakened to absorb and utilise the sacral energies. They are arrested in some cases in their upward passage and retained temporarily in the heart centre, producing the phenomena of sex urges (accompanied at times with definitely physical sexual reactions), of religious eroticism and a generally unwholesome attitude, ranging all the way from real sexuality to fanatical celibacy. This latter is as much an undesirable extreme as the other and produces most undesirable results. Frequently in the case of a male mystic there will be over developed sexual expression on the physical plane, perversions of different kinds or a pronounced homosexuality. In the case of women, there may be much disturbance of the solar plexus (instead of sacral disturbances) and consequent gastric trouble and an unwholesome imaginative life, ranging all the way from a feeble pruriency to definite forms of sexual insanity with (frequently) a strong religious bias at the same time. I would remind you here also of the fact that I am definitely dealing with abnormalities, and hence must touch upon that which is unpleasant. In the early stages of mystical development, if there were right guidance of the mental life and of thought, plus courageous explanation of process, a great deal of difficulty would later be avoided. These early stages resemble closely the interest shown by the adolescent both in sex and religion. The two are closely allied in this particular period of development. If right help can be given at this time by educators, parents and those concerned with the training of the young, certain undesirable tendencies—now so prevalent—would never grow into habits and thought states as they now do.
The next question which might most correctly emerge in the students consciousness could be stated as follows: How can this process of awakening the centres, of using them as channels for force (at first unconsciously and later with increasing consciousness), and finally of transferring the energy to ever higher centres; produce problems, disease, and the many and varied difficulties of a phenomenal nature to which humanity seems heir, once the mystical experience becomes a goal and appears desirable. I would again remind you that the whole problem must be interpreted in terms of the growth of consciousness and also in terms of the bringing together, in progressive stages, of various types of energy. The human body is, in the last analysis, an aggregate of energy units. In the vital body (thus conditioning the endocrine and lymphatic systems) are certain focal points through which energy pours into the physical body, producing an impression and a stimulation upon the atoms of the body and thus having a powerful effect upon the entire nervous system which it underlies in all parts. The vital or etheric body is the subtle counterpart of the physical body in its nervous structure and the energy centres condition and control the glandular system. Thus energies, influences, potencies and forces pour into and pass through the physical body—consciously in some cases, unconsciously in the majority of cases—from the three worlds of human enterprise and activity. When the heart centre and the head centres are awakened and used by the interior and the exterior forces, you have the beginning of the mystical and occult life.
There are two reasons for this period of excessive difficulty:
The result of these realisations in consciousness leads inevitably to struggle, conflict, and aspiration plus constant frustration; this process produces those adjustments which must be made as the man becomes increasingly aware of the goal and increasingly "alive". The life expression (the threefold lower man) has to become accustomed to the new fields of consciousness and the opening areas of awareness, and to become used to the new powers which emerge, making the man able to enter more easily the wider fields of service which he is discovering. It might be stated here in a broad and general sense that:
The solar plexus centre is, at this time, highly active among men and women everywhere. In every country millions of people are over-sensitised, emotional frequently to the point of hysteria, full of dreams, visions and fears, and highly nervous. This produces widespread gastric difficulties, indigestion, stomachic and liver ills and diseases, and intestinal disorders. To all of these the race today is exceedingly prone. To these are often coupled all kinds of skin eruptions. The cause is twofold:
The man is, therefore, a victim of forces which would otherwise produce a gathering together of that "which is lower" and their necessary transference into that which is higher. A needed purpose would then be served, but—in the case we are considering—these forces are all concentrated in that central area of the body which is intended to be simply the clearing house for that "which is below into that which is above". Instead of this, there is set up a tremendous whirlpool of forces which not only produces physical difficulties of many kinds (as stated above) but which is also a fruitful source of the cleavages with which modern psychology is dealing at the time. So potent are the forces generated by the over use of the solar plexus (which is one of the most powerful of all the centres) and through the consequent flowing in of astral forces of every kind—thus augmenting the difficulties—that they assume eventually complete control of the life. The forces below the diaphragm and those above become separated by this vibrant and potent central force centre. Cleavage, astralism, delusions, hallucinations, nervous disorders of every kind and difficulties of a physical nature which definitely involve the intestinal tract, the liver and the pancreas are only some of the problems which arise from the uncontrolled use of the solar plexus centre. The man becomes controlled by it and is not the controlling factor, as he is intended to be.
The second illustration is connected with the unfoldment of the heart centre with its recognition of the group life and consequent group responsibility. This today is rapidly growing and can be seen on every hand. Students are apt to think that the awakening of the heart centre and its consequent group recognitions must be expressed in terms of religion, of love and of divinity. They, therefore, make of it something spiritual, but it is far more than that. The heart is connected with the life aspect, for there is the seat of the life principle and there is the life energy anchored. It is connected with synthesis, with the monad, and with all that is more than the separated self. Any group which is engineered and controlled by one man or by a group of men, whether it is a nation, or a big business institution or an organisation of some kind or another (such as a great hospital) is connected with the life which is found in the heart. This remains true even when the motive or motives are mixed and undesirable, or purely selfish. A business magnate controlling vast interests who has the lives of many people dependent upon the contingencies of a business which he may have founded and over which he presides, is beginning to work through the heart centre. Hence the prevalence of certain forms of heart trouble to which so many people of influence and power so frequently succumb. The heart becomes over-stimulated by the impact of the energies pouring in on the man who is subjected—among other things—to the directed thoughts of those connected with his organisation. Can you see why, therefore, the senior members of the Hierarchy, Who work through the head and the heart centres, keep Themselves withdrawn from public life and much human contact? These two illustrations may help to clarify in your minds the sense in which I here use the term, "utilisation of a centre".
I would like to point out that I am using the words "mystic and mystical" in this section of our treatise because I want what I have to say to meet with the interest of those who recognise the fact of the mystical approach to God and the mystical life of the soul, but who refuse as yet to widen the concept so that it includes also the intellectual approach to divine identification.
The time must come when the mystic will appreciate and follow the way of the head and not only the way of the heart. He will learn to realise that he must lose his sense of the Beloved in the knowledge that he and the beloved are one and that the vision must and will disappear as he transcends it (note that phrase) in the greatest processes of identification through initiation.
The occultist, in his turn, must learn to include the mystical experience in full understanding consciousness as a recapitulatory exercise before he transcends it and passes on to a synthesis and an inclusiveness to which the mystical approach is but the beginning, and of which the mystic remains unaware.
The mystic is too apt to feel that the occultist over-estimates the way of knowledge and repeats glibly that the mind is the slayer of the real and that the intellect can give him nothing. The occultist is equally apt to despise the mystical way and to regard the mystical method as "lying far behind him". But both must learn to tread the way of wisdom. The mystic must and will inevitably become the occultist and this whether he likes the process or not. He cannot escape it in the long run, but the occultist is not a true one until he recovers the mystical experience and translates it into terms of synthesis. Note the structure of words I have used in this last paragraph for it will serve to elucidate my theme. I use therefore the words "mystic and mystical" in this section of the treatise to describe the intelligent, highly mental man and his processes upon the Path of Discipleship.
