The Rays and the Initiations

by Alice A Bailey

  In the case of hierarchical workers however, the situation is different. They work to express that which the Ashram, through its group of workers, is seeking to express they seek to express the Plan, or as much of it as they can grasp; they are occupied with the expression of soul as that soul should be known in the culture and the civilisation [296] immediately to be developed. They can work entirely free from self-interest; that which they create is not claimed by them but is regarded as an expression of hierarchical activity; they are free from the spirit to identify themselves with that which they expressed, but—having created that which their ashramic impulse has indicated—they pass on to a fresh expression of the dynamic, ever-moving purpose. They are not occupied with form, but with life, with organism rather than organisation, with ideas rather than ideals, and with essential truth rather than with carefully formulated theologies.

  Christ expressed in Himself and refrained from putting it into form; He Himself was the truth, yet inevitably (because of its inherent life) that which He expressed took form and has greatly modified and coloured human thinking and planning, and this will be increasingly so. As the essence of Christianity emerges into expression (and in so doing destroys Churchianity) you have again a striking illustration of the truth of what I am seeking to emphasise. In the Christian Church, men have expressed themselves, not the Christ; they have imposed their interpretations of truth on truth itself; they have created a massive organisation in every land but a living organism is non-existent. In the new world religion which is on its way, Christianity will be expressed through the creative activity of the Christ spirit through the medium of the world disciples and initiates; we shall then see the full expression of hierarchical truth—of which the Christ today is the symbol and exponent.

  Neophytes and aspirants have “touched” that for which the Christ stood, and have then attempted to impose their comprehension of that which they contacted upon the rest of the world. Knowers, disciples and initiates express that which He represented (love-wisdom). This they do automatically and by force of habit, first in themselves and finally by a definitely planned creative activity in the outer world.

  Therefore, my brothers, there lies ahead of all true aspirants an intermediate stage of decentralisation, of automatic spiritual living and of absorption into the Hierarchy [297] through the medium of an Ashram; therein the Plan can be learnt. When this phase of development is completed the disciple can then begin to work creatively in line with hierarchical activity.

  As we consider the next word on our list, we must hold in our minds what we have discussed anent the words Touch and Express. It might be said that the words which are given to aspirants and applicants are the seed or germ of the concepts indicated in the words for initiates and disciples. Until the earlier significances are mastered in the earlier phases of discipleship, the later illumined service—based upon the later words—is not possible. Always in the fresh attitude to the developing esoteric understanding of the initiate there is implicit the fact of transition from individual self-interest to a universal state of consciousness; this in time becomes the directing agent for individualised service—as rendered by the individual disciple upon the physical plane. The fusion of the two attitudes—inclusive realisation and specialised service—renders the task of the initiate peculiarly difficult. He has to hold two attitudes simultaneously, whilst at the same time subjecting himself to the training required in order to enable him to take his next step forward upon the Path. It is only whilst this condition persists that the initiate has any sense of triplicity. This is an important point to note. Bear this in mind as we discuss our next two words: See and Reveal.

  3. Reveal.

  The objective of the strictly human evolution in this planetary cycle is sight, culminating in that spiritual perception which is the major gift of the soul to the personality when contact is made; this conveys the sense of attractive love, indicates the nature of things, reveals the world of meaning, and gives the great gift of light, knowledge and ultimate illumination. Such are the goals for the mystic, the aspirant and the pledged disciple. The greatest physical gift is that of sight, and it is the same upon a higher turn of the spiral within the world of the soul. When the disciple has achieved a measure of vision and is “in sight” of his goal, he [298] can then be admitted to an Ashram wherein the nature of revelation can be made known to him. Men are apt to confuse vision and revelation, and I seek to clarify your minds somewhat on this matter; therefore, the preceding sentence is of major importance. Aspirants are prone to think that the goal towards which they move is that of soul contact, with a secondary goal of hierarchical position, and a third goal of service. This, however, is not correct.

  The goal ahead of the aspirant is the consciousness of non-separateness and the recognition of a universal inclusiveness; the secondary goal is the ability to reveal the nature of that reality, Unity; the third goal is the ability to take those measures in the three worlds which will facilitate mankind’s apprehension of these fundamentals. You will note how this last definition of the goal removes inevitably the factor of self-interest in its entirety. It might therefore be said that revelation concerns Oneness and nothing else. The practical nature of this truth is only recognised when the disciple attempts to do two things: to realise it individually, and to bring the nature of planetary unity and of non-separateness to the minds and into the lives of men everywhere.

  The work of the aspirant is to see the light; only when this has become a fact in his consciousness can he begin to grasp the hidden revelation which that contacted and utilised light can reveal. Here is another key sentence for your consideration.

