The Rays and the Initiations

by Alice A Bailey

  [506] As we consider these seven ray techniques with their accompanying Words of Power, you must bear carefully in mind that we are dealing entirely with the Will aspect. This necessitates a higher process of alignment and the evocation of a divine aspect hitherto relatively quiescent, except in so far as the will finds its reflection in the activity of the sacrifice petals of the egoic lotus, plus its distorted shadow in the mind nature. This consequently posits a fairly high stage of spiritual unfoldment upon the part of the builder of the antahkarana; it means that there are indications of it (to say the least) between the mind, the sacrifice petals and the atmic principle. This may be simply the most tenuous thread imaginable, a thousand times finer than a gossamer web, but it must inevitably be present. When, from the angle of the esotericist, this is a tangible fact, you will then have the following direct contact:

  This contact, when completed, marks an entire unit of spiritual work, if I might so word it, bringing the man upon the physical plane into complete alignment; this unity is consummated at the time of the fourth initiation, the Great Renunciation at which time the first aspect begins to dominate the other two.

  Then the soul life—as hitherto understood—fades out and the causal body disappears. The sum total of memory, [507] quality and acquirements is then absorbed into the Monad. The words “I and my Father are one” become true. The astral body also vanishes in the same great process of renunciation, and the physical body (as an automatic agent of the vital body) is no longer needed, though it persists and serves a purpose when so required by the Monad. From the form aspect, you then have the Monad, the sphere of the Spiritual Triad and the etheric body upon the physical plane. I would here remind you that the levels of conscious existence which we regard as formless are only relatively so, because our seven planes are the seven subplanes of the cosmic physical plane. The centre of consciousness is now in the Will nature, when this point of attainment is reached, and is no longer in the love nature. Activity and love are still present in full measure, but the focus of the initiate's attention is in the will aspect of divinity.

  It has been said in an ancient book belonging to the Masters' Archives that:

  “The preservation of values is the task of the initiate of the first ray; the attainment of positivity is the goal of the initiate of the second ray. He who works upon the third ray must reach the path from here to there.

  The initiate of the fourth ray arrives at the will aspect when conflict steps into its rightful place and causes no undue concern. These four attainments mark the goal for men and sway them all upon the lower point of consciousness. The ray of vision and of application indicates the way direct, evokes the will to follow, and welds the love of God, the love of man and all that breathes into the purpose underlying all, and towards that purpose and its earthly consummation the seventh ray gives all it has.”

  It has not been easy to put these abstruse ideas, expressed in the most archaic language and symbolism, into modern terms and words. I have but conveyed the general idea—the collaboration of all the seven rays in the building processes of Deity and their planned interaction, on a tiny scale, [508] infinitesimal in comparison with the great Whole. Man responds within the circle of humanity, enclosed within the greater circle of the Hierarchy, and becomes conscious of this fusion and uses the potencies of both groups of lives, through the medium of the antahkarana. The moment the disciple approaches that point in consciousness and the antahkarana is firmly anchored (even if as yet but a tenuous structure), he becomes aware of the factor of the greater circle which encloses the other two—Shamballa, the Secret Place where the will of God is formulated for the immediate present and for the long range future.

  With this vision and suggested preamble let us now ascertain the seven techniques to be employed at the projection stage of the building process.

  Ray One...Will or Power

  To understand the first ray technique, the basic quality of the ray must be grasped. It is dynamic. The point at the centre is the First Ray of Power, and its technique is never to move from the centre but from that point to work dynamically. Perhaps the word that would best express its mode of work is Inspiration. The Father inspires response from the material aspect, or from the Mother if you like that symbolism, but it accomplishes this by remaining immovably itself. From the point where he is, the Builder (human or divine) works, not by the Law of Attraction, as does the second ray, but by the Law of Synthesis, by a fiat of the will, based on a clearly formulated purpose and programme. You will see, therefore, that the first ray personality has to ascertain (as in fact do all disciples) which aspect he himself is of a particular ray. It is not possible for any disciple who has not taken the third initiation to ascertain his monadic ray, but any disciple building the antahkarana, and who has reached the stage of projection, should know his soul ray and his personality ray, and should remember that their fused or blended potency must perform the act of projection. The energy of the Monad can be evoked, but it results in a down-pouring towards its [509] working agent and it is not an act of projection per se. The act of projection is the work of the “shadow and the reflection.” The Old Commentary says in this connection, when dealing with the Word of Power for each ray:

  “When there is no shadow, for the Sun is clear, and no reflection for the water is no more, then naught remains but the one who stands with eyes directing life and form. The threefold shadow now is one. The three of self exists no more. The higher three descends and all the nine are one. Await the time.”

  When, therefore, the ray of the soul dominates the ray of the personality, then the self becomes the acting agent, aided by the ray of the lower self. The rays of the three vehicles are no longer active, but only the basic duality of soul and personality remains, and there is no lesser differentiation.

  In considering all these seven rays, I seek to do three things in every case:

  1. Give the technique of projection. This technique falls into four stages:

  a. The preparatory stage in which the consciousness becomes focussed in the soul ray.

  b. An interlude in which the projecting agent realises with intensity the existence of the “point of tension” and the finished product of the visualisation process.

  c. A focussed activity of the will, according to the ray, in which a line of light or of living substance is imaginatively and creatively sent out or projected from the mental unit, as far as possible towards the Spiritual Triad, using constantly the creative imagination.

  d. This line of light (this strand or bridge) is then pictured as coloured by the two ray qualities, and it is held stably aligned in the light of the Spiritual Triad—not the light of the soul. This corresponds to the much earlier stage of development in which the mind was held steady in the light. The mind still is held in this manner, but the mind (as the agent of the soul and the [510] personality) is no longer quiescent, but itself becomes an active holding agent.

  2. Indicate briefly the effect of the Word of Power. When adequate stability has been acquired, the disciple utters a Word of Power which serves to carry the light still further on and up. When correctly uttered, this Word produces three effects:

  a. It keeps the channel for the descending light of the Spiritual Triad clear of all impediments.

  b. It reaches (by means of its vibratory activity) the centre of power which we call the Spiritual Triad, focussed temporarily in the manasic permanent atom, and evokes a response in the form of a thread of descending triadal light.

  c. It causes a vibration throughout the antahkarana which in its turn evokes response from the “rainbow bridge” as built by all other disciples. Thus the work of constructing the racial antahkarana is furthered.

  I am here doing two things—speaking to you in symbols. There is, literally speaking, no up or down or higher and lower, as you know, nor do any of the separative actions as outlined by the occult sciences exist. Yet the truth has to be thus presented owing to the mind consciousness of the disciple. I
have also been giving in human terms the outline of a process which, if adequately followed, will enable you to make real progress in the preparatory understanding required by all who hope some day to take initiation.

  3. This brings us to the third point, the nature of initiation. Initiation falls really into three major expansions of consciousness.

  a. The expansion of consciousness of the dedicated personality into that of the soul; this is completely consummated at the third initiation.

  b. The expansion of this fused and blended consciousness [511] into that of the Spiritual Triad, completely consummated at the fifth initiation.

  c. The expansion of consciousness toward which the Masters are working, which is consummated at the seventh initiation.

  Students today have made much progress towards the control of the personality, and the disciples in the world are now so numerous that the hierarchical emphasis is today upon the states of consciousness which follow the third initiation. Hence the giving out to the public of the teaching upon the antahkarana.

  You will find below, in tabulated form, the teaching anent the six stages so that you may have a visual picture of the intended process. The following of the process is, of course, another matter and its success is dependent upon more than a theoretical grasp of process. It is dependent upon your ability to live more definitely in the world of meaning than hitherto, upon your knowledge of your soul and personality rays and upon your capacity to focus in your blended consciousness, and from that point—holding the mind steady in the light—utter the Word of Power which will carry your created thread of light forward towards the Spiritual Triad.