In dealing with the problems and diseases of mystics who are at the point in their evolution where they are making one of the major transferences of force, it should be pointed out that in the earlier stages quite a long period of time may elapse between the first effort to transmute and transfer the energies and that particular life wherein the energies are finally gathered up and "elevated" as the esoteric term usually employed technically expresses it. It is at this point of focused activity (in the place of the previous fluidic and spasmodic efforts) that one finds a definite point of crisis in the life of the mystic.
One of the difficulties which tend also to increase the strain is the inability of the average mystic to divorce his mind from his physical condition. Energy inevitably follows thought and where a distressed area is found, there the mind seems to throw all its attention, with the result that the situation is not bettered but surely and steadily made worse. The best mental rule of all mystics should be to keep the mind definitely above and away from the region where the transference is going on, except in those cases where esoteric methods are being employed to force the process, to hasten and facilitate the processes of elevation. Then (under right direction and guidance plus a knowledge of the rules) the mystic can work with the centre in the spine which is concerned. This academic technique, I will endeavor to indicate in a later Instruction, but I want first of all to deal with the psychic difficulties of the mystic, for both the psychic and physical difficulties arise from the same basic cause and can be offset and controlled by the same correct occult and psychological knowledge.
The ills with which we are dealing are, therefore, the result of a large number of causes and it might be of service if I listed them here, reminding you that the centres up the spinal column and in the head govern definite areas in the body. These are affected and controlled by the centres and it is in these regions that one must look for indications of trouble.
Speaking generally, diseases fall into five major categories and it is only with the last of them that we are here occupied. These five groupings of disease are:
water.
karma. Souls come into certain families because of this opportunity.
When, for instance, the sacral energy is raised to the solar plexus, there will be found many ailments involving, as noted before, the intestinal tract. When the energy of the lesser centres which are found below the diaphragm (but not up the spine) are raised to the solar plexus centre, trouble involving the gall bladder and the kidneys will often be found. Occultly speaking, any process of elevation or of "raising up" automatically involves death. This death affects the atoms in the organs involved and causes the preliminary stages of ill-health, disease and disruption, because death is nothing but a disruption and a removal of energy. When the science of the transference of energy from a lower centre to a higher is understood, then light will be thrown upon the entire problem of dying and the true Science of Death will come into being, liberating the race from fear.
Students would do well at this stage to pause and consider the following points with care:
Between all these different stages come "points of crisis" of greater or lesser moment. This intense interior activity which is going on all the time in the subjective life of humanity produces both good and bad effects, and psychological as well as physiological reactions. Today, the mass transference of the forces of the sacral centre into that of the solar plexus is responsible for many of the modern and physical disabilities of the race.
The above summation of the threefold activity which is going on in the human body all the time will give some idea of the strain under which the individual man labours, and will account, therefore, for much of the discomfort and disease found in those areas in the human body which are governed and controlled by a particular centre. I would like to add the following points to the information given above:
This is a fruitful source of nervous trouble to the mystic and advanced aspirant. The heart centre powerfully affects the vagus nerve and the autonomic nervous system with all that that involves and we are only today beginning to understand and deal with these difficulties. Clarification will come once the premise of the existence of the centres and their three "activities of interplay" are admitted—even if only as a possible hypothesis. The little understood thymus gland holds the key to much that concerns the activity and control of the vagus nerve—a fact not yet generally recognised. Later, a carefully controlled process with the object of stimulating the thymus gland and its secretion will be worked out by the medical profession, leading to a much better functioning of the nervous system and of the vagus nerve which controls it. I can but hint at possibilities at present because the basic premise of the existence of the centres of force is not yet recognised. It is interesting to note, however, that the solar plexus (as a great nerve centre) is recognised and this is due to the fact that the bulk of humanity is, at this time, transferring force to that centre. It is, for the masses, the major recipient of forces, both from below the diaphragm, from above, and from the environment.
will produce serious problems connected with the brain and the eyes. The ajna centre focuses the abstracted energy of the five centres up the spine and is the seat of personality power. According to the use made of that power and according to the direction of the force sent forth throughout the body by the directed, integrated personality, so will the organs of the body be affected. The solar plexus can be stimulated from that centre with disastrous effects; the heart centre can be swept into undue activity by the imposition of personality force, and its energy deflected downwards in a focused selfish manner; the solar plexus can be so over-vitalised that all the forces of the personality can be turned downwards and subverted to purely selfish and separative ends, thus producing a powerful personality, but—at the same time—the temporary suspension of the spiritual life of the man. When this suspension takes place, all the forces of the body which have been "elevated" are driven downwards again, putting the man en rapport with the rank and file of humanity who are working through the lower centres; this tends to produce an immense personality success.
It is interesting to note that when this takes place, the energies—concentrated in the ajna centre—sweep down into the solar plexus or into the sacral centre, and seldom to the heart centre. The heart centre has a power all its own to produce what is called "occult isolation", because it is the seat of the life principle. The throat centre receives stimulation in this case but seldom to the point of difficulty. The man is a powerful creative thinker, selfishly polarised and with an emotional solar plexus contact with the masses. He frequently also has a strong sexual complex in some form or another.
The forces which are responsible for the awakening of the centres are many. The primary one is the force of evolution itself, plus the inherent or innate forward-pressing urge towards greater inclusiveness which is always found in every individual being. This secondary aspect of the evolutionary principle needs careful elaborating. We have for too long been occupied with the effort to develop the form side of nature so that it shall become increasingly sensitive to its environment and thus build an ever improving mechanism. But the twofold fact of the development of an increasing capacity to include and the fact of the existence of the one interior factor, the Self, which brings about this steady development, needs emphasising. From the standpoint of the occult student, there are three ideas which lie behind this belief:
I wanted to make these points adequately clear because they have a definite bearing on our theme which concerns the psychic difficulties of modern man. These difficulties are rapidly growing and are causing much distress among those who believe that the development of the lower psychic powers is a hindrance to true spiritual development. Certain mystics regard these powers as indications of divine grace, however, and as guarantees of the reality of their endeavour. Others regard them as signifying a definite "fall from grace". It seems to me, therefore, that an analysis of these powers, their correct placing upon the path of development, and a comprehension of the distinction between the higher and the lower powers will be of real value and will enable students in the future to proceed with a greater surety and knowledge. They will thus be more accurately sure of the nature of the contacts of which they become aware and of the means whereby these contacts are approached and gained.
