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Discipleship in the New Age II - Talks to Disciples - Group Instruction
These three types of force (when brought into relation with each other) are producing an unparalleled vortex of energy of which all disciples are necessarily aware, particularly those (and they are a large number) who are preparing for the second initiation. All disciples, working among their fellowmen, [67] are brought into contact with this astral whirlpool. (I would call the attention of D.E.I. to this fact because it accounts for his reaction during the past two years and has led him to relinquish his position in my outer work and to retire into a phase of living which will provide him with no true scope for his pledged experience and his years of training; this present phase is in the nature of a cul-de-sac. Eventually he will have to retrace his steps and admit the reality of the time lost - lost in the moment of humanity's greatest need. Yet he will retrace his steps. I mention this as it is a typical instance of the effects of this glamor.) 3. The stimulation to which the lower vehicles of a disciple are unavoidably subjected. This evokes a full expression of all his inherent qualities, both good and bad. Everything in his nature is intensified, and the more mental he may be, the more he is consciously aware of these revelations. If his orientation is towards his life expression in the three worlds, a phase of depression, of self-accusation and frequently of doubt may have to be endured, thus handicapping his general usefulness. 4. The evocation of a strong sense of the soul within the personality. An emphasis upon the attitude of the soul to the personality life may also be induced and may prove very misleading. It would appear from the (apparently) voiced expression of soul comment, criticism, encouragement and planning that the main interest of the soul is with the dedicated personality. Such is not the case. The soul is very little aware of the personality nature, its disposition and ideas. The soul can be conscious of the limitations within the personality and of the barriers opposed to the inflow of soul energy, but the details are of no interest to the soul. The soul is occupied with recognizing hierarchical planning, with registering world need, and with responding (faintly, very faintly at first) to the developing monadic inflow. These attitudes and reactions of the soul (upon its own plane of being) affect profoundly and fundamentally the personality life and produce those basic changes which evoke the vocation of the disciple. The disciple is occupied with vocation and not so much with evocation. (I would call this to the attention of [68] D.H.B. This type of evoked response is in the nature of illusion. He will know to what I am referring.) 5. The danger of "Imperil," as the Master Morya has called it. This is somewhat erroneously interpreted as irritation by the neophyte, but it is not in fact irritation in the ordinary connotation of the word. The surface ripples of ordinary irritation and the evanescent angers to which all disciples are prone are relatively of small importance. They pass and, in the sumtotal of the soul's attitudes to the personality, evoke no response or registration whatsoever. What is referred to is the reaction of the disciple to world evil. This produces uncertainty as to the future, annoyance at what is being done throughout the planet by non-disciples, criticism of national and international planning and a general atmosphere of unhappiness, plus a sense of superior knowledge. All this is expressed in a negative, unconstructive manner. To this many disciples are today prone; they need to realize that world affairs are not and cannot be molded or determined by any hierarchical knowledge in the possession of the disciple. World affairs and conditions have necessarily to be based upon the demand and the point in evolution of the mass of humanity, working through their representatives, chosen or imposed, in every country. This demand can be and is affected, modified and spiritualized by the attitude and the teaching of disciples everywhere who are vocal and of humanitarian instinct. If, however, the will and knowledge of disciples in all nations were to condition world affairs and control entirely the political, economic and social life of the people, it would produce a far more serious cleavage than now exists, for instance between the rich and the poor, or between the classes and the castes. It would produce a pronounced line of demarcation between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of men. This would run counter to hierarchical intention, which is rapidly healing the existent breach, and thus offset the work which Christ set out to do on Earth. This point is often overlooked by well-intentioned disciples. It is humanity which determines its own destiny. Disciples point the way, indicate the vision, set a needed example and emphasize the ancient landmarks. [69] A realization of these few points which I have chosen to enumerate out of many, will indicate to you the difficulties with which disciples are today confronted - each of you among the many who are also struggling to meet human need in a modern world. As a group of ashramic affiliates, you (together with disciples everywhere) are all reacting to this inflow of energies, and with consequent conflict; with some of you it has produced a definite crisis and one that you have not yet resolved; with one or two of you in this group, it has led to a seething inner turmoil accompanied by an over-emphasized introspection. This will be apt (if too protracted) to hinder your exoteric service. It is needless to remark that all of you need to become so sensitive to the quality of my Ashram, and so preoccupied with the opportunity to serve which confronts every disciple these days, that your own personal development, your unique problem (so regarded by you) and your reactions should be forgotten. You need to remember that you are not as interesting to your soul as you may think. From the angle of the Master, it is the ability of the soul to control its instrument, the personality, and to work through it, that is of interest; it is for these types of ability that he looks, and not at the reaction of the personality. This is hard, if not humiliating, for the disciple to remember. The more engrossed he is with his personal responsiveness and capacities, the more impenetrable the barriers he is setting up between himself (upon the physical plane) and his soul; as a result of this, barriers are then being set up between the disciple and the life of the Ashram of which he is intended to form a part. Have this in mind and be, therefore, so occupied with the life of the soul that you have no time for personality introspection. The pure life of the soul will galvanize the centers above the diaphragm into activity, and your lives will become simple and uncomplicated expressions of the second aspect of divinity - of which all Ashrams are focal points. As you know, it is not my intention to give you any more personal instructions; you no longer need them during the rest of this life, because if you carry out those already given [70] there will be nothing to hinder your taking the initiation which is for you the next step forward. Do you realize the import of what I am saying? This initiation which confronts you can be taken either during the remaining years which are left to you; this, in the majority of cases is not probable, though a small minority - a very small minority - may achieve the goal. Or initiation may be taken in the interim period between incarnations, or else immediately upon return to physical plane life. This latter is the most probable for those who are not taking initiations higher than the third; and, at present, for that initiation I am not preparing disciples. It is usually regarded as essential that disciples who are taking the second or third initiations should register them in their brain consciousness. As I have often told you, the initiate consciousness is not the factor which requires to be thus recorded; it is seldom so. Recognition of it comes when the candidate is participating in the "esoteric installation" of a candidate into the ranks of the Great White Lodge. What the disciple undergoing initiation (and I choose the word "undergoing" with deliberation) must and eventually does record are the crises which brought about his fitness to take initiation, as it is erroneously called in theosophical circles. These, correctly handled and surmounted, will result in his being an initiate - a very different interpretation to the current theosophical one. As I often told you, a man is an initiate, prior to any initiation ceremony. The ceremony concerns hierarchical recognition of the disciple and does not concern the candidate's fitness. I find it needful to reiterate this fact.
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