C. The Mahachohan.

(Lord of Civilisation)
c. The Venetian Master. I
4. The Master Serapis.
5. Master Hilarion.
6. Master Jesus.
7. Master R— .
Average humanity of all degrees. 251
LETTER VIII. ACCESS TO THE MASTERS VIA MEDITATION
September 12th, 1920.
The search for the goal.
Today it may be possible to touch somewhat upon the subject of the Masters and how They may be approached through meditation. This I know is a subject close and dear to your heart, as it is to the heart of all those who earnestly follow the light within. I seek to handle this subject with you in such a way that at the close of this letter the Masters will be more real to you than ever before ; the significance of approach to Them be better com- prehended and the method more simplified; and the effect of contact with Them will be so demonstrated in the life that its immediate and practical attainment will be earn- estly pursued. Let us, therefore, as we have always done, divide our subject into certain heads and divisions : —
1. Who are the Masters?
2. What does access to Them entail?
a. From the standpoint of the pupil.
b. From the standpoint of the Master.
3. Methods of approach to the Masters through meditation.
4. The effect of this access on the three planes.
Everywhere throughout the whole world is felt the urge that drives a man to seek out someone, who, for him, embodies the ideal. Even those who do not admit the existence of the Masters seek some ideal, and then visual- ise that ideal as embodied in some form on the physical plane. They picture themselves, perhaps, as the exponents
252
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of ideal action, or visualise some great philanthropist, some superlative scientist, some notable artist or musician, as embodying their supreme conception. The human being, — simply because he is himself fragmentary and in- complete— has always this urge within himself to seek other and greater than himself. It is this that drives him back to the centre of his being, and it is this that forces him to take the path of return to the All-Self. Ever, through- out the aeons, does the Prodigal Son arise and go to his Father, and always latent within him is the memory of the Father's home and the glory there to be found. But the human mind is so constituted that the search for light and for the ideal is necessarily long and difficult. "Now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face" ; now we catch glimpses through the occasional windows we pass in our ascension of the ladder, of other and greater Beings than ourselves; They hold out to us helping hands, and call to us in clarion tones to struggle bravely on if we hope to stand where They are now standing.
We sense beauties and glories surrounding us that as yet we cannot revel in; they flit into our vision, and we touch the glory at a lofty moment only again to lose the contact and to sink back again into the murky gloom that envelopes. But we know that outside and further on is something to be desired; we learn also the mystery that that external wonder can only be contacted by withdraw- ing within, till the centre of consciousness 4s -£eu«d -that vibrates in tune with those dimly realised wonders, and with those radiant Souls Who call Themselves our Elder Brothers. Only by trampling on the external sheaths that veil and hide the inner centre do we achieve the goal, and find the Ones we seek. Only by the domination of all forms, and the bringing of those forms under the rule of the God within, can we find the God in all, for it is only the
254 THE MASTERS
sheaths in which we move upon the plane of being that hide from us our inner God, and that shut us off from Those in Whom the God transcends all outer forms.
The great Initiate, Who voiced the words I quote, added still other words of radiant truth : "Then shall we know even as we are known". The future holds for each and all who duly strive, who unselfishly serve and occultly meditate, the promise of knowing Those Who already have full knowledge of the struggler. Therein lies the hope for the student of meditation; as he struggles, as he fails, as he perseveres, and as he laboriously reiterates from day to day the arduous task of concentration and of mind control, there stand on the inner side Those Who know him, and Who watch with eager sympathy the progress that he makes.
Forget not the earlier part of the Initiate's remarks where he points out the way whereby the darkness is dis- pelled, and knowledge of the Great Ones is reached. He emphasises that only by love is the path of light and knowledge trodden. Why this emphasis upon love? Be- cause the goal for all is love, and therein lies the merging. To put scientifically what is oft a nebulous sentiment, we might express it as follows : — It is by the attainment of the vibration which is analogous to the Ray of Love- Wis- dom (the Divine Ray) that the Lords of Love are con- tacted, that the Masters of Compassion are known, and that the possibility of entering into the consciousnesses of the Great Ones and of all our brothers of whatsoever de- gree, becomes a fact in manifestation.
This is the path to be trodden by one and all, and the method is meditation. The goal is perfect love and wis- dom; the steps are the surmounting of sub-plane after sub-plane on all the three planes; the method is that of
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occult meditation; the reward is the continuous expan- sion of consciousness that puts a man eventually en rap- port with his own Ego, with other selves, with the waiting eager Master to Whom he is assigned, with fellow disciples and more advanced Initiates whom he may contact in that Master's aura, till he finally contacts the One Initia- tor, is admitted into the Secret Place, and knows the mystery that underlies consciousness itself.
September 14th, 1920.
Who arc the Masters?
It might be of value to us in our consideration of the subject of access to the Masters via meditation if we started with a few fundamental statements, dealing with the Masters and Their place in evolution. We will there- fore take up our first point. We shall thus bring before the readers of these letters some idea as to Their status, Their comprehensive development, and Their methods of work. Xeedless to say, much that will follow will carry nothing new in import. The things that concern us most closely and the things that are to us the most familiar are oft the most frequently overlooked, and the most nebulous to our reasoning faculty.
A Master of the Wisdom is One Who has under- gone the fifth initiation. That really means that His con- sciousness has undergone such an expansion that it now includes the fifth or spiritual kingdom. He has worked His way through the four lower kingdoms : — the mineral, the vegetable, the animal and the human — and has, through meditation and service, expanded His centre of consciousness till it now includes the plane of spirit.
256 THE MASTERS
A Master of the Wisdom is One Who has effected the transfer of polarisation from the three atoms of the personal life — as included in the causal body — into the three atoms of the Spiritual Triad. He is consciously spirit-intuition-abstract mind, or atma-buddhi-manas, and this not potentially but in full effective power, realised through experience. This has been brought about, as earlier said, through the process of meditation.
A Master of the Wisdom is One Who has found not only the chord of the Ego, but the full chord of the Monad, and can ring the changes therefore at will upon all the notes from the lowest to that of the monadic. This means occultly that He has now developed the creative faculty, and can sound the note for each plane and build thereon. This power — first to discover the notes of the monadic chord and secondly to use those notes in con- structive building — is first realised through meditation occultly performed, balanced by service lovingly adminis- tered.
A Master of the Wisdom is He Who can wield the law in the three worlds and can dominate all that evolves on those planes. By learning the laws of mind through the practice of meditation, He expands the laws of mind till they embrace the laws of the Universal Mind as demonstrated in lower manifestation. The Laws of Mind are mastered in meditation. They are applied in the life of service which is the logical outcome of true knowledge.
A Master of the Wisdom is He Who has passed out of the Hall of Learning into the Hall of Wisdom. He has there graduated through its five grades and has trans- muted lower mind into mind pure and unalloyed, has transmuted desire into intuition, and has irradiated His consciousness with the light of pure Spirit. The dis-
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cipline of meditation is the only way in which this can be accomplished.
A Master of the Wisdom is He Who, through knowledge acquired by means of the five senses, has learnt that synthesis exists, and has merged those five senses into the synthetic two, that mark the point of attainment in the solar system. Through meditation the geometrical sense of proportion is adjusted, the sense of values is clearly recognised, and through that adjustment and re- cognition, illusion is dispelled and reality is known. The practice of meditation and the inner concentration there brought about awakens the consciousness to the value and true use of form. Thereby reality is contacted and the three worlds can no more ensnare.
A Master of the Wisdom is He Who knows the meaning of consciousness, of life, and of spirit. He can pass — by the line of least resistance — straight to the "bosom of His Father in Heaven". The approach to the line of least resistance, the direct path, is found through the practice of meditation.
A Master of the Wisdom is He Who has resolved Himself from the five into the three, and from the three into the two. He has become the five-pointed star, and when that moment is reached He sees that star flash out above the One Initiator, and recognises it in those of equal place to His. He has sanctified (in the occult sense) the Quarternary, has used it as the foundation stone upon which to erect the Temple of Solomon. He has grown beyond that Temple itself and has come to recognise it as limitation. He has withdrawn Himself from its confining walls and has entered within the Triad. He has done this always by the occult method, that is, consciously and with full knowledge of each step taken. He learns the meaning
258 THE MASTERS
of each confining form ; then, He has assumed control and wielded the law upon the plane consistent with the form. He has then out-grown the form and has discarded it for other and higher forms. Thus He has progressed always by means of the sacrifice and death of the form. Always it is recognised as imprisoning; always it must be sacri- ficed and must die so that the life within may speed ever on and up. The path of resurrection pre-supposes cruci- fixion and death, and then leads to the Mount whence Ascension may be made. In meditation the value of the life, and the confines of the form, can be appreciated and known, and by knowledge and service can the life be set free from all that limits and trammels.
A Master of the Wisdom is One Who has chosen to stay upon our planet to help His f ellow-men . . . . All Who attain the fifth Initiation are Masters of the Wisdom, but all stay not and work as servers of the race. They pass to other work of greater or equal importance. To the general public the significance of the term lies in the thought that They choose to stay and limit Themselves for the sake of men who are pressing forward on the wave of evolution. Through meditation has the Great One reached His goal and (which is a thing not so oft compre- hended) through meditation, or the manipulation of thought matter, and by work on the mental bodies of the race, is the work carried on that aids the evolutionary process.
A Master of the Wisdom is He Who has taken the first initiation that links Him up with the greater Brother- hood on Sirius. As afore I have told you, He is an Initiate of the 1st Degree in the greater Lodge. He has attained an expansion of consciousness that has admitted Him into touch with the solar system in many of its departments. Now He has ahead of Him a vast reach of expansions that
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will eventually take Him beyond systemic consciousness into something far greater and wider. He has to begin to learn the rudiments of that cosmic meditation that will admit Him into a Consciousness past our conceivable sur- mise.
A Master of the Wisdom is He Who can consciously function as part of the Heavenly Man to Whose Body He may belong. He understands the laws governing groups and group souls. He governs a group soul consciously Himself (a group on the path of return and formed of the lives of many sons of men) and He knows His place in the body systemic. He realises the centre in the Body of the Heavenly Man by means of which He and His group are kept in sympathetic vibration, and conducts His rela- tionship with other groups in the same Body under certain definite laws. The value of meditation as a preparation for this activity will be realised by all thoughtful students, for meditation is the one means whereby the sense of separ- ateness is transcended, and unity with one's kind occultly comprehended.
A Master of the Wisdom is He Who has entrusted to Him, by virtue of work accomplished, certain Words of Power. By means of these Words He wields the law over other evolutions than the human, and through them He co-operates with the activity aspect of the Logos. Thus He blends His consciousness with that of the third Logos. Through these Words He assists with the building work, and the cohesive manipulating endeavor of the second Logos, and comprehends the inner working of the law of gravitation (or attraction and repulsion) that governs all the functions of the second aspect Logoic. Through these Words He co-operates with the work of the first Logos, and learns, as He takes the sixth and seventh
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Initiations (which is not always done) the meaning of Will as applied in the system. These Words are im- parted orally, and through clairvoyant faculty, but must be found by the initiate Himself, by the use of atma, and as He attains atmic consciousness .... When atmic con- sciousness is developing by means of the intuition, the Initiate can contact the stores of knowledge inherent in the Monad, and thus learn the Words of Power. This ability comes only after the application of the Eod of Initiation as wielded by the Lord of the World. There- fore by the higher stages of occult meditation does a Master of the Wisdom increase still further His know- ledge. Not static is His consciousness, but daily embrac- ing more. Daily does He apply Himself to further expan- sion.
A Master of the Wisdom is One Who has earned the right through similarity of vibration to work with the Heads of the Hierarchy of this planet, and in conjunction with analogous Heads on two other planets connected with our chain. When He has taken other initiations He can contact and work in conjunction with all the seven Planet- ary Logoi, and not just the three in control of allied chains. The whole system can be embraced by Him, and His consciousness has expanded to include the entire ob- jective solar system.
I could enumerate still other definitions, and further elucidate the matter for you, but that imparted today suffices. The point reached by a Master is high, but only relatively so, and you must not forget that when attained by Him it seems low indeed, for He measures it up with the vista expanding before Him. Each expansion of con- sciousness, each step upon the ladder, but opens before the Initiate another sphere to be embraced, and another step ahead to be taken; each initiation achieved but reveals
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still higher ones to be mastered, and never comes the point when the aspirant (be he an average man, an initiate, a Master, a Chohan, or a Bnddha) can remain in a condition static, and is incapable of further progress. Even the Logos Himself aspires, and even the One to Whom He aspires reaches up to a Greater.
What happens in the system transpires likewise on cosmic levels, and what is mastered here must be repeated on a vaster scale in the cosmos itself. In this thought lies inspiration and development and not despair or weari- ness. The reward that comes with each step forward, the delight that lies in increased comprehension, rewards the struggling aspirant in adequate fashion .... Tomorrow we will deal with the more practical side, that of the man who aims at this high calling.
September 16th, 1920. What access to the Master entails.
We deal today with the second point in our eighth letter, and we have to look at the subject in two ways, from the standpoint briefly of the Master, and rather lengthily from the viewpoint of the pupil.
We have in these letters given a broad outline of the magnitude of the task that lies ahead of the man who proposes to attain. Much that has been written has no interest for the man who is only of average development, but chiefly concerns the man who has reached a specific point in evolution, and stands upon the Path of Probation. Much that might be said upon this matter has been cov- ered in that earlier series I communicated to you. I seek not to cover the same ground here, but to deal more specifically with the internal relationship which exists be- tween Master and pupil.
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That relationship exists in four grades, in each of which a man progresses nearer to his Master. These four grades are as follows and cover the period wherein the man is under training until the time when he himself becomes an adept.
They are: —
a. The period wherein he is on probation.
b. The period wherein he is an accepted disciple.
c. The period wherein he is regarded as the Master's intimate, or — as it is esofcerically termed — the "Son of the Master."
d. The period wherein the final three initiations are taken, and he knows himself as one with the Master. He ranks then as the "Beloved of the Master", — a position analogous to that which John, the beloved disciple, held in the Bible story.
All these stages are governed by two things: —
a. Similarity of vibration.
b. Karma,
and all are involved in the ability of the man to develop group consciousness.
On the planes of the higher mind, on the second sub- plane you have a reflection of what can be seen on the highest planes of our solar system. What have you there? The seven Heavenly Men are there to be found, each of Whom is composed (from the standpoint of form) of group souls, — those group souls being made up of the indi- vidual human and angel units of consciousness. On the second subplanes of the mental plane you have the groups belonging to the Masters, if so I may express it. These groups are animated and vitalised from the atomic sub- plane where the Masters (when manifesting for the help- ing of the sons of men) have Their habitat, just as the
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Heavenly Men have Their originating source and the cause of Their life on the atomic plane of the solar system, that which we call the plane of adi, or the first plane. These groups are formed around a Master, are enclosed within His aura, and are a part of His consciousness. They include people whose egoic ray is the same as His, or whose monadic ray is the same. This means therefore that two types of people are concerned: —
1. Those who are preparing for the first and second initiations, which are taken upon the ray of the Ego, and
2. Those who are preparing for the two next initia- tions, which are taken upon the ray of the Monad. You have here a cause of the transference of people from one ray to another. It is only an apparent transference, even though it entails passing into the group of a different Master. This takes place after the second initiation.
A Probationers three objects.
During the period wherein a man is under probation, he is supposed to be developing three things: —
1. The ability to contact his group, or in other words, to be sensible of the vibration of the group of which some particular Master is the focal point. He con- tacts it at times and at rare intervals at first. During the early part of his probation, whilst he is under observa- tion, he can only sense and hold the group vibration (which is the Master's vibration) for a very brief interval. He will at some high moment link up with the Master and with the group, and his whole being will be flooded with that high vibration, and surge upward in an outburst of his group colour. Then he will relax, drop back and lose the contact. His bodies are not refined enough and his vibration is too unstable to hold it long.