  With the theme of light, of vision, and of illumination, I seek not here to deal. I have covered these subjects at length in the books which I have written, and they have also constituted the earnest search of the mystics of all time; and also the Scriptures and the literature of all nations give much information. It is the subject of revelation and the task of the initiate to reveal with which I am concerned. The disciple, who represents the Ashram, must reveal to humanity the essential unity underlying all creation. This he does, first of all, by acting like a clear sheet of glass through which all may see the reality of Oneness as it [299] demonstrates in practicing operation. When he has, through his own life and words, demonstrated his conscious participation in this basic unity, he passes on to practice ashramic methods of making this fundamental truth still more apparent. You can here see why—as a hierarchical technique—we brought to the attention of the general public the fact of the existence of the New Group of World Servers. They offer a practical expression of an existent unity, based upon oneness of motive, of recognition, of orientation (towards the spiritual world and towards the service of humanity), of methods and of ideas; and all this in spite of the fact that the physical plane relationship is usually non-existent and outer organisation and recognition lack. The unity is subjective, and for that reason is impervious to every taint of separateness.

  The inner organisation, to which we have given the name of the New Group of World Servers for the sake of recognition and identification, cannot be broken or in any way diminished, for it is constructed around a major principle of evolutionary growth which—when attained—indicates a registered consciousness of unity; this is something which, once recorded and known, cannot be lost or disproved. Once seen and realised, it becomes as much a fact in its possessor’s consciousness as the recognition and utilisation of his own physical body. This he knows to be a complex organism which constitutes a functioning unity through the medium of the life principle; it is an incontrovertible fact in the realisation of the intelligent man.

  When, therefore, sight has been attained and the light streams forth, revelation of the oneness of all life is a simple and immediate occurrence; it comes first of all to the disciple as a flash of wondrous informative and instinctive realisation and then steadies down, as progress is made, into a constant apprehension and appreciation; it
eventually produces the motivating impulse of all action.

  What is the immediate revelation which the initiates and the disciples of the world are seeking to bring to humanity? What aspect of this essential unity are they [300] endeavouring to make simple and apparent? One of the easiest things in the world to say (as has, for instance, Krishnamurti) is that life is one; that there is nothing but unity. That is a trite formulation of a very ancient truth, and one which is today an occult platitude. But life is not yet one in consciousness, however true it may be in fact. The reason for this is that life is loving synthesis in action, and of that there is little today in demonstration. We have life in activity but love, based on realised unity and leading to expressed synthesis, is still absent. The vision of it is, however, upon the horizon of many, for in these days many are attaining sight and light is pouring in. Revelation will come when the world disciples and initiates have perfected the art of revelation.

  The task ahead is simple. The important aspect, at this time, of the basic oneness underlying all forms, and which the workers of today must immediately emphasise, is the fact of the kingdom of God, of the planetary Hierarchy. The citizens of that kingdom and the members of that Hierarchy are gathered out of every nation, every political party, every social group, every religious cult or sect, and every organisation—no matter what their expressed objectives—and the universality of the field from which these people emerge, demonstrates their underlying unity. When this unity assumes adequate proportions in the eyes of mankind, a real synthesis will follow.

  Therefore the call goes out at this time for hierarchical workers to reveal with greater emphasis the fact of the Hierarchy. This—if done on a large scale and through proper organisation—will destroy on a large scale the present world structure in the field of religion, of economics, and of politics; it is already doing so. An increase of pressure on the part of all who recognise the factual nature of the inner subjective kingdom of God, will produce amazing results. This kingdom, through its major power (a quality of synthesis, could you but realise it), is gathering together into itself men and women out of every nation and out of all parts of the Earth. It is absorbing them into itself not because [301] they are orthodox or religious in the generally accepted sense of the term, but because of their quality. Simultaneously, as their numbers increase, a reverse movement is taking place. Men are moving outward on to the physical plane, and doing this as a group in order to prove the factual nature of the world of unity into which they have succeeded in penetrating. They, therefore, are demonstrating oneness and synthesis in such a simple way that men everywhere can grasp it. The New Group of World Servers is the vanguard of the kingdom of God, the living proof of the existence of the world of spiritual Oneness.

  To all applicants the call has gone out to see the Christ as He is, in order (as The New Testament puts it) that “as He is, so should we be in the world.” To disciples and initiates the call goes out to reveal to the world the grouped formation of all spiritual workers, the nature of the Christ consciousness which knows no separation, which recognises all men everywhere as Sons of God in process of expression. This is all desired because of the need to emphasise the all-inclusive approach of divinity to humanity. These working disciples and initiates regard all as essentially one and as brothers, which repudiates all man-made theologies (religious, scientific, political or economic) and says to all men everywhere: “We are all the children of God; we are all equally divine; we are all on our way to the revelation of divinity, and this upon the physical plane of existence; it is what we reveal that is of importance; what is revealed to us is of lesser importance, though it has its due place in the process of training and perfecting.”

