It should be carefully borne in mind that evil (cosmic evil or the source of planetary evil) is much closer to Shamballa than it is to Humanity. The Great Lives there move entirely free from glamour; Their vision is one of extreme simplicity; They are concerned only with the great and simple duality of spirit and matter, and not with the many forms which the fusion of these two brings into being. The domination of spirit (and its reflection, soul) by matter is what constitutes evil and this is true whether the statement is applied to the development of the individual or of the group. The “Lights which carry out the will of God” move free from the spell of evil. The Light in which They move safeguards Them, and Their Own innate and inherent radiance repels evil. But They “move alongside the evil to which all lesser forms are prone”; They are part of a great [145] observing Group which “moves forward in time and space”; its members watch the great war and conflict proceed on Earth between the Forces of Light and the Forces of Evil. They have let loose upon Earth the Forces of Light, whilst the Forces of Evil are inherent in substance itself—of which all the many forms of life are constructed.
At this time, the work of the Great Council at Shamballa, working until now through the Hierarchy, is with the life within the form; They have to proceed with the utmost caution as They thus work, because these Lights know that the danger of premature direct contact with humanity, and of consequent overstimulation, are great. One of the causes of the present cataclysm is the fact that humanity was deemed capable of taking and receiving a “touch from Shamballa,” without stepping it down via the Hierarchy, as has hitherto been the custom. The determination to apply this touch (which is in the nature of a great experiment) was made in 1825, when the Great Council had its usual centennial meeting. The results you know; they are working out before your eyes. The industrial movement began to take shape one hundred years ago and received a great impetus from this touch. The evil in nations—aggression, greed, intolerance and hate—was aroused as never before, and two world wars occurred, one of which is still raging (written October 1943). Paralleling this was an uprising of good, again in response to the divine “touch,” resulting in the growth of understanding, the spread of idealism, the purification of our educational systems and the inauguration of reforms in every department of human life. All has been speeded up and little such growth was seen on a worldwide scale prior to 1825. The knowledge of the Hierarchy is also spreading over the earth; the facts anent discipleship and initiation are becoming common property; humanity has consequently moved onward into a greater measure of light. Good and evil stand out in clearer focus; light and dark are in a more brilliant juxtaposition; issues of right and wrong are appearing with cleared definition, and humanity as a whole sees the great problems of righteousness [146] and love, of sin and separateness upon a worldwide scale.
The old age and the coming new age, old rhythms of thought and new approaches to truth and consequent new and better ways of life are presented with clarity to the minds of men. The guarantee of the success of the experiment started more than a century ago is the fact that (in spite of much that is undesirable) so many nations have ranged themselves upon the side of right, and only two definitely and altogether upon the side of evil. The evil is more concentrated, and therefore more powerful temporarily upon the physical plane; the good is more diffused and not so pure in its concentrated essence being coloured by many undesirable aspects; the good, however, is concentrating rapidly and will triumph. The “Lights that carry out the will of God” now wait to give another touch which will enable the reconstruction work to move forward along right lines, but They wait for the invocative cry of humanity and for the dust of battle and of conflict to die down.
The next two rules will reveal the issues still more clearly and will outline for you when better understood, explained and amplified, the processes and methods of hierarchical work, carried on in conjunction with the Great Council of Shamballa. To this must be added the cooperation—as far as may be—of all enlightened men, working under the Lightbearers, the Masters, and under the inspiration of the Lights which carry out the will of God.
In the foregoing I have endeavoured to give some faint idea of the relation existing between the Hierarchy and Shamballa. I did this in order that you might grasp some measure of the synthesis underlying the entire planetary life; in order also that this rule for initiates could be interpreted as intended, as far as is possible, to the uninitiate consciousness; and finally, in order that the entire concept of Shamballa and its immense reservoir of energy, which we call the will or the life of God, may take its rightful place in the occult presentation of truth. The will of God and the life of God are esoterically synonymous terms, and when the life aspect of an individual and his spiritual, selfless will [147] are completely synchronised, then you have—in a human being—the full expression of divinity or what has been called esoterically, “Shamballa is consummated in him.”
This again is, of course, only relative but the expression of this relationship may elucidate the problem somewhat, and the aspirant or disciple needs to remember that it is only through the analogies existing in the microcosm to the Macrocosm that enlightenment can come. And how, I ask you, will he understand the relation existing between the three great planetary centres (Shamballa, the Hierarchy and Humanity) when as yet he scarcely knows himself as a human being? How can he grasp these fundamental and advanced truths when he is only just beginning to learn the nature of the hierarchical quality of love and when his spiritual will (which links him to Shamballa) is as yet totally unawakened? And I mean, totally. But the dim outlines of the general picture must be grasped, and each decade in the future will see the aspirant and the disciple more capable of grasping it.
