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Discipleship in the New Age II - Teachings on Initiation - Part II
Two things must now happen: the imparted theories which have guided the disciple's thinking hitherto must become practical experiences, and there must be such a shift in consciousness that the present vision must become the past experience and a new and deeper and entirely different recognition must take the place of the old goals. Here comes, consequently, a complete test-out of past hierarchical methods and modes of work. Has what the past has given proved an adequate preparation for that which will be the methods and propositions of the future? Have the foundations of truth been so securely settled that the coming superstructure will be based on such a sound reality that it can stand the impact of the new incoming solar and cosmic forces? Will the past work of the Hierarchy stand? Such are the problems with which the initiate-teachers are today faced. Just as the attitudes of the disciple to daily living and to world happenings are totally unlike that of the average man because he is living increasingly in the world of meaning, so the initiate-disciple develops an attitude to living processes and to world events which is based on character (necessarily), interpreted in the world of meaning but to them he brings a different light to bear and a motivation - based on newly acquired knowledge and understanding - which is entirely different to the two previous conditions. The four lines of teaching are taken for granted; the initiates supposed to have grasped and mastered all of it in some experimental and experiential measure. Now the new formulas of life must control; they are life formulas, not [256] soul formulas. New knowledge must supersede the old and it will not concern that which has hitherto been regarded as the ultimate goal. An illustration of this is the fact that to the esotericist of the past little was known of the seven Rays and the seven ray types, and naught had been given out anent Shamballa. Now the world of instructed disciples is slowly awakening to these newer values and truths and to the sevenfold source of life expression; the Will of God is going to take shape consciously in the minds of men in the future in such a manner that the old truths will condition and control as never before, but will drop automatically below the threshold of consciousness and the new emerging values and recognitions will take their place in the surface consciousness of all disciples - and their name will be Legion. The astral body provides no hindrance to the initiate - disciple, but provides a medium of facile contact with the Hierarchy. This is due to the fact that the link between the astral body and the buddhic consciousness becomes at this stage increasingly close. They constitute essentially a pair of opposites which will eventually fuse; then the astral body will disappear as does the soul body at a later stage of development. Every disciple has to discover for himself and alone for which initiation he is being prepared; the Master never gives this information. Light on the subject comes through the recognition of tests and the types of experience which come his way. "It is a matter," I have elsewhere told you, "of interior orientation and not of outside information." Recognition and orientation are the keynotes of this phase. Always there exists the need for humility. This involves: An adjusted sense of right proportion. A balanced point of view. A dispassionate attitude. Truthful recognition of assets as well as debits. [257] Here also I gave you a hint in stating that true humility is based on fact, on vision and on time pressures. Two immediate objectives face the disciples, plus the need for one quality: To integrate into the inner Ashram as "practicing chelas." To contact the Master at will. To develop divine indifference. In connection with the formulas, two reactions are automatically evoked in the true disciple and in the true group within the Ashram: The reaction which is called the "formula of revelation." This designates sensitive response to the ancient formulas which are given to those being prepared for initiation. One of these I have already given to you. The reaction called the "discovery of the point within the circle." Have you ever thought, my brother, that one reason why you have not as yet contacted me freely in your waking consciousness and talked with me face to face may be due to the fact that the "circle" is for you only as yet a theory? Until the circle of your brothers is a fact in your everyday awareness and of prime importance in your daily life, it is not possible for you to arrive at contact with the "Point." The disciple starts on the periphery of the Master's circle and works towards the center; he is apt, however, to reverse this procedure in his consciousness. I have stated that initiation is essentially a process of revelation. For the disciple who is being prepared to take an initiation the emphasis is necessarily laid upon recognition - the intelligent recognition of what is to be revealed. This requires on his part a definite emergence from the world of glamor so that there can be a clear perception of the new vision; a new light is thrown upon old and well-known truths so that their significance is extraordinarily [258] changed, and in that changing the plan or purpose of Deity takes on an entirely fresh meaning. The inexperienced neophyte is constantly receiving revelations and recording what he regards as most unusual intuitions. All that is really happening, however, is that he is becoming aware of soul knowledge, whereas for the initiate the intuition is ever the revelation of the purpose of Shamballa and the working out, both from the short range and the long range angle, of the divine Plan. The revelation which is accorded at initiation is given to the soul, recorded by the "mind held steady in the light" and then later - with greater or less rapidity - transferred to the brain. You can see, therefore, the true intention of the system of Raja Yoga as it trains the mind to be receptive eventually to the Spiritual Triad. You can also see why for centuries the emphasis of the Teachers of the Ageless Wisdom has been upon the necessity for discrimination, particularly where the probationary disciple is concerned.
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