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But, as time progresses ( and it is longer or shorter ac- cording to the earnestness of the pupil) the frequency of the times of contact increases; he can hold the vibration somewhat longer, and does not relax back to normal with so much ease. Then the time comes when he can be trusted to hold the contact fairly stably. He passes then to the second stage.
2. The second thing he is supposed to be developing on the probationary path is the faculty of abstract thought, or the power to link up with the higher mind, via the causal body. He must learn to contact the lower mind simply as an instrument whereby he can reach the higher, and thus to transcend it, until he becomes polarised in the causal body. Then, through the medium of the causal body, he links up with the abstract levels. Until he can do this he cannot really contact the Master, for, as you have been told, the pupil has to raise himself from his world (the lower) into Their world (the higher).
Now both these things — the power to touch the Master and the Master's group, and the power to polarise himself in the causal body and touch the abstract levels — are de- finitely the result of meditation, and the earlier letters you have received from me will have made this clear. There is therefore no need to recapitulate the earlier im- parted data, save to point out that by strenuous medita- tion, and the faculty of one-pointed application to the duty in hand (which is after all the fruit of meditation worked out in daily living) will come the increased facul- ty to hold steadily the higher vibration. Again and again would I re-iterate the apparently simple truth, that only similarity of vibration will draw a man to the higher group to which he may belong, to the Master Who repre- sents to him the Lord of His Eay, to the World Teacher Who administers to him the mysteries, to the One Initiator
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Who effects the final liberation, and to the centre within the Heavenly Man in Whose Body he finds a place. It is the working out of the Law of Attraction and Repulsion on on all the planes that gathers the life divine out of the mineral kingdom, out of the vegetable and animal kingdoms, that draws the latent Deity from out of the limitations of the human kingdom, and affiliates the man with his divine group. The same law effects his liberation from subtler forms that likewise bind, and blends him back into his animating source, the Lord of the Ray in Whose Body his Monad may be found. Therefore the work of the probationer is to attune his vibration to that of his Master, to purify his three lower bodies so that they form no hindrance to that contact, and so to dominate his lower mind that it is no longer a barrier to the down- flow of light from the three-fold Spirit. Thus he is per- mitted to touch that Triad and the group on the sub-plane of the higher mental to which he — by right and karma — belongs. All this is brought about by meditation, and there is no other means for achieving these aims.
3. The third thing the probationer has to do is to equip himself emotionally and mentally, and to realise and prove that he has somewhat to impart to the group with which he is esoterically affiliated. Think upon this: too much emphasis is laid at times upon that which the pupil will get when he becomes an accepted disciple or proba- tioner. I tell you here in all earnestness, that he will not take these desired steps until he has somewhat to give, and something to add that will increase the beauty of the group, that will add to the available equipment that the Master seeks for the helping of the race, and that will in- crease the richness of the group colouring. This can be brought about in two ways that mutually interact : —
1. By the definite equipping, through study and ap-
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plication, of the content of the emotional and mental bodies.
2. By the utilisation of that equipment in service to the race on the physical plane, thereby demon- strating to the eyes of the watching Hierarchy that the pupil has somewhat to give. He must show that his one desire is to be a benefactor and to serve, rather than to grasp and acquire for himself. This life of acquisition for the purposes of giving must have for incentive the ideals touched in meditation, and for inspiration those downpourings from the higher mental levels and from the buddhic levels which are the result of occult meditation.
When these three results are brought about, and when the high vibration touched is more frequent and stable, then the probationer takes the next step forward and be- comes an accepted disciple.
Accepted Biscipleship.
The second period wherein a man is an accepted dis- ciple is perhaps one of the most difficult in a man's whole period of lives. It is made so in several ways : —
He is definitely a part of the Master's group, and is within the consciousness of the Master at all times, be- ing kept within His aura. This involves the steady hold- ing of a high vibration. I would have you ponder on what the effect of this would be. To hold this vibration is at all times a difficult thing to do; it frequently involves an in- tensification of all that subsists within a man's nature, and may lead (especially at first) to curious demonstration. Yet, if ever a man is to be able to hold the force that is the result of the application of the Eod of Initiation, he has
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to demonstrate his ability to do so at an earlier stage, and be able to hold himself stably and to move steadily for- ward when subjected to the intensification of vibration that comes from the Master.
He has to discipline himself so that nothing can enter into his consciousness that could in any way harm the group to which he belongs, or be antagonistic to the Master's vibration. If I might so express it so as to give you some conception of my meaning, when he first forms part of the group enclosed in the Master's aura, he is kept on the periphery of that aura until he has learnt to throw off automatically, and to reject immediately, every thought and desire unworthy of the Self and thus harmful to the group. Until he has learnt to do this he cannot advance into a closer relationship, but must remain where he can be automatically shut off. But gradually he purifies him- self still more, gradually he develops group consciousness and thinks in group terms of service, gradually his aura takes on more and more the colouring of his Master's aura, till he blends and has earned the right to be gathered closer to his Master's Heart. Later I will explain the technical meaning of this phrase when dealing with the work of the Master with the pupil. Suffice it to say, that as the term of "accepted disciple" progresses (and it varies in different cases) the disciple advances ever closer to the heart of the group, and finds his own place and functional activity in that body corporate. That is the secret : the finding of one's place, — not so much one's place upon the ladder of evolution (for that is approximately known) but in service. This is of more importance than is realised, for it covers the period which, at the end, will definitely demonstrate which path a man will follow after the fifth initiation.
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tionship to the Master.
We now come to the time when the disciple moves on to the much coveted position of a "Son of the Master." He is then a part consciously and at all times of the Master's consciousness. The interplay between the Master and dis- ciple is being rapidly perfected, and the disciple can now consciously and at will link up with the Master and as- certain His thoughts. He can enter into His plans, de- sires and will. This he has won by the right of similarity of vibration, and because the shutting off process (neces- sitated earlier by discordant vibration) is practically superseded; the disciple has so purified himself that his thoughts and desires cause no disquietude to the Master, and no contrary vibration to the group. He has been tried and not been found wanting. His life of service in the world is more concentrated and perfected, and he is daily developing his power to give, and increasing his equip- ment. All this concerns his relationship to some Master and to some one group soul. It is not dependent upon his taking initiation. Initiation is a technical matter and can be expressed in terms of esoteric science. A man can take initiation and yet not be a "son of a Master." Disciple- ship is a personal relationship, governed by terms of kar- ma and affiliation, and is not dependent upon a man's status in the Lodge. Keep this clear in your mind. Cases have been known when a man has acquired — through dili- gence— the technical requisites for initiation before be- coming affiliated with any particular Master.
This later relationship of "son" to some Master has a peculiar sweetness all its own, and carries with it cer- tain privileges. The disciple can then lift some of the bur- den off his Master's shoulders, and relieve Him of some of His responsibilities thereby setting Him free for more extended work. Hence the emphasis laid on service, for it
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is only as a man serves that he advances. It is the keynote of the vibration of the second abstract level. The Master at this period will confer with His "Son" and plan the work to be done npon their united point of view. In this way He will develop His pupil's discrimination and judg- ment, and lighten His own load along certain lines, thus setting Himself free for other important work.
The final period of those under discussion can have but little submitted about it. It covers the period when a man is mastering the final stages of the Path and is en- tering into closer and closer touch with his group and with the Hierarchy. He is not only vibrating in tune with his group and with his Master, but is beginning now to gather out his own people, and form a group himself. This group will be at first only on emotional and physical levels and on the lower mental. After the fifth initiation he will en- close within his aura these groups and those on egoic levels who are his own. This in no way prevents his being one with his Master and group, but the method of inter-blend- ing is one of the secrets of initiation.
All this, coupled with what has been earlier imparted, will give you some idea of the rights and powers acquired on the probationary Path and on the Path of Initiation. The means of development are ever the same: — occult meditation and service ; the inner life of concentration and the outer life of practice; the inner ability to contact the higher, and the outer ability to express that faculty in terms of holy living ; the inner irradiation from the Spirit, and the outer shining before men.
September 17th, 1920.
The subject that we have for the past few days
been studying, though not so technical as some of the
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earlier imparted data, yet carries with it a vibration that will make this eighth letter one of those with the most potent appeals in the series. We have dealt with the facts as to the Masters and Who They are, and Their place in the scheme of things, and we have touched briefly upon what access to a Master entails from the standpoint of a pupil. We have seen that that access is a gradual process and carries a man, from an occasional outer contact with a Master and His group to a position of the closest in- timacy, and to an attitude that places the pupil within the aura and close to the heart of his Teacher. Today we will consider for a little what this gradual changing of position has entailed on the part of the Master and what it has necessitated on His side. The relationship of Master and pupil.
As you have frequently been told, the attention of a Master is attracted to a man by the brilliance of the in- dwelling light. When that light has reached a certain intensity, when the bodies are composed of a certain grade of matter, when the aura has attained a certain hue and when the vibration has reached a specific rate and measure, and when a man's life commences to sound occultly in the three worlds (which sound is to be heard through the life of service) some one particular Master begins to test him out by the application of some higher vibration, and by the study of his re-action to that vibration. The choice of a pupil by a Master is governed by past karma and by old association, by the ray on which they both may be found, and by the need of the hour. The Master's work ( as much of it as may wisely be made exoteric) is varied and inter- esting, and is based on a scientific comprehension of human nature. What is it that a Master has to do with a pupil? By enumerating the chief things to be done we may get some idea of the scope of His work: —
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He has to accustom the pupil to raise his rate of vibration till he can continuously carry a high one, and then assist him until that high vibration becomes the stable measure of the pupil's bodies.
He has to assist the pupil to effect the transfer of polarisation from the lower three atoms of the Personality to the higher ones of the Spiritual Triad.
He has to watch over the work accomplished by the pupil whilst making the channel between higher and lower mind, whilst he builds and employs this channel (the antakarana). This channel eventually supersedes the causal body as a means of communication between the higher and the lower. The causal body is itself eventu- ally done away with when the pupil takes the fourth initia- tion and can freely create his own body of manifestation.
He definitely assists at the vivification of the various centres and their correct awakening, and He later aids the pupil to consciously work through those centres, and to carry the circulating fire in right geometrical progression from the base of the spine to the head centre.
He superintends the work of the pupil on different planes and makes records of the extent of the work ac- complished, and the far-reaching effect of the spoken word, as enunciated by the pupil. This is (putting it occultly) the effect on the inner planes of the note of the pupil's exoteric life.
He enlarges the consciousness of the pupil in vari- ous ways, and develops his capacity to include and contact other rates of vibration than the human, to understand the consciousness of other evolutions than the human, and move with facility in other spheres than the earth sphere.
His immediate goal in working with the pupil is to prepare him for the first initiation. This takes place
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when the capacity of the pupil to hold a certain rate of vibration for a specific length of time is developed, the length of time being that wherein he must stand before the Lord of the first two initiations. This is accomplished by a gradual raising of the vibration at few and stated in- tervals, and later more frequently until the pupil can vibrate with greater ease and comfort to the vibration of his Master, and can hold the vibration for an ever increas- ing length of time. When he can hold it for this period (the length of which is of course one of the secrets of the first initiation) he is subjected to the application of a still higher vibration which — when held — will enable him to stand before the Great Lord for a length of time suffi- cient to permit of the initiation ceremony. The applica- tion then of the Kod of Initiation effects something that stabilises vibration, and makes it easier to progress in the task of vibrating to the higher measure of the subtler planes.
He develops the capacity of the pupil to work in group formation. He studies his action and interaction on his own affiliated group. He works with the pupil's causal body and its expansion and development, and teaches the pupil to understand the law of his own being and through that understanding brings him to a compre- hension of the macrocosm.
Now all these various aspects of the Master's work (and these are but a few of the points which might be considered) might be dealt with at length and would prove of illuminating interest to the reader. All the above para- graphs could be extended and prove of exceeding inter- est. But the main point I seek to make here is in connec- tion with the earlier stages of this work, before the pupil is admitted into the later stages of close intimacy with
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Ms Master. The Master during this period works with his disciple principally: —
a. At night, when he is out of the physical body.
b. During the periods when the disciple is medi- tating.
According to the success of the meditation, according to the ability of the student to shut off the lower and con- tact the higher, so will come the opportunity of the Master to accomplish successfully the scientific definite work that needs His attention. Students of meditation would be astounded and perhaps discouraged, could they realise how seldom they provide the right conditions through medi- tation which will enable their watching Teacher to bring about certain effects. By the frequency of the student's ability to do this comes indication of progress, and the possibility of carrying him on another step. Emphasise this point in teaching for it carries with it an incentive to greater diligence and application. If the pupil himself on his side provides not the just conditions the Master's hands are tied and He can do but little. Self -effort is the key to progress, coupled to conscious comprehending ap- plication to the ivork laid down. When that effort is made with perseverance, then comes the opportunity of the Master to carry out His side of the work.
As the pupil meditates with occult accuracy he brings his three lower bodies into alignment and — with emphasis I re-iterate — only as alignment is effected is the Master able to work with the bodies of the pupil. If naught else is effected by the publication of these letters except the intensification of the desire to meditate with correctness, the object in view will be largely attained. In that effort the right conditions between pupil and Master, and a cor- rect inter-relation will be brought about. Meditation pro-
274 THE MASTERS
\ides these conditions, when rightly followed. It prepares the field for labour and for work.
Let us briefly consider the various periods as enumer- ated yesterday when considering the pupil's relationship to a Master.
In the period when the man is under probation
and supervision he is left almost entirely to himself
and is only conscious of the attention of the Master at rare and irregular intervals. His physical brain is not often receptive to the higher contact, and though his Ego is fully aware of his position on the Path, not yet is the physical brain in a condition to know. But on this point no hard and fast rule can be laid down. When a man has been for several lives making contacts with his Ego or with his Master he may be aware of it. Individuals differ so much that no universal rule in detail can be formulated. As you know, the Master makes a small image of the pro- bationer, which image is stored in certain subterranean centres in the Himalayas. The image is magnetically linked with the probationer, and shews all the fluctuations of his nature. Being composed of emotional and mental matter it pulsates with every vibration of those bodies. It shews their predominating hues, and by studying it the Master can rapidly gauge the progress made and judge when the probationer may be admitted into a closer rela- tionship. The Master views the image at stated intervals, rarely at first as the progress made in the beginning stages is not so rapid, but with ever increasing frequency as the student of meditation comprehends more readily and more consciously co-operates. The Master when inspect- ing the images works with them, and through their means effects certain results. Just as later the Rod of Initiation is applied to the bodies and centres of the initiate, so at
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certain times the Master applies certain contacts to the images and via them stimulates the bodies of the pupil.
A time comes when the Master sees, from His inspec- tion of the image, that the needed rate of vibration can be held, that the required eliminations have been made, and a certain depth of colour attained. He can then take the risk (for risk it is) and admit the probationer within the periphery of His own aura. He becomes then an accepted disciple.
During the period wherein a man is an accepted disciple the work done by the Master is of very real inter- est. The pupil is assigned to special classes conducted by more advanced disciples under the supervision of the Mas- ter, and though he may attend still the larger general classes in the Ashram (the Master's hall for teaching) he
is subjected to a more intensified training The
Master works in the earlier stages in four main ways : —
a. At intervals, and when the progress of the pupil justifies it, He "gathers the pupil to His Heart''. This is an esoteric statement of a very interesting experience to which the pupil will be subjected. At the close of some class in the ashram, or dur- ing some specially successfully meditation where- in the pupil has reached a certain rate of vibra- tion, the Master will gather him close to Himself, bringing him from the periphery of His aura to the centre of His consciousness. He thereby gives him a tremendous temporary expansion of con- sciousness, and enables him to vibrate at an un- usual rate for him.
Hence the need for meditation. The reward of such an experience far out-weighs any* of the strenuous parts of the work.
