The Rays and the Initiations

by Alice A Bailey

  Now comes the result of all these preliminary stages, and it comes spontaneously and automatically. I want to emphasise that the group does not wait in expectancy for a Word to be given to it; it does not search and strive to discover a Word; it does not take some Word as may be suggested by a helpful disciple and then proceed to “empower it.” The Word is the result of the point of tension; it emerges from the silence and its first expression is simply the slowly rising tempo of the group “Sound” or note. As you know, every individual and every group of individuals have their own peculiar note or sound which is the creative agent of the focussed group life.

  At this point we again touch the fringe of the coming Science of Invocation. This group sound, rising as the tension increases and stabilises, is invocatory in effect and draws forth response eventually from the inner Ashram, owing to its relation to the outer group. When the response of the Master is registered in the group consciousness and His potency is added to the potency of the group, the sound emitted by the group changes in quality, is amplified and diversified, is enriched and then precipitated outside the ring-pass-not of the group life; this precipitation takes the [221] form of a Word. This Word, being the result of group activity; focus and tension, plus the aid of the Master, brings about three results:

  1. It produces fusion between the outer group and the inner Ashram.

  2. It enables the group life to be transferred along the group antahkarana and focusses it once and for all in the Master’s Ashram.

  3. The result of this transference is twofold:

  a. The outer group dies, occultly speaking.

  b. The soul of the group, being now merged with the life aspect on levels higher than those on which the causal body exists, is no longer of major importance; the Great Renunciation takes place, and the causal body—having served its purpose—dies and is destroyed. So died, according to theological injunction, the Christ upon the Cross. Yet He died not, and still lives, and by His life are all souls saved.

  It is hard for esoteric students to realise that the emphasis of the coming Schools of Enlightenment will be upon the life aspect, and not upon contact with the soul. The goal will be transference and not union. Aspirants and disciples today are largely the result of the old order of teaching and are the flower of the processes to which humanity has been subjected. This is a vital transition period; disciples and aspirants in the world at this time are, figuratively speaking, at the same stage as the group which we are considering—the stage of the transference of the life from the outer form into the inner being. Hence the difficulty with which you are all faced, and the arduous task it is to comprehend realistically that which I am attempting to convey. The problem of soul contact is something which you can and do grasp, at least theoretically. The problem of life transference from the highest point of present attainment into some vague and mystical spiritual focus is not so easy to understand. Forget not, I am not looking for understanding for I write for those who will come after you, and [222] for those who will be the reincarnated aspects of your present selves.

  You will note, therefore, how the four qualities dealt with (page 215) have enabled the group to achieve the sounding of the Word. That Word, now emitted by them as a group under the inspiration of the Master (and I use the word “inspiration” advisedly), has gone forth; it has passed beyond the sphere of the immediate group influence; it has made its initial impact upon the soul of the group and has vitalised to a new potency the life aspect, the Jewel in the Lotus of the soul. Now comes the possibility of fulfilling the third great injunction contained in this rule:

  3. Let them destroy by their dynamic Will that which has been created at the midway point.

  In the fulfillment of the requirement here enjoined, the group enters upon its major test in this work of transference. The group members have unitedly preserved the point of tension; unitedly they have created the antahkarana; unitedly they have invoked by the group sound the attention of the Master and of the Master’s Ashram; unitedly that sound has taken the form of a Word, and that Word has made an impact upon the life aspect of the group within the form of the group soul; it has energised it so that the destruction of the causal body is now in order. The tendency of the group would then be to relax, and this quite normally; the irretrievable Word has gone forth and all is well and safely accomplished. But it is not so in verity. By the power of their united love, the group has mastered personnel difficulties and has developed together the four qualities; it has also found the Word which can affect the soul—for the Word is ever related to the second aspect, and because of that it can reach and energise the soul, the second aspect per se.

  But now, in the final stages of the great work of transference, the group has to arrive at a new point of tension and of united attainment. It has to use the dynamic will, the energy of the first aspect, and so bring about the final [223] destruction of the causal body. The life within the causal body has been stimulated and vitalised and is now seeking to break out of its confining form. The vehicle of the soul is being subjected to pressure from within but then—both in the case of the individual initiate and of the initiated group—the final blow has to be struck also from without, by an act of the united will; this corresponds to the great cry of the Christ upon the Cross when He exclaimed “It is finished.” With these words, we are told, the veil of the Temple was rent from the top to the bottom, and the life of the Christ ascended to the Father. Ponder upon the significances of these phrases. “That which has been created at the midway point” is no longer needed. No mediating principle or intermediary between man and the Father is any longer required; the Monad and the personality are in complete at-one-ment and have achieved perfected relationship; triplicity has given place to duality, and the Way of the Higher Evolution stands open before the initiate.

