The Rays and the Initiations

by Alice A Bailey

  Crucifixion embodies the concept of extreme physical suffering of a protracted nature, its last “three hours” according to the Bible story, typifying the three planes of [697] our evolution. On all three planes, the disciple renounces; on all three planes he is, therefore, crucified. It connotes the ending of a life and—from the cosmic angle—of the personality life of the soul through many incarnations. If it is a statement of fact that the time sense is the response of the brain to a succession of states of consciousness or of events, and if it is equally true that (to the soul) there is no such factor in consciousness as time but only the Eternal Now is known, then the three worlds of incarnated being constitute one unit of experience in the life of the soul—an experience which ends at the crucifixion, because the soul in incarnation definitely, consciously and by the use of the enduring will, renounces all, and turns his back upon the material world, finally and for ever. He has mastered all the uses of the three worlds of experiment, experience and expression (to use three terms with which I have familiarised you in my other books), and now stands liberated.

  Each initiate who makes this renunciation and undergoes the consequent crucifixion is in a position to say with the first of our humanity to do so, “I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me.” So spoke the Christ. The initiate is lifted up by his renunciation—which he makes through the “blood of the heart”—out of the world of material phenomena, because he has freed himself from any desire for them, from any interest in them and from any hold they may ever have had over him. He is completely detached. It is interesting to note that the Master Jesus underwent the renunciation initiation whilst at the same time the Christ was raised up at the seventh or Resurrection Initiation. So the two stories of these two great Disciples are parallel—One so obediently serving the Greater, and the Christ submitting His will to that of His Father in Heaven.

  This initiation is therefore, in a unique sense, a culminating experience and a point of entrance into a new life for which all the past has been a preparation. After the ninth initiation, the Refusal Initiation, there comes a cosmic repetition of the Renunciation experience, this time [698] devoid of the crucifixion aspect; the initiate at that great moment renounces or refuses contact with the cosmic physical plane on all its seven levels of awareness, unless he has chosen (at the sixth Initiation of Decision) the Path of World Service.

  During the experience of the initiatory process in its first three phases, the initiate rejects control of the energies which are seated in the three centres below the diaphragm; he renounces their use for personality or selfish reasons. The centre at the base of the spine has received and distributed the energy of self-will (the will of the lower self) and is emptied and stands ready for the dynamic reception of the higher will which—using the spinal channel as the pathway or the symbol of the antahkarana—will pour into it from the highest head centre. The sacral centre which has received and distributed the energy which has fed the physical appetites to a far greater extent than is at present realised, is also under control—a control which is related to normal and proper direction from the throat centre and to the preservation of life on the physical plane, if the initiate chooses to incarnate for service ends. The solar plexus centre, which has received and distributed the energy of the astral plane, the energy of desire and of emotion, is likewise cleansed and purified; its energy is transmuted to such an extent that it can pass under the complete control of the heart centre, which henceforth and until the seventh Initiation of the Resurrection is “that whereby the initiate performs his hierarchical obligations.” Therefore, at the Great Renunciation, the three lower centres reach a point of utter purification or speaking symbolically—of utter emptiness. No energy of their own (related to the selfish aeonial past) is left; they are simply pure receptacles for the energies of the three higher centres. The three lower centres are related to the three worlds of personality evolution; the three higher centres are related to hierarchical work and living and are under the control of the initiate—a control which becomes increasingly perfect until the seventh Initiation of Resurrection. At that momentous [699] resurrection, they become no longer of service; the Master needs no energy centres, and His consciousness is transcended and transformed into a type of awareness of which those who have not experienced these initiations know nothing. If He chooses to take a physical vehicle (as many will when the Christ reappears and the Hierarchy is externalised on Earth), the Master will “function from the above to the below” and not (as is the case today with all disciples, though naturally not with the Masters) on “the below towards the above.” I am here quoting ancient phrases to be found in the archives of the Hierarchy. They will therefore need no centres on the etheric levels of our planetary physical plane.

  At this fourth initiation the initiate begins to function entirely and always upon the fourth plane, the buddhic levels of the cosmic physical plane—our intuitional plane. This is the case whether you count from below upwards or from above downwards. You have here again an indication of the central position of this initiation and of its importance. It is preceded by three initiations and succeeded by three initiations, leading up to that of the seventh or final planetary initiation, because the remaining two initiations are fundamentally not related in any way to our planetary Life. It is because of this permanent transition of the initiate's “living focus”—lifted out of the three worlds on to the buddhic plane—that the concept of resurrection has crept into the Christian teaching so that the Crucifixion Initiation is portrayed as preceding the Resurrection Initiation; this is in reality not the case, except in a lesser degree and as symbol of future experience.