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b. The Master works upon the bodies of his pupil with colour, and brings about results in those bodies that enable the pupil to make more rapid
progress. Now you will see why so much
emphasis is laid upon colour. It is not only be- cause it holds the secret of form and manifesta- tion (which secret must be known by the occult- ist) but the emphasis is laid thus in order that he may consciously co-operate in the work of the Master on his bodies, and intelligently follow the effects brought about. Ponder on this.
c. At stated intervals the Master takes His pupils, and enables them to contact other evolutions, such as the great angels and devas, the lesser builders and the sub-human evolutions. This can be safe- ly done by the pupil through the protective effect of the Master's aura. Later, when himself an initiate, the pupil will be taught how to protect himself and to make his own contacts,
d. The Master presides over the work of stimulating the centres in the pupil's bodies and the awaken- ing of the inner fire. He teaches the pupil the meaning of the centres and their correct fourth dimensional rotation and in time He will bring the pupil to a point where he can consciously and with full knowledge of the law work with his centres, and bring them to a point where they can be safely stimulated by the Rod of Initiation. More on this subject is not yet possible
I have only touched in the briefest manner on a few of the things a Master has to do with His pupils. I take not up the later stages of the pupil's progress. We lead all on by gradual steps, and as yet even accepted disciples are rare. If by meditation, service, and the purifying of
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the bodies, those now on probation can be led to make more rapid progress, then will come the time for the com- munication of further information. What use is it to give facts of which the student cannot as yet make use? We waste not time in interesting intellectually those we seek to help. When the pupil has equipped himself, when he has purified himself and is vibrating adequately, naught can withhold all knowledge from him. When he opens the door and widens the channel light and knowledge will pour in.
Tomorrow we will take up our third point, methods of approach to a Master via meditaton; certain types of meditation will be slightly enlarged upon which will facilitate contact but forget not, that the life of objective service must keep pace with the subjective growth; only when the two are seen together and approved are the neces- sary steps for contact permitted. A Master is only inter- ested in a man from the point of view of his usefulness in the group soul, and his capacity to help.
September 19th, 1920.
We can today take up our last two points practically simultaneously. They deal with methods of approach to the Masters and the objective effects on the three planes of human evolution. Some of the points touched upon are already well-known. Others may not be so familiar to the
general student In these letters we have dealt with
the student himself and what he has to bring to the en- deavour; we have indicated likewise his goal and — very sketchily — the forms and methods whereby success may be achieved. We have dealt also with those aids to medi- tation, the Sacred Word, Colour and Sound, and have in- dicated that which (brooded upon in silence) may lead
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to the student making some discoveries for himself. Last- ly we have tried to bring the Masters and Their reality nearer to the student, and thereby facilitate his approach to Them.
What now remains to be done? To indicate five things that may be looked for with conviction by the student who has endeavoured to conform his life to the lines laid down by me in these letters. If the student but provides the right conditions, if he conforms to the neces- sary rules, if he aims always at regularity, at calmness, at that inner concentration that holds the mystery of the High Places, he will on certain occasions and with ever- increasing frequency awake to some definite realisations. These realisations will be the outer recognition of inner results, and will be the guarantee to him that he is on the right path. But I would here point out again that these results are only achieved after long practice, strenuous struggle, diligent disciplining of the three-fold lower man, and consecrated service to the world.
Methods of approach and effects obtained.
The methods of approach are broadly three and we might indicate five results that will eventuate from the employment of these methods. The three methods are: —
1. Sanctified service.
2. Intellectual application.
3. Love demonstrating through wisdom.
They are all three but diverse methods of expressing one and the same thing, — active one-pointedness that expresses itself in service for the race through love and wisdom. But some individuals express this in one way and some in another ; some carry the outer appearance of intellectuality and others of love, yet before the attainment is possible intellectuality must be based on love, whilst love without
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mental development and that discrimination that mind affords is apt to be unbalanced and unwise. Both love and mind must be expressed in terms of service before the full flower of either is attained. Let us consider each of these methods separately and indicate the meditation to be followed thereon: —
Sanctified Service. This is the method of the man who wields the law, the method of the occultist, and the rudiments of the method are laid down in raja-yoga
The word "sanctification", as you know,
in the basic sense signifies the complete surrender of the whole being to one object, the Lord, or Ruler. It means the giving wholly to the one the devotee aspires to. It means the consecration of the whole three-fold man to the work in hand. It entails, therefore, the application of the entire time and self to the bringing of each body under the subjugation of the Ego, and the complete mas- tery of each plane and sub-plane. It involves the compre- hension of each evolution and form of divine life as found on those planes and sub-planes with one aim in view and only one — the furthering of the plan of the Heirarchy of Light. The method followed is that of the intensest ap- plication to the work of rounding out the bodies and of making them fit instruments for service. It is perhaps the hardest way that a man can tread. It leaves no depart- ment of the life untouched. All is brought under law. In meditation therefore the form of that meditation will be a three-fold structure : —
a. The laws governing the physical body will be studied and brooded over. This brooding will find ex- pression in a rigid disciplining of the physical body. It will be set apart wholly for service, and subjected consequently to a process that will attune and develop it more quickly.
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b. The body of the emotions will be scientifical- ly studied and the laws of water (occultly under- stood) will be comprehended. The significance of the term, "there shall be no more sea" will be known, and the sea of storm and passion will be superseded by the sea of glass, which directly reflects the higher in- tuition, and mirrors it with perfect accuracy, being unruffled and immovable. The emotional body will be set apart wholly for service, and its place in the three-fold microcosm will be regarded as correspond- ing to that in the macrocosm, whilst the occult signifi- cance of its being the only complete unit in the three- fold lower nature will be apprehended, and the fact made use of to effect certain results. Ponder on this.
c. The place of lower mind in the scheme of things will be studied, and the quality of discrimina- tion developed. Discrimination and fire are occultly allied and just as the Logos by fire tries every man's work of what sort it is, so the microcosm on a lesser scale has to do the same. Just as the Logos likewise does this paramountly in the fifth round of judgment and of separation, so the microcosm on his lesser scale does the same in the last and fifth period of his evolu- tion,— touched upon and described earlier in these let- ters. Every power of the mind will be utilised to the uttermost for the furtherance of the plans of evolu- tion ; first in the man's own development, then in the special field of work wherein he expresses himself, and lastly in his relationship with other units of the race, as he constitutes himself their guide and servant. See you therefore the synthesis of it? First the
strenuous one-pointedness that is the sign of the occultist blended with the wisdom and love which is reflected from
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the higher in the mirror of the emotional body, and then the intellect forced to act as the servant of the Ego through one-pointed effort animated by love and wisdom. The re- sult will be the true Yogi.
I would point out here that the true Yogi is he, who, after due carrying out of the set forms and times for medi- tation, merges that meditation in the every-day living, and will eventually be in the attitude of meditation all the day. Meditation is the means whereby the higher con- sciousness is contacted. When the contact becomes con- tinuous, meditation, as you understand it, is superseded. In this first method the occult student works from the periphery to the centre, from the objective to the sub- jective, from the form to the life within the form. There- fore through the emphasis laid in Raj a- Yoga on the physi- cal body and its wise control the occultist realises the essential importance of the physical, and the uselessness of all his knowledge apart from a physical body whereby he can express himself and serve the race. It is the line of the first ray, and its affiliated or complementary ray.
Love and wisdom. This method is the line of least resistance for the sons of men. It is the sub-ray of the synthetic ray of an analagous vibration, of which our solar system is the objective manifestation. But I would seek to point out that the love achieved by the student of medi- tation who follows this line is not the sentimental concep- tion that is so often discussed. It is not the non-dis- criminating love that sees no limitation, nor concedes a fault. It is not the love that seeks not to correct and that expresses itself in an ill-advised attitude to all who live. It is not the love that sweeps all into service, suitable or unsuitable, and that recognises no difference in point of development. Much that is called love, — if logically fol- lowed out, — would apparently dispense with the ladder of
282 THE MASTERS
evolution, and rank all as of equal value. So potentially all are, but in present terms of service all are not.
True love or wisdom sees with perfect clarity the de- ficiencies of any form, and bends every effort to aid the indwelling life to liberate itself from trammels. It wisely recognises those that need help, and those that need not its attention. It hears with precision, and sees the thought of the heart and seeks ever to blend into one whole the workers in the field of the world. This it achieves not by blindness, but by discrimination and wisdom, separ- ating contrary vibrations and placing them in position diverse. Too much emphasis has been laid on that called love (interpreted by man, according to his present place in evolution) and not enough has been placed on wisdom, which is love expressing itself in service, such a service that recognises the occult law, the significance of time, and the point achieved.
This is the line of the second ray and its affiliated, and complementary rays. Later it is the all-inclusive one, and the solvent and absorber. It can be followed, being synthetic, on either the raja yoga line or the Christian Gnostic, owing to its synthetic significance
Intellectual application. Here the order is re versed and the student, being frequently polarised in his mental body, has to learn through that mind to understand the other two, to dominate and control, and to utilise to the uttermost the powers inherent in the three-fold man. The method here is perhaps not so hard in some ways, but the limitations of the fifth principle have to be transcended before real progress can be made. These limitations are largely crystallisation and that which you call pride. Both have to be broken before the student who progresses through intellectual application can serve his race with love and wisdom as the animating cause.
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He has to learn the value of the emotions, and in so learning he has to master the effect of fire on water, oc- cultly understood. He has to learn the secret of that plane, which secret (when known) gives him the key to the downpour of illumination from the Triad via the causal and thence to the astral. It holds the key also of the fourth etheric level. This will not as yet be comprehended by you, but the above hint holds for the student much of value.
This is the line of the third Ray, and of its four sub- sidiary Rays, and is one of great activity, of frequent transference, and of much active mental display in the lower worlds.
Only when the student, who progresses by intellectual application, has learned the secret of the fifth plane, will he live the life of sanctified service, and so blend the three ways. Always synthesis must be attained, but always the fundamental colouring or tone remains. The next or fifth round will show the greatest exposition of this method. It will be the round of supreme mental development, and will carry its evolving Monads to heights undreamed of now.
This round marks the height of the second method, that through love or wisdom. It is the fourth round, that wherein the emotional reaches a high point of vibration, and there is direct connection between the fourth plane of harmony, between the emotional body, or the fourth principle, the quarternary, the fourth root-race or the At- lantean which co-ordinated the astral. I give you food for thought in these correspondences.
September 21st, 1920. Five effects of Meditation in the three worlds.
Today, we are to take up the five effects in the three
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bodies in the lower world that the student of meditation will be conscious of if he has duly followed the course laid down.
These effects are not specifically effects in the life as apparent to the onlooking world, such as greater love or spirituality or capacity to serve. What I seek today to bring out are the indications in the physical brain conscious- ness of the student that he has done some of the necessary work and is attaining somewhat the desired object. Keep this very clearly in mind. I do not seek to make clear all the many and various results achieved by the successful following of the occult laws of meditation. I deal here only with one phase of the matter, and that is, the realisa- tion, in the physical brain consciousness, of certain results along the line of our immediate topic, — access to the Masters.
This narrows down our subject to that of a con- scious realisation of the Masters and of some one partic- ular Master by the student in his physical brain. This realisation is independent very largely of his place upon the Path, and of his nearness or distance from initiation. Some very advanced egos may be working at this prob- lem, and be close indeed to their Master without being able to bring through to the physical brain specific facts proving to them this nearness. Some effect this knowledge at earlier stages than others. It is dependent upon the type of body in use and the work done in previous lives, resulting in a physical vehicle that is a fairly just expon- ent of the inner man. Oft the man is of far greater calibre and attainment on the inner planes than he is on the physi- cal. So many of our most earnest workers in this partic- ular half century are working out evil karma through the possession of inadequate bodies. Through diligence, appli- cation, high endeavour, and the long and patient following
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of the rules laid down there comes a time when the student is suddenly conscious — right within the physical brain, — of certain unexpected events, an illumination or a seeing that has before been unknown. It is something that is so real yet so momentarily surprising that no amount of sub- sequent apparent disproving can take away from him the knowledge that he saw, he contacted, he felt.
As often I have told you it is not possible in any way in this work to do more than widely generalise. Sixty million souls in process of evolving, each following certain rounds of lives totally different from those of others, offer a wide field to choose from, and no one experience is ex- actly the same as another. But it might be generally laid down that there are five ways (out of the many possible) which are of such frequent occurrences, comparatively speaking, as to warrant our enumerating them. All have been hinted at, but I may somewhat enlarge the already imparted data.
Seeing the Master and the self within the cave of the heart. As you know the student has often been told to visualise himself and the Master — about the size of a quarter inch — within the circumference of the etheric heart. He is told to picture, toward the close of his medi- tation, the heart etheric, and therein build minute forms of the Master to Whom he is drawn and of himself. This he proceeds to do with due and elaborate care, with the aid of the imagination and loving effort working daily on his figures till they become to him very real, and their building and forming becomes almost an automatic part of his meditation form. Then comes a day (usually when astrological conditions are fit and the moon approaches the full) when he becomes conscious within his brain that those figures are not the little puppets he thinks, but that he is within the figure representing himself, and that he
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stands literally and in all verity before the Master. This occurs at rare intervals at first, and the consciousness of the fact is held but for a few brief seconds; as progress is made, and every department of his nature and of his service develops, with greater frequency will come the ex- perience, with longer periods will it be marked, until there comes a time when the pupil can link up as easily in this manner with his Master as earlier he formed his figures.
Just what did occur? The pupil had succeeded in doing three things: —
1. Identifying himself with the figure within the heart, and aspiring to the Master.
2. Making a definite channel between the heart centre (wherein he is endeavouring to focus his conscious- ness) and its corresponding head centre. Each of the sev- en centres in the body, as you know, has a counterpart within the head. It is in the linking up of the centre with its counterpart in the head that illumination comes. This, — in the case in point, — has been accomplished by the student. He has connected the heart with its head centre.
3. Not only has he accomplished the two above things but he has so purified that part of the physical brain that corresponds with the particular head centre that it can respond to the higher vibration necessitated, and therefore accurately record what has transpired.
Recognition of vibration. In this instance the method is not quite the same. The student becomes con- scious during his moments of intensest aspiration in medi- tation of a certain peculiar vibration or sensation in hi*> head. It may be in one of three places : —
a. At the top of the spine.
b. In the forehead.
c. At the top of the head.
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I speak not here of the sensation that comes when psychic faculty develops, though there is an alliance between the two, but I speak of a definite vibration that accompanies contact with one of the Great Ones. The student at first is only conscious of a feeling of momentary heightening, which takes the form of a ripple or movement in the head. At first it may be attended with some discomfort, if felt in the forehead it may cause tears and weeping, if at the top of the spine or base of the skull exhilaration and even dizziness, and if at the top of the head a sense of expansion with a feeling of fulness, as if the limiting skull was too confining. This wears off with greater use. It is all caused by a contact, momentary at first, with some one Master. In time the student comes to recognise this vibra- tion and to associate it with some particular Great One, for each Master has His own vibration which impresses itself upon His pupils in a specific manner. This method of contact is frequently attended by perfume. In time the pupil learns how to raise his vibration to a certain pitch. Having done this he holds the vibration steady until he senses the Master's answering vibration or the perfume. Then he endeavours to merge his consciousness with the Master's as far as may be, to ascertain the Master's will, and to understand what it is that the Master has to com- municate. As time progresses and the response of the pupil grows, the Master on His side will attract his atten- tion or signal to him approval (for instance by arousing this vibration within his head)
September 23rd, 1920.
We have now our three remaining points to
take up, having already dealt with the two that touched upon contact with the Master in the cave of the heart, and
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the recognition of His vibration. There are still three other ways (out of many, forget not) whereby the earnest student may be conscious in his physical brain of having contacted his Master.
Bringing through into the physical brain conscious- ness the memory of the Masters ashram and the lessons imparted there.
As the student perseveres in his meditation, as he in- creases his facility to throw himself into the right vibra- tion, he builds up a pathway (if so we may term it) that leads him direct to his Master. This is a literal statement of fact. Good work earns for the man in time the right to be with the Master at stated periods. This entails good work in meditation coupled with active service for the race. These intervals are rare at first but come more frequently as progress is made. He will then become aware of this contact through remembrance on awakening. He will see the room of the Master, and remember his as- sociates in the work of the class. He will remember cer- tain sentences, as spoken by his Master, and will bring back a recollection of work suggested or of admonition. This is one of the methods which are indicative to the pupil that he is succeeding, through the ability built up in medi- tation, in gaining access to the Master.