The major idea which I would have you bear in mind is the development of Inclusiveness. This inclusiveness is the outstanding characteristic of the soul, or self, whether it is the soul of man, the sensitive nature of the cosmic Christ, or the anima mundi, the soul of the world. This inclusiveness tends to synthesis. It can already be seen functioning at a definite point of fulfillment in man, because man includes in his nature all the gains of past evolutionary cycles (in other kingdoms in nature and in previous human cycles), plus the potentiality of a greater future inclusiveness. Man is the macrocosm of the microcosm; the gains and peculiar properties of the other kingdoms in nature are his, having been resolved into capacities of consciousness. He is, however, enveloped in and part of a still greater macrocosm, and of this greater whole he must become increasingly aware. Let this word, Inclusiveness, govern your thinking as you read this instruction which I am giving you upon the psychic powers and their effect.
The next idea to which I would call your attention is that the human being has the power to be inclusive in many directions, just as a line can be drawn from the point at the centre of the circle to any point upon the periphery. You must remember that for a large part of his career and for the most important part of his human experience, he remains the dramatic actor, holding the centre of the stage and in his own eyes playing the star part; he is always conscious of his acting and of the reactions to that acting. When man was little more than an animal, when he was in the state which we have earlier called the Lemurian consciousness and the early Atlantean consciousness, he lived unthinkingly; life unrolled like a panorama before his eyes; he identified himself with the episodes depicted and knew no difference between himself and that which he seemed to be in the unfolding picture. He simply looked on, played his little part, ate, reproduced, reacted to pleasure and to pain, and seldom, if ever, thought or reflected.
Then comes the period, familiar to all of us, wherein the man becomes the dramatic center of his universe—living, loving, planning, acting, conscious of his audience and his surroundings, and demonstrating to his fullest capacity the later Atlantean and present Aryan characteristics. He is intelligently aware of his power and of a few of his powers; he is a functioning personality and (because the mind is controlling or beginning to control) the lower animal powers and the Atlantean psychism which have distinguished him begin to fade out. He loses these lower powers and has not yet developed the higher ones. Hence the reaction to be seen on every hand today to such powers as clairvoyance, clairaudience, etc.; hence their wholesale condemnation as fraudulent by the intelligentsia of the world.
Next comes the mystical stage wherein the advanced human being, the aspirant and the disciple becomes steadily aware of another realm of nature to conquer, the realm of the Kingdom of God, with its own life and phenomena; he registers the existence of other powers which he can develop and use if he so desires and is willing to pay the price; he recognises another and wider sphere of being which he can include in his own consciousness if he permits himself to be conquered by it.
The inference then is that there are two sets of powers latent in his human equipment—the lower one being recoverable if he deem it desirable, the other and higher one to be developed. These two sets of powers are:
It should be remembered, however, that all the psychic powers are the powers, faculties and capacities of the One Soul but that, in time and space, some of them are expressions of the animal consciousness or the animal soul, some of the human soul, and some of the divine soul.
The following tabulation of the developing psychic powers as they blend in consciousness three kingdoms in nature may be of service at this point if careful study is made of the inferred relationships:
Animal Human Divine
2. The Five senses The five senses The five senses.
a. Touch Touch. Contact. Understanding.
b. Hearing Hearing. Sound. Response to the Word.
c. Sight Seeing, Perspective . The mystical vision.
d. Materialisation Invention. Creativity.
e. Divination Foresight. Planning. Prevision.
f. Healing via animal magnetism Healing through science. Healing through spiritual magic.
Plane Subplane
Physical
1. Hearing ------------------------------- 5th ------------Gaseous
2. Touch, feeling ----------------------- 4th -------------First Etheric
3. Sight ---------------------------------- 3rd ------------Super-Etheric
4. Taste ---------------------------------- 2nd -----------Sub-Atomic
5. Smell---------------------------------- 1st -------------Atomic
Astral
1. Clairaudience ------------------------ 5th
2. Psychometry ------------------------- 4th
3. Clairvoyance------------------------- 3rd
4. Imagination ------------------------- 2nd
5. Emotional idealism ----------------- 1st
Mental
1. Higher clairaudience ---------------- 7th Form
2. Planetary psychometry ------------- 6th Form
3. Higher.clairvoyance ---------------- 5th Form
4. Discrimination-----------------------4th Form
5. Spiritual discemment ---------------3rd Formless
6. Response to group vibration -------2nd Formless
7. Spiritual telepathy-------------------1st Formless
Buddhic
1. Comprehension---------------------- 7th
2. Healing ------------------------------- 6th
3. Divine vision ------------------------ 5th
4. Intuition ----------------------------- 4th
5. Idealism ------------------------------3rd
Atmic
1. Beatitude ----------------------------- 7th
2. Active service------------------------ 6th
3. Realisation ---------------------------5th
4. Perfection ----------------------------4th
5. All knowledge ------------------------3rd
It can be noted that we have not summed up the two planes of abstraction on the atmic and the buddhic planes, the reason being that they mark a degree of realisation which is the property of initiates of higher degree than that of the adept, and which is beyond the concept of the evolving human unit, for whom this treatise is written.
We might, here, for the sake of clarity, tabulate the five different aspects of the five senses on the five planes, so that their correspondences may be readily visualised, using the above table as the basis:
Taste gives him an idea of value, and enables him to fix upon that which to him appears best.
Smell gives him an idea of innate quality, and enables him to find that which appeals to him as of the same quality or essence as himself.
In all these definitions it is necessary to bear in mind that the whole object of the senses is to reveal the not-self, and to enable the Self therefore to differentiate between the real and the unreal.
The three major senses (if I might so describe them) are very definitely allied, each with one of the three Logoi:
Hearing---- Beatitude This is realised through the not-self.
Touch ------Service The summation of the work of the Self for the not-self.
Sight------- Realisation Recognition of the triplicity needed in manifestation, or the reflex action
of the Self and the not-self.
Taste------- Perfection Evolution completed through the utilisation of the not-self and its
realised adequacy.
Smell ------ Perfected Knowledge The principle of manas in its discriminating activity, perfecting the
interrelation between the Self and the not-self.
A close study of the above will bring to the open-minded student two major points which he would do well to consider:
Once this idea is grasped, the attitude of the sceptic and unbeliever will change and he will see (as he studies these lower powers) that, rightly understood and utilised, they can be direct avenues of approach to certain states of existence, but are incidental to and not substitutes for the higher powers.
I would like to offer two other points to your consideration:
First, that the man or woman who is expressing and interested in these lower powers (which are called the lower siddhis by the oriental philosophy) is demonstrating true powers. They are not however the highest possible powers nor are they the powers which humanity is intended to express unless at the lowest point in evolution and, therefore, allied closely to the animal kingdom; or at the highest point, in which case the greater powers automatically include the lesser. The lower psychic powers are shared with the animal kingdom and with all those human races which are low down in the scale of the human evolution.
