The Proccess of Initiation,

PROCESSES OF INITIATION
"The whole subject of the centres is dangerous if misunderstood; the centres constitute a menace when prematurely awakened or unduly exercised, and this entire subject can prove most dangerous to the curiosity-impelled man and to the ignorant experimenter. The time is not yet ripe for the presentation of this subject in a fully coordinated manner; students are warned against publishing a clear correlated thesis on the subject as a result of their researches in my books. Nevertheless, the true aspirant must be given the needed information.

"The mysteries are revealed, not primarily by the reception of information anent them and their processes, but by the action of certain processes, carried out within the etheric body of the disciple; these enable him to know that which is hidden; they put him in possession of a mechanism of magnetic powers or energies within himself which constitute channels of activity and modes whereby he may acquire that which is the privilege of the initiate to own and to use.

"The disciple upon the Probationary Path starts off on his quest for the door of initiation, and for that which he will contact after passing through that door, with a definite equipment and created mechanism. This has been acquired, and facility in its use has been attained, through many cycles of incarnation. An incarnation is a definitely determined period (from the angle of the soul) wherein experiment, Experience and expression are the keynotes in each incarnation. Each successive incarnation continues the experience and relates the expression more closely to the latent unfolding divinity...

"Every initiation is approached by the disciple or initiate in a spirit of divine experimentation, but with a scientific aspect, because an initiation is a culminating moment of achievement, and success is a graded series of experiments with energy." ("The Rays and the Initiations", Vol V, pp.336/7)

CLARIFYING THE PROCESSES OF INITIATION:

The awakening of the centres or, to be more explicit, the raising of the energies of the centres - which are various glands manifesting the centres - is the result not of concentration upon them in any form whatsoever. The illumination of the centres is the result entirely and only through the way the aspirant lives his life. This means, the way he thinks and loves and serves and sacrifices. It means the discipline that he practises and the disciplined purity of his thoughts. This is the way he speeds his evolution, and thereby illumines the centres which results in the raising of the forces of each centre "opening" and releasing its energy into the centre above. The energy of the centre is attracted or evoked because the centre above is where the aspirant is active. He "evokes" the forces emitted by the opening centre for the next phase of his evolutionary stage where he is already focused.

Initiation is related entirely and only to the opening of the centres, and this is effected entirely and only by the stage of evolution, of attitude and aspiration.

At first, man is operating in the sacral, or sex centre and, therefore, is "physically polarised." This means that his focus and his interest are based entirely on his physical responses. His experience, expression and experiment are related solely to his sexual impulses and carnal desires. When the lowest chakra, the sacral centre, is denied selfish, carnal attention and when loving purity of motive is the impulse, then the energy of that centre is drawn upon by the centre above, the solar plexus centre. Here, the astral body is seated, and the emotions superimpose the sexual impulse and desire. He has "fired" the lower centre which burns brightly as a divinified centre now motivated and impelled by higher impulses. This "divinifying" of the lower creative centre takes the symbolic form of the creation of the Christ within, and the dreams or experiences culminate in the "birth of the Christ." Even men have the extraordinary experience of giving birth to a wonderful child. It is not an uncommon dream and relates to the realisation of that divinity within each and every one of us - when we contact, experience and apply that divinity. This is the first initiation. Most of humanity has passed that stage, but the third world races are generally still physically polarised, responding to the "herd instinct", and hence their experiences of mass physical suffering, fighting, cruelty, and lack of refinement as we know it. This is a broad generalisation and not a specific statement. It is through their suffering and the caring by the nations of the world that they will be raised. Education, health and supply of basic needs will provide them with an understanding of higher principles which will result in the refinement of their instincts for their evolutionary development.

The next stage is polarisation in the emotional nature as the forces rise from the sacral to the solar plexus centre. However, emotions can be deeply selfish, resulting in desire for all that is attractive in the world, influencing the aspirant to greed and avarice. Or they can be coloured by love and pity and piety, impelling the aspirant to serve through his deep emotional concern. Although this is "glamour" (as we know the meaning of that word) because he is responding to his emotional impulses which are responses on the astral plane, nevertheless it is the true suffering for his fellow men which is, at this stage, the means whereby the aspirant passes on to his initiatory experience on the next plane. He has dedicated himself to service with deepest commitment, whether it be in the field of healing or teaching or the creative arts, having suffered and sacrificed, and raises himself thereby to the higher centre, the throat centre.