The attainment of a certain amount of causal con- sciousness. This is indicative of the pupil's having de- veloped (mayhap in small degree, yet definitely realised) the power to enter somewhat into Their world. The faculty of abstract thought and contemplation, the power to transcend the limitations of time and space are powers of the body egoic, and as all egoic groups are — as afore- said— controlled by some one Master, the development of egoic consciousness (when consciously recognised) is in- dicative of contact and access. Many souls unconsciously
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contact their Ego, and temporarily have flashes of egoic consciousness but when the pupil can consciously raise himself, when he with deliberation intensifies his vibra- tion, and transfers his polarisation into the body egoic, even if for a brief moment, then he can know that he is for that brief moment vibrating to the key of the Master of his group. He has made contact. He may not remem- ber in his physical brain at first the details of that con- tact, he may not realise the appearance of the Master or the words that passed His lips, but having consciously conformed to rule, and entered within the silence of the high places, the law ever works, and he has made his con- tact. Some disciples know their Master intimately on the inner planes and work under His direction, but many lives may elapse before they comprehend the law and with de- liberation can make the channel of access, through power developed in meditation.
As time elapses this ability to contact increases until the point is reached when the pupil can at any time find out what is the will of the Master and have access to His heart.
This fifth method is not so usual but it is known to some natures. Through sound the aspirant is aware of success. He follows his usual form of meditation. He perseveres from day to day and works on all the three planes over the work to be done. He continuously raises his vibration and aspires in the needed endeavour, coup- ling all interior effort to the external life of loving service. At some one meditation he will suddenly become aware of a note of music, that seems to be sounded within his head or to emanate from his heart. It will not be evoked by the sounding of the Sacred Word, which Word when sounded by the man on a certain key may call forth a musical response from the Ego, but it will come as a result
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or culmination of the meditation, and the sound of the note will vibrate within the centre so distinctly as never to be forgotten. It is again an indication of success. The Master has been contacted, and has responded by sound- ing the tone of the man's own Ego. This is really the basis of the custom of the doorkeeper responding to the would- be aspirant to the mysteries of the group. When the work is properly done, the aspirant will sound the admission word in his own key or tone, endeavouring to strike the note that will evoke the Ego. The doorkeeper will respond and chant forth the reply in the same full sonorous tone, thereby, through the power of sound, linking the man up with the Master of the coming ceremonies. This puts each member of the group, — through his own effort and through the third factor, the doorkeeper, — en rapport with the Master. In time this will be more fully under- stood and effort will be made to keep the tone reverberat- ing between those who enter and those who guard the Threshold. When perfectly accomplished (a thing im- possible now) it forms a perfect protection. Groups will be formed according to egoic formation and the particular Master. The note of the group will be known to the one who guards the entrance, and no one can get in who sounds not the note in either the higher or lower octave. This applies to groups consecrated to inner spiritual de- velopment, and that are directly concerned with the work of a Master with His affiliated pupils or disciples or pro- bationers. Other groups, formed of units diverse and un- der different rays and Masters will guard their door by another method, later to be revealed.
When, in meditation, a student hears this inner mus- ical note, he should endeavour to register it, and cultivate the faculty of both recognising it and utilising it. This is not easy at first, as the sounding is both unlooked for
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and too brief to catch. But as time progresses, and the pupil succeeds in again and yet again getting a similar response, then he can begin to find out the method and watch the causes that set the vibration in motion.
As I have said before, many are the methods whereby a pupil becomes aware of success in the path of access. Above are but five out of these many. Later, when the Schools are organized and watched over by a Master in physical plane consciousness, records will be kept of the times and modes of contact and in this manner much knowledge will accrue. I would in conclusion point out that always the calling forth of the response must be the work of the pupil, and that the hour of that response de- pends upon the earnestness of his work, the consecration of his service and his karmic liabilities. When he merits certain response it will be demonstrated in his stars, and naught can hinder or delay. Equally, naught can really hasten, so the pupil need not waste time in doleful ponder- ings upon the lack of response. His the part to obey the rules, to conform to the forms laid down, to ponder and wisely adhere to the prescribed instructions, and to definitely work and to ardently serve his fellow men. When he has done all this, when he has built the necessary vibrating material into his three lower bodies, when he has aligned them with the body egoic (even if only for a brief minute) suddenly he may see, suddenly he may hear, suddenly he may sense a vibration, and then for ever he may say that faith is merged in sight, and aspiration has become recognition.
LETTER IX FUTURE SCHOOLS OF MEDITATION
a. The one fundamental school.
b. Its national subdivisions.
c. The location, personnel, and buildings of the school.
d. The grades and classes.
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LETTER IX FUTURE SCHOOLS OF MEDITATION
September 26th, 1920.
We take up today another of the series of letters on occult meditation, that dealing with "Future Schools of Meditation". In this letter I shall attempt somewhat to show how the training and development indicated in the other letters will be applied and I shall deal somewhat with prophecy, pointing out what will some day be possi- ble and present, and not what is as yet in any way ap- proachable. Always it is necessary to have high ideals, and ever the human mind leaps forward to some ap- pointed goal. If I here outline what may seem a visionary impossibility it is but that I seek to hold up such an ideal, and to give to the race an objective well worth their high- est endeavor.
Preliminary remarks.
Let us pause a moment and lay down certain postu- lates anent the present that will (so to speak) clear the ground for future action.
The value of meditation is becoming everywhere admitted. Schools for concentration and methods of mental development are commonly advertised in the daily papers.
True meditation is as yet little understood. Con- centration is but the foundation upon which the future work is to be based.
As yet the future structure cannot be raised, due to two causes primarily: —
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a. The inherent inability of man at this juncture to attain the causal level and the conscious- ness of the causal level.
b. The absence of a Master in personal presence, able and equipped to teach the true scientific development which is the aim of true medi- tation.
The troubled condition of the world at present is sufficient barrier to any general acceptation of training, and of the scientific development of the vehicles.
These premises are laid down here as a starting point. That some individuals here and there achieve the goal, that some people do master the system of Occult Medi- tation and make the desired progress is undeniable, but they are only few in number and those numbers are in- appreciable when set against the vast bulk of human be- ings in incarnation at the same time. They achieve by right of age-long effort, and because in previous lives they trod the Path or neared the portal of initiation. But even the average man of intelligence of today — the product, for instance, of western civilisation — is far from being ready for occult training. Experiments are being made now, unknown oft to the subjects themselves, to see how quickly a man may be pushed through experience and a general hastening of the evolutionary process into a posi- tion where it will be safe to train him further. People in many civilised countries are under supervision, and a method of stimulation and intensification is being applied which will bring to the knowledge of the Great Ones Themselves a mass of information that may serve as a guide to Their future efforts for the race. Especially are people in America, Australia, India, Russia, Scotland and Greece being dealt with. A few in Belgium, Sweden, and
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Austria are likewise under observation, and should the re- sponse be as hoped they will form a nucleus for further expansion.
Future Schools of Meditation, In handling this matter we might, as is our usual custom, divide the sub- ject matter under different heads: —
1. The one fundamental School.
2. Its national subdivisions.
3. The location, personnel, and buildings of the School.
4. The grades and classes.
Now I would emphatically point out to you the fact that all that I now impart is a portion of a tentative plan, which has in view the hastening of the evolution of the higher mind, and the bringing under control of the bodies of men, through the power of the God within. This plan has been drawn up in view of the crying need of a world in which the mental equipment of men is increasing out of all proportion to their emotional balance and to their physical equipment. The rapid advance of know- ledge, the spreading of the educational system which brings the product of many minds into the environment of the very poor, the ability of all to read and write in such a country as America or among the other Anglo-Saxon races, has been the cause of a very real (I might almost say an unexpected) problem arising to confront the Great Ones.
Mental development when paralleled by emotional stability and a strong healthy body is the aim for all. But now you have mental development paralleled by an un- stable astral and a weak underfed, badly raised, physical. Hence disorder, lack of balance, the clouding of the vision and unproportionate discussion. Lower mind, instead of
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being a means to an end and a weapon for use, is in fair way of being a ruler and a tyrant, preventing the play of the intuition and shutting out the abstract mind.
Hence the Masters, if it can in any way be accom- plished, purpose a movement that has in view the harness- ing of the lower mind through the instrumentality of the people themselves. With this object in view They plan to utilise the incoming Ray of Ceremonial Law or Organisa- tion, and the period immediately co-incident or following the coming of the Great Lord, to start these schools (in a small inconspicious way at first) and bring to the con- sciousness of man everywhere the following four funda- mentals : —
a. The evolutionary history of man from the mental side.
b. The septenary constitution of the macrocosm and the microcosm.
c. The laws governing man's being.
d. The method of occult development.
A beginning has already been made through the
various schools at present extant All these are
the beginnings of the plan. When they are firmly ground- ed, when they are working smoothly and with public recognition, and when the world of men is being somewhat colored by them and their subjective emphasis, when they are producing scholars and workers, politicians and scien- tists and educational leaders who make their impress on their environment, then mayhap will come the time for the founding in exoteric fashion of the true occult school. By this I mean that if the earlier schools and colleges do their work satisfactorily they will have demonstrated to the world of men that the subjective is the true reality and that the lower is but the stepping stone to the higher. This subjective reality being universally admitted will, there-
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fore, permit of the founding of a chain of inner schools . . .that will be publicly recognised. This will never at any time obviate the necessity for always having an esoteric and secret section, for always there will be certain truths and facts of dangerous import to the uninitiated; but what I seek to point out is that the mysteries will eventu- ally be admitted as facts for universal recognition and for universal aim and goal. They will be prepared for and entered from schools that definitely undertake, under ex- pert guidance, to train novitiates for the mysteries.
Such schools have existed before and in the turning of the wheel again they will be in manifestation.
You ask, when? That depends on humanity itself and on all of you who work with faith and aspiration at the beginnings of the plan.
H.P.B. laid the foundation stone of the first school in this particular lesser cycle (which is nevertheless a relatively important one, being an outgrowth of the fifth root race, the efflorescence of the fifth principle). This is the keystone. The work proceeds in the found- ing, as aforesaid, of the various schools, and mental science also has its place. It will go forward as desired if each one who is now under occult training, strains every nerve and bends every effort to the work in hand. If all that is possible is done, when the Great Lord comes with His Masters the work will receive a still fur- ther impetus, and will gradually expand and grow till it becomes a power in the world. Then will come the day of the occult schools that will definitely train men for initia- tion.
September 27th, 1920. We must today take up our first point for it is only
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as we lay the foundations aright that the superstructure measures up to requirements.
1. The one fundamental School. It is therefore very- essential that the emphasis is laid on the fact that no matter what the offshoots the basic school of occultism is that one which has its root in the sacred centre of the planet, Shamballa. At that place, directly under the eyes of the One Initiator Himself, Who is — as is seldom realized — the highest expression of the Teaching Ray up- on the earth, is found what might be termed the central office for the educational disciplinary training work of the Hierarchy. There will be found the Chohan Who is directly responsible for the various endeavors, and to Whom the Masters Who take pupils, and the Heads of the various occult schools are directly responsible. All pro- ceeds under law and order.
One point that it will here be necessary to emphasise is that the Brotherhood of Light, as represented by the Himalayan Masters, has its other representatives elsewhere who all carry out specific work under proper and adequate supervision. Too apt are the Theosophists to think that they alone are the repositories of the wisdom religion. Not so is the fact. At this particular moment (with the aim in view of the development and tendering of opportunity to the fifth subrace) the Himalayan Brotherhood is the main channel of effort, power and light. But the work with other races proceeds simultaneously and numerous other pro- jects, all emanating from the central office at Shamballa, are paralleling the Himalayan work. Get this clearly in mind, for the point is important. The Himalayan School and Lodge is the one that principally concerns the Occident and the only school without any exception that should control the work and output of the occult students in the West. It brooks no rival nor contemporary work with its
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pupils, not for the sake of its own teachers but to ensure the safety of its pupils. Danger lurks in the path of the occult student and the Himalayan adepts know adequately how to protect their pupils, provided those pupils stay within the periphery of Their united auras, and wander not out to other schools. All true occult schools demand this of their pupils, and all true Masters expect Their pupils to refrain from taking other occult instructions at the same time as they are receiving it from Them. They say not: "Our method is the only right and true method". They say : "When receiving instructions from Us it is the part of wisdom and the line of safety to refrain from occult training in another school or under another Master." Should a pupil desire so to do he is perfectly free to seek out other schools and teachers, but he must first break his connection with the old.
The one fundamental school may be recognised by certain outstanding characteristics : —
By the basic character of the truths taught as embodied in the following postulates : —
a. The unity of all life.
b. The graded steps of development as recognised in man, and by the graded steps of its curriculum, which lead a man from one expansion of con- sciousness to another until he has reached that which we call perfection.
c. The relationship between the microcosm and the macrocosm and its seven-fold application.
d. The method of this# development and the place of the microcosm within the macrocosm as revealed through the study of the periodicity of all mani- festation and the basic law of cause and effect.
By the emphasis laid on character building and
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spiritual development as a foundation for the development of all the faculties inherent in the microcosm.
By the requirement, demanded of all affiliated pupils without exception, that the life of inner unfoldment and development should be paralleled by a life of exoteric service.
By the graded expansions of consciousness that are the result of the imparted training; these lead a man on from step to step till he contacts his higher self, his Master, his egoic group, the First Initiator, the One Para- mount Initiator, until he has contacted the Lord of his Ray and has entered into the bosom of his "Father Which is in Heaven".
These are the outstanding features that are descriptive of the one true fundamental School.
This fundamental school has three main branches and a fourth that is in process of forming and which will make the four branches of this fourth round. These branches are as follows : —
1. The trans-Himalayan Branch.
2. The Southern India Branch.
(these are Aryan Branches)
3. A Branch that works with the fourth root-race and has two fourth root-race adepts at its head.
4. A Branch in process of forming that will have its headquarters in the Occident at some place not yet disclosed. It has for its main object the instruct- ing of those connected with the coming sixth root- race.
These branches are and will be closely inter-allied and will work in the closet co-operation, being all focus- ed and under the control of the Chohan at Shamballa. The heads of each of the four branches communicate with
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each other frequently and are really like the faculty of one stupendous university, the four schools being like the various major departments of the foundations — like subsidiary colleges. The aim of all is the evolution of the race, the object of all is to lead all to the point of stand- ing before the One Initiator, the methods employed are fundamentally the same, though varying in detail, due to the racial characteristics of the races and types dealt with, and the fact that certain schools work paramountry with one ray and others with another.
The trans-Himalayan school has its adepts as known to you, and others Whose Names are not known.
The southern Indian school has special work with the deva evolution, and with the second and third sub-races of the Aryan race.
The Himalayan school works with the first, fourth and fifth sub-race.
The fourth root-race branch works under the Manu of that race and his brother of the Teaching Ray. Their head- quarters are in China.
The Master R. — and one of the English Masters are concerning Themselves with the gradual founding of the fourth branch of the school, with the assistance of the Master Hilarion. Ponder on these imparted facts for the significance is of profound importance.
Tomorrow we will deal with the future. Today I have but imparted facts in present manifestation.
September 28th, 1920.
Today our second point comes up for consideration, and we shall in the elucidation of it enter into the realms of prophecy. I would here point out to you that the thing which is indicated as existing in the future may not always
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work out in detail as foreseen. I but seek to lay before you the big general plan in its outline. The working out in the future will depend upon the intuition or high perception of the thinkers of the race and upon the ability of the in- carnating jivas to seize upon the opportunities and fulfil their destiny.
