[53] We are entering upon a course of study wherein the entire tendency will be to throw the student back upon himself, and thus upon that larger self which has only, in most cases, made its presence felt at rare and highly emotional intervals. When the self is known and not simply felt and, when the realisation is mental as well as sensory, then truly can the aspirant be prepared for initiation.
I would like to point out that I am basing my words upon certain basic assumptions, which for the sake of clarity, I want briefly to state.
Firstly, that the student is sincere in his aspiration, and is determined to go forward no matter what may be the reaction of and upon the lower self. Only those who can clearly differentiate between the two aspects of their nature, the real self and the illusory self, can work intelligently. This has been well expressed in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali .
“Experience (of the pairs of opposites) comes from the inability of the soul to distinguish between the personal self, and the purusa (or spirit). The objective forms exist for the use and experience of the spiritual man. By meditation upon this arises the intuitive perception of the spiritual man.” Book III.35.
The forty-eighth Sutra in the same book gives a statement covering a later stage of this discriminative realisation. This discerning quality is fostered by a re-collected attitude of mind, and by careful attention to the method of a constant review of the life. [54]
Secondly, I am acting upon the assumption that all have lived long enough and battled sufficiently with deterrent forces of life to have enabled them to develop a fairly true sense of values. I assume they are endeavouring to live as those who know something of the true eternal values of the soul. They are not to be kept back by any happenings to the personality or by the pressure of time and circumstance, by age or physical disability. They have wisely learnt that enthusiastic rushing forward and a violent energetic progress has its drawbacks, and that a steady, regular, persistent endeavour will carry them further in the long run. Spasmodic spurts of effort and temporary pressure peter out into disappointment and a weighty sense of failure. It is the tortoise and not the hare that arrives first at the goal, though both achieve eventually.
Thirdly, I assume that those who set themselves seriously to benefit by the instructions in this book are prepared to carry out the simple requirements, to read what is written thoughtfully, to attempt to organise their minds and adhere to their meditation work. The organising of the mind is an all-day affair, and the application of the mind to the thing in hand throughout the daily avocations, is the best way to make study and meditation periods fruitful and bring about fitness for the vocation of disciple.
With these assumptions clearly understood, my words are for those who are seeking to measure up to the need for trained servers. I say not, you note, those who measure up. Intention and effort are considered by us of prime importance, and are the two main requisites for all disciples, initiates and masters, plus the power of persistence.
In our consideration of these rules, I am not so much interested in their application to the magical work itself as in training the magician, and in developing him from [55] the standpoint of his own character. Later we may get down to the application of knowledge to the outer manifestation of world forces, but now our objective is something different; I seek to interest the minds and brains (and therefore the lower self) of students in the higher self, thereby keying up their mental interest so that sufficient impetus is generated to enable them to go forward.
Also, let it not be forgotten that once the magic of the soul is grasped by the personality, that soul steadily dominates and can be trusted to carry forward the training of the man to fruition, unhampered (as you necessarily are) by thoughts of time and space, and by an ignorance of the past career of the soul concerned. It should always be borne in mind that, when dealing with individuals, the work required is twofold:
1. To teach them how to link up the personal lower self with the overshadowing soul so that in the physical brain there is an assured consciousness as to the reality of that divine fact. This knowledge renders the hitherto assumed reality of the three worlds futile to attract and hold, and is the first step, out of the fourth, into the fifth kingdom.
2. To give such practical instruction as will enable the aspirant to—
a. Understand his own nature. This involves some knowledge of the teaching of the past as to the constitution of man and an appreciation of the interpretations of modern Eastern and Western investigators.
b. Control the forces of his own nature and learn something of the forces with which he is surrounded.
c. Enable him so to unfold his latent powers that he can deal with his own specific problems, stand on his own feet, handle his own life, solve his [56] own difficulties and become so strong and poised in spirit that he forces recognition of his fitness to be recognized as a worker in the plan of evolution, as a white magician, and as one of that band of consecrated disciples whom we call the “hierarchy of our planet”.