  In the same way, the concept of sacrifice has permeated all the teaching anent the Crucifixion or the Renunciation Initiation, both in the East and in the West. This is a sacrifice idea associated with the concept of pain, agony, suffering, patience, prolongation and death. Yet the true root of the word remains the same and gives the true significance: “Sacer,” to make holy; that is what in truth happens to the initiate; he is “made holy”; he is “set apart” [700] for spiritual development and service. He is separated off from that which is natural, material, transmitted and handicapping, trammelling and destructive, and from that which lessens right activity for that which is new. He learns to define the Wholeness which is his divine right and prerogative.

  The beauty of the interpretation of this initiation and the reward to those who attempt to penetrate to its true meaning and significance are untold; it requires, however, the teaching of the East and of the West to arrive at the true understanding of the experience. The concept of a clean break with the old life in the three worlds of experience which has characterised the work of the soul for so long is obvious. It is death in its truest and most useful form; every death, as it takes place today and on the physical plane, is therefore symbolic in nature, pointing to the time when the soul finally “dies” to all that is material and physical, just as the human being dies to all contact in the three worlds before resuming incarnated living.

  On the buddhic or intuitional plane (the fourth level of the cosmic physical plane) the mind nature—even that of the higher mind or the level of abstract thought—loses its control over the initiate and is henceforth only useful in service. The intuition, the pure reason, complete knowledge illumined by the loving purpose of the divine Mind—to mention some of the names of this fourth level of awareness or of spiritual sensitivity—takes its place and the initiate lives henceforth in the light of correct or straight knowledge, expressing itself as wisdom in all affairs—hence the titles of Master of the Wisdom or Lord of Compassion given to Those Who have taken the fourth and the fifth initiations; these follow very closely upon each other. From the buddhic level of awareness, the Master works; on it, He lives His life, undertakes His service and furthers the Plan in the three worlds and for the four kingdoms in nature. Let this not be forgotten. Also, let it be remembered that this achievement of focus and this attained freed
om are [701] not the result of a symbolic ceremony, but are the result of lives of suffering, of minor renunciations and of conscious experience. This conscious experience, leading to the fourth initiation, is a definitely planned undertaking, arrived at as true vision is gradually conferred, the divine Plan is sensed and receives cooperation, and intelligent aspiration takes the place of vague longings and sporadic efforts “to be good,” as it is normally expressed by aspirants.

  It will be clear to you, therefore, why this fourth initiation is ruled or governed by the fourth Ray of Harmony through Conflict. The harmonising of the lower centres with the higher, the harmonising or establishing of right relations between the three worlds of human evolution and the buddhic plane, the rapport gradually being brought about by each succeeding initiation, between humanity and the Hierarchy, plus the service of establishing right human relations among men—these are some of the results which you even now grasp theoretically; these you will also grasp practically and substantially one day in your own experience. It is with this ray energy that the initiate works as he makes the Great Renunciation and is transferred thereby to the Cardinal Cross of the Heavens. This is the energy which enables him to live in the Eternal Now and to renounce the bindings of time. Through the entire experience he fights against that which is material; under the law of our planet (and, if you only knew, under the law of our solar system) nothing is achieved except by struggle and conflict—struggle and conflict associated on our planet with pain and suffering but which, after this fourth initiation, is devoid of suffering. A hint as to the purpose for which our little planet exists and its unique position in the scheme of things can here be noted.

  As I mentioned earlier, the initiate now works from “above downwards.” This is only a symbolic mode of speech. Like his great Master, the Christ, when he seeks to serve humanity he “descends into hell” which is the hell of materialism and of physical plane life, and there labours for the furtherance of the Plan. We read in the Christian [702] teaching that “Christ descended into hell and taught the spirits which are in prison” for three days. This means that He worked with humanity in the three worlds (for time and the process of events are regarded by philosophers as synonymous in meaning) for a brief period of time, but was called (on account of His unique task of embodying for the first time in world history the love principle of divinity) to be the Head of the Hierarchy.

  The same concept of working in the three worlds of physical plane existence (in the cosmic sense) is embodied for us in the phrase found in the New Testament that “the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.” This is the Veil which, symbolically speaking, divides or shuts off humanity from participation in the kingdom of God. This was rent by the Christ—an unique service which He rendered both to humanity and to the spiritual Hierarchy; He made it easier for a much quicker communication to be set up between those two great centres of divine life.