We touched yesterday upon the one fundamental school with its four branches. Today I would take up : —
2. The national subdivisions of the one school.
At the outset I would point out to you that not every nation in the world will have its occult school. Only as the causal body of the national group has reached a cer- tain rate of vibration will it be possible to found and in- stitute these schools. Only as the educational work of the nation has reached a certain height will it be possible to use the mental equipment of the nation as a stepping stone for further expansion, and to use it as a basis for the oc- cult school. And, curiously enough, only those nations which originally had a training school for the mysteries (with three exceptions) will be again during the earlier stages permitted national schools. The exceptions are: —
1. Great Britain.
2. Canada and the United States.
3. Australia.
And even these exceptions might be considered only one, the case of Australia, for the other two in Atlantean days had their occult foundations when they formed part of the earlier continent. In the turning of the wheel, earth itself re-incarnates; places pass into pralaya and emerge into manifestation, holding within them the seeds that will eventuate in similar vibration, and bring into being again similar modes of expression, and similar form on the plane. It will be found later on, when the Occult Schools are founded, that they will be situated where some of the old
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magnetism yet lingers, and where in some cases certain old talismans have been kept by the Brotherhood with just this aim in view.
Branches, affiliated with one of the four central divi- sions of the one occult foundation, will be found in the following countries :
1. Egypt. This will be one of the later schools founded and will be profoundly occult and an advanced school in direct communication with the inner grades. This will be touched upon later.
2. The United States will have a preparatory school somewhere in the southern part of the Middle West, and an extensive occult college in California in a place later to be revealed. This school will be one of the first started when the Great Lord begins His earthly career, and during the next five years the seeds of it may be laid if students rightly apprehend the work to be done.
3. There will be one school for the Latin countries, probably in Italy and Southern France, but much depends on the political and educational work of the next ten years.
4. Great Britain. At one of the magnetised spots in either Scotland or Wales, a branch for occult training will be begun before so very long, which will lay the foun- dation and embrace the curriculum for the earlier grades. After it has been in existence for a few years and has proved the effectiveness of its training, and after troubled Ireland has adjusted her internal problems, a school for the more advanced grades, and for definite preparation for the mysteries will be started in Ireland at one of the magnetised spots there to be found. This school will be very definitely a school where preparation for a major initiation may be taken, and will be under the eye of the Boddhisattva, preparing the pupil for initiation upon the
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second ray. The first school in Egypt will be for those who take initiation on the first ray in the Occident.
Those who take initiation on the line of the Mahacho- han, or on the third Ray, will take it at the advanced occult school in Italy. In this way the Occident will have its centre where active instruction may be given according to the three lines of approach, and which will give prepara- tion in the inner mysteries.
5. A preparatory occult school will be found, too, in Sweden, for those of the northern and German races who seek the Path, and when it has been extant for some time Russia may then be in a position to house the headquarters for the more advanced school affiliated to the preparatory one in Sweden. In connection with the Egyptian advanced school will be a preparatory one in Greece or in Syria.
You have, therefore, the following schools as planned, and must bear in mind that the schools wherein the pre- paratory work and earlier grades are found will be first in order of time, and are in process of founding now, or will be founded during the period immediately preceding the Coming of the Great Lord. The founding of others will be definitely the outcome of His work, and that of His Masters, and will depend upon Their decision as to the success of the earlier endeavour.
Preparatory Grades Advanced School
1. Greece or Syria leading to Egypt
2. Middle West, U. S. A California
3. Southern France Italy
4. Scotland or Wales Ireland
5. Sweden Russia
6. New Zealand Australia
There is also planned a preparatory school for the
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advanced egos of the fourth root-race. This will be under the Manu of that race and will be situated in Japan, with its most esoteric branch in western China. This makes the seventh in the group of schools outlined.
It is not purposed as yet to have branches in Southern Africa or Southern America. Their day is not yet, but comes in the next cycle.
Now, I would earnestly call to your attention that the schools will make but small beginnings and will be launched in a way that will appear at first as too unim- portant to be noticeable. A beginning will be made with members of the different occult schools, such as the esoteric
sections of the theosophical movement, and others
The work in Britain, America and Australia is already in process of inception, whilst that in Sweden will shortly be on foot. The others will follow at slightly later dates.
This much of the plan has been permitted publication as an incentive to all of you to study with greater aspira- tion and to work with more strenuous application. Each and all has his place in the plan would he but qualify by doing the necessary work. That work should be : —
An endeavour to recognise the Divine within each one. In this manner the true occult obedience, which is an essential in all occult training, will be fostered and developed, being not based, as is so oft seen, on person- ality, but on that instinctive realisation of a Master, and the willing following that comes from the recognition of His powers, the purity of His life and aims and the profundity of His knowledge.
An endeavour to think in group terms and clearly for oneself, not depending upon the word of others for clarification.
An endeavour to purify and refine all the bodies and make them more reliable servants.
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An endeavour to equip throughout, the mental vehicle and to store within it the facts upon which extend- ed knowledge may be based.
If these things are done great will be the day of oppor- tunity.
October 2nd, 1920.
In the rigid disciplining of yourself comes eventual perfection. To the disciple nought is too small to under- take, for in the rigid adjustment of the details of the lower world life comes, at the end, attainment of the goal. The life of the disciple becomes not easier as the Gate is neared, but ever the watch must be more thorough, ever right ac- tion must be taken with no regard to result, and ever each body in all its aggregate of detail must be wrestled with and subjugated. Only in the thorough comprehension of the axiom "Know thyself" will come that understanding that enables man to wield the law and know the inner working of the system from the centre to the periphery. Struggle, strive, discipline, and rejoicingly serve with no reward save the misunderstanding and the abuse of those who follow after — this is the role of the disciple. Today we will deal with our third point.
3. The Location, personnel, and building of the oc- cult school.
Here at the outset I would remind you that much which might be said by me on this matter must remain unsaid for lack of the ability to comprehend. I might lay down certain approximate rules, and make certain fundamental suggestions that may find their place in the final working out. I can lay down no rule that must be kept. Such is not the occult law. In the establishment of
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these occult schools in their two divisions, preparatory and advanced, in the different designated centres under one of the four branches of the one fundamental School of Occultism, the work will begin in an inconspicuous manner, and those pupils and advanced egos whose work it is to make the necessary beginning must find out for themselves the method, place and manner. All must be wrought out in the furnace of endeavor and experiment and the price paid will be high, but only that which is thus wrought out provides the residue or nucleus upon which the further work may be based. Mistakes matter not ; nought but the fleeting personalities suffer. What does matter is lack of aspiration, inability ro attempt, and incapacity to learn the lesson that failure teaches. When failures are regard- ed as valuable lessons, when a mistake is deemed but a warning signal that averts from disaster, and when no time is ever lost by a disciple in vain despair and useless depreciation, then the watching Teachers of the race know that the work the Ego seeks to do through each expression on the lower plane goes forward as desired, and that success must inevitably eventuate. We will here take each detail of our subject as enumerated above by itself.
The Location. This is a matter of very real im- portance but differs according to the need of finding a situation whereon to found a preparatory or an advanced school. Generally speaking (for national requirements vary much) the school for the preparatory work will be situated within reasonable distance of some big centre or city, whilst the school for the advanced grades will be more isolated, and not so easily accessible
Let us look into this for a moment. One of the funda- mental things that the novitiate has to learn is to find his centre within himself, independent of surrounding circum- stances, and preferably in spite of surrounding circum-
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stances. The centre must be found to a considerable de- gree before he can pass on to the more advanced grades and work in the second school. The preparatory school above all things concentrates on the development of the three- fold lower man, and his training in service. The advanced school definitely prepares for Initiation, and is concerned with occult lore, with the impartation of cosmic truth, with the abstract development of the pupil, and with work on causal levels. One can be best accomplished in the world of men and through contact with the world; the other demands necessarily an environment of comparative seclusion and freedom from interruption. We might ex- press it thus : — the preparatory grades deal with the king- dom of God within, whilst the advanced school expands that training into one which includes the kingdom of God without. Therefore the first will be situated amongst the working sons of men, so that by his re-actions and inter- actions in association with them, in service and struggle, the pupil may learn to know himself. The other will be for those who have somewhat mastered these things, and are ready to learn more of other evolutions and of the cosmos. Until a man is master of himself to a consider- able degree he may not safely work, for instance, with the deva or angel evolution. In the preparatory school he learns this mastery; in the more advanced school he can thus be trusted to make other contacts than the human. In both these schools, the basic instruction is meditation in all its grades. Why? Because in occult schools information, clear instructions, or a conglomerate of facts is never given, nor are the exoteric textbook methods ever employed. The whole aim is only to put the student in the way of finding out for himself the needed knowledge. How? By develop- ing the intuition through meditation, and by the attain- ment of that measure of mental control that will permit
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the wisdom of the Triad to pour down into the physical brain, via the causal. Therefore, in the preparatory school emphasis will be laid on the meditation that concerns the mind and the teaching embodied in this book will be ap- plied. This necessitates an environment wherein many and varied human contacts will be made, and where the concrete knowledge of the world of men will be easily available (music, libraries, and lectures), for in the pre- paration for true occult training the astral and mental equipping of the student will be one of the first considera- tions. When this has been somewhat accomplished, and when the clairvoyant Head of the school sees that the rounding out of the lower auric egg approaches the desired point, then the pupil will pass into the more advanced school, and will be taught how from his stable centre to contact the cosmic centre, and from the point within him- self to expand his consciousness till it touches the peri- phery of the system macrocosmic, and embraces all that lives — lives in an occult sense. This necessitates, during the period of training, comparative seclusion, and this the advanced school will provide. Therefore the preparatory school will be located near some large city, preferably near the sea or some large expanse of water, but never within the city ; it will be on the confines of the centres of learning within the city and will be readily accessible. The ad- vanced school will be far from the crowded places of the earth and preferably in a mountainous region, for the mountains have a direct effect on the occultist and impart to him that quality of strength and steadfastness that is their predominant characteristic and must be that too of the occultist. The sea or expanse of water close to a pre- paratory school will convey to his mind a constant remind- er of the purification, which is his paramount work, whilst the mountains will imbue the advanced student with cos-
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mic strength and will hold steadily before him the thought of the Mount of Initiation which he aims soon to tread.
Tomorrow we will take the important factor of the personnel and faculty of the school and the types of build- ing.
October 7th, 1920.
We deal today with that portion of our third point in the letter on "Future Schools of Meditation", which deals with the Personnel of the School.
This term includes both those who supervise and those who are under supervision, and the subject is necessarily large. As said in the earlier parts of this letter the schools will be in two divisions wherever situated : —
a. A preparatory school for the earlier grades in occult instruction, and situated preferably near some large expanse of water and near some central city.
b. An advanced school for the later grades, which will definitely prepare the way for initiation, and train pupils in occult lore.
As you will consequently see the personnel of both schools will necessarily differ, as will the curriculum. We will deal with each type of school separately, and lay down certain fundamentals which must be looked for in in- structors and instructed.
The Preparatory occult school. This — to the outer world — may appear not so different from an ordinary college. The differences will not be recognisable at first to the man of the world, though the differences will be there, and will demonstrate themselves in the school work, to the pupils, and on the inner planes. The fundamentals as regards the instructors are as follows : —
The Head of the school will be an accepted dis-
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ciple; it is essential that the Master, Who is back of the work of any particular school, should be able at all times to tap the consciousness of that school as focussed through the disciple. This Head will be able to act as a medium of communication between the students and the Master and as a focal point for His force to flow through to them. He must be consciously able to function on the astral plane at night and to bring the knowledge through to the physical brain, for part of his work will be with students on the astral plane, guiding them to the Master's ashram at certain intervals for specialised work. He will have to train them too in this conscious functioning.
Under him will work six instructors, of whom one at least must be a conscious clairvoyant, and able to assist the Head with his information as to the auric develop- ment of the students ; he must be able to gauge the colors and expansion of the students' vehicles, and co-operate with the Head in the work of expanding and attuning those vehicles. These instructors must be on the probationary Path and earnestly devoted to the work of assisting evo- lution and devoted to the service of some one Master. They must and will be carefully chosen so as to supple- ment and complement each other, and in the school will form a miniature hierarchy, showing on the physical plane a tiny replica of the occult prototype. As their work will be largely to develop the lower mind of the pupil and to link it up with the higher consciousness, and as the focal point of their endeavor will be the rapid building in to the causal body, they will be men of erudition, and of know- ledge, grounded in the knowledge of the Hall of Learning, and able to teach and to compete with the trained teachers of the world universities.
In every college the work of these trained seven men will be aided by that of three women chosen for their
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capacity to teach, for their intuitive development and for the spiritual and devotional touch they will bring to the lives of the students. To these ten teachers will be entrust- ed the work of grounding the students in the important essentials, in superintending the acquirement of the rudi- ments of occult lore and science, and their development in the higher psychism. These ten must be profound students of meditation, and able to superintend and teach the pupils the rudiments of occult meditation, as taught, for instance, in this book. Occult facts will be imparted to these pupils by them and the basic laws that — in the advanced school — will be the subject of definite practice by the would-be initiate. Exercises in telepathy, causal communication, reminiscence of work undertaken during the hours of sleep, and the recovering of the memory of past lives, through certain mental processes, will be taught by them, — themselves proficient in these arts.
As you will see here, all these teachers will be devoted to the definite training and inner development of the three- fold man.
Under these will work various other teachers, who will superintend other departments of the pupils' lives. Exoteric science will be taught and practised by pro- ficient teachers, and the lower mind will be developed as much as possible, and kept in check by the other ten teach- ers who watch over the proportional development, and the aptitude for correct meditation of the student.
Along with all this will be the life of world-service, rigidly demanded of each and every pupil. This life of service will be carefully watched and recorded. One thing to be noted here is that in this there will be no compulsion. The pupil will know what is expected of him and what he must do if he is to pass on to the more advanced schools, and the school's charts (recording the condition of his
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vehicles, and his progress and his capacity to serve) will all be available for his personal inspection, though to no one e]se. He will know clearly where he stands, what he must do and what remains to be done, and it rests then with him to aid the work by the closest co-operation. A certain amount of care will be taken in the admittance of pupils to the school, and this will obviate the necessity of later removal for inability or lack of interest, but this I will deal with later, when taking up the grades and classes.
You have, therefore, ten superintending teachers, com- posed of seven men and of three women, and a Head who is an accepted disciple. Under them will work a set of in- structors who will deal largely with the lower mind and in the emotional, physical and mental equipping of the pupil and his passing into the advanced school, in a condition to profit by the instructions there to be imparted. Here I would point out that I have planned out the ideal, and pictured for you the school as it is hoped it will eventually be. But as in all occult development, the beginning will be small and of little apparent importance. Tomorrow we will take up the rules governing the admission of students and the personnel of the more advanced school.
October 16th, 1920.
Today we will take up : —
The personnel of the advanced school, and the rules of admission to both the preparatory and advanced. This latter part will be largely technical.
The first point I seek to make here is that these ad- vanced schools will be numerically small, and this for a very long time to come, and the personnel will be corres-
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pondingly small At the head of the school will always
be found an Initiate of the first or second degree, the aim of the school being to prepare pupils for the first initiation. This necessarily requires an Initiate head. This Initiate head will be definitely appointed by the Master Who has the school in charge, and he will be — within the confines of the school — sole judge and autocrat. The risks of occult training are too great to permit of trifling, and what the Head demands must be obeyed. But this obedience will not be compulsory but voluntary, for each pupil will rea- lise the necessity and will render obedience from spiritual recognition. As aforesaid, these different occult schools will be practically ray schools, and will have for their personnel teachers on some one Ray or its complementary Ray, with pupils on the same Ray or complementary Ray. For instance, if the school is a second Ray school — such as the one in Ireland is purposed to be — teachers and pupils on the second, fourth and sixth rays will be found in it. At least one fifth Ray teacher will be found in every school of occultism. If a first Ray school, the personnel and pupils will be first, third and seventh Ray, with again a fifth Ray teacher among the others.