RULE EIGHT
Rule VIII now comes up for consideration. The previous seven rules have been of a wide and general connotation. They have been largely postulates, emphasising group life, group planetary relationships, and the fundamental Science of Invocation and Evocation which underlies all world processes, which is the inspiring energy behind all evolutionary unfoldment, and which creates the medium or channel of related communication between the great centres in our planet, through which the life of our Logos flows and His purposes are worked out. I would remind you that the creative process was initiated by Sound, and in that Sound the Logos both invoked and evoked. He issued the call and He engineered and implemented the response and thus the “Army of the Voice” (as The Secret Doctrine calls it) came into being.
[148] The Head (the idea), the Heart (the ideal) and the Throat (the creative agent of the resulting idol, the temporary and fleeting expression of the ideal, inspired by the idea) came into being; three great Centres emerged in time and space and—at this point in the evolutionary cycle—we call them Shamballa, the Hierarchy and Humanity.
With these fundamental factors the first seven rules have been occupied, and I have tried to help you to see their significance somewhat, from the angle of the initiate-consciousness.
We come now to a close consideration of this Rule VIII, where it might be said that the specific rules for the training of initiates begin. These remaining seven rules must be studied most carefully from that angle. They are not susceptible of casual and superficial analysis. I realise that only those who have taken initiation will be in a position to grasp the esoteric significance of the words I use and of much that I may say, but it is for them I write; their numbers are even today more than are suspected, and their ranks will be steadily increased in the post-war period, both through the strenuous effort of disciples in training to “make the grade,” and through the coming into incarnation of initiates of all degrees—some of whom are the children of today.
Rule VIII.
For Applicants: When the disciple nears the Portal, the greater seven must awaken and bring forth response from the lesser seven upon the double circle.
For Disciples and Initiates: Let the group and within itself response to the greater seven groups which ca
rry out the hierarchical will with love and understanding. The group contains all seven, the perfect group. The lesser seven, the greater seven and the planetary seven form one great whole, and these the group must know. When this is realised and the Law of the Supplementary Seven is understood, let the group understand the Three and then the ONE. This they can do with the united breath and the united rhythm.
On the surface, this rules appears to be one of surprising [149] complexity and immense difficulty. It deals with so many groups and septenates and this seems to complicate understanding considerably. Yet every person in the world is dealing with the multiplicity of units and combinations of forces which make up his entire daily life and which create his environment and his life circumstances. Life would be simple indeed if the average man had only seven factors to consider, with which to conform, to work with and to use. Advance into the world of spiritual values and into the realm of triadal existence (in which the initiate moves) is definitely an advance into simplicity. It is an advance from the complications of the multiplication table and its resultant arithmetic into the simplicity of the symbolic formulas as used in the higher mathematics; it is a moving out of the world of kaleidoscopic figures in constant movement, into the world of meaning; it is a process of getting behind the world of effects into the world of causes, realising that one simple cause or directed movement of energy can set in motion a myriad of effects. The way of the initiate is not a complicated one, once he has grasped the fact that he must release himself from the world of seeming and of illusion and stand free in the world of light, where all stand clearly revealed. Then he can begin to face the lessons and take the training which will enable him to handle energy—having released himself from the control of forces—and begin to direct energy in conformity with the great Plan. The complexity lies in the thinking of the neophyte. The initiate knows it not.
First let us clearly define the various septenates referred to in this rule. I will first tabulate them in the order of their appearance and define them, and then I will enlarge upon them in order to point out where the training enters in, where the rule applies, and how the embodied rule is in the nature of a Law which the initiate may not evade.
I would ask you here to refer to what I earlier said anent rules, laws and orders when starting with you this particular study. [150]
1. The seven greater groups . . . The seven groups or Ashrams within the Hierarchy.
THE HIERARCHY
These carry out the hierarchical will, which is love.
They work through love and understanding.
Each is presided over by a Chohan and a group is called an Ashram.
These major Ashrams have many affiliated Ashrams, presided over by a Master on the same ray as the Chohan, and are capable at any moment of being absorbed into the primary Ashram.
The perfect or complete group is the Hierarchy itself, containing all the seven major Ashrams and their affiliates.
2. The Planetary seven groups . . . the seven rays, the central septenate of energy.
SHAMBALLA
These embody the will of Shamballa, which is divine purpose.
They work as life energy, as quality, and produce appearance.
Each is presided over by one of the seven Spirits before the Throne; by one of the seven Ray Lords.
Each of these rays has its seven subrays which relate it to all the other rays.
These seven rays can, under divine purpose, be re-absorbed into the Three and then into the One.
3. The lesser seven . . . the seven types of men and also the seven root races.
HUMANITY
These embody the intelligence of the Logos as it expresses itself through creativity.