This is a fact and a statement which arouses much antagonism among the present day exponents of these powers, both in and out of the spiritualistic and occult movements. Such people are apt to consider these powers as indicative either of an advanced spiritual condition or as a rare and unique possession, setting their owner apart as more gifted, more wise and more able to advise and direct other human beings than is the ordinary man. This attitude is demonstrated by the immense audiences such people can address and gather around themselves, and the willingness of the public to listen to them and to pay money for the privilege and the benefit of the demonstration and the advice.
Secondly, the difficulty of this situation is increased because, as evolution proceeds, certain more or less advanced people recover these ancient animal propensities and capacities as their power to become inclusive goes forward; they begin to expand their consciousness so that the past as well as the future is brought within their range of awareness. Knowing that they are aspiring to the higher things and towards the world of mystical realisation (in contradistinction to that of psychical realisation), they interpret some episode, which they may have clairvoyantly apprehended, as appertaining to them as individuals; they regard some clairaudient injunction or happening as appropriately theirs, and some vision of a thought form of the Christ or of one of the Masters as indicative of a direct and personal interview with these advanced leaders. They thus enter into the world of glamour and of delusion from which they must, finally with great difficulty, extricate themselves.
May I also call your attention to the fact that the lines of demarcation between these animal, human and divine states of consciousness are not clear cut as in our tabulation? A recognition of this will call attention to the complexity of the subject and the difficulty of our theme. This complexity can, I think, be well illustrated by a study of the uses of the word telepathy. As generally used today it indicates two powers:
True telepathy, however, is a direct mental communication from mind to mind and in its more advanced expression is a communication of soul to soul, using the mind later as a formulator of the communication, as in the case of inspiration. It is interesting to note (and instructive also in view of our subject) that in true telepathic registration, the lesser powers may be raised and used at a high level of awareness. It is well known esoterically that:
In these two latter cases, the true man is making use of his latent lower powers, raising them to as high a level as possible and subordinating them to mental or soul uses. The difference between this usage of the power of clairvoyant and clairaudient demonstration is that in this case there is full mental control and understanding, and in the other cases the lower powers are automatically employed, are uncontrolled, are occupied with matters of no true importance and are not understood in any way by the one who is employing them.
The one basic sense, as you well know is that of touch. This is the reason why I have not placed psychometry in any particular category in my tabulation of the instincts, senses and powers. Psychometry is essentially the capacity to work with and to get in touch with the soul of the higher grouping to which the unit in the lower grouping aspires, and with the soul that can thus aspire in any form. It concerns, in reality the "measure" of inclusiveness. This measure will govern, for instance, the relation of the dog or other domesticated animal to a human being, of a man to other men, and of an aspirant to his soul, his master and his group. When this psychometrical inclusiveness is turned towards the world of tangible things—minerals, possessions and other material objects, for instance— we tend to make a magical performance out of it, and to charge money for the demonstration of psychometrical power. We then call this the science of psychometry. Yet it is the same power, turned towards the lower kingdoms as is employed in making contact with the higher. There are three groups of people who use the lower psychic powers, either consciously or unconsciously:
In all cases, it is the astral plane which stands revealed. The statement can here be made that where there is colour, form and phenomena analogous to or a replica of that to be found upon the physical plane then there is to be seen the "duplicating phenomena" of the astral plane. Where there is materialisation of forms upon the physical plane you see the joint activity of the astral and etheric planes. You do not have the phenomena of the mental or soul levels. Bear this definitely in mind. The astral plane is—in time and space and to all intents and purposes—a state of real being plus a world of illusory forms, created by man himself and by his imaginative creativity. One of the major lessons to be learnt upon the Path of Discipleship is to learn to distinguish that which is real from that which is illusion.
What then, is to be seen and heard by the medium when in trance or when giving an exhibition of clairvoyance and clairaudience? Several possibilities, which I might list as follows:
I am here casting no doubt on the sincerity of the performance nor on those mediums who are born with these clairvoyant and clairaudient faculties. I am only pointing out that the phenomena which they are contacting is astral in nature and that anyone looking at a circle from the standpoint of the higher psychic powers would note around each sitter a group of astral forms (self-created) of those who have departed physical life through death, of those who are constantly in his thoughts though still alive, and also a kaleidescopic and changing process of appearing and disappearing forms (some quite nebulous and some quite substantial according to the power of thought) which concern the wish life of the sitter, which are concerned with his home affairs, his business or are built up around his health.
The sensitive tunes in on these, connects them with the attendant thought forms and hence the production of the usual performance found in the seance room or with the average audience. The medium is truly and accurately relating just what he sees and hears and therefore is sincere and truthful, but because he receives no real training in the art of interpretation and in the technique of distinguishing the illusory from the real, he is, perforce, unable to do more than describe the phenomena seen and the words heard.
When, however, the mystic opens up these same powers as is sometimes the case, the phenomena seen and the words which are heard can be of a very high order. Nevertheless they are still astral, for they concern happenings and phenomena found upon the higher levels of the astral plane. He comes into contact with the spiritual or religious wish life of the race and according to the basic trend of his individual aspiration at the moment so will be his contacts. If he is an earnest and devoted Christian, he will see one of the beautiful and vital thought forms of the Christ there to be found and in the wonder of that revelation, his love and his imagination and all that is best in him will be evoked in adoration and mystery. Hence some of the inspired writings and illumined visions of the mystic. If he is a Hindu, there may come to him a vision of the Lord of Love, Shri Krishna, or, if a Buddhist, he may see the Lord of Light, the Buddha, in all His radiance. If he is an occult student, or a Theosophist or Rosicrucian, he may see a vision of one of the Masters or of the entire Hierarchy of adepts; he may hear words spoken and thus feel assured, past all controversy, that the Great Ones have chosen him for special privilege and for unique service. And yet, his consciousness has never moved from off the astral plane and his contacts have only been a wonderful and inspiring expression of the phenomena of that plane, released to his inner sight and hearing through his aspiration.
All this is brought about through the over-activity of the solar plexus centre, stimulated by the energy pouring in from the heights he has attained in aspirational meditation. The results are very emotional in their nature, and the reactions developed and the subsequent service rendered are on emotional levels. A great deal of this is to be seen among the teachers in the world at this time in many lands. Such teachers have been and are true aspirants. They have awakened in consciousness upon the higher levels of the astral plane. They have there seen the thought forms which humanity has created of the spiritual Hierarchy or the reflections on those levels of that Hierarchy (a still more potent group of thought forms) and have heard repetitions of that which has been said and thought by the world aspirants of all time—all of it most beautiful, good and true. They then proceed to teach and proclaim what they have thus heard, seen and learnt and frequently do much good—on astral levels. They are, all the same, confusing the reflection with the reality, the reproduction with the original, and the humanly constructed with the divinely created.
Forget not, that the astral plane is that whereon man has to learn to distinguish truth from error, and the real from the unreal. Thus those who are deceived are only learning a needed lesson. The fact of the astral plane is being steadily recognised and that is good. The fact of the existence of the spiritual Hierarchy and of Masters is being brought to the attention of the masses even if it is being done by those who are confusing the reflection and the thought form with the reality.