  OUTLINE FOR REFLECTIVE CONTEMPLATION ON CONSTRUCTING THE ANTAHKARANA

  I. Points to have in mind.

  This work of construction concerns the handling of energy. Students should ponder upon the distinction between energy and force.

  It is dependent upon the use of the creative imagination. Students would do well to reflect upon the relationship of the imagination to the intuition and of both to the mind.

  The work of building the antahkarana must be done with as much conscious understanding as possible. [512]

  II. The six steps or methods of building the Antahkarana.

  1. Intention.

  a. The achieving of right orientation

  Towards the soul

  Towards the Spiritual Triad

  b. A mental understanding of the work to be done is necessary.

  c. A ring-pass-not of consciously gathered energies must be created and held in a state of tension.

  d. A period of clear thinking anent this process of Intention must be attempted.

  e. Then follows the preservation of a point of tension.

  2. Visualisation.

  a. The use of the creative imagination or the picture-making faculty.

  b. Response to intuitional or buddhic impression.

  c. Preoccupation with two energies:

  The energy held at a point of tension within the previously created ring-pass-not.

  The active picture-forming energy brought into action by the mind of the builder.

  3. Projection.

  a. The calling in of the will through the method appropriate to the Ray of the disciple, the soul ray.

  b. The simultaneous preservation of three lines of thought:

  Awareness of the blended personality and soul.

  Awareness of the point of focussed tension.

  Awareness of the Ray energy in its will aspect.

  c. The use of one or other of the seven Ray methods of projection, according to the Ray of the disciple.

  d. the use of a Word of Power.

  4. Invocation and Evocation.

  a. The blended soul and personality are now invocative, and their united intention is expressed in the previous three stages.

  b. Then a response comes from the Spiritual Triad, which that intention, propelled by an act of will from a point of tension has evoked.

  5. Stabilisation.

  This is bought about by long patient use of the four [513] previous processes and followed by a conscious use of the antahkarana.

  6. Resurrection and Ascension.

  This is the rising up of the consciousness out of soul and personality limitations (from the angle of the monad) and its passing into that of the Spiritual Triad.

  Here I would touch upon one important point connected with all Words of Power. I could give you these words in their ancient Sensa form, but it would not be possible for me to teach, through the medium of writing, their ancient and peculiar pronunciation or the note upon which they should be sounded forth. This used to be regarded of supreme importance. Today, disciples are being taught to work far more upon the inner planes of meaning and not to depend, as heretofore, upon the outer activity of sound. Remember that you are not creating now upon the outer plane. The physical sound or sounds are therefore of relatively no importance. What does matter is the ability of the disciple to feel the meaning of the Word of Power as he silently utters it. It is the quality of his idea which will bring the right effect, and not the way in which he makes a sound with the aid of his vocal cords and his mouth. Students have been taught that the A.U.M. sounded inaudibly and listened for, is of greater potency than when sounded audibly. This was preparatory to the utterance of these Words of Power. They have been learning the significance of the O.M., even if they did not realise it. This was all in preparation for the use of the Ray Words. It is the thought behind the form, the registered feeling anent the words, and the understanding of their significance which are of importance; it is the ability to think, to feel and silently to send out the call of quality to quality, of meaning to meaning, of nature to nature, of form to spirit which matters, remembering ever that that which is found upon the physical plane is not a principle. The physical sound is not that which will lead to a successful building of the antahkarana. It is the quality of a particular [514] type of subjective nature (the soul ray as it dominates the personality ray) which makes appeal to that which is still more subjective; that is what in truth accomplishes the work. It should be borne in mind that from the angle of the Spiritual Triad the soul nature is definitely objective. This is a statement of occult fact which will be better understood when the nature of man (as taught in the occult sciences) is admitted by thinkers, scientists and psychologists.