They are learning to work intelligently with matter in order to develop love in response to divine purpose—which is will or life.
Each of the seven types, responsive to one or [151] other of the seven rays, is conditioned or ruled by its prototype, the soul on its own plane.
These major types or races of men have many subraces and subsidiary types, developed during the evolutionary process; all will eventually demonstrate the seven major types.
The perfect type is the Christ, the Heavenly Man, Who expresses all the major types and Who is the “pattern of things as they are.”
4. The supplementary seven . . . the seven centres of energy in the individual man.
HUMANITY
These together embody the combined forces of the planetary life as registered by the perfected individual. They will eventually enable the man to achieve perfection.
They enable the individual to respond to material forces, to soul energy and spiritual life, and they constitute a complete response apparatus to the planetary life, purpose, intent and form.
Each of the seven centres is responsive to one or other of the seven rays and their qualities under the conditioning energy of the soul ray and the forces, emanating from the environment.
These centres develop progressively and under the impact of circumstances and the Law of the Supplementary Seven, but all will eventually express in some measure the seven types of ray energy.
The Law of the Supplementary Seven can be worded as follows:
“The Law demands the entrance of that which can effect a change.
The Law demands that right direction should then guide the entering forces.
The Law demands that the changes thus effected remove the form, bring quality to light and lay the emphasis upon life. [152]
The Law demands that this is brought about by the One, working through the Three, energising the Seven and creating the straight line from there to here, and ending in a point which ignores the Three.”
When, the rule goes on, this is understood and applied, then four things happen:
1. The group must understand the nature of the Three.
2. The nature of the One must be grasped and comprehended.
3. The group must work through the medium of the united breath.
4. The group must attain a unified rhythm.
Here you have a relatively simple analysis (on the face of it, though not in reality) of a complex rule which the initiate has to apply to himself once he has grasped the significance of the seven basic postulates. The first seven rules provide the framework within which his work has to be done. The last seven rules concern various significant matters which, step by step, are revealed to the initiate as his consciousness is expanded. They relate to:
1. The work which the initiate must accomplish within himself.
2. The group relations of the initiate and his absolute need to work with his group and as an integrated and conscious part of it.
3. The place which invocation and evocation must take as instruments in his pledged intelligent service.
4. The blending of the four lessons which the applicant has to master and the four lessons which the initiate has to complete in order that a complete fusion of personality and Monad can be brought about.
5. The significance of resurrection and ascension, particularly the latter, because little has been given out to date anent ascension.
There are certain major frameworks (if I may continue to use this phrase) within which the initiate has to learn [153] consciously to work, recognising them for what they are; once he has learnt to master that which lies within some particular framework, he finds that it is only a part, a small fraction, of a still greater whole, within which he must also learn to function and play his part.
First he, as a disciple, has to learn to work within the framework of his blending soul-personality. This task at first takes the form of character building and disciplining (whilst upon the Probationary Path), of a struggle to see, of an endeavour to make a continuity of his soul contact. Finally, this leads to the beginning of the stage of soul and personality merging and at this point he steps upon the Path of Discipleship, technically understood. From then on his problem is to know himself as he truly is, to direct energy to the needed centres wh
ich are awaiting scientific attention, to superintend consciously the fitting of himself, as a personality, to act as the instrument of the soul and later of the Hierarchy, to learn to contact energy, to handle and direct it. This entails a comprehension of the mechanism within himself—the seven centres within the vital body—through which the contacted energy must flow under soul direction, and it also means the perfecting of the response apparatus and the newly constructed spiritual mechanism which exoterically enables him to contact the outside world, and esoterically enables him to contact the world of souls. It implies a steady process of interior perfecting until nothing further remains to be done within that individual framework. The bulk of this work has been covered by the time the fourth initiation has been taken, and has been completely covered when the fifth initiation is undergone.
This all takes much time, but when a certain measure of success has been achieved, when the initiate’s understanding is somewhat enlightened and his energy-use and his power of direction are becoming intelligently applied, he can then begin to work within the framework of the greater seven groups, that is, within the Hierarchy. This he does first upon the periphery of the hierarchical aura and later as a conscious, accepted and pledged worker in some [154] Ashram—the Ashram being dependent upon his ray type. He then is in a position to discover the close interlocking that exists between the supplementary seven (his own seven centres) and the seven great groups within the Hierarchy; he comes to realise that only when his centres are somewhat awakened and attuned is it possible for him to work within the larger framework of the Hierarchy, and this because the quality of the greater groups and the life expression of the seven planetary groups, the seven rays, are being slowly developed by him under the influence of hierarchical supervision through the medium of his own seven centres—the supplementary seven.
The Rays and the Initiations Page 17