Under the initiate Head will be two other teachers who will be accepted disciples, and every pupil under them must have passed through the preparatory school, and graduated from all the lower grades. Probably these three will comprise the entire teaching staff, for the pupils under them will be relatively few in number and the work of the teachers is supervisory more than didactic, for the occult- ist is always esoterically self-taught.
Much of the work done by these three will be on the inner planes, and they will work more in the seclusion of their own rooms than in class room with the students them- selves. The pupils are — it will be presumed — ready to
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work for themselves and to find the way to the portal of initiation alone. The work of the teachers will be advis- ory, and they will be available to answer questions and to superintend work initiated by the pupil himself, and not compelled by the teacher. Stimulating vibration, aligning the bodies, superintending the work on inner planes, and the pouring in of force with the shielding from danger by occult methods, will be the work in part of the Teachers, added to the supervision of definite and strenuous medi- tation. At intervals they will conduct the pupils to the Master, advise as to their passing into the different grades of discipleship, report at intervals on the quality of their life service and assist them in building their buddhic vehicle which has to be in an embryonic condition when the first initiation is taken. The teachers likewise super- intend the working out in practice of the theories anent the other evolution, the deva evolution, laid down in the pre- paratory schools; they watch over the manipulation of matter by the pupil and his demonstration of the laws of construction; they safeguard him as far as may be in his contact with sub-human and super -human evolutions and teach him to wield the law, and to transcend karma. They enable him, through their instructions, to recover the knowledge of past lives and to read the akashic records, but as you will see, the pupil is the one in this school who initiates and does the work, superintended and guarded by the teachers, and his progress and the length of his residence within the school depend upon his own effort and initiatory powers.
The rules of admission into the preparatory school will be somewhat as follows, but I only indicate prob- abilities and not ascertained and fixed facts: —
1. The pupil must be free from obligatory karma
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and able to take the course without neglecting his other duties and family ties.
2. There will be no fees or money charged, and no money transaction. The pupil must be somewhat self-supporting and able to earn the means of livelihood whilst in the school. The schools in both their divisions will be supported through the voluntary contributions of people, and through a knowledge of the laws of supply and demand occultly interpreted.
3. The pupil must be able to measure up to the aver- age educational standards of his day and genera- tion and must show aptitude for some line of thought.
4. He must be seen clairvoyantly to have a certain amount of co-ordination and alignment and the causal body must be of a certain grade or quality before he is admitted. Teachers of occultism waste not time on those not ready. Only when the inner light shines forth, only when the causal body is of a certain capacity can the pupil profit by the curriculum. Therefore with the Head of the school will the final verdict lie as to whether a pupil may enter or not. That word will be final, and will be passed after due inspection of the pupil by the Head of the school through clair- voyant and causal vision, and after reference to the man's own Master.
5. He must have demonstrated, by a previous period of service, his ability to work in group formation and to think in terms of others.
6. His past incarnations must be somewhat looked up and the indications given through their study will guide the Head in his final decision.
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7. The pupil must be over 21 and under 42.
8. His etheric body must be in good condition and be a good transmitter of prana, and there must be no physical disease or handicapping physical de- formity.
These are the fundamental rules which it is at present possible to give. There will be others and the problem of selection may pass through some vicissitudes in solving.
The rules for admission into the advanced school are far more esoteric and fewer in number. The pupils will be chosen from out of the preparatory school, after having passed through the graded courses. But selection will depend not on the mental development and the assimila- tion of concrete knowledge, but upon the inner comprehen- sion and the occult understanding of the student, upon the quality of the tone of his life as it sounds forth in the inner world, upon the brilliance of the indwelling light, and upon his power in service.
This suffices for today; tomorrow we will deal with the final division of this third point, the buildings of the school.
October 17th, 1920.
In dealing today with the subject of the buildings of the two types of occult schools, little can be said and only a general outline can be given. Climatic conditions and the desired size of the schools will greatly vary and the consequent plant will vary likewise
The buildings for the preparatory school will differ not so much from those of an ordinary college in the exo- teric world. One rule only will be laid down — each student must dwell within the school precincts, and each student
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must of necessity have his own separated chamber. The type of building matters not, provided these conditions are fulfilled. Each room must be non-communicating, save with the central corridor, and must be in three divisions, necessarily small yet distinct. One division will be given up to the student's life and study ; another to the bath and the third will be the place for meditation containing the pictures of the Great Ones duly curtained. This third division is kept for the sole purpose of meditation and will contain little save the mat on which the student sits, a couch on which he will repose his physical vehicle during certain stated exercises and a small stool in front of the Master's pictures, on which will be found the incensor and a vase for floral tributes.
The resident teachers will reside with the students, the women taking charge of the women students, and the men residing with the male students. The Head of the school will reside alone in a detached house which will contain — besides the rooms in which he will live his pri- vate life — a reception room of small proportions for his work with individuals, and a larger room for joint con- courses, besides a shrine room for the meeting of the united body of pupils.
The buildings for the advanced schools, even though they concern us not intimately as yet, provide in their con- struction much of occult significance for those who have eyes to see. The main feature in the occult advanced school will be the central temple of circular shape provid- ing for each of the pupils (and you must remember that numerically they will not be large) a private shrine en- tered from the rear by a closed door and having a curtain between it and the large central shrine where the group meetings will be held.
This large central shrine will have a pavement where-
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on will be traced the triangle, and within the triangle the gronp will sit, the three spaces outside the triangle having tables whereon will be found various symbols and a few of the fundamental books on symbols and some large Xjarchments whereon the cosmic symbols will be portrayed.
The color of this shrine will be dependent on the ray which it represents. The curtains which separate will be in the ray color also and each individual shrine curtain will carry the sign of the pupil's nativity — his sign, rising sign, and controlling planets. These curtains will be the
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property of the pupil as will the mat within the shrine which will carry the symbol of his ray, egoic and person- ality.
On the wall of the great circular passage will be found the signs of the zodiac, the four entrances standing for the four Maharajas.
A square wall will surround the whole, enclosing a garden which will be the care of the pupils themselves. There will be but one entrance through this wall on the north side. Outside will be small buildings to house not more than three pupils and a house wherein will reside the three instructors. The Initiate Head will likewise have his private residence distinguished by a domed tower at one side. This domed tower serves two purposes: — It is the place for astronomical and astrological instruction and will have the latest appliances of science for the study of the planets and of microcosmic life, and will also serve as a secure shelter for those pupils who can consciously leave their physical bodies and function elsewhere on the physical plane.
This is all I can give as yet. Eecord, watch and await the hour when the ideal will materialize.
October 29th, 1920.
Our fourth point comes up for consideration today, and in its discussion I will give you somewhat concerning the preparatory occult school but little concerning the advanced. This fourth point is one anent the grades and classes.
The Grades and Classes.
We have, in an earlier letter, touched upon the curri- culum of the preparatory schools and have seen that that
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curriculum deals much with the development of lower mind, with the laying of the foundations upon which to build the later work, and with the formulation, the study, and the memorising of the theories and occult laws upon which the true occultist will later base his practical work. We saw also that much that was taught was necessarily closely allied with the exoteric teaching of the world, and necessitated the school being in close touch with the centres of modern thought. Today I seek to point out certain things that will be seen in the scheme of the stu- dent's work and to show the method whereby he is gradual- ly led on until he is fit to pass on into the more advanced college. We will as usual divide our subject into three heads : —
a. The times of study.
b. The types of work.
c. The transformation of potential faculty into ac- tive powers through practice.
a. The times of study.
All the work of the school will be based upon an occult knowledge of times and seasons, and two things will be carefully adhered to : — 1 ) The school year will be divided into two halves, one half wherein the pupils are strenuous- ly acquiring knowledge, that period being that in which the sun moves northward or the earlier half of the year, and a second half — separated from the earlier by an inter- val of six weeks — wherein he assimilates and puts into practice that which earlier was imparted. During the earlier months of the year he goes through a drastic sys- tem of reception, of learning, of hard study, of accumula- tion of facts and of concrete knowledge. He attends lee-
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tures, lie wades through many books, he studies in the lab- oratory and with the aid of the microscope and of the telescope he widens the range of his vision, and builds into his mental body a vast store of scientific data,
During the six weeks' vacation he is recommended to rest entirely from all mental effort save that associated with the practice of the imparted occult meditation. He mentally follows the cycle and goes into pralaya tempo- rarily. At the end of six weeks he returns to his work with the object in view of systematising the mass of informa- tion, of perfecting his comprehension of the facts earlier studied, of practising that part of the occult lore permis- sible with the object in view of becoming proficient and to discover his weak points. He writes during the "dark period" of the year the themes and essays, the books and pamphlets that Avill embody the product of the assimilated information. The best of these books will be published yearly by the college for the use of the public. In this way he serves his time and generation and educates the race in the higher knowledge. 2) In exactly the same way his studies each month will be so arranged that the harder part (dealing with the higher mind) will be under- taken during the part of the month which is called the bright half, whilst the work of the dark half will be more given over to the things concerning lower mind and to an effort to hold the gain of the earlier weeks. Each day will be likewise divided into set times, the earlier hours being those in which the more abstract and occult data will be given, the latter part of the day being given over to a more practical type of work.
The basis of all occult growth is meditation, or those periods of silent gestation in which the soul grows in the silence. Therefore, during the day there will be for every pupil in the school three periods of meditation — at sunrise,
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at midday, and at sunset. During the earlier part of the pupil's attendance at the school these periods will be for thirty minutes each. Later he will give one hour to the practice of occult meditation three times a day, and during his final year he will be expected to give five hours a day to meditation. When he can do this and get results he will be able to pass on into the advanced school. It is the great test and mark of readiness.
The hours of the school will begin with sunrise and end with sunset. After the sun sets, and for one hour after each of the other two periods of meditation, the pupil is permitted to relax, take his meals and recreate himself. All pupils will be required to retire to rest at night by ten o'clock, after thirty minutes of careful revision of the day's work and the filling in of certain charts that go to the completion of his record.
The length of a pupil's stay in the school depends entirely upon the progress made, the inner powers of as- similation and the outer life of service. It depends there- fore upon the point in evolution at which he enters the school. Those just entering the Path of Probation will be there for five to seven years and on occasion even longer; those who are old disciples and those who have taken initiation in earlier lives will be there but a brief time, pushing rapidly through the curriculum and simply learning to produce for use the knowledge earlier stored. The period of their stay will be anywhere from one to Ave years, usually about three. Their innate knowledge will be developed by encouraging them to teach the younger brethren. A pupil passes out of the school, not as a result of an exoteric examination but simply on the notification of the Head of the School, who bases his decision upon esoteric results in the bodies of the pupil, upon the clarity
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of his auric colors and upon the tone of his life and the key of his vibration.
b. Types of Work,
First and foremost the practice of meditation as laid down in these letters and as may be apportioned by the Head of the school. Once or twice a year the initiate Head of the school to which the preparatory school is allied will pass the pupils in review and in conference with the Head of the school will apportion specific meditation ad- justed to the pupil's need. Once a year the Master respon- sible for both schools will likewise pass them in review and communicate to the Head any necessary adjustments. (I would here remind you that the relationship of a Master to a disciple is a private one and though He may be in constant touch with His pupils privately, this affects not His official review of the united auras of the school group. )
Secondly a graded scientific study of the microcosm, including the following subjects, using the microscope when needed: —
The Microcosm.
a. Elementary anatomy, physiology, biology.
b. Ethnology.
c. Study of the etheric body and its allied subjects of vitality and magnetism.
d. Study of geology, of the vegetable kingdom, or botany, and of the animal kingdom.
e. Study of the history of man and the development of science.
f. Study of the laws of the microcosmic body.
The Macrocosm.
a. Study of the laws of electricity, of fohat, of prana, and of the astral light.
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b. Study of astronomy and of astrology.
c. Study of occult cosmogony.
d. Study of the human hierarchy.
e. Study of the deva evolution.
f. Study of the laws of the solar system.
g. Study of telepathy, mental creation, psychometry.
The Mind.
a. The study of the mental plane.
b. The study of the laws of fire.
c. The study of the causal body.
d. The study of the fifth principle.
e. The study of color and of sound.
Synthesis
a. The study of spirit-matter-mind.
b. Study of numbers and of symbology.
c. Study of higher mathematics.
d. Study of the laws of union.
e. Study of the laws of sex.
Psychic Development
a. Study of practical occultism.
b. Study of psychism.
c. — Study of the astral light and the akashic records.
d. Study of mediumship and inspiration.
e. Study of past lives.
f. Study of the macrocosmic and microcosmic centres.
Practical Work
a. Service to the race.
b. Study of group work.
c. Review work.
d. Work on the subtler bodies with the view to pro- ducing continuity of consciousness.
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e. Study of magic.
f. Study of the seventh ray.
You will see for yourself that when the pupil has com- pleted the above curriculum he will be a potential magician, and will be a member of the Brotherhood of Light in embryo. He will be equipped and ready to pass into the advanced school, where he will be trained in using the knowledge already acquired, where his centres will be scientifically developed so that he will become a conscious psychic of the mental type, where he will be trained to contact and control the lesser evolutions and to co-operate with the other evolutions such as the deva, and where all his bodies will be so aligned and adjusted that he can at the end of a period — varying from two to three years — be ready to stand before the Initiator.
c. Potencies becoming powers.
This third type of work is based on the preceding cur- riculum and deals directly with individual development. It covers the following matters : —
a. The aligning of the bodies with a view to egoic content.
b. The building of the antakarana, and the develop- ment of the higher mind.
c. The development of the intuition, and the definite spiritual awakening of the pupil.
d. The study of the pupil's vibration, ray, color and tone.
e. The conscious refining of all the bodies beginning with the physical.
When these matters are duly studied and all acquired knowledge put into practice, the inherent powers of the soul will become conscious powers. Above all, will the em-
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phasis be laid upon the fact that the white magician is he who utilises all power and knowledge in the service of the race. His inner development must be expressed in terms of service before he is permitted to pass on into the ad- vanced school.
I have indicated enough to provide much room for interested speculation.
LETTER X. THE PURIFICATION OF THE VEHICLES
a. The physical body.
b. The emotional body.
c. The mental body.
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LETTER X. THE PURIFICATION OF THE VEHICLES
November 7th, 1919.
The need arises these days for tested instruments. When Those Who guide human evolution at this period cast Their eyes over the race in the search for such instru- ments They see few as yet ready for the service required. But likewise They see some who, with a certain amount of training will fill the need fairly adequately.
As evolution proceeds the polarisation of the race changes. Men are polarised now principally in their emo- tional bodies, — the feelings, desires, the concerns of the personality sway them. The emotional body is the focal point for the personality. It acts as the clearing house for all that concerns it, and as the junction of the lower and the higher. It is like a busy railroad terminus, that receives cargo from all directions and empties it into the great city of the personal physical plane life. Then, as progress is made, the scene shifts higher, and the mental body becomes the focal point. Later the causal body be- comes the important unit, and later still comes the ulti- mate sacrifice of even that, until the man stands bereft of all that vibrates to the three worlds, and all is over as re- gards the personal life, — nought remains but the life of the Spirit, and the voluntary giving of that life for the helping of the world.
In the speeding up of evolution, certain things have to be brought about before the man can be used as a re- liable instrument, true as tempered steel, for the helping of his race. Forget not, that, as a rule, a man (when tested and tried) forms the best tool, because he comprehends ut-
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330 PUEIFICATION
terry the race consciousness, and because he enters into the problems of the day in a manner more thorough than an Ego from an earlier period. Hence the Masters de- sire to use those of you who live now to heal the wounds of the present suffering generation. What then has to be done? The matter I now give contains nothing very un- usual, but it does hold thought for consideration by any
who may desire to help In preparing a soul for
service the Guides of the race have to deal with each of
the bodies: —
The training of the Physical Body.
This involves certain definite requirements: — The building in of matter of the higher subplanes and the elimination of the lower and coarser matter. This is needed because it is impossible for those with coarse bodies to contact high vibration. It is impossible for the Ego to transmit the higher knowledge and guidance through a coarse physical body. It is impossible for the loftier currents of thought to impact the little evolved physical brain. Hence the refinement of the physical body is an essential. It is effected in various ways, all of them reasonable and utilitarian.
