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The Rays and the Initiations - Part Two - Section One - The Aspirant and the Mysteries of Initiation
Fusion of the Master's Consciousness with that of the Disciple Earlier I stated that the disciple's private life automatically falls (once he has been accepted by the Master) into three stages: The stage in which the lower concrete mind and the higher mind are related in such a manner that the lower mind is not only soul-illumined but is subject also to impression from the Spiritual Triad. His relation to the Master is the next and some times paralleling stage and involves the bringing [543] together of the Master's consciousness and his own. This has to be slowly developed and consciously grasped, with very interesting consequences. Later comes the stage when the disciple's consciousness can be gradually brought into a rapport with the Hierarchy as a whole. It might be mentioned, in clarification somewhat of this rather vague statement, that the disciple is absorbed into the Hierarchy and - at the same time - he assimilates in a new and mysterious manner certain united hierarchical impressions. The disciple by now has made his approach to the Ashram and has demonstrated his ability to serve and thereby utilize any ashramic energy which he may contact and occultly include. He is slowly becoming aware of three vibratory impressions which are slightly differing though colored by the ray which they express. First of all, he is aware of the vibration of his own soul; then he registers that of the Ashram, in the early stages focused for him through the mediation of some disciple senior to him; and finally, he becomes conscious of the vibration of the Master. Slowly he learns to distinguish them and know them as constituting three different channels whereby energy reaches him. They contact his consciousness upon the mental plane; later, he discovers that contact with them is facilitated once he can register them consciously upon their appropriate plane and through the appropriate center; it naturally takes time to develop this facility and (until he passes through the third initiation when major changes take place) he is expected to "retain the impression" upon the mental plane. The development of sensitivity to contact, and the registering of "that which is other than the Self and yet which is the Self itself," are part of the great Science of Impression. This development - in the early stages of human evolution - is carried forward through the medium of the five senses and is to be found in the animal kingdom also. With this well-known and well-studied unfoldment I shall not deal, beyond saying that these five (in reality [544] seven) senses constitute avenues of spiritual approach to varying aspects of the divine manifestation in the three or five worlds of human evolution. It might here be pointed out that (in a mysterious manner) the seven centers in the etheric body are correspondences to the seven senses, for they are responsive to vibrations coming from the world soul or the human soul, from the Ashram and from the Master, as well as registering eventually the energies of all the seven rays; these pour into the disciple and through him as part of the great circulatory system of the sevenfold divine energy which is the basis of manifestation. I dealt with these senses and the circulating energies somewhat at length in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire. With the theme of the fusion of the soul and the personality I have dealt adequately in other writings and in the teaching on the antahkarana. I will confine myself here to the fusion of the Master's consciousness (as it is conditioned to the human kingdom) with that of the disciple. There is no fusion possible or comprehensible between the Master's higher or Shamballic consciousness and that of any disciple who has not taken the fourth initiation. The completeness of the fusion to which I refer is not possible in the early stages of the disciple's unfoldment; there again, the teaching hitherto presented by occult groups in connection with a Master's relation to His disciple has been erroneous and the result of wishful thinking. The disciple is only permitted to have contact with the Master's mind when his spiritual life has become habitual to him and when he can, at will, flood his personality with soul energy. Those who make occasional and rare soul contacts (and there are many who do) in their meditation work are not so privileged. It is the disciple who has established a usable contact with his soul, of which he can avail himself at any time he so chooses, who can begin to register impressions coming directly to him from the Master. Aspirants must not confuse teaching given to them by the Master in the work of the Ashram with this later [545] fusion of consciousness. In group formation, disciples are gathered together at times to receive instruction and are thereby protected within the group aura from the tremendous potency of the Master's presence. It is difficult for the average aspirant to realize the necessity for this, yet even disciples themselves, and in the early stages of their admission to the Ashram and of their training, have a potent effect upon those whom they may contact. The effect is produced without intention and is caused by the higher quality of the disciple's vibration or radiance to that of the person or group he contacts. The impression he makes produces stimulation - a stimulation which the person frequently finds it very difficult to handle, evoking not only good but also bad effects. The application of this radiant energy is a definite mode of spiritual service and activity, but until a disciple has advanced in knowledge and can control his radiation (permitting only those streams of energy to escape from him which are appropriate to the need) the "passing-by" of a disciple can produce much difficulty, both for the individual and for the group. It will be obvious to you, therefore, that the presence of a Master will have a potent effect where an individual disciple is concerned. I have employed that separative term "individual disciple" because it indicates the cause of the possible difficulty or even danger. Such difficulty is always possible as long as any separative or self-centered instincts exist in the disciple; it takes a long time for a disciple to attain that disinterestedness and that inclusive spirit which will enable him to stand in the presence of the Master and present no barriers to direct contact with the Master's mind. This contact, leading to the desired fusion, falls into certain clearly defined stages:
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