Each of these stages will have taken many lives and possibly thousands of years, for one must remember that on passing over to the inner plane at each death, the aspirant may remain in that state of "comfort" for even a thousand or more years. There is no time factor on the inner side as we know time. (The manifested world of humanity works with a time system which is held in the custodianship of an Entity beyond our comprehension: but this is a deeply occult mystery quite beyond our finite comprehension..) Sooner or later the soul impels its jiva (or the "seed" of its personality) to incarnate, and the process proceeds. It may take a great number of incarnations before the next stage is achieved. In the early stages, the process is slow and sluggish for the evolving unit is still on the involutionary arc. This means that he is progressing toward greater self expression as a human unit. There is little impulse to evolve but seeks only to fulfill himself as a human unit, satisfying every desire and greed and avarice. This changes as he experiences life with its pain and suffering through his selfishness and cruelty and has paid the price as karma has taken its toll in each life following. Known as "the sorrowing planet," all evolutionary development is based on the pain of karma in this planetary system of ours - until we reach the fourth initiation and have left behind all selfishness, suffering and sorrow and enter into the "peace that passeth understanding". It is beyond our understanding because we are unable to experience and grasp the divine glory and bliss of that State.

Having operated in the solar plexus centre and gained lifetimes of experience in the emotions, the aspirant seeks to evolve and draws upon the forces or energies from the solar plexus centre to the creative centre, the throat centre, where he begins to understand the reality of creative service. He goes from the astral plane to the mental plane, where he has the disciple's vision but is not yet "mentally polarised." At this point he undergoes the second initiation, the Baptism. He is being purified of his emotions, and experiences this purification in dreams or unsolicited visions that depict his stage of evolution: leaving the waters behind. Now he is truly mentally polarised. This does not mean that he has lost touch with his lower centres which may still be active; and if he misuses them karma will teach him through the appropriate suffering. A universal example of this is the over-stimulation and misuse of the sacral centre through homosexuality and other transgressions of Divine Laws. In these times as we approach the turn of the millennia, this has resulted in the wide spread suffering from AIDS. Man may not break God's Laws, a paradigm clearly shown in the Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah.

We come now to the stage of mental orientation - the aspirant is not yet mentally polarised, and may fall back seriously before he stabilises on that plane and works with true intelligence applied to service. His vision and "recognition" awaken to all abstract and esoteric Truths, having climbed the mount of suffering, sacrifice, service and selflessness. He is now operating in the light of his Soul which he has evoked. He is no longer self oriented and separative, but is concerned for his fellow men. He observes the Principle of Brotherhood. He has acquired the light of the Master in Whose Ray Ashram he serves Who now is aware of His pupil and from time to time "impresses" him with ideas, encouragement and protection.

The disciple, a true disciple at this stage, is entirely concerned with the part he can play in the upliftment of his fellow men with discipline and self-sacrifice in serving humanity through meditations on the inner plane - the plane of the soul and now the plane of reality to him. He has evolved to the ajna centre which gives him the vision and the appropriation of Truth. He is identified with his soul, which is the One Soul of all humanity. He is therefore group oriented and hence identifies with all groups at all stages of evolution with their differing forms of service, for he knows himself to be ONE with the soul of humanity. This is a high stage of evolution and is not without its pain, suffering and sacrifice, for these are the principles of evolution. But the disciple accepts, knowing that the Path is the Way of Sacrifice and the Way of inner joy. He lives in the "light," and his experiences and visions and dreams are inspiring and supportive. No concentration on the centres could possibly raise the aspirant to this stage of evolution. All he would do is to damage the centre and block his progress for the rest of the incarnation, leaving the damaged centre to express in the next incarnation as an impediment. Remember, he has broken a Law and he will pay the price.

When the disciple is stabilised on the mental plane, the heart centre, the 12 petalled lotus, now opens and produces its golden light which illumines the mind of the aspirant - who becomes mentally polarised and earns the opportunity to work as a disciple in the Master's Ashram, aware of his Master and able to respond to His impressions and suggestions. Having committed himself to discipleship with wisdom, discipline, balance and intelligent application, he receives the third initiation, the Transfiguration, and finds he has left behind all personal impulses. He is a new person. He understands with a new mind. He has been in the cave, he has experienced the birth, he has known the destruction of even his heart in the dusty earth and has heard the sonorous, mellifluous Voice calling upon him, raising him out of the tomb of death to face the triple touch of the rod, and he has known the glory of Light as he walks through the portals and enters the Hall of Wisdom. These are the symbols of initiation, and those who experience dreams and visions need to stand steady with their feet on the ground and their lives intelligently applied to service on every level.