  I would ask you to ponder this Initiation of Renunciation, remembering ever in your daily life that this process of renunciation, entailing the crucifixion of the lower self, is only made possible by the practice of detachment every day. The word “detachment” is only the Eastern term for our word “renunciation.” That is the practical use of such information which I have here given to you. I would ask you also (curious as it may seem) to get used to crucifixion, if you care to use that word; to permit yourself to get accustomed to suffering with detachment, knowing that the soul suffers not at all, and that there is no pain or agony for the Master Who has attained liberation. The Masters have each and all renounced that which is material; They have been lifted out of the three worlds by Their Own effort; They have detached Themselves from all hindrances; They have left hell behind and the term “spirits that are in prison” no longer applies to Them. This They have done for no selfish purpose. In the early days of the Probationary Path, selfish aspiration is foremost in the consciousness [703] of the aspirant; however, as he treads the path, and likewise the Path of Discipleship, he leaves all such motives behind (a minor renunciation) and his one aim, in seeking liberation and freedom from the three worlds, is to aid and help humanity. This dedication to service is the mark of the Hierarchy.

  You can see, therefore, how the Buddha prepared the way for the Initiation of Renunciation or of Crucifixion by His teaching and His emphasis upon detachment. Think on these things and study the great continuity of effort and cooperation which distinguishes the Members of the spiritual Hierarchy. My prayer and wish is that your goal may be clear to your vision and that the “strength of your heart” may be adequate to the undertaking.

  Initiation V. The Revelation

  As we undertake the consideration of the next initiation, you will find that three factors will emerge in a new light in your consciousness. That they are factors related to past experiences, and yet which have reference to experiences which lie far ahead of you upon the Path, will also be inferred from what I say; these will not necessarily meet with your real understanding. These factors are:

  The factor of Blindness, leading to revelation.

  The factor of the Will, producing synthesis.

  The factor of the Purpose, externalising itself through the Plan.

  These are all implicit in this new initiatory experience, but they should be approached by you with as much use of the intuition as you can employ; your effort will have to be that you endeavour to think as if you had taken the higher initiations. You have to bear in mind that each initiation enables the initiate to “see ahead” a little further, for revelation is always a constant factor in human experience. The whole of life is revelation; the evolutionary process is, in relation to consciousness, a process of leading the blind out of darkened areas of consciousness into greater light, and therefore into a vaster vision.

  [704] As you know, this particular initiation has been called the “Resurrection” by the Christian world, emphasising that aspect in the experience of the initiate which leads to revelation; i.e., his “rising out of the ocean of matter into the clear light of day.” The thought of revelation can be seen also in the Christian teaching anent the “Ascension”—an initiation which has no factual existence and should not be called an initiation. You have, therefore, the following sequence, connected with the fourth and fifth initiations:

  1. Renunciation, producing crucifixion and leading to

  2. Ascension, or a complete “rising out of,” or “mounting higher,” leading to

  3. Revelation, giving vision, the reward of the two above stages.

  Christian theologians have made three distinct episodes out of these two initiations, but this has in no way mattered (as the initiate in the West soon learns); he now knows that the whole series of initiations, with their causes, their effects and their resultant intentions are only a sequence of processes, leading from the one to the other. A corresponding sequence can be seen in the unfoldment of the consciousness of the human being from infancy to full maturity; each unfoldment is part of a series of revelations, as his vision of life and his capacity to experience develops. This is true of all men from the most primitive to the advanced initiate, the difference consisting in that which each brings to the experience as the result of past effort, his point in consciousness and the quality of the vehicles through which that consciousness is developing. With the initiate-disciple this is also the case; he enters consciously into each experience; they are integral parts of his intention.

  Having renounced the three worlds, and having returned—back from a contact of great importance and interest—to those three worlds and with all that is familiar in them, the initiate suddenly realises that he has indeed been liberated, that he is indeed free, that he has been raised out of darkness and is now free in a new world of experiences. [705] He knows that he has climbed to the mountain-top or has “ascended” to the buddhic plane, from which plane he must permanently work and not just occasionally, as has been the method hitherto.

  He can work through a physi
cal body (with its subtler sheaths) or not, as he sees fit. He realises that he, as an individual, no longer needs a physical body or an astral consciousness, and that the mind is only a service instrument. The body in which he now functions is a body of light which has its own type of substance. The Master, however, can build a body through which He can approach His incoming disciples and those who have not taken the higher initiations; He will normally build this body in semblance of the human form, doing so instantaneously and by an act of the will, when required. The majority of the Masters who are definitely working with humanity either preserve the old body in which They took the fifth initiation or else They build the “mayavirupa” or body of maya, of physical substance. This body will appear in the original form in which They took initiation. This I personally did in reference to the first case; i.e., preserving the body in which I took initiation. This the Master K.H. did in creating a body which was made in the form in which He took the fifth initiation.