  There is an old catechism which seeks to make clear to the neophyte upon the verge of acceptance the distinction and the difference between vision and revelation. It is falling somewhat into disuse, owing to the fact that the applicant today starts on a much higher turn of the spiral than he did at the time the “form of interrogation” was compiled. I would like, however, to quote one or two of the questions and answers for the instruction of present-day aspirants. [302]

  A CATECHISM

  What dost thou see, O disciple on the Path?

  Naught but myself, O Master of my life.

  Look closer at thyself and speak again. What seest thou?

  A point of light which waxes and which wanes and makes the darkness darker.

  Look with intense desire towards the dark and, when the light shines forth grasp opportunity. What now appears?

  A horrid sight, O Master of my life. I like it not. It is not true. I am not this or that. This evil selfish thing, it is not me. I am not this.

  Turn on the light with will and power and fierce desire, and then recount the vision that may come. What seest thou?

  Beyond the dark, revealed to me by means of light, I see a radiant form which beckons me. What is this Being, standing gracious in the dark and in the light? Is it and can it be my self?

  What dawns upon the sight as thou standest on the Way, O worn and tired disciple, triumphant in the light?

  A radiant shining form which is my Self, my soul. A dark and sombre figure, yet old and wise, experienced and sad. This is my self, my lower self, my ancient tried appearance upon the ways of earth. These two stand face to face and in between, the burning ground....They move and merge....The Path comes to an end. The Way stretches before. Sight is attained, and in the light reality appears.

  What canst thou now reveal, O Server on the way?

  Revelation comes through me, O Lord of Life. I see it not.

  Why canst thou see it now? What hinders apprehension?

  Naught hinders me. I seek not sight for I have seen. My task is revelation. I seek naught for myself.

  What comes thy way for revelation? What hast thou to reveal?

  Only that which has for aeons long existed and has for aye been here. The Oneness of the Presence; the area [303] of love; the living, loving, wise, inclusive One, enfolding all and being all and leaving naught outside.

  To whom must come this revelation, O Server of the world of living things?

  To all enfolded in the living, loving Presence; to those who all unknown to them maintain that Presence and for ever shall endure—as doth that Presence.

  And who are those who live within that Presence but know it not?

  They are myself and thou, and still they are myself and still are all I meet. It is the one in every form who think mayhap that form is all; who living thus in time and space, see not the light or life within the form, who hide within, behind the veils, between the four and five (the four kingdoms in nature and the kingdom of God. A.A.B.) and see naught else. To them I must reveal the truth.

  How will you do this hardest of all tasks, O triumphing disciple?

  By letting it be seen I am myself the truth; by living as a fragment of that Presence and seeing all its parts. And thus is revelation brought into the four and by the fifth.

  This is all that I can give you at this time upon the word and the injunction given to the initiate: Reveal. I would point that it is not his task to reveal the world of symbols. The five senses and the mind principle are adequate to bring that about. It is not his task to reveal the world of meaning. That, the disciple arrives at and interprets as he develops soul consciousness. His is the task to reveal the world of significances, the world of reality and of essential truth. Because of the success of the evolutionary process, this latter task is growing, and more and more initiated revealers will be needed during the period immediately ahead. Forget not that the invocative appeal of the mass of men, and the intelligent voicing of demand by those prepared intelligently to move forward, will inevitably [304] call forth the needed response and the needed revealers of reality.

  The next word which we are to consider is one of the most difficult for me to explain. The reason for my difficulty is that you are all imbued with the ordinary ideas anent these familiar words, and therefore
it is well-nigh impossible for me to convey their significances to you from the angle of the initiate-consciousness. Identified as you are with the form aspect and with life in the three worlds, it is hard for you to comprehend the state of mind and the type of awareness which distinguishes those who are free from these all-compelling forces in the three worlds which condition human beings, thus bringing about erroneous orientation and preventing what is really meant by spiritual perception. The attitude of the average man, and even of the average disciple, is that of one who looks in from the periphery towards the centre, of one who is preoccupied with the shell of life and is not conscious of Reality as is a member of the Hierarchy.

  Therefore, when I tell you that these words for initiates which constitute what I have called Rule XIV have a connotation quite different from that to which you are accustomed, I am propounding for you a most difficult problem. The true understanding is, I realise, not possible for you but much can be gained by your effort to comprehend. What you mean when you speak of the abstract mind is not exactly true to the facts; the effort to think abstractly is really an effort to think as far as possible as an initiate thinks who has transcended the concrete mind and thinks, or rather is aware, in terms of life and not of form, of being and not that which anchors being on the physical plane—or even in terms of consciousness, as you understand it. Forget not that I have elsewhere told you that consciousness (as grasped by the personality and the soul) has little relation to that form of living awareness which distinguishes the initiate who is essentially an expression of the Monad through the medium of the three aspects of the Spiritual Triad. This is peculiarly so in connection with the two [305] words Which remain for us to consider: Destroy and Resurrect.