The question could here properly be asked: How can the mystic avoid this error and confusion? How can he distinguish the real from the illusory? This constitutes an individual problem for every mystic and there is no one profound and scientific rule whereby he can guide his reactions. The only rules which I can give you are so simple that those who are occupied at this time with teaching and proclaiming that which they have astrally contacted may not like to follow them. The attitude of mind which will guard the mystic from astral delusion and error is:
We are considering the unfoldment of the psychic powers, producing conditions in the subject which are regarded by the orthodox investigator as pathological in nature or as indicating psychological trouble of a serious kind. However, we are today close to the time when the fact of there being modes of perception other than those of the physical senses will be recognised, and the attitude of medicine and of the psychiatric and neurological sciences will undergo definite changes—much to the assistance and aid of humanity.
The development of the psychic powers is basically due at this time (for the whole problem shifts into changing fields as evolution proceeds) to the psychic becoming aware of a field or fields of phenomena which are always present but which remain usually unrecognised because the inner mechanism of perception remains latent or quiescent. In the undeveloped human being or in groups of men who are low down in the racial scale, as also in animals, there is much psychic perception because the sacral centre motivates the physical plane life and the solar plexus centre governs the psychic nature. In these cases, all the higher centres are quiescent and undeveloped. The solar plexus is to the worlds of lower psychic perception what the brain is intended to be in the worlds of higher psychic understanding. In the one case, you have a centre of energy which is so potent that it swings the man into a state of consciousness which is fundamentally astral, thus governing the sex life from the angle of the sentient consciousness; in the other case, you have so close an identification between the head centre in etheric matter and the brain in physical substance that an organ which is definitely physical functions sympathetically, accurately and synchronously with its subjective counterpart, registering impressions from the head centre and the worlds with which that centre puts a man in touch. The two are then as one.
In between these stages of low grade psychic life and the spiritual perception of the initiate there is to be found every possible type of sentient consciousness. These can be divided into three major categories:
All these expressions of divine knowledge are connected with, and dependent upon, the development of the centres. In the low grade human being, the centres are nothing more than slowly revolving, palpitating disks of dim light. In Lemurian days, the sacral centre was the most active and the brightest. In Atlantean days, the solar plexus centre was by far the most significant. Today, as you know, the higher correspondences are coming into functioning activity and humanity is beginning to reap the benefits derived from experience in three races—the Lemurian, the Atlantean and the Aryan.
The throat centre is now the most active in the majority of cases and the most significant. The time is, however, coming when humanity will function on a large scale and as a mass through the ajna centre; this will take place in the next race for, in the next great cycle of racial development, there will be no people with a Lemurian consciousness to be found anywhere and the "pull" or the activity of the sacral centre will be greatly lessened and controlled. This can be seen happening today among the intelligentsia of the race. The Atlantean state of awareness (which functions primarily through the solar plexus) will be also greatly lessened as the heart centre awakens.
The Aryan state of consciousness, with its coordinating capacity and its mental emphasis, will control the mass of the people, for in the coming race the Atlantean emotional state of consciousness will be to humanity what the Lemurian or low grade type is to the Aryan at this time. The masses will then all come under the category of the intelligentsia, whilst the intelligentsia of today will be the intuitives of tomorrow. In the language of mysticism, the masses will be on the probationary path and the cream of the race will be on the path of discipleship. The number also of the initiates and adepts, present in incarnation in order to carry forward the externalised work of the Hierarchy will be great. The world will then be full of people who will be completely integrated personalities with all the virtues (and consequently all the vices), the ambitions and problems, incident to that stage of awareness.
It is for this reason that the Hierarchy is working at this time to bring about the fecundation of the race by the cosmic principle of love, so that love and intellect can proceed hand in hand and thus balance each other. It is for this reason that the fact of the existence of the spiritual Hierarchy must be brought to the attention of the masses. This must be done in order to enhance the magnetic power of the love aspect of the hierarchical effort and not in order to awaken fear or awe, for that is of the old order and must disappear.
I might here touch upon the paralleling activity of the forces which are working to prevent the externalisation of the Hierarchy of Light since such a happening as that would mean increased— because proven—power. As you know, on the astral and mental planes centres exist which are called "dark centres" because the emphasis of their activity is upon the material aspect of manifestation and upon the activity of material substance; all energy is subordinated to purely selfish purpose. As I have before stated, the Forces of Light work with the soul, hidden in every form. They are concerned with group purposes and with the founding of the kingdom of God on earth. The dark forces work with the form side of expression and with the founding of a centre of control which will be theirs entirely and which will subdue all the living forms in all kingdoms to their peculiar behests. It is the old story, familiar in Biblical phraseology, of the kingdoms of the world and the kingdom of the Christ, of the power of anti-Christ and the power of Christ. This produced a great climax in Atlantean days and, though the Hierarchy of Light triumphed, it was only by the merest margin. The battle was fought out on the astral plane, though it had its correspondence upon the physical plane, in a great world conflict of which the ancient legend tells us. It ended in the catastrophe of the Flood. The seeds of hate and of separation have been fostered ever since that time and the three modes whereby the forces of darkness seek to control humanity are hatred, aggression and separativeness. The three great spiritual counterparts are love, selfless sharing and synthesis.
However, the hold of the forces which are working against the living principle of love (as embodied in the Hierarchy) is not gaining ground at this time, for the response of humanity to that which is good and synthetic is much more rapid and general than it was a few hundred years ago. There is much reason to hope that there will be a steady waning of the undesired control. The dark forces are ruled on the physical plane by a group of six oriental leaders and six occidental leaders; of these the oriental are the most powerful because they are the oldest racially and therefore the most experienced. They work by the intensification of glamour and by the stimulation of the lower psychic powers. Their particular point of attack at this time is the group of world disciples and initiates, for these latter are responsible for the fostering of love in the world and for the binding of men together in the spirit of unity. If they cannot succeed with this task now, it should be possible to externalise the Hierarchy and thereby greatly lessen the control of the so-called evil forces.
If these evil forces cannot induce the disciples everywhere, in group formation or individually, to succumb in some form to glamour, then they will endeavour to utilise group glamour to negate their efforts and force those with whom the disciples work to believe evil, to impugn motives, and to produce such a convincing story that the struggling disciple will be left to fight almost single-handed. If this cannot be done, they may then attack the physical bodies of the workers and agents for the Hierarchy, and seek, through the distress of the physical body, to control the disciple's output. This does not always prove successful, as the Master can, and often does, protect His disciple. The dark forces work also through the intensification or stimulation of the psychic mechanism, so that the lower psychic powers become abnormally developed and prematurely assume proportions which are almost uncontrollable. This happened on a large scale in Atlantean days and led to the entire astral plane standing revealed, but not understood. Its undesirable potencies were then let loose upon the physical plane and this led to the war between the two great schools of the mysteries the Light and the Dark— which culminated in the destruction of the then-known world.