  The point I wish to make is that no particular word is going to be given by me, because it would be useless. The O.M. is useless to most people, even though trained students may now be deriving benefit from its use. This general uselessness is caused not only because people do not use the Word correctly, but also because, even when using it they are not holding its significance firmly in their consciousness. So it is with a Word of Power. Of what use would it be if I attempted to give the Word of the first ray, which looks (when presented in its symbolic written form) something like this—UKRTAPKLSTI? Certain sounds in this word-form are omitted because there is no way of depicting them, since they are neither vowels nor consonants. Correctly sounded, the above forms three words. But I can give, as far as possible, the English equivalent in meaning, and it is this meaning which I ask you to have in mind as you mentally utter the sound or Word of Power and visually attempt to see it performing the esoteric miracle of bridge building.

  The first ray disciple has, therefore, to meet the requirements to the best of his ability and to follow the four stages of the technique of projection (pages 489-493, 509). When he has faithfully followed this outlined routine, personality and soul fusion has to be consciously attempted and to some measure achieved, and then these blended factors are held steady in the triadal light. Another point of focussed intention is now brought about, resulting in a new and still more dynamic tension. In the completed silence which results, the act of projecting the antahkarana is performed, [515] and it is then carried forward on the impetus of a Word of Power. The symbolism connected with this lies behind the Masonic usage of the words, translated int
o English, “So mote it be,” uttered with the right hand stretched forth and signifying the embodied will of the Lodge, itself a symbol of the Will and Purpose of the Most High.

  The meaning of the Word of Power to be used at this point of accomplished projection might be summed up in the words: “I ASSERT THE FACT.” This is the nearest form I can give you for the word-form earlier mentioned. A little deep reflection on these words will show that if uttered with an understanding of their meaning, they are of terrific potency. The disciple who utters them assumes and then asserts:

  1. The Spiritual Triad is a fact.

  2. The relation between the fused and blended personality and the soul is a fact.

  3. The antahkarana is also a fact.

  4. The dual expression of the basic duality of manifestation—personality or form and Monad or Spirit—is a fact.

  5. The will of the Monad is the factor to be evoked.

  6. The knowing, purposeful One can be depended upon to contact the instrument of its will upon the physical plane.

  7. The work is done.

  This factual assumption is not faith, but knowledge and conviction, and upon this realised conviction the disciple rests, acts and depends. It becomes an unalterable and unchangeable attitude. The meaning of the above seven-fold statement will become clearer if the disciple will ponder the distinction between faith and conviction. It is this divine assertion which holds the universe in being; it is this divine assertion which is the embodied summation of all knowledge and love, and the first ray disciple must begin to use this technique, resting back upon his divine prerogative of assertion. Ponder on this statement. It is the [516] technique of Shamballa and the established right, prerogative and privilege of all first ray souls.

  Ray Two...Love-Wisdom

  Again the first two stages of Intention and Visualisation have been carefully followed and the four stages of the Projection have been carried through to their highest point. The vivid light of the second ray soul (the most vivid in this second ray solar system) dominates the light of form and radiates out to the triadal light. Then comes a moment of intense concentration and the peculiar Word of Power of the second ray is enunciated. Of this Word, the dual symbol SXPRULXS takes form in the mind of the disciple and signifies the assertion: “I SEE THE GREATEST LIGHT.” This statement has relation to the Central Spiritual Sun and not to the Heart of the Sun; it involves, if I might so express it, the most intense effort to see in the light the relation of the whole, and this is one of the most potent experiences to which the disciple can be subjected. It is not vision or even aspiration to see the vision. It is complete sight and of this the Masonic symbol of the “Eye of God,” the “All-Seeing Eye,” is the expression. It involves realisation of the light of the divine countenance; of this the light of the soul is the dim reflection. The disciple has learnt the significance of solar and lunar light (soul and form light), but this is something other. It is the great obliterating light of reality itself, revealing the fact of the higher Lighted Way which leads to Nirvana; Of this, the projected antahkarana is the stage first consciously realised by the disciple.