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Discipleship in the New Age II - Teachings on Meditation - Part XI
Part XI In our last series of instructions I summed up or summarized all the meditations (seven in number) which I have given to the group. I tried to show you the sequence of critical points in the life of the man in training for initiation. The last of these meditations was called The Cross as the Expression of the Vertical and the Horizontal Life. This was portrayed by the two crosses: To these two symbols of the life of the disciple I seek at this time to add another one, which is a symbol of the attitude you should hold during the cycle into which you are now entering. You will see that I have combined the two crosses of the vertical and the horizontal life with the cross of Humanity [192] and have also added a circle at the summit of all three. What, my brother, does this mean? It signifies the following: That the vertical life of spiritual contact with the Ashram is constantly preserved by meditation, prayer and concentration. That the horizontal life of service is preserved with equal care and that there is a constant stream of planned energy going out to all those who need help. The long limb of the triple cross symbolizes to the disciple that he must go down into the very depths of human life in order to prepare the masses for the reappearance of the Christ and for the externalization of the Hierarchy. The sphere at the summit of the cross portrays the "place of the disciple's consciousness." His life of reflection, of constant awareness, and the steady focus of his attention is higher than the vertical life of the aspirant, than his horizontal life of service, and indicates the measure of his conscious activity in the Ashram. Forget not that an Ashram in the Hierarchy is on a higher plane than that of the soul. He is therefore alive and active on three levels of activity simultaneously, and is in the process of demonstrating - as far as in him lies and his degree of discipleship permits - the three divine aspects: the Will aspect, governing his work within the Hierarchy in relation to the coming great movement; the Love aspect, governing - his vertical life and [193] producing spiritual steadfastness in form; the Intelligence aspect, governing his horizontal life and making him a wise server of his fellowmen. Finally, the long line from the point of radiant spiritual focus symbolizes the Path from the highest point attained by the disciple to the lowest point of service. You will notice also, in this symbol, that the secondary point of focus appears where all the lines meet and cross each other. This point represents the disciple's personality, into which the higher radiance must pour and from which spiritual energy reaches out on all sides. Also, if you will study and think for a while, it will be apparent to you that this cross is only correctly appropriated by (or is symbolic of) the man who has built (or is in process of building) the antahkarana. Where that bridge is not created the consciousness of the aspirant cannot focus in the Ashram or upon the intuitional levels of consciousness. You can see, therefore, why I have given out the teaching upon the Antahkarana. It was done in order that the completion of the antahkarana could be systematically and scientifically carried out by you. I shall not, therefore, repeat the instructions here; you have them and should follow them carefully, bearing in mind that you have at least bridged the gap between the personality and the Spiritual Triad to a certain extent, and that for you the need is to complete and strengthen the Rainbow Bridge and then to use it with facility. The symbology of the antahkarana tends badly to complicate the grasp of its real nature. May I remind you that, just as the soul is not a twelve-petalled lotus floating around in mental substance, but is in reality a vortex of force or twelve energies held together by the will of the spiritual entity (the Monad on its own plane), so the antahkarana is not a series of energy threads, slowly woven by the soul-infused personality, and met by corresponding threads projected by the Spiritual Triad, but is in reality a state of awareness. These symbols are true and living forms, created through the power of thought by the disciple, but - in time and space - they have no true existence. The only true existence [194] is the Monad on its own plane, active, expressive Will in emergence, and in turn, active Love in establishing relationships and equally active Intelligence in the use of the two higher energies. It must not be forgotten that the energy of intelligence, focused in the mind, is the instrument or implementing agency of the other two monadic energies. H.P.B. taught that the antahkarana was primarily the channel of energy relating forms and their forces to their originating sources and that across the mental plane (with its three aspects of mind) the life thread necessarily passed, linking Monad, soul and personality into one living whole. Technically speaking, therefore, there is no need for the so-called bridge, except for one important factor: there is, on the part of the soul-infused personality, a definite break in consciousness between the lower mind and the abstract mind. The higher mind (being the lowest aspect of the Spiritual Triad) can be regarded as a door admitting the consciousness of the soul-infused personality into a higher realm of contact and awareness. But again - as you can well see - there is nothing here but symbolism; there is no door, but simply a symbol indicating means of access. In the total evolution of the spiritual man through physical incarnation during untold hundreds of lives, the entire process is simply one of expanding consciousness and of attaining - sequentially and stage by stage - an ever more inclusive awareness. This is good to bear in mind, for eventually all this symbolic picturing will give place to reality. The task - and it is a real one - of building the antahkarana and creating that which will bridge the gap is in truth the planned and conscious effort to project the focused thought of the spiritual man from the lower mental plane into areas of awareness which have been sensed but not contacted; it entails using the totality of the awareness already developed and already "enlightened" by the soul, and (with deliberation) making it increasingly sensitive to the focused activity of the world of the higher spiritual realities; it is directing the stream of conscious thought towards the sensed and theoretically recognized world of the Masters, of the Spiritual Triad and, finally, of Shamballa. Disciples should remember [195] that the higher Way of Evolution is far simpler than the lower way, and that therefore the teaching on the significance and the meaning of the antahkarana - which is the first creation of the soul-infused personality acting as a unitary being - is far simpler than that relating to the personality in the three worlds of human evolution. I would ask you to ponder on these matters, because out of the practice of group meditation should grow that conscious, focused attitude which can be regarded as reflection - an act of reflection which, because the consciousness is held steady in the light, because the antahkarana is a realization to the disciple, and because the mind is oriented towards the Spiritual Triad, is a definite factual experience. It is a reflection carried on throughout all the vicissitudes of life and automatically registers these events; it therefore builds or creates that stream of ascending energy which is tinctured by the life qualities and the developed ray characteristics. Along that stream, the life qualities and the developed ray characteristics can pass at will; the disciple will increasingly register the "things of the spirit," as it is called in the New Testament; he will consequently acquire the facility to penetrate into the world of the Hierarchy, and to reach eventually the door to the Way of the higher Evolution. He will at the same time function in the three worlds as a serving disciple. With this simple presentation of the antahkarana, you may find it easier to work during the coming year. As this thought-projection process or exercise becomes a part of your normal state of mind, it will serve also to focus you upon the mental plane, thus withdrawing your attention from the world of the emotions and of desire or aspiration and placing you "upon the lighted point upon the lighted way, where light may shine and show a star which shines above the brow of the Initiator." I suggest to you that you take the seven meditations and work regularly with them. I suggested this to you a year ago. Few of you took my advice or have adhered to the process or followed the rhythm set up by the sequence of meditations. I suggest that you give two months to each of the meditations [196] thus covering a period of fourteen months; then, I suggest that you make Meditation VII your major meditation, to be followed for one year. If this is done by you as directed and with no questioning as to effectiveness, you will understand far more clearly the projection - realistic and energizing - which the personal consciousness will register. I shall give you no more meditation outlines. The careful following of those given will do much for you during the remainder of your lives. You need no more.
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