  It will be obvious that this phase of group attainment can as yet be only a hope. It lies far ahead of the present day groups, just as the fourth initiation lies far ahead of the average aspirant or disciple. But groups must have their goals and must strive towards the vision, just as the individual must; I am laying the foundation for the phase of group living and united striving which will be so distinctive an aspect of the coming era. There are three further points which I seek to make:

  First, the attainment of the ability to use the group will dynamically can be more easily understood if it is realised that it means the extension of the point of tension into realms which involve the super-consciousness of the disciple; also that the release of the life aspect from the confines of the causal body produces a new cycle of invocation and invocative activity. This brings about an inflow of the destroyer aspect of the divine Will, and consequently the complete destruction of the causal vehicle.

  Secondly, it is not to be inferred that all in the group must be disciples who are in process of taking the fourth [224] initiation. A group can be composed of disciples and initiates of all degrees, though there must be among the group personnel at least one disciple who has taken the initiation of crucifixion. This necessity is symbolised for us in the close relation which existed between Jesus as He took this initiation and the Christ Who had taken it in an earlier state of life. The more diversified the group, the richer its life and possibilities. Forget this not. One hint I can give you upon this difficult subject. When the results of the first point of tension, prior to the emergence of the Word, have been reached, initiates of the fourth degree within the Ashram lend their aid and do much to make possible the attainment of the goal by the group.

  Thirdly, I would have you note that I have given you much in a brief form and have added much of new information anent the fourth initiation. What I have said is applicable both to the individual aspirant and to a group seeking initiation. Read what I have said with attention, but remember that it is not yet possible for you to differentiate between what is symbolic and what may be factual. The secrets of initiation are thus guarded with care.

  One simple rule towards comprehension
and attainment ever holds good. The Great Renunciation becomes possible only when the practice of the little renunciations governs the life of a disciple and a group. The renouncing of ambition, of all personality ties, and the renunciation of all that hinders progress as it is revealed to the eye of the soul, lays a sound foundation for the final great transference, based upon the renunciation of that which for aeons has connoted beauty, truth and goodness, and which has seemed the ultimate goal of all aspirational effort. The endeavour to see that which lies ahead and beyond the apparent finality of soul fusion faces disciples, among them some of you, at this time; and that all of you may penetrate beyond the veil of the soul and eventually see that veil “rent from the top to the bottom,” and thus be enabled to say with those of like degree “It is finished” is my earnest hope. Then will open for you as for others, the Way of the [225] Higher Evolution, and the glory of the Lord will be seen in a new light—a light which will dim and throw into the shade all previous goals and visions.

  RULE TWELVE

  The Rule which we have now to consider carries us into realms of extra-planetary energy, into a world of a larger consciousness towards which the higher initiates strive and which is related in a peculiar way to both the past and the future. This rule might also be called the formula controlling the work of the New Group of World Servers.

  The three remaining rules for initiates and disciples are concerned with the work of the New Age and the coming revelation which will make that work both new and possible. They are therefore of supreme importance to us. Step by step, in the eleven rules already studied, we have seen the initiate or disciple carried from his position as an accepted disciple standing before the Angel of the Presence, to that point of attainment where the spiritual will is released in full service and with full comprehension at the time of the fourth initiation, where atma or pure spirit is in control, where the Spiritual Triad is expressing the nature of the Monad, where identification with the purpose of deity has transcended illumination of the mind, and has also transcended cooperation through pure love with the Plan. These words are all attempts to indicate the path of progress which is—to the initiate consciousness—the necessary preparatory stage to treading the Path of the Higher Evolution, just as the Probationary Path is the necessary preparatory stage to being accepted into an Ashram. Briefly, the eleven rules already dealt with might be regarded as controlling the conscious activity of the initiate in the following stages and relationships.

  1. The stage of the burning ground and the establishment of illumined group relation. This is revealed by the mind, functioning as an aspect of the group mind.[226]

  2. The stage of ashramic recognition and the establishing of a forward-moving group rhythm; these reciprocal activities produce a needed group tension.

  3. The stage of emitting the group sound and the establishing of the power to invoke divinity, followed by a united group realisation that “God is Fire.”

  4. The stage of extinguishing the lesser fires through the means of the above realisation, and the establishing of a defined group reaction to the divine purpose or will; this results eventually in the negation of the Laws of Karma and Rebirth as they condition life in the three worlds.

  5. The stage of triadal perception and the establishing of spiritual contact, thus negating both the life of form and the soul. Duality is no longer recognised.

  6. The stage of identification with the life aspect and the establishing of complete divine integration into the greater Whole. The initiate then moves onward in life and not in consciousness—a concept and a truth which it is not possible for you to understand at this time.

  7. The stage of a group sounding-forth of the Word and establishing direct relation with Shamballa as an integral part of the Hierarchy. This means the enunciation of a dual chord.