These are the various stages of sacrifice. Sacrifice of course means literally "to make sacred" (from the Latin Sacer Facere), and in every stage of evolution the aspirant is discovering the Law of Sacredness or of refinement. That word applies so perfectly to every aspect of life. It is the refinement of the personality which raises it into the radiance of the soul. It is the refinement of the physical body which - eventually, after all the physical incarnations have been completed - is sacrificed and transmuted in the light of the soul in the initiation of Renunciation.

"The Soul - in its own nature - is group conscious and has no individual ambitions or individual interests, and is not at all interested in the aims of its personality. It is the soul which is the initiate. Initiation is a process whereby the spiritual man within the personality becomes aware of himself as the soul, with soul powers, soul relationships, and soul purpose. The moment a man realises this, even in a small measure, it is the group of which he is conscious... Every step upon the Path of Initiation increases group recognition. Initiation is essentially an expanding series of inclusive recognitions...

"Initiation admits the aspirant into membership in the Hierarchy. This involves, speaking esoterically, the relinquishing of all separative reactions in a series of progressive renunciations..." (The Rays & the Initiations, Vol V, p.341 extracts.)

When the disciple has proved his commitment, he undergoes the initiation of "Transfiguration", for he no longer identifies with the old habits and interests of the world, but is polarised on the mental plane. He has lost all interest in worldly affairs other than his obligations and responsibilities. He is deeply committed to the work of the Master, and life has no meaning for him other than his realisation of his oneness with humanity to which he dedicates his life in service. He has lost all sense of personal identity and all interest in the world from a personal point of view, having renounced all worldly goods, desires and reactions. Yet he lives in the world but not of it. He works entirely with detachment and total commitment to all the activities that are related to Ashramic service.

Through all this he stands as a beacon of LOVE - his heart centre now opening wide and releasing the energies that flow in from the Brahmarandra centre at the top of the head, the pineal gland which has been steadily opening. Then, and only then, the centre at the base of the spine rises to the brahmarandra centre and are linked and vibrating in perfect harmony. This is the culmination of the kundalini raised through all the lives and all the suffering and all the application to service and love and selflessness which have been the result of dedication, discipline and detachment. Those three words typify the means whereby the disciple achieves. They should be studied and applied in every area of daily life, service and sacrifice.

Finally, when he has been tested and found unshakable, he stands before the One Initiator Who bestows on him the final initiation on the physical plane, the Crucifixion - the Renunciation, as it is known.. He then passes out of physical expression, his body and personality having been refined to perfection, and He stands as a Master as did Jesus who "died on the cross".

Let me explain this Biblical statement.

At that time humanity was not ready for these teachings. Indeed, few are today yet able to grasp the subtleties of symbolical experiences, visions and dreams. So many of these teachings are portrayed in the Bible in symbolical terms, so that those who were unable to grasp the fact of an inner, permanent life would interpret the teachings in terms of reality. Did Christ not repeatedly say, "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear," etc. (Matt. 13:9) indicating the fact that He was talking in symbols? Although it may mean a dramatic revision of one's understanding of the experiences that Jesus went through, one must review the extraordinary series of "experiences" Jesus underwent that are recorded in the Bible. Let us study them:

1. First, the (impossible) virgin birth;

2. The Baptism;

3. The Last Supper and experience in Gethsemane;

4. The crucifixion;

5. The Reappearance and Resurrection.

Consider that these reflect exactly the experiences of initiations. It can of course be argued that Jesus came to personify these stages of evolution, fulfilling the symbols physically and sacrificing himself for humanity, leading to the belief that he "died for us." But this is an even more fantastic explanation of the coincidences.

Lets look at another angle. Christ has been with humanity since time immemorial: He has emerged at intervals as Krishna and Lord Maitreya, to mention but two of His names. Yet, He is supposed to have been born to a simple family and have undergone these experiences which, as an evolved Being Who would have taken the highest initiation and passed out of birth and rebirth, He would have left far behind. Even if the argument is that He returned to fulfill the mystical experiences, why should someone else not fulfill that function? Why Christ? Why should not a man of high evolutionary development come under the auspices and blessings of the Christ? Why not a man called Jesus who, being so highly evolved, was able to be "overshadowed" by the Christ and give forth the Teachings for the New Age?