Today these potencies, light and dark, are again struggling for physical plane expression and supremacy but this time the result is vastly different. The effort to produce soul contact or to hinder it is working out in the form of nervous diseases and pathological conditions and this is affecting potently the group activity of man. The effort by the dark forces to stimulate the lower psychic powers seems able to reach no deeper into matter and form than the etheric vehicles and from there to condition the physical body physiologically in the form of diseases, lesions, nervous troubles and brain afflictions and the many other ways in which the human being is rendered helpless and unfitted to cope with daily living and modern world conditions. But the mind nature has reached a stage of protective usefulness and some of the great guarding barriers which are flung up around humanity at this time are the spirit of scepticism, and the refusal to recognise the existence or the usefulness of the psychic powers. This is a point to be remembered.
I would like here to point out that I use the word "Aryan" in contradistinction to the majority of the races found in Asia. Speaking generally, we can today classify the races into three groups:
The Jews are a group of people in whom the principle of separation is pronouncedly present. For ages they have, with determination and in obedience to the injunctions in the Old Testament, insisted on regarding themselves as a people set apart. For ages they have held themselves separated off from all other peoples in the world. The result is that they are now evoking from the races among whom they are scattered a corresponding desire to force that very separation upon them. Under the law, we draw forth from others what is actually present within ourselves, and to this law, races and nations are no exception. Through the inter-relation of Jew and Gentile, of Semitic and Aryan, and through the solving of the Jewish problem will the great heresy of separateness eventually be fought out.
It is not intended that the Aryan race should be a psychic race. Their goal is bringing the mind nature into prominence. This could not take place if the "drift" of the forces, flowing into the human mechanism was in the direction of the solar plexus—the major centre, governing all lower psychic unfoldment. Just as certain transferences are going on today between the centres below the diaphragm into those above the diaphragm, so the solar plexus (which is like the controlling brain in the animal and the physical-emotional man) must cease finally to control the activities of the human being and the brain must become the seat of the directing agency in its place.
Speaking again generally, there are three major controlling factors in the career of a human being:
It is in this latter stage that the higher psychic faculties come into play and the lower powers can then again be used, if deemed desirable. The initiate has full control of all faculties and powers, and knows both when and how to use them the most profitably and with the least expenditure of energy. It should be noted, however, that the average modern psychic or medium does not come under this category, for the initiates and Masters use all Their powers quietly and behind the scenes and not for demonstration before the public. The majority of psychics today are solar plexus workers, though a few—a very few—are beginning to shift their forces into the ajna centre and to develop mental faculties. This has an integrating effect and temporarily is marked by a complete and necessary cessation of the lower powers. In this sense "the mind is the slayer of the real", but only of the relatively real. That which has seemed real and of importance or which proved interesting and exciting to the average psychic is eventually forced below the threshold of consciousness by the unfoldment of the mind. It is this needed transition period in the case of many of the modern psychics which lies at the root of a number of their undoubted difficulties. They are faced with issues they cannot resolve and which they do not understand as they have no background of occult practice or understanding. They have been brought to the point of discarding the old ways and yet the new techniques of living and of practice mean nothing to them. A future which must be faced without the phenomena which has made the past so exciting, interesting and frequently remunerative does not attract them. Yet, in reality they are faced with the transition out of the Atlantean state of consciousness into the higher and Aryan state of awareness. They are offered a step forward and need to remember that every step forward in evolution and, therefore, towards the spiritual goal, is always at a cost and through the relinquishing of that which has hitherto been held dear.
The psychical difficulties which eventually are many, fall into three general categories:
I do not include in this list the work of the materialising mediums, for their work is of a totally different kind and though not so dangerous to the personality of the medium is perhaps still more undesirable. So completely is the medium divorced (as an astral-mental-soul individual) from his physical body that it becomes dominant in its own field (the material) and can absorb—through the many etheric orifices—the stuff of which certain of the lower forms are constituted; it can attract the primitive substance of a low grade which can be built into shape (and often is) by the thought, either of a sitter or of a group of sitters in a so-called "materialising seance". With these the medium is en rapport subconsciously. This is not a telepathic rapport but a solar plexus, a psychic rapport. The subject is too abstruse for elaboration here and this form of mediumship must inevitably be discarded as the evolution of the race proceeds.
Physical Psychic Higher Correspondence
impressibility.
It might here be pointed out that mystical development and aspiration are the way of escape from the highest aspect of the Atlantean consciousness. This is itself astral in nature. Occultism and science are the way of escape from the highest expression of the concrete mind, and from the Aryan consciousness, which is mental in nature. Sensitivity or the psychic sense of touch is etheric in nature, is general in expression and must eventually give place to that spiritual impressibility which enables a man, like the Christ, simply to "know" what is in his fellow man and to be aware of his condition and of the condition of life in all forms. It is the first step towards that universal spiritual key of which psychometry is the lowest expression.
In the above paragraph and differentiations I have given you much food for thought and indicated a sequence of unfoldment which is individual, racial and universal. If we extend these ideas into their planetary connotations, I would add that:
impression.
knowledge.
to identification.
The Science of the Breath, which is the science of laya yoga or the science of the centres, is one of profound importance and one of real danger as well. It is, in the last analysis, the Science of Energy and teaches the method whereby energy can be controlled, directed and utilised for the expanding of the consciousness, for the establishing of right relations between the man and his environment and, above all (in the case of those affiliated with the Great White Lodge), for the production of white magic. This pranic energy works through the vital body and courses through the many "nadis" found therein. These "nadis" exist in their millions and are minute channels of force which underlie the entire nervous system of man. Of this they are the counterpart and the animating factor, making sensitivity possible and producing that action and reaction which converts the mechanism of man into an intricate "receiver" of energy and "director" of force. Each of these tiny lines of energy are fivefold in nature and resemble five strands or fibers of force, closely knit together within a covering sheath of a different force. These forces are bound together in a cross-sectional relation.
It is to be noted, also, that these five types of energy form one closely knit unit, and these units form, in their entirety, the etheric sheath itself. Through these five channels flow the fire major pranas— energising, galvanising and controlling the entire human organism. There is no part of the physical body which this network of energies does not underlie or "sub-stand". This is the true form or substance.
Where the lines of force cross and recross, as they repeat in the microcosm the involutionary and evolutionary arcs of the macrocosm, there are formed five areas up the spinal column and two in the head where the energies are more potent than elsewhere, because more concentrated. Thus you have the appearance of the major centres. Throughout the entire body, these crossings and recrossings occur and so the equipment of energy centres is brought into being:
Some day the entire etheric body will be charted and the general direction of the lines of force will then be seen. The great sweep of the energies will be apparent, the point in evolution more easily established and the psychic situation infallibly indicated. The intricacy of the subject is, however, very great, owing to just this difference in the evolutionary development of the vehicles, the stage of the expanding consciousness and the receptivity to stimulation of the human being. The Science of Meditation will eventually absorb the science of laya-yoga but only in the highest form of the latter.