  8. The stage of responding to the higher aspects of the seven Ray Lives and establishing contact with the Three and the One. This is done under the Law of the Supplementary Seven.

  9. The stage of spiritual negation, as it is called. This establishes a new affirmative attitude and results in a recognition of the true nature of the One Initiator.

  10. The stage of the dissipation of all veils and the establishing of the power to work with light energy, thus earning the reward of new utilised ability, i.e., the ability to work with the consciousness aspect in all forms.

  11. The stage where the potencies of the death aspect of divine purpose can be used to carry out divine purpose, plus the establishing of complete identification (as a group) with the divine will. This marks the period of the Great [227] Renunciation and prefaces the complete transition out of the Fourth Creative Hierarchy, the human kingdom.

  This is a brief and inadequate summation of the more general and the more easily comprehended results of obedience to these rules. The initiate stands free and becomes consequently a dynamic factor within the working Hierarchy. Rule XII now becomes clear to him, not only through the realisation induced by his illumined mind, but through the higher divine qualities which are related to the expression of the will and purpose of the planetary Logos.

  It will of course be obvious to you that only those who have reached the stages of work described in Rules X and XI will truly comprehend my meaning. I would warn you again that the obvious significance of the remaining three rules is not in reality the true spiritual significance because we are in these rules dealing with the planned work of the Hierarchy during the next great cycle, that of the Aquarian Age, we shall therefore be considering those activities and plans which will usher in and mature that new culture and civilisation which will slowly come into being when the world has straightened itself out after the processes of the world war (1914-1945). The rule runs as follows:

  Rule XII.

  Let the group serve as Aquarius indicates; let Mercury speed the group upon the upward Way and let Taurus bring illumination and the attainment of the vision; let the mark of the Saviour, as the group toils in Pisces, be seen above the aura of the group.

  You will remember that the rule as given to applicants emphasised:

  1. The use of the hands in service for healing, blessing and for invocation.

  2. The mark of the Messenger in the feet; this referred to the use of the intuition, which is governed by Mercury.

  3. The use of the “eye.” This is not in reality the third eye (which is after all only a symbolic phrase), but the [228] ability to use developed soul power. This is that intermediate potency found between the power of the mind and the dynamic electric energy of pure will.

  For the initiate, this rule simply carries the same message but on an infinitely higher scale, and (if I may so express it) obedience to this rule calls in Aquarian energy, the reasoning power of Mercury, and the illumination of Taurus, in order to carry forward hierarchical work upon a planet and in a planetary cycle which have been conditioned by Pisces for more than two thousand years.

  I would have you ponder on this, for in realisation you will here have the formula for the work of the Hierarchy as it reconstructs the world after the destruction wrought since 1900 A.D. You have here also a great triangle of energies, functioning through the medium of Mercury, the reasonable, reasoning Messenger of the Gods:

  The Hierarchy is, therefore, at this time, conditioned by three great constellations: [229]

  1. Aquarius— The Custodian of that “life more abundantly” of which the Christ spoke and which He can draw upon at this time in a new and dynamic manner in order to bring about the restoration needed. This energy is the “implementing force of universality.” It concerns the future.

  2. Taurus — The Revealer of the vision, the “eye of the Gods,” the donor of illumination. It is that which concerns the present.

  3. Pisces — The Inspiration of the World Saviour, and also the field of salvation. It is the field of force in which the two other forces must work. It has been produced by the past.

  As these three constellations pour their energies into th
e great Ashram of Sanat Kumara, the Hierarchy, they are there concentrated and retained until released under “the swift design of Mercury” into the field of the human consciousness. The effect of this release is to awaken the intuition (governed as you know by Mercury), and to enlighten advanced humanity. It is through intuitive human beings that knowledge of the Plan is given to humanity and the work of restoration can be carried forward.

  At this time and in a peculiar manner, the initiate-consciousness sees the Hierarchy as primarily energised by life, and by the energy of Aquarius, carrying a hitherto unknown aspect of the life energy of deity. This is of course difficult for you to comprehend and will only be understood as it truly is at the close of the Aquarian Age.

  The initiate sees the New Group of World Servers brought under the illuminating power of Taurus, with the rest of humanity still under the influence of Pisces. You have, consequently, the “over-shadowing raincloud of knowable things” hovering over humanity, just as the Hierarchy overshadows the New Group and just as the soul overshadows the personality of man; you have all the needed illumination and light upon all the coming problems, waiting to precipitate itself through the New Group of World Servers under the influence of Taurus, the nurturer of all illumination, and you have humanity, at the same time, conditioned and made sensitive by Piscean energy during the past two thousand years. You have, therefore, a condition of great spiritual promise, and in this combination of [230] energies you have present those forces which will implement the activities of the Hierarchy, condition its initiates, affect every Ashram, bring light into the present darkness, and—as can already be seen—stir into new understanding the present Piscean consciousness of mankind.