By pure food. This involves a vegetarian diet, chosen with wise discrimination; it requires the eating of only those vegetables and fruits that vitalise. A careful judgment shown in the choice of food, a wise refrain from too heavy eating, and a little pure good food perfectly assimilated is all that a disciple requires. You ask what foods? Milk, honey, whole wheat bread, all the vegetables that contact the sun, oranges, ( above all oranges ) bananas, raisins, nuts, some potatoes, unpolished rice, and may I again re-iterate, just as much of all the above as to insure activity.
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By cleanliness. Much use of water, externally and internally, is vitally required. By sleep. This should be always between the hours of ten in the evening and five in the morn- ing, and as much as possible out of doors. By sunshine. Contact with the sun should be much sought after, and the vitalisation that comes through its rays. The sun kills all germs and frees from disease.
When these four requirements are attended to ad- equately a definite process of elimination proceeds, and in the course of a few years the whole physical body shifts its polarisation gradually up until ultimately you will
have a body composed of atomic subplane matter
This may take several incarnations, but it should be borne in mind that at each fresh incarnation a body is taken of 1he exact quality (if I may so put it) as the one previously discarded at death. Hence time is never lost in building. Eventually two other methods will be available by which more rapid refining may be effected : —
The use of coloured lights. These lights are played on the body of the disciple and effect a shaking-out process and a simultaneous stimula- tion of the atoms. This cannot be done till further information is given anent the Eays; when a man's ray is known, stimulation will come from the use of his own colour, a building-in will be brought about by the use of his complementary colour, and disintegration of unwanted matter will be brought about by the use of an antagonistic colour. This knowledge will later on be communi- cated to the great bodies that hold custody of the Mysteries, the Church and the Masons. Wait, for
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the time is not yet. When the Mysteries are re- stored some of this information will be in the hands of the two bodies I refer to. The stimulation of music. Certain sounds shat- ter and break. Certain other sounds stimulate and attract. When the key of a man's life is known, when the sound he responds to is recog- nised then comes the possibility of the utilisation of sound in refinement. All that is at present pos- sible to those of you who seek to serve is to at- tend to the above essentials and to seek contact with high vibration. One more point I would like to give, and that is, that in the manipulation of electricity lies hid much that con- cerns the vivification of the bodies, especially just now of the etheric. The principal use the sun has is the vitalising of the etheric. The heat of the sun is electrical force adapted to the need of the great average majority in all the kingdoms of nature. As progress is made an intensi- fication of this force will be possible in individual cases. Herein lies one of the secrets of initiation. In the old days the Eod of Initiation acted actually as a conductor of this force to the centres of the initiate; it was so con- structed that it answered this purpose. Now, on a higher turn of the spiral, just the same need and purpose is served, though the method of application necessarily dif- fers, owing to the change in the polarisation of the race. The polarisation is now no longer physical, but is either emotional or mental. The method of application differs in all three, and hence the safeguarding of the secret. It holds the mystery hid. The refining of the etheric.
This coincides with that of the physical body. The method consists principally of living in the sunlight, in
PURIFICATION 333
protection from cold, and in the assimilation of certain definite combinations of vitamines which before long will be given to the race. A combination of these vitamines will be formulated and made into tabloid form, with direct effect upon the etheric body. This will not be until that etheric vehicle is recognised by science, and definitely in- cluded in the training offered by the faculty of medicine. The study of etheric diseases — congestion and atrophy — will ere long be a recognised study, and will lead to defi- nite treatments and formulas. As before said, all that you can now do in sensitising the dual physical is to attend to the above rules, and allow time to bring about the re- mainder of the work.
The refining of the emotional body.
Here the method of procedure is different. The emo- tional body is simply a great reflector. It takes colour and movement from its surroundings. It receives the impress of every passing desire. It contacts every whim and fancy in its environment ; every current sets it in motion ; every sound causes it to vibrate unless the aspirant inhibits such a state of affairs and trains it to receive and register only those impressions which come from the intuitional level via the Higher Self, and therefore via the atomic subplane. The aim of the aspirant should be to so train the emotional body that it will become still and clear as a mirror, so that it may reflect perfectly. His aim should be to make it reflect only the causal body, to take on colour only in line with the great Law, and to move under definite direc- tion and not just as blow the winds of thought, or rise the tides of desire. What words should describe the emotional body? the words: still, serene, unruffled, quiet, at rest, limpid and clear, of a quality mirror-like, of surface even, a limpid reflector, — one that accurately transmits the
334 PUKIFICATION
wishes, the desires, the aspirations of the Ego and not of the personality. How should this be accomplished? In several ways, some at the direction of the aspirant, and some at the direction of the Master.
a. By the constant watching of all desires, motives and wishes that cross the horizon daily, and by the subsequent emphasising of all those that are of a high order, and by the inhibition of the lower.
b. By a constant daily attempt to contact the Higher Self, and to reflect His wishes in the life. At first mistakes will be made, but little by little the building-in process proceeds, and the polarisation in the emotional body gradually shifts up each subplane until the atomic is reached.
c. By definite periods daily directed to the stilling of the emotional body. So much emphasis is laid in meditation on the stilling of the mind, but it should be remembered that the stilling of the emo- tional nature is a step preliminary to the quieting of the mental; one succeeds the other and it is wise to begin at the bottom of the ladder. Each aspirant must discover for himself wherein he yields most easily to violent vibrations, such as fear, worry, personality desire of any kind, per- sonality love of anything or anyone, discourage- ment, over-sensitiveness to public opinion; then he must overcome that vibration, by imposing on it a new rhythm, definitely eliminating and con- structing.
d. By work done on the emotional body at night un- der the direction of more advanced egos, work- ing under the guidance of a Master. Stimulation of vibration or the deadening of vibration follows on the application of certain colours and sounds.
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At this particular time two colours are being ap- plied to many people for the specific purpose of keying up the throat and foremost head centre, namely, violet and gold. Remember that the work is gradual, and as the polari- sation shifts up, the moment of transition from one sub- plane to another is marked by certain tests applied at night, what one might term a series of small initiations that eventually will be consummated in the second great Initiation, that marks the perfection of the control of the body of the emotions.
Four small initiations find their culmination in the initiation proper. These are the initiations on the emo- tional plane, called respectively the initiations of earth, fire, water and air, culminating in initiation the second. The first initiation marks the same point of attainment on the physical plane. Each initiation marks the attainment of a certain proportion of atomic matter in the bodies. The four initiations, prior to that of the Adept, mark re- spectively the attainment of a proportionate amount, as for instance: — At the first initiation one-fourth atomic matter, at the second one-half atomic matter, and so on to the consummation. The intuition (or buddhi) being the unifying principle and thus welding all, at the fourth initiation the lower vehicles go, and the adept stands in his intuitional body, and creates from thence his body of manifestation. The refinement of the mental body.
This is the result of hard work and discrimination. It necessitates three things before the plane of the mental unit is achieved, and before the causal consciousness (the full consciousness of the higher Self) is reached: —
Clear thinking, not just on subjects wherein inter- est is aroused, but on all matters affecting the race. It
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involves the formulation of thought matter, and the capacity to define. It means the ability to make thought forms out of thought matter, and to utilise those thought forms for the helping of the public. He who does not think clearly, and who has an inchoate mental body, lives in a fog, and a man in a fog is but a blind leader of the blind.
The ability to still the mental body so that thoughts from abstract levels and from the intuitional planes can find a receptive sheet whereon they may in- scribe themselves. This thought has been made clear in many books on concentration and meditation, and needs not my elucidation. It is the result of hard practice car- ried over many years.
A definite process brought about by the Master with the acquiescence of the disciple which welds into a permanent shape the hard won efforts and results of many years. At each initiation, the electrical or magnetic force applied has a stabilising effect. It renders durable the results achieved by the disciple. Like as a potter moulds and shapes the clay and then applies the fire that solidifies, so the aspirant shapes and moulds and builds, and pre- pares for the solidifying fire. Initiation marks a perman- ent attainment and the beginning of a new cycle of en- deavour.
Above all two things should be emphasised : —
1. A steady unshaken perseverance, that recks not of time nor hindrance, but goes on. This capacity to per- severe explains why the non-spectacular man so frequent- ly attains initiation before the genius, and before the man who attracts more notice. The capacity to plod is much to be desired.
2. A progress that is made without undue self- analysis. Pull not yourselves up by the roots to see if there is growth. It takes precious time. Forget your own
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progress in conforming to the rules and in the helping of others. When this is so, sudden illumination may come, and the realisation break upon you that the point has been reached when the Hierophant can demand your presence and bestow initiation upon you. You have, by hard work and sheer endeavour to conform to the Law and to love all, built into your bodies the material that makes it possible for you to stand in His Presence. The great Law of At- traction draws you to Him and nought can withstand the Law.
LETTER XL THE RESULTANT LIFE OF SERVICE.
a. Motives for service.
b. Methods of service.
c. Attitude following service.
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LETTER XI. THE RESULTANT LIFE OF SERVICE.
September 16th, 1919.
I seek to give you today, in closing this series, some- thing of general use. I wish to speak to you anent service and its perfect rendering. What I give you in this con- nection may be of vital use. Remember always that ma- terial gain in knowledge for the individual causes stagna- tion, obstruction, indigestion, and pain if not passed on with wise discrimination. Food absorbed by the human body, if not assimilated and passed through the system, causes just the above conditions. The analogy is correct. Much tuition comes to many these days, but it is for the use of a needy world, and not for their own exclusive benefit.
In rendering service three things are of moment : —
1. The motive.
2. The method.
3. The attitude following action.
With wrong motives and methods I deal not. To you they are known. I indicate the right, and by adjustment of the life of service to my indications comes correction and inspiration. A life of much service opens up to many these days; see, all of you, that it commences right. A right beginning is liable to eventuate in continuous cor- rectness, and helps much in the endeavour. Where failure follows in such a case, all that is needed is re-adjustment. In failure where the beginning has been at fault (an in- evitable failure) the need is for the renewal of the inner springs of action.
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340 SERVICE
1. The motives for service.
These motives are three-fold in the order of their im- portance : —
a. A realisation of God's plan of evolution, a sensing of the world's dire need, an apprehension of the immediate point of world attainment, and a consequent throwing of the total of one's resources into the furtherance of that end.
b. A definite personal goal of achievement, some great ideal — such as holiness of character — that calls forth the soul's best endeavor; or a realisation of the reality of the Masters of the Wisdom, and a strong inner determina- tion to love, serve, and reach Them at all costs. When you have this intellectual grip of God's plan, coupled with the strong desire to serve the Great Ones, in physical plane activities will come the working out.
c. A realisation next of one's innate or acquired capacities and a fitting of those capacities to the need ap- preciated. Service is of many kinds, and he who wisely renders it, who seeks to find his particular sphere, and who, finding it, gives effort gladly for the benefit of the whole, is the man whose own development proceeds steadi- ly. But nevertheless the aim of personal progress remains secondary.
2. The methods of service.
These are many and varied. I can but indicate the ones of paramount importance.
First and foremost comes, as I have often incul- cated, the faculty of discrimination. He who considers that he can attempt all things, who balks not at aught that happens his way, who rushes wildly in where wiser ones refrain, who considers he has capacity for that which arises, who brings zeal but no brains to bear on this prob-
SEKVICE 341
lem of service, but dissipates force ; he renders oft destruc- tive action, he wastes the time of wiser and greater ones in the correcting of his well meant mistakes, and he serves no end but his own desires. The reward of good intention may be his, but it is frequently offset by the result of fool- ish action. He serves with discrimination who realises wisely his own niche, great or small, in the general scheme ; who calculates soberly his mental and intellectual capacity, his emotional calibre and his physical assets and then with the sum of the whole applies himself to fill the niche.
He serves with discrimination who judges with the aim of his Higher Self and the Master what is the nature and the measure of the problem to be solved, and is not guided by the well meant though often ill-judged sugges- tions, requests and demands, of his fellow-servers.
He serves with discrimination who brings a realisa- tion of time into action, and comprehending that each day contains but twenty-four hours and that his capacity con- tains but the expenditure of just so much force and no more, wisely adjusts his capacity and the time available to each other.
Next follows a wise control of the physical vehicle. A good server causes the Master no anxiety from physical causes, and may be trusted so to guard and hus- band his physical strength that he is always available for the carrying out of the Master's requests. He does not fail from physical disability. He sees that his lower vehicle gets sufficient rest, and adequate sleep. He rises early and retires at a seemly hour. He relaxes whenever possible ; he eats wholesome and suitable food, and refrains from heavy eating. A little food, well-chosen and well masticated, is far better than a heavy meal. The human race eats these days as a rule four times as much as is
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required. He ceases from work when (through accident or the recurrence of inherited physical disability) his body re-acts against action and cries out for attention. He then seeks rest, sleep, dietary precautions and necessary medical attention. He obeys all wise instruction, giving time for his recovery.
The next step is a steady care and control of the emotional body. This is the most difficult of the vehicles to tend, as is well known. No excessive emotion is per- mitted, though strong currents of love for all that breathe are allowed to sweep through. Love, being the law of the system, is constructive and stabilising, and carries all on in line with the law. 3sTo fear or worry or care shake the emotional body of the aspiring servant of all. He cul- tivates serenity, stability, and a sense of secure depend- ence on God's law. A joyous confidence characterises his habitual attitude. He harbours no jealousy, no cloudy grey depression, and no greed or self-pity, but — realising that all men are brothers and that all that is exists for all — he proceeds calmly on his way.
Then ensues the development of his mental vehicle. In the control of the emotional body the server takes the attitude of elimination. His aim is so to train the emotional body that it becomes devoid of colour, has a still vibration, and is clear and white, limpid as a pool on a still summer's day. In fitting the mental body for service the worker strives at the opposite of elimination; he seeks to build in information, to supply knowledge and facts, to train it intellectually and scientifically so that it may prove as time goes on a stable foundation for the divine wisdom. Wisdom supersedes knowledge yet re- quires knowledge as a preliminary step. You must re* member, that the server passes through the Hall of Learn- ing prior to entering the Hall of Wisdom. In training
SERVICE 343
the mind body he seeks therefore orderly acquisition of knowledge, a supply of that which may be lacking, a se- quential grasp of the innate mental faculty accumulated in previous lives, and lastly, a steadying of the lower mind so that the higher may dominate and the creative faculty of thought may be projected through the stillness. From the Silence of the Absolute was projected the universe. From darkness issued light, from the subjective emanated the objective. The negative stillness of the emotional body makes it receptive to impression from above. The positive stillness of the mental body leads to the higher inspiration.
Having sought to control and wisely use his person- ality in its three departments, the lover of humanity seeks perfection in action. No magnificent dreams of martyrdom and the glorious yet ephemeral chimeras of spectacular service engross his attention, but the instant application of all his powers to the next duty is the line of his endeavor. He knows that perfection in the foreground of his life and in the details of his environing work, will cause accuracy in the background too, and result in a whole picture of rare beauty. Life progresses by small steps, but each step, taken at the right time and each mo- ment wisely occupied, leads to long distance covered and a life well spent. Those Who guide the human family test out all applicants for service in the small detail of every day life, and he who shews a record of faithful action in the apparently non-essential will be moved into a sphere of greater moment. How, in an emergency or crisis, can They depend on someone who in every day matters does slovenly and ill-judged work?
A further method of service shews itself in adaptability. This involves a readyness to retire when other or more important people are sent to fill the niche
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lie may be occupying, or (inversely) an ability to step out of office into work of greater importance, when some less competent worker can do bis work with equal facility and good judgment. It is tbe part of wisdom in all who serve neither to rate themselves too highly nor to underrate themselves. Bad work results when the non-efficient fill a post, but it is equally a loss of time and power when skilled workers hold positions where their skill has not full scope and where less well-equipped men and women would do as well. Be ready, therefore, all ye who serve, to stay a lifetime in office non-spectacular and seemingly unimportant, for such may be your destiny and the place you best may serve; but be equally ready to step on to work of more apparent value when the Master's word goes forth, and when circumstances — and not the server's plan- ning— indicate that the time is come. Ponder this last sentence.
