The Rays and the Initiations

by Alice A Bailey

  Before him lies the third Initiation of the Transfiguration. Facing him is a great transition from an emotional aspirational focus to an intelligent, thinking focus. He has, theoretically at least, cast off the control of the astral body and nature; much still remains to be done; old desires, ancient astral reactions and habitual emotions are still powerful, but he has developed a new attitude to them and a new perspective to the astral body. Water, fire, steam, glamour, delusion, misinterpretation and emotional continuity still mean something specific and undesirable to him. He is now negative to their appeal and positive to the higher demanding focus. That which he now loves and longs for, desires and plans for, lies in another and higher dimension. He has, through his willingness to pass through the second initiation, struck the first blow at his innate selfishness and has demonstrated his determination to think [678] in wider and more inclusive terms. The group begins to mean more to him than himself.

  What has happened, technically speaking? The energies of the solar plexus centre are being transferred from the major clearing house below the diaphragm to the heart centre—one of the three major centres into which all the lower energies must transfer. At the first initiation he was granted a vision of a higher creativity and the energy of the sacral centre began its slow ascent to the throat centre. At the second initiation, he is granted a vision of a higher focus, and his place in the larger whole begins slowly to reveal itself. A new creativity and a new focus become his immediate goals, and for him life can never again be the same. The old physical attitudes and desires may still at times assume control; selfishness may continue to play a potent part in his life expression, but—underlying these and subordinating them—will be found a deep dissatisfaction about things as they are and an agonising realisation of failure. It is at this point that the disciple begins to learn the uses of failure and to know certain fundamental distinctions between that which is natural and objective and that which is supernatural and subjective.

  Do these ideas make the concept of initiation more useful to you and more practical? Any initiation which does not find interpretation in daily reactions is of small service and basically unreal. It is the unreality of its presentation which has led to the rejection of the Theosophical Society as an agent of the Hierarchy at this time. Earlier and prior to its ridiculous emphasis upon initiation and initiates, and prior to its recognition of the probationary disciples as full initiates, the Society did good work. It however failed to recognise mediocrity and to realise that no one “takes” initiation and passes through these crises without a previous demonstration of a wide usefulness and of a trained intelligent capacity. This may not be the case where the first initiation is concerned, but where the second initiation is involved there must ever be the background of a useful dedicated life and an expressed determination [679] to enter the field of world service. There must also be humility and a voiced realisation of the divinity in all men. To these requirements, the so-called initiate of the Theosophical Society (with the exception of Mrs. Besant) did not conform. I would not call attention to their prideful demonstration, were it not that the same claims are being made and the same delusions presented to the public.

  The problem of freedom from the limitations of matter should now be considered and the entire theme be rendered practical.

  There is perhaps an ultimate opinion that it is the realm of the emotions and the susceptibility to emotional reactions which constitute the major human limitation—both from the individual angle and also from that of the national angle. It is everywhere realised that the demagogue, for instance, who sways public opinion, is one who also and emphatically plays on human emotions as well as upon human selfishness. As the race progresses towards mental expression, this distorting influence will become increasingly less important, and once the masses (composed of the millions of so-called “men in the street”) begin definitely to think, the power of the demagogic approach will have disappeared. The major battle in the world today is that of the freedom of the average citizen to think for himself and to come to his own decisions and conclusions. It is here that the major quarrel between the Great White Lodge and the Black Lodge is to be found. It is a battle in which humanity itself is the decisive factor, and for this reason the Black Lodge is working through the group which is controlling the destiny of Russia and also through the Zionist movement. The leaders of the U.S.S.R. are working intelligently and potently against human freedom and particularly against freedom of thought. Communism per se has no such objective; it is the totalitarian policies of the national rulers which are so disastrous, plus their ambition and their hatred of true freedom. Zionism today stands for aggression and for the use of force, and the keynote is permission to take what you want irrespective [680] of other people or of their inalienable rights. These points of view are against the position of the spiritual leaders of humanity, and therefore the leaders of the Zionist movement, and the group of men who direct and control the policies of Russia, are against the policies of the spiritual Hierarchy and are contrary to the lasting good of mankind.