The goal of meditation is to bring about the free play of all the incoming forces so that there is no impediment offered at any point to the incoming energy of the soul; so that no obstruction and congestion is permitted and no lack of power—physical, psychic, mental and spiritual—is to be found in any part of the body. This will mean not only good health and the full and free use of all the faculties (higher and lower) but direct contact with the soul. It will produce that constant renewing of the body which is characteristic of the life expression of the initiate and the Master, as well as of the disciple, only in a lesser degree. It will produce rhythmic expression of the divine life in form. To the clairvoyant view of the adept as He looks at the aspirant or disciple, it causes:
As evolution proceeds and the life forces flow ever more freely along the "nadis" and through the centres—major, minor, and minute—the rapidity of the distribution and of the flow, and the consequent radiance of the body steadily increases. The separating walls within the enclosing sheath of the tiny channels of force eventually dissolve (under the impact of soul force) and so disappear and thus the "nadis" of the advanced disciple take a new form indicating that he is now essentially and consequently dual and is therefore an integrated personality. He is soul and personality. Soul force can now flow unimpeded through the central channel of the "nadi" and all the other forces can flow unimpeded around it. It is whilst this process is going on and the forces within the "nadis" are being blended and thus forming one energy that most of the diseases of the mystics make their appearance, particularly those connected with the heart.
Simultaneously with this appearance of duality in the "nadis", the disciple finds himself able to use the two channels—ida and pingala—which are found up the spinal column, one on each side of the central channel. There can now be the free flow of force up and down these two "pathways of the forces" and thus out into the "nadis", utilising the area around any of the major centres as distributing areas and thus galvanising, at will, any part of the mechanism into activity, or the whole mechanism into coordinated action. The disciple has now reached the point in his development where the etheric web, which separates all the centres up the spine from each other, has been burned away by the fires of life. The "sushumna" or central channel can be slowly utilised. This parallels the period wherein there is the free flow of soul force through the central channel in the "nadis". Eventually this central channel comes into full activity. All this can be seen by the clairvoyant eye of the Master.
I have dealt with this in detail as the practice of breathing exercises definitely moves the forces flowing through the "nadis" and reorganises them—usually prematurely. It hastens the process of breaking down the walls separating four forces from the fifth energy, and hastens the burning of the protecting etheric webs up the spinal column. If this is done whilst the emphasis of the life is below the diaphragm and the man is not even an aspirant or intelligent, then it will cause the over-stimulation of the sex life, and also the opening up of the astral plane and hence much physical difficulty and disease. It occultly "releases the lower fires and the man will be destroyed by fire"; he will not be then (as is intended) the "burning bush which burns forever and cannot be destroyed". If this burning takes place by a forced process and is not under right direction, there must inevitably be difficulty. When the man is on the Path of Purification or Probation or is in the early stages of discipleship, with the emphasis of his intention above the diaphragm, then there is much danger of over-development of the sense of egotism, over-stimulation of the heart centre (with the consequent appearance of various forms of heart disease and of emotionalism, evoked over group conditions) and of troubles related to the thyroid gland and the brain, as well as difficulties connected principally with the pituitary body.
I could give you here certain forms of breathing exercises which might prove helpful to some people in the work of re-organising the vital body and consequently the etheric body, but the dangers involved in the case of the majority of my readers negate any such action. The old rule that aspirants must find their way into an esoteric or mystery school still holds good. All I can do—as I have done—is to give certain directions and teach certain safe and generally well-known rules which will lay the foundation for the more advanced work which must be carried forward under careful personal supervision. For this reason, once this present world crisis is duly ended, there must be laid a foundation of true esoteric schools. Such do not as yet exist.
Today, aspirants and disciples are working in the modern esoteric schools (such as the Arcane School and the Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society) and there they learn some of the foundational truths of esotericism; they begin to gain control of the emotional nature and the mind; they learn to purify the body and to apprehend the basic postulates of the Ageless Wisdom. They are then under the direction subjectively of some senior disciple who knows the needed next truth and has unfolded in himself the "sense of contact" and the power of intuitive perception. A few persons, here and there, are definitely working under the direction of one of the Masters. Only where there is direction, a knowledge of a man's governing rays and a grasp of the astrological indications as to a man's "path of life" can the true, but dangerous, rules be given, which will lead to:
Many of the difficulties of mystics and occultists today are due to the fact that they are literally "playing with fire" and are not aware of it; that they are not preserving the right or ordered sequence of development, as outlined above; that they are following practices for which they are not ready, which have not been modified to suit the occidental type of body, and which they blindly follow without any understanding of the process or results. Unless the basic rule is grasped that "energy follows thought", it is inevitable that dire results must eventuate. The mystic, for instance whose thought is focused on the Christ, regarding Him as somewhere in Heaven, but as outside himself, and whose aspiration makes Him the objective of all his desire, is frequently debilitated and physically ill.
This occurs because the energy which is seeking to enter him and permeate his whole organism only reaches as far as the heart centre and is from there constantly turned back and driven out of the physical body by the directing power of the mystic's thought. Christ, for him, is elsewhere. Outside himself lies his thought and the energy consequently streams out of his body. It is a much discussed problem among initiates today as to whether the generally debilitated condition of the human race is not due in part to the fact that the aspiration and thought of mankind, having been constantly directed to some outside goal and not (as should have been the case) to the centre of life and love within each human being, has drained man of much needed energy. In spite of the fact that he has been taught for centuries that the kingdom of God is within, the peoples in the occident have not accepted the statement or worked on the premise presented, but have sought for reality without and have turned their attention to the Personality of the One who taught them a major truth. At no time did He desire or seek their devotion. The price of this distortion of the truth has been paid again and again by a devitalised body and by the inability of the average mystic to live a concrete, and yet divine, life upon earth.
There is little more that I can say here in connection with the problems and the difficulties of the psychic powers as they unfold in humanity and on a higher turn of the spiral than in the past. As evolution proceeds, the human and animal psychic faculties become available to the disciple. Humanity has chosen to proceed by means of the "trial and error" method and it is in many ways a sound choice, but it is slow and leads to points of crisis and moments of almost intolerable difficulty in the history of the race.
We come now to two more problems which are related to the higher psychic powers but are of a more advanced kind and dependent upon the development of the mind nature more than upon the solar plexus consciousness.
