Alice Bailey & Djwhal Khul - Discipleship in the New Age II - Teachings on Initiation

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Discipleship in the New Age II - Teachings on Initiation - Part XI

The agent of revelation is, for the first two initiations, the Soul and - for that reason - the first initiation is said to be (and with truth) the expression of the man's own inner divinity. This is the reason why these first two initiations are regarded as "initiations of the threshold." It is here that the work of the Christ or whoever is the cyclic Head of the Hierarchy should be considered, working in cooperation with the Soul of the initiate upon the plane of the Soul, the mental plane; the Son of Mind is set free and then the higher initiations become possible. After that, the One Initiator can be faced or confronted step by step and revelation is accorded of the world soul, of the planetary consciousness - that of which the Soul or the individual consciousness is an integral part.

After the sixth Initiation of Decision, the revelation begins to shift on to cosmic levels and off the cosmic physical plane. A developed wisdom then grows in relation to God Transcendent. The initiate now has knowledge of God Immanent within the planetary sphere and can now add, to knowledge, wisdom and can learn to give correct and understanding interpretation to that which is being revealed to him, stage by stage, as he demonstrates that he is initiate. After the sixth initiation the initiate begins to penetrate, through his projected spiritual awareness, on to cosmic levels where he contacts unimagined revelations. The fact that I want you to understand can perhaps be best expressed by the following words out of the Old Commentary: [436]

"The light that shines within the heart of man discovers light and, in these blended lights, comes revelation. The light that shines within the sacred Hierarchy of Souls discovers these two lights revealed and they reveal a third - the revelation of the higher states of Being which hide and veil a Light which is not of planetary creation. These are four lights which reveal a Light Supreme, a Light which comes from distances beyond the ken of man. Yet all these lights have been revealed because a light has burned - immovable, secure - within the human heart."

The whole theme of revelation is the revelation of light, and that implies many different interpretations of the word "light"; it concerns the discovery of the lighted areas of being which otherwise remain unknown, and therefore hidden. We create light; we employ light; we discover greater lights which serve to reveal to us the Unknown God. It is the guiding light within us which eventually reveals those brighter lights which usher in the process of revelation. I am, my brother, speaking symbolically as you can well understand.

So much of human thought anent religion is concerned with the light of knowledge; the reason for this is that the first "great lighted area" which the initiate can grasp is the "circle of the Mind of God," as it expresses itself in the living, active state of the planetary consciousness. There is a point in the initiate process when the initiate becomes aware - in a manner which I cannot or may not explain to you - of the light as it blazed forth at the consummation of the previous solar system; to it we give the inadequate name of the "light of the intelligence." It is really the light of what we call the light of the anima mundi; in this initiate experience the light of the Kingdom of Souls is added to that light. At a later initiation there comes a point of revelation where the initiate perceives and records as a definite revelation the "light of the divine Purpose," and this happens in such a way that the light of the divine Mind or the divine Intelligence becomes available for this increased enlightenment and informing. When this takes place, a point is reached wherein the intelligence [437] and its various phases as known to him hitherto, drops below the threshold of consciousness and becomes instinctual, irrevocable habit, but is no longer a major preoccupation. The "light of love" which flows from the Heart of God (and - from the angle of the solar system - from the Heart of the Sun) supersedes the light which has hitherto enlightened his way. At that point of revelation (again speaking symbolically), he realizes for the first time a threefold "lighted relation": a triangle composed of the light of the Spiritual Triad, of a light which is streaming forth from the "Heart of the Sun," and of a steadily burning light which glows from the cosmic physical plane. As he has penetrated into the higher stages of the Path of Initiation, he has moved forward into a light which has been revealed to him by the use of the triple light of his personality and the threefold light of his soul which (when blended) represent two great lights; as he moves forward again, he now blends with these lights the triple light of the Spiritual Triad; and the union of all these lights reveals a light and lights which are extra-planetary.

The above elucidation is of a deeply instructive, though symbolic, nature and can only be correctly understood if the basic premise is grasped that "light is substance" and that "substance is energy." I have here attempted to reduce to words which you could understand some pages out of the Rules for Disciples to which access is granted as the initiate proceeds on the Way and comes to the critical stage where "he recognizes revelation." I would ask you to think carefully about these three words because they involve the perception of some truths which are apt to be forgotten. For instance, the truth that revelation is the revelation of that which is ever present; it is not in reality the revelation of something new and hitherto unknown. To put this in its simplest terms: the initiate discovers he can perceive more than he ever knew was existent or perceptible but that he is only perceiving something that has always been there. The limitation, he discovers, is in himself, and the Way of Revelation is through the discovery and the discarding of his own personal, or rather, individual limitations.

The next point to be remembered is that these limitations [438] have been rejected by him under the applied stimulation of the Rod of Initiation, wielded by the Initiator. I would ask you to remember that this Rod is the Rod of Stimulating Light which is projected by the Initiator with all its Lighted energy on to the center which is receiving attention during any specific initiation.

There is another point of revelation on the Way of Initiation to which I would like to refer. It occurs when the light which the initiate has generated or received is projected into the Past and the subconscious mind (as the psychologists inadequately call it) is revealed to him; this subconscious mind relates him to all the four kingdoms in nature. This is one of the earliest phases and precedes the shifting of the penetrating, focused light in extra-planetary areas of consciousness. It constitutes a fundamental revelation and is in the nature of a "summarizing point of penetration."

I endeavor, my brothers, to give you - as far as I can - some teaching on the points of revelation which the Christ will make possible for mankind to grasp, and try to give you some understanding of the quality of the light of knowledge which is inherent in the planet, and the quality of the light of love which is of solar origin; this is one of the teachings which he will make somewhat clearer to mankind.

More along these lines I cannot tell you. It was necessary for me, however, to speak of these matters, even if they sound to you to be but symbols and parables; they will aid you to gain a more just appreciation of initiation.

In the planetary and cosmic processes, the fate, the attainment and the progress of the individual initiate are of small importance in the vast scheme of the divine life. Can you grasp anything of what I mean when I say that initiation is a planetary activity, based on the life of the planetary Logos and the point of spiritual attainment of Sanat Kumara? This attainment sweeps or carries the initiate into ever widening spheres of "lighted consciousness," and this makes him not only welcome the revelations of light but also to become one of the Agents of the Light.

These are deep mysteries and you cannot expect or anticipate full comprehension. Many lives of struggle, service and [439] progress lie ahead, but the reward of revelation is adequate compensation for all that must be endured as the initiate discards limitation. The goal of all this process has been summed up, as far as planetary humanity is concerned, in the words of the fifth Point of Revelation: "When the light of the seven Rays is blended with the seventh Ray, then Light Supernal can be known." [443]

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