  The freedom of the human spirit, the freedom to think, govern and worship as innate, human, instinctual human desire may dictate, under the influence of the evolutionary process, the liberty to decide on the required form of government or of religion—these are the rightful prerogatives of mankind. Any group of men or any form of government which fails to recognise this inherent right runs counter to the principle which governs the Great White Lodge. The menace to world freedom today lies in the known policies of the rulers of the U.S.S.R. and in the devious and lying machinations of the Zionists. In neither group is there any true spiritual potency, and both are doomed to failure even though they may succeed from the angle of material gain; from the spiritual angle, they are doomed. The leaders of the Russian enterprise against the freedom of the individual are doomed, because inherently man is free and fundamentally divine, and it is assured (from the long range vision) that masses of men in Russia and in the communistically inclined “satellite states” will inevitably react divinely and potently. The true communistic platform is sound; it is brotherhood in action and it does not—in its original platform—run counter to the spirit of Christ. The imposition of intellectual and formal communism by a group of ambitious and sometimes evil men is not sound; it does not adhere to the true communistic platform, but is based on personal ambitions, love of power and on interpretations of the writings of Lenin and Marx which are also personal and run counter to the meaning of these two men, just as the theologians of the Church interpret the words of Christ in a fashion which has no relation to His original intention. The rulers of Russia are not truly working for the good of the people, any more [681] than academic Zionism is working and carrying out its projects for any humanitarian reasons. But the people hold the ultimate triumph in their hands, for the heart of the people in all nations is basically sound, fundamentally good and God-inclined. This the rulers of the communistic regime forget.

  The leaders of the Zionist movement of aggression constitute a real danger to world peace and human development and their activities have been endorsed by the expediency policy of the U.S.A. and, in a secondary degree, by Great Britain, under the influence of the U.S.A. It is the Zionists who have defied the United Nations, lowered its prestige and made its position both negative and negligible to the world. It is the Zionists who have perpetrated the major act of aggression since the formation of the United Nations, and who were clever enough to gain the endorsement of the United Nations, turning the original “recommendation” of the United Nations into an order. The rule of force, of aggression and of territorial conquest by force of arms is demonstrated today by the Zionists in Palestine, as well as the demonstration of the power of money to purchase governments. These activities run counter to all the plans of the spiritual Hierarchy and mark a point of triumph of the forces of evil. I am emphasising the activities of these two countries because through the leaders of these groups of aggressive men the for
ces of evil—dammed back temporarily by the defeat of the evil group which Hitler gathered around him—have again organised their attack on the spiritual development of humanity.

  The world today still remains divided into people of evil intention and great power and their victims, plus the negative reactions of the remaining nations. There is no nation in the United Nations which has attempted to swing the tide of evil by ranging itself and other nations on the side of freedom. There are only groups of unillumined men who seek to control national destinies. There is still emotional reaction to situations and the emotional exploitation of individuals and nations by those who are in [682] no way emotional but who are mentally convinced that certain lines of activity must be followed, leading to their own individual good but which—in the long run—are not good for the peoples involved.

  We therefore come back to the problems of the astral plane, of the emotional level of consciousness, and to the second initiation; this initiation releases men from emotional control and enables them to shift their consciousness on to mental levels, and from that higher point of focus to control their normal and well developed emotional attitudes.

  If you will turn back to page 340, you will find that the three keynotes are given for this second initiation and for its technique. I would like to call your attention to them because they present those keynotes which give us the clue to the world problems and indicate at the same time the solution and the way out of the present impasse. These three words are: Dedication. Glamour. Devotion.

  It is the dedication of the aspirant which invokes the fire. You have here a statement of major importance. The aspirant upon the higher levels of the astral plane is swept by the “fire of dedication.” This immediately focusses his will as it demonstrates on the mental plane, and this focussing in due time starts the serious undertaking of the shifting of his consciousness on to mental levels. Then immediately the “fire” works, and the first reaction (as I have earlier pointed out) is the “meeting of fire and water,” and consequently the production of fog, mist, of glamour and illusion. All of these four words must be understood symbolically. The glamours thus induced are dependent upon the ray and the point of evolution of the individual and the nation. It is essential that you learn to think in the widest possible terms. With these I shall not deal. Individuals are rapidly discovering the nature of their glamours, once their “spiritual intention” is determined; also national glamour is well recognised by onlookers, though seldom yet by the nations involved. The factor which leads to the dissipation of glamour is devotion—devotion to an [683] individual, to a Master (as taught by the Theosophical Society) or to some idealistic project. It is finally an unlimited devotion to the Way, to the treading of the Path at any cost, and to the unswerving attachment to service—as constituting the major technique of the Path.

  Dedication, resulting in glamour, which is dissipated by devotion—these are the keynotes of the second initiation. Forget not that nationalism is the result of dedication to a particular national set-up and produces the glamours which lead to world difficulty.

  These three aspects of evolutionary unfoldment must be recognised by every aspirant; their existence determines his place upon the Path, the initiation for which he is being prepared and the nature of his service for humanity.

  And what will be the result of the combination in one's life of these three factors? Primarily two things:

  1. The solar plexus centre will be brought, first of all, into a condition of almost violent and compelling activity. This activity is induced by dedication and produces glamour inevitably.

  2. The violent energies of the solar plexus centre will eventually be controlled by the quality of devotion. It is this quality which transforms the solar plexus centre into the great clearing house for all emotional reactions and for all glamours, and makes it temporarily a cause of disaster, of conflict, of pain and of distress.