This is a hard concept to accept when the powerful hegemony of the church has reigned for so long, controlling humanity with explanations and interpretations in order to retain that power. Those who are thinkers and who are seeking Truth must think unemotionally and with a completely open mind, able to accept new philosophies, explanations and interpretations that make sense to an enquiring, evolving mind, and not those which the unthinking masses, the children of evolution, need.

There was a deep purpose that precipitated an era of new teachings at the turn of this bi-millennia: men had reached a state of depravity - symbolised by the moneychangers that Jesus threw out of the Temple which they had made "a den of thieves". The temple of God is the soul, the inner sublime self: the Christ - the "way the truth and the life" - which was violated.

It would be Jesus, the disciple and pupil of Christ and under His aegis, who would have been sent to set things right with teachings of love. Christ would have come in the form of an overshadowing protection for His disciple: is this not a more plausible structure of the story of "Jesus Christ" - sometimes known as "Jesus the Christ"?

If we think further, we could come to the conclusion that Christ had already passed through the final initiation and no longer needed physical birth, because the Masters can will themselves into physical precipitation. He said (recorded in the Bible by His disciples): "Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection." (Luke 20:36) No more death means no more birth either: the incarnational life on earth is finished. They have been through the final initiation related to physical life on earth, that initiation being the symbolic expression of the Renunciation in the crucifixion. "Equal unto the angels" means that they have achieved masterhood and are no longer in physical manifestation but are operating on a higher (Buddhic) plane of love.

Jesus submitted his life to Christ for the purpose of bringing the laws of Love to the masses in the Sermon on the Mount of Olives, which he delivers with the suggestive, symbolic statement: "Whoso readeth, let him understand." (Matt.24:15) He presents the picture of a time of difficulty and suffering, which symbolises the pain and suffering of man - and of every human being on earth through his many incarnations ere reaching the release from earthly birth, growth and death.

The historical crucifixion of Jesus was pure mythology: he instructed his disciples to present to humanity the initiations in symbols, the Virgin Birth, the Baptism, the Transfiguration and the Renunciation. The disciples in their records gave out the story in the name of "Jesus Christ," because Jesus had willingly consented to Christ overshadowing him and, in the only divine mediumship in all history, Christ spoke through Jesus' body.

Jesus underwent the 4th initiation, the "crucifixion" - the experience on inner planes of the cross and the nail in the forehead (the divinifying of the much misunderstood and misinterpreted third or middle eye). His evolution had been greatly speeded owing to his contact with the Christ and his service to humanity. He underwent the 4th initiation at the same time that Christ passed through the 7th initiation. Christ, too, was aided in His evolutionary processes by His sacrifice of giving those three years to physical expression and contact with humanity through Jesus, and evolved to a higher plane beyond the comprehension of humanity. Hence the confusion regarding Jesus' resurrection after the crucifixion. It was Christ Who "Resurrected"; Jesus was "crucified.".

If you read this with total detachment, working entirely on the mental plane with facts, you will see that Jesus was not crucified at all. The disciples gave out the story at different times, none of which has been confirmed by historical records, and it is known that the scribes of the times recorded all details of events.

Jesus, having experienced the crucifixion, the fourth initiation, was now "equal unto the angels." He did not "die on the Cross" but personified his experience of that initiation in that last lifetime in which he relinquished all personal identification. There is no death for the initiate who has refined his physical nature to that of the soul: he no longer needs a physical body and merely transcends the physical world - "in it and not of it" in its perfect sense.

That is, he became a Master of the Hierarchy and He is today the Syrian Master.

"There is a road, steep and thorny, beset with perils of every kind - but yet a road; and it leads to the Heart of the Universe. I can tell you how to find Those who will show you the secret gateway that leads inward only .... For those who win onwards, there is a reward past all telling; the power to bless and save humanity. For those who fail, there are other lives in which success may come."

H.P.Blavatsky



The sons of men are one,
and I am one with them.
I seek to love, not hate.
I seek to serve and not exact due service.
I seek to heal, not hurt.
Let pain bring due reward of light and love.
Let the soul control the outer form, and life,
and all events,
And bring to light the love
that underlies the happenings of the time.

Let vision come and insight.
Let the future stand revealed.
Let inner union demonstrate
and outer cleavages be gone.
Let love prevail.

Let all men love.

{AAB: Mantram of Unification}