Revelation of Light and Power and Attendant Difficulties
The problems with which we must now deal have no relation at all to emotion or to the astral plane but constitute the specific difficulty of the aspirant or the advanced man or disciple who has learnt to focus himself in the mental nature. They are problems connected with achieved contact with the soul, which results in the illumination of the mind and a definite influx of power. These difficulties only come to the man in whom the throat centre and the ajna centre are awakening. The moment that any difficulty is sensed in relation to the phenomena of light, the psychologist or the physician can know that the pituitary body is involved and that consequently the centre between the eyebrows is beginning to be active and awake.
The problem of power, sensed by the aspirant and seeking expression in his life, falls into two categories:
One can also divide the problem of light into two groups of difficulties if one so desires—one related to the physical registering of the light in the head and the other to the acquiring of knowledge.
This registering of light within the periphery of the skull is connected with the relation to be found between the head centre and the centre between the eyebrows; that is, between the area (localised around the pituitary body) and that localised around the pineal gland. The vibratory effect, you know, of those two centres can become so strong that the two vibrations or their "pulsating rhythmic activity" can swing into each other's field of action and a unified magnetic field can be set up which can become so powerful, so brilliant and so pronounced that the disciple—when closing his eyes—can see it plainly. It can be visually sensed and known. Eventually, and in some cases, it can definitely affect the optic nerve, not to its detriment but to the extent of evoking the subtler side of the sense of sight.
A man can then see etherically and can see the etheric counterpart of all tangible forms. This is physiological and not a psychic power and is quite different to clairvoyance. There can be no etheric vision apart from the usual organ of vision, the eye. The sensing and the registering of this light in the head can lead to its own peculiar problems when the process is not correctly understood or controlled, just as the registering of the energy of power (coming from the mind in its will aspect or from the soul through the will petals) can prove definitely detrimental to the personality, when not consecrated or refined.
Again, this registering of the light falls into certain definite stages and takes place at certain definite points in the unfoldment of the human being, but is more likely to occur in the earlier stages than the later. These are:
The registering of this inner light often causes serious concern and difficulty to the inexperienced person and the intensity of their concern and fear leads them to think so much of the problem that they become what we occultly call "obsessed with the light and so fail to see the Lord of Light and that which the Light reveals". I would point out here that all aspirants and occult students do not see this light. Seeing it is dependent upon several factors—temperament, the quality of the physical cells of the brain, the nature of the work which has been done or of the particular task, and the extent of the magnetic field. There never need be any difficulty if the aspirant will use the light which is in him for the helping of his fellowmen. It is the self-centred mystic who gets into difficulty, as does the occultist who uses the light which he discovers within himself for selfish purposes, and personal ends.
An incidental difficulty is sometimes found when the "doorway out into the other worlds" is discovered and becomes, not a door for rightful and proper use, but a way of escape from the difficulties of life and a short cut out of conscious physical experience. The connection then between the mystic and his physical vehicle becomes less and less firmly established and the link gets looser and looser until the man spends most of his time out of his body in a condition of semi-trance or a deep sleep condition.
Students should make no effort to see the light in the head, but when it is sensed and seen—then there should be a careful regulation and registration of it. Second ray types will respond to this phenomenon more easily and more frequently than first or third ray types. First ray people will register the inflow of force and power with facility and will discover that their problem lies in the control and the right direction of such energies.
Much of the present impasse to be found in the personalities of the aspirants of the world is due to the fact that the light that is in them remains undirected and the power that is flowing through them remains unused or misapplied. Much of the physical blindness and the poor sight to be found in the world today (unless the result of accident) is due to the presence of the light of the head—unrecognised and unused—and thus producing or exciting a definite effect upon the eyes and upon the optic nerve.
Technically speaking, the light of the soul—localised in the region of the pineal gland—works through and would be directed through the right eye which is (as you have been told) the organ of the buddhi, whilst the light of the personality—localised in the region of the pituitary body—functions through the left eye.
I would also like to point out that one of the difficulties today is that the light of the personality is more active within the head than is the light of the soul and that it has far more of the quality of burning than has soul light. The effect of the soul light is stimulating and occultly cool. It brings the brain cells into functioning activity, evoking response from cells at present quiescent and unawakened. It is as these cells are brought into activity by the inflow of the light of the soul that genius appears, accompanied often by some lack of balance or control in certain directions. This whole subject of light and power is of so vast a nature and is relatively so little understood in its true significance as an expression (in dual form) of energy which flows upward from the personality and downward from the soul that it is only as more and more people tread the Path that the problem will emerge in its true light and thus eventually be handled rightly.
I will refer here briefly to some of the problems so as to provide the germ or seed of thought from which future study can grow and the future investigation arise. They might be summarised as follows:
You will note from the above how many of the hallucinations, the glamours, the ambitions and the errors of the modern mystic can all be traced to the early stages and the embryonic beginnings of these developments. They are indicative therefore, of unfoldment. But unfortunately they are not understood for what they are and the available light and energy are misapplied or turned to selfish and personal ends. This cannot as yet be avoided by any but the more advanced and experienced disciples and occultists; and many aspirants must continue for some time destroying themselves (from the personality angle and in this life) in what has been called the "fiery light of their misunderstanding and the burning fire of their personality ambition" until they learn that humility and scientific technique which will make them wise directors of the light and the power which is pouring into and through them all the time.
A study, therefore, of the three types of difficulties, emerging out of the development and the unfoldment of the psychic powers brings me to a wide generalisation, to which you must remember there will be many exceptions:
In this way, though all experiences come eventually to the disciple, the three major difficulties with which we have been dealing; the psychic powers, the problems incident to the mystical vision and the revelation of light and power—have a relation to and a connection with the ray expression. This should be borne in mind by the psychologist, the investigator and the physician. Psychic sensitivity, mystical duality, and dominating power—these are the three major problems of the aspirant and should be studied and understood. They affect the three major centres—the head, the heart and the centre between the eyebrows—in the disciple, for psychic sensitivity is related to the heart, mystical duality to the ajna centre and the problem of power to the highest head centre.
In the aspirant or advanced human being, they affect the throat, the solar plexus and the sacral centre, but as they are definitely due to an expansion of consciousness, they have little registered or noticeable effect upon the unevolved man or upon the average man who is preoccupied with physical plane life and emotional reactions. He is not passing through the stimulating but disrupting processes of re- orientation, of recognising duality and of fusion of the personality. As we have earlier seen, the processes of integration bring their own problems.
As time goes on, the stages of difficulty will be more carefully investigated from the angle of the occult hypotheses and then much progress will take place. This will be peculiarly so, if the problems of adolescence are studied, for they are the problems of the Atlantean consciousness and of the mystical unfoldment.
I would like here to point out that just as the embryo in the womb recapitulates the various stages of animal unfoldment, so the human being, during the years of infancy, adolescence and youth up to the age of 35, recapitulates the various racial stages of consciousness. At 35 years old he should then affirm in himself the stage of the intelligent disciple. Much will be gained by a recognition of this recapitulatory process which —in the New Age which is upon us—will do much to control and to determine the processes of unfoldment to which the child and youth will be subjected by the wise educator.