  As a result of both of these, a great transforming agency is set in motion by the quality of devotion, and the solar plexus centre becomes not only a clearing house but the main factor in lifting both physical and emotional active energies from below the diaphragm into the heart centre. This constitutes a long process which the aspirant is forced to face in the interim between initiations. We are told (and it is factually true) that the longest period between initiations is that to be found between the first and the second initiations. This is a truth which must be faced, but it should also be remembered that it is by no means the hardest period. The hardest period for the sensitive, feeling [684] aspirant is to be found between the second and the third initiations.

  It is a period of intense suffering, of the penalty of applying factors of glamour and illusion, of pronounced involvement in situations which, for a long time, remain unclarified, and of a steady moving forward as best the beleaguered aspirant can—under the influence of right direction and spiritual determination. This he has usually to do in the dark, working under the action of the logical and understanding mind, but seldom under the influence of inspiration. Nevertheless, the good work goes on. The emotions are brought under control, and necessarily the factor of the mind assumes an increasingly right importance. Light—flickering and as yet uncertain and unpredictable—pours occasionally in from the soul, via the mind, adding frequently to the complications but producing eventually the needed control which will lead to and result in freedom.

  Ponder on these things. Freedom is the keynote of the individual who is facing the second initiation and its aftermath—preparation for the third initiation. Freedom is the keynote for the world disciple today, and it is freedom to live, freedom to think and freedom to know and plan, which humanity demands at this time.

  The initiation (that of the Transfiguration) which we are next to study is one of the most important of them all. From one particular angle, it is peculiarly related to the fifth Initiation of Revelation and to the seventh Initiation of Resurrection. All three are concerned with freedom: freedom from the personality, freedom from blindness, or freedom from all the seven planes of our planetary existence—the planes which are sometimes referred to as the planes of human and superhuman evolution. You will have noted that lately I have been emphasising an aspect of initiation hitherto little emphasised—the aspect of freedom. The Path of Initiation has at times been called the Path of Liberation, and it is to this essential aspect of the initiatory process that I am seeking to call your attention. I have [685] pointed out continuously that initiation is not really the curious mixture of self-satisfied attainment, ceremonial, and hierarchical recognition as portrayed by the major occult groups. It is far more a process of excessively hard work, during which process the initiate becomes what he is. This may entail hierarchical recognition, but not in the form usually pictured. The initiate finds himself in the company of those who have preceded him, and he is not rejected but is seen and noted and then put to work.

  It is also a graded series of liberations, resulting in the attainment of increased freedom from that which lies behind in his experience; this carries with it the permission (soul enjoined or given) to proceed further on the WAY. These freedoms are the result of Detachment, Dispassion, and Discrimination. At the same time Discipline enforces and makes possible the hard work required to pass the grade. All these four techniques (for that is what they are) are preceded by a series of disillusionments which, when realised and comprehended, leave the aspirant no choice but to move forward into greater light.

  I would like to have you study initiation from the angle of liberation, looking upon it as a process of strenuously attained freedoms. This basic aspect of initiation—when realised by the initiate—ties his experience into a firm relation with that of the whole of humanity, whose fundamental struggle is the attainment of that freedom “whereby the soul and its powers can unfold and all men be free because of an individually attained freedom.”

  If you will study the nine initiations and look upon them from this angle, you will see how each does most d
efinitely mark a point of attainment, and therefore the entire subject of initiation takes on a new beauty and appears more worthy of the pain and struggle of attainment. Let me give you an indication (no more than that) of what I mean.

  Initiation I. Birth. Freedom from the control of the physical body and its appetites.

  Initiation II. Baptism. Freedom from the control of [686] the emotional nature and the selfish sensitivity of the lower self.

  Initiation III. Transfiguration. Freedom from the ancient authority of the threefold personality, marking a climaxing moment in the history of all initiates.

  Initiation IV. Renunciation. Freedom from all self-interest, and the renouncing of the personal life in the interest of a larger whole. Even soul-consciousness ceases to be of importance and a more universal awareness, and one closer to the divine Mind, takes its place.

  Initiation V. Revelation. Freedom from blindness—a liberation which enables the initiate to see a new vision. This vision concerns the Reality lying beyond any hitherto sensed or known.

  Initiation VI. Decision. Freedom of choice. I have dealt with these choices in an earlier part of this book.

  Initiation VII. Resurrection. Freedom from the hold of the phenomenal life of the seven planes of our planetary Life. It is in reality a “lifting out of or above” the cosmic physical plane.

  Initiation VIII. Transition. Freedom from the reaction of consciousness (as that word is understood by you) and a liberation into a state of awareness, a form of conscious recognition which has no relation to consciousness, as you understand that term. It might be regarded as complete freedom from sensitivity, yet with a full flowering of that quality to which we give the inadequate name “compassion.” More I cannot say. [687]

  Initiation IX. Refusal. Freedom from all possible forms of enticement, particularly with reference to the higher planes. It must constantly be remembered (and hence my constant reiteration) that our seven planes are the seven subplanes of the cosmic physical plane.