3. The attitude following action.
What should this attitude be? Utter dispassion, utter self-forgetfulness, and utter occupation with the next step to be taken. The perfect server is he who does to the ut- most of his ability what he believes to be the Master's will, and the work to be done by him in co-operation with God's plan. Then, having done his part, he passes on to a con- tinuance of the work, and cares not for the result of his ac- tion. He knows that wiser eyes than his see the end from the beginning; that insight, deeper and more loving than his, is weighing up the fruit of his service ; and that judg- ment, more profound than his, is testing the force and ex- tent of the vibration set up, and is adjusting that force according to the motive. He does not suffer from pride over what he has done, nor from undue depression over lack of accomplishment. At all times he does his very
SERVICE 345
best, and wastes not time in backward contemplation, but steadily presses forward to the accomplishment of the next duty. Brooding over past deeds, and casting the mind back over old achievement, is in the nature of in- volution, and the servant seeks to work with the law of evolution. This is an important thing to note. The wise server, after action, pays no attention to what his fellow servants say, provided his superiors (either incarnating men and women, or the Great Ones Themselves ) prove con- tent or silent ; he cares not if the result is not that which he anticipated, provided that he faithfully did the highest thing he knew ; he cares not if reproach and reproof assail him, provided his inner self remains calm and non-accus- ing ; he cares not if he loses friends, relatives, children, the popularity once enjoyed, and the approbation of his en- vironing associates, provided his inner sense of contact with Those Who guide and lead remains unbroken; he cares not if he seem to work in the dark and is conscious of little result from his labours, provided the inner light increases and his conscience has nought to say.
To sum it all up: —
The motive may be epitomised in these few words : — The sacrifice of the personal self for the good of the One Self.
The method may also be shortly put: — Wise control of the personality, and discrimination in work and time.
The resultant attitude will be: — Complete dispas- sion, and a growing love of the unseen and the real.
All this will be consummated through steady appli- cation to occult Meditation.
FINIS
GLOSSARY
Adept. A Master, or human being who, having traversed the path of evolution and entered upon the final stage of that path, the Path of Initiation, has taken five of the Initiations, and has therefore passed into the Fifth, or Spiritual kingdom, having but two more Initiations to take.
Adi. The First; the primeval; the atomic plane of the solar system ; the highest of the seven planes.
Agni. The Lord of Fire in the Vedas. The oldest and most revered of the Gods in India. One of the three great deities Agni, Vayu and Surya, and also all the three, as he is the triple aspect of fire ; fire is the es- sence of the solar system. The Bible says : "Our God is a consuming fire." It is also the symbol of the mental plane of which Agni is paramountry lord.
Agnichaitans. A group of fire devas.
Atlantis. The continent that was submerged in the At- lantic and Pacific oceans, according to the occult teaching and Plato. Atlantis was the home of the Fourth Root Race, whom we now call the Atlanteans.
Antakarana. (or Antaskarana) . The path, or bridge, be- tween higher and lower mind, serving as a medium of communication between the two. It is built by the aspirant himself in mental matter.
Ashram. The centre to which the Master gathers the dis- ciples and aspirants for personal instruction.
Atma. The Universal Spirit; the divine Monad; the seventh Principle; so-called in the septenary consti- tution of man. ( See diagram in Introduction. )
347
348 GLOSSARY
Atomic sub-plane. The matter of the solar system is divided by the occultists into seven planes or states, the highest of which is the atomic plane. Similarly, each of the seven planes is divided into seven sub- planes, of which the highest is called the atomic sub- plane. . There are therefore forty-nine sub-planes, and seven of these are atomic.
Aura. A subtle invisible essence or fluid which emanates from human and animal bodies, and even from things. It is a psychic effluvium, partaking of both mind and body. It is electro-vital, and also electro- mental.
Auric egg. An appellation that has been given to the causal body owing to its form.
Boddhisattva. Literally, he whose consciousness has be- come intelligence, or buddhi. Those who need but one more incarnation to become perfect buddhas. As used in these letters the Boddhisattva is the name of the office which is at present occupied by the Lord Maitreya, Who is known in the Occident as the Christ. This office might be translated as that of World Teacher. The Boddhisattva is the Head of all the religions of the world, and the Master of the Masters and of the angels.
Buddha (The). The name given to Gautama. Born in India about B.C. 621 he become a full buddha in B.C. 592. The Buddha is one who is the "Enlightened", and has attained the highest degree of knowledge possible for man in this solar system.
Buddhi. The Universal Soul or Mind. It is the spiritual soul in man (the Sixth Principle) and therefore the vehicle of Atma, the Spirit, which is the Seventh Principle.
GLOSSARY 349
Causal Body. This body is, from the standpoint of the physical plane, no body, either subjective or objec- tive. It is, nevertheless, the centre of the egoic con- sciousness, and is formed of the conjunction of buddhi and manas. It is relatively permanent and lasts throughout the long cycle of incarnations, and is only dissipated after the fourth initiation, when the need for further rebirth on the part of a human being no longer exists.
Chohan. Lord, Master, a Chief. In this book it refers to those Adepts who have gone on and taken the sixth initiation.
Deva, (or Angel). A god. In Sanskrit a resplendent deity. A Deva is a celestial being, whether good, bad, or indifferent. Devas are divided into many groups, and are called not only angels and arch- angels, but lesser and greater builders.
Egoic Groups. On the third sub-plane of the fifth plane, the mental, are found the causal bodies of the in- dividual men and women. These bodies, which are the expression of the Ego, or of the individualised self -consciousness, are gathered together into groups according to the ray or quality of the particular Ego involved.
Elementals. The Spirits of the Elements; the creatures involved in the four kingdoms, or elements, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Except a few of the higher kinds and their rulers they are forces of nature more than ethereal men and women.
Etheric body. (Etheric double.) The physical body of a human being is, according to occult teaching, formed of two parts, the dense physical body, and
350 GLOSSABY
the etheric body. The dense physical body is formed of matter of the three lowest sub-planes of the physi- cal plane. The etheric body is formed of the four highest or etheric sub-planes of the physical plane.
Fifth Principle. The principle of mind; that faculty in man which is the intelligent thinking principle, and which differentiates man from the animals.
Fohat. Cosmic electricity; primordial light; the ever- present electrical energy; the universal propelling vital force; the ceaseless destructive and formative power; the synthesis of the many forms of electrical phenomena.
Guru. Spiritual Teacher. A Master in metaphysical and ethical doctrines.
Hierarchy. That group of spiritual beings on the inner planes of the solar system who are the intelligent forces of nature, and who control the evolutionary processes. They are themselves divided into twelve Hierarchies. Within our planetary scheme, the earth scheme, there is a reflection of this Hierarchy which is called by the occultist the Occult Hierarchy. This Hierarchy is formed of chohans, adepts, and initiates working through their disciples, and, by this means, in the world. ( See diagram in Letter VIII. )
Initiation. From the Latin root meaning the first prin- ciples of any science. One who is penetrating into the mysteries of the science of the Self and of the one self in all selves. The Path of Initiation is the final stage of the path of evolution trodden by man, and is divided into five stages, called the Five Initiations.
Kali yuga. "Yuga" is an age or cycle. According to the Indian philosophy our evolution is divided into four yugas or cycles. The Kali-yuga is the present age. It means the "Black Age", a period of 432,000 years.
GLOSSARY 351
Karma. Physical action. Metaphysically, the law of re- tribution ; the law of cause and effect, or ethical caus- ation. There is the karma of merit and the karma of demerit. It is the power that controls all things, the resultant of moral action, or the moral effect of an act committed for the attainment of something which gratifies a personal desire.
Kumara. The seven highest self-conscious beings in the solar system. These seven Kumaras manifest through the medium of a planetary scheme in the same way as a human being manifests through the medium of a physical body. They are called by the Hindu "the mind-born sons of Brahma" amongst other names. They are the sum-total of intelligence and of wisdom. Within the planetary scheme the re- flection of the systemic order is also seen. At the head of our world evolution stands the first Kumara, aided by six other Kumaras, three exoteric and three esoteric, who are the focal points for the distribution of the force of the systemic Kumaras.
Kundalini. The power of Life: one of the forces of na- ture. It is a power known only to those who practise concentration in yoga, and is centred within the spine.
Lemuria. A modern term first used by some naturalists and now adopted by Theosophists to indicate a con- tinent that, according to the Secret Doctrine of the East, preceded Atlantis. It was the home of the third root race.
Logos. The deity manifested through every nation and people. The outward expression, or the effect of the cause which is ever concealed. Thus, speech is the Logos of thought, hence it is aptly translated by the
352 GLOSSAKY
"verbum" and the "word" in its metaphysical sense. (See John 1.1-3.)
Lord of Civilisation. (See Mahachohan).
Lords of the Flame. One of the great Hierarchies of spiritual beings who guide the solar system. They took control of the evolution of humanity upon this planet about 18 million years ago, during the middle of the Lemurian, or third root race.
Macrocosm. The great universe, literally; or God mani- festing through His body, the solar system.
Mahachohan. The Head of the third great department of the Hierarchy. This great being is the Lord of Civ- ilisation, and the flowering forth of the principle of intelligence. He is the embodiment on the planet of the third, or intelligence aspect of deity in its fifth activity.
Mahamanvantra. The great interludes of time between two solar systems. This term is frequently applied to the greater solar cycles. It implies a period of uni- versal activity.
Manas, or Manasic Principle. Literally, the Mind, the mental faculty; that which distinguishes man from the mere animal. It is the individualising principle ; that which enables man to know that he exists, feels, and knows. It is divided in some schools into two parts, higher or abstract mind, and lower or con- crete mind.
Mantrams. Verses from the Vedas. In the exoteric sense a mantram, (or that psychic faculty or power that conveys perception or thought) is the older por- tion of the Vedas, the second part of which is com- posed of the Brahmanas. In esoteric phraseology mantram is the word made flesh, or rendered objec- tive through divine magic. A form of words or
GLOSSARY 353
syllables rhythmically arranged, so that when sound- ed certain vibrations are generated.
Manu. The representative name of the great Being Who is the Ruler, primal progenitor and chief of the hu- man race. It comes from the Sanskrit root "man" — to think.
Manvantara. A period of activity as opposed to a period of rest, without reference to any specific length of cycle. Frequently used to express a period of planetary activity and its seven races.
Mayavi Rupa. Sanskrit, "Illusive Form." It is the body of manifestation created by the adept by an act of will for use in the three worlds. It has no material connection with the physical body. It is spiritual and etherial and passes everywhere without let or hindrance. It is built by the power of the lower mind, of the highest type of astral matter.
Microcosm. The little universe, or man manifesting through his body, the physical body.
Monad. The One. The three-fold spirit on its own plane. In occultism it often means the unified triad — Atma, Buddhi, Manas, Spiritual Will, Intuition and Higher mind, — or the immortal part of man which rein- carnates in the lower kingdoms and gradually progresses through them to man and thence to the final goal.
Nirmanakaya. Those perfected beings who renounce Mrvana (the highest state of spiritual bliss) and choose a life of self-sacrifice, becoming members of that invisible host which ever protects humanity within karmic limits.
Permanent atom. Those five atoms, with the mental unit, one on each of the five planes of human evolution (the mental unit being also on the mental plane)
354 GLOSSAKY
which the monad appropriates for purposes of mani- festation. They form a stable centre and are rel- atively permanent. Around them the various sheaths or bodies are built. They are literally small force centres.
Planetary Logos. This term is generally applied to the seven highest spirits corresponding to the seven arch- angels of the Christian. They have all passed through the human stage and are now manifesting through a planet and its evolutions, in the same way that man manifests through his physical body. The highest planetary spirit working through any particular globe is, in reality, the personal God of the planet.
Prakriti. Derives its name from its function as the mate- rial cause of the first evolution of the universe. It may be said to be composed of two roots, "pra" to manifest, and "krita" to make; meaning, that which caused the universe to manifest itself.
Prana. The Life Principle, the breath of Life. The oc- cultist believes the following statement: "Life we look upon as the one form of existence, manifesting in what is called matter, or what, incorrectly sepa- rating them, we name Spirit, Soul, and Matter in man. Matter is the vehicle for the manifestation of God on this plane of existence; soul is the vehicle for the manifestation of spirit, and these three as a trinity are synthesised by Life, which pervades them all."
Purusha. The spiritual self. The embodied self. The word literally means "The dweller in the city" — that is, in the body. It is derived from the Sanskrit "pura" which means city or body, and "usha" a derivative of the verb "vas", to dwell.
Quarternary. The four-fold lower self, or man, in the three
GLOSSARY 355
worlds. There are various divisions of this, but per- haps for our purpose the best is to enumerate the four as follows :
1. Lower mind.
2. Emotional or karmic body.
3. Prana, or the Life Principle.
4. The etheric body, or the highest division of the two-fold physical body.
Raja Lord. The word "Raja" simply means King or Prince; the word has been applied to those great angels or entities who ensoul the seven planes. These are great devas who are the sum total and the con- trolling intelligence of a plane.
Raja Yoga. The true system of developing psychic and spiritual powers and union with one's higher self or the Ego. It involves the exercise, regulation, and concentration of thought.
Ray. One of the seven streams of force of the Logos ; the seven great lights. Each of them is the embodiment of a great cosmic entity. The seven Kays can be divided into the three Rays of Aspect and the four Rays of Attributes, as follows : Rays of Aspect
1. The Ray of Will, or Power.
2. The Ray of Love- Wisdom.
3. The Ray of Activity or Adaptibility.
Rays of Attribute
4. The Ray of Harmony, Beauty, Art, or Unity.
5. The Ray of concrete knowledge or Science.
6. The Ray of abstract idealism or devotion.
7. The Ray of Ceremonial Magic, or Law.
The above names are simply some chosen from among many, and embody the different aspects of force by means of which the Logos manifests.
356 GLOSSAKY
Ring-pass-not. This is at the circumference of the mani- fested solar system, and is the periphery of the in- fluence of the sun, both esoterically and exoterically understood. The limit of the field of activity of the central life force.
Root Race. One of the seven races of man which evolve up- on a planet during the great cycle of planetary exist- ence. This cycle is called a world period. The Aryan root race, to which the Hindu, European, and modern American races belong, is the fifth, the Chinese and Japanese belonging to the fourth race.
Sensa, or Senzar. The name for the secret sacerdotal language, or the "mystery speech" of the initiated adepts all over the world. It is a universal language, and largely a hieroglyphic cypher.
Shamballa. The City of the Gods, which is in the West to some nations, in the East to others, in the North or South to yet others. It is the sacred island in the Gobi Desert. It is the home of mysticism and the Secret Doctrine.
Triad. The Spiritual Man ; the expression of the monad. It is the germinal spirit containing the potentialities of divinity. These potentialities will be unfolded during the course of evolution. This Triad forms the individualised or separated self, or Ego.
Yiveha. The Sanskrit "discrimination". The very first step in the path of occultism is the discrimina- tion between the real and the unreal, between sub- stance and phenomenon, between the Self and the Not-self, between spirit and matter.
Wesak. A festival which takes place in the Himalayas at the full moon of May. It is said that at this festival, at which all the members of the Hierarchy
GLOSSARY 357
are present, the Buddha, for a brief period, renews his touch and association with the work of our planet. Yoga. 1. One of the six schools of India, said to be founded by Pantanjali, but really of much earlier origin. 2. The practice of Meditation as a means of leading to spiritual liberation.
Note: This glossary does not undertake to fully explain all the above terms. It is simply an attempt to render into English certain words used in these Let- ters, so that the reader may understand their con- notation. The majority of the definitions have been culled from the Theosophical Glossary, the Secret Doctrine, and the Voice of the Silence.
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