Students of these matters are therefore begged to extend their concept of that hierarchy of souls so that they include all the exoteric fields of human life (political, social, economic, and religious). They are begged not to narrow down the concept as so many do, to only those who have brought their own little particular organisation into being, or to those who are working purely on the subjective side of life, and along what are reoognised by the conservative as the so-called religious or spiritual lines. All that tends to lift the status of humanity on any plane of manifestation is religious work and has a spiritual goal, for matter is but spirit on the lowest plane, and spirit, we are told, is but matter on the highest. All is spirit and these differentiations are but the products of the finite mind. Therefore, all workers and knowers of God in or out of fleshly bodies, and working in any field of divine manifestation form part of the planetary hierarchy and are integral units in that great cloud of witnesses who are the “onlookers and observers”. They possess the power of spiritual insight or perception as well as objective or physical vision.
In studying Rule I we could summarize it simply yet profoundly under the following words:—
1. Egoic Communication.
2. Cyclic Meditation.
3. Coordination, or At-one-ment.
The rules start off in A Treatise on Cosmic Fir e with a brief summary of the process and a statement as to the nature of the white magician.[57]
I would like in this first consideration of our subject to enumerate briefly the facts given in the commentary so as to demonstrate to the aspirant how much is given him for his consideration and helping if he knows how to read and ponder upon that which he reads. The brief exegesis of Rule I gives the following statements:
1. The white magician is one who is in touch with his soul.
2. He is receptive to and aware of the purpose and the plan of his soul.
3. He is capable of receiving impressions from the realm of spirit and of registering them in his physical brain.
4. It is stated also that white magic—
a. Works from above downwards.
b. Is the result of solar vibration, and therefore of egoic energy.
c. Is not an effect of the vibration of the form side of life, being divorced from emotion and mental impulse.
5. The downflow of energy from the soul is the result of
a. Constant internal re-collectedness.
b. Concentrated one-pointed communication by the soul with the mind and the brain.
c. Steady meditation upon the plan of evolution.
6. The soul is, therefore, in deep meditation during the whole cycle of physical incarnation, which is all that concerns the student here.
7. This meditation is rhythmic and cyclic in nature as is all else in the cosmos. The soul breathes and its form lives thereby.
8. When the communication between the soul and its instrument is conscious and steady, the man becomes a white magician.
9. Therefore workers in white magic are invariably, and through the very nature of things, advanced human beings, for it takes many cycles of lives to train a magician.
10. The soul dominates its form through the medium of the sutratma or life thread, and (through it) vitalises its triple instrument (mental, emotional and physical) and thus sets up a communication with the [58] brain. Through the brain, consciously controlled, the man is galvanised into intelligent activity on the physical plane.
The above is a brief analysis of the first rule for magic and I would like to suggest that in the future as the students meditate on the rules that they make such an analysis themselves. If they do this during their consideration of each rule they will approach the whole matter with greater interest and knowledge. They will also save themselves much looking back and reference.
It will be seen from a consideration of the above analysis that a very clear summation is given and that the student is started in his study of magic with a brief understanding of the past situation, his equipment and the method of approach. Let us realize from the start the simplicity of the idea intended to be conveyed by my remarks hitherto. Just as in the past the instrument and its relation to the outer world has been the paramount fact in the experience of the spiritual man, so now it is possible for a readjustment to take place wherein the outstanding fact will be the spiritual man, the solar angel or soul. It will also be realised that his relationship (through the form side) will be to the inner as well as the outer worlds. Man has included in his relation only the form side of the field of average human evolution.
He has used it and has been dominated by it. He has also suffered from it and consequently in time revolted, through utter satiety, from all that pertains to the material world. Dissatisfaction, disgust, distaste, and a deep fatigue are characteristic very frequently of those who are on the verge of discipleship. For what is a disciple? He is one who seeks to learn a new rhythm, to enter a new field of experience, and to follow the steps of that advanced humanity who have trodden ahead of him the path, leading from darkness to light, from the unreal to the real. He has tasted the joys of life in the [59] world of illusion and has learnt their powerlessness to satisfy and hold him. Now he is in a state of transition between the new and the old states of being. He is vibrating between the condition of soul awareness and form awareness. He is “seeing double”.
His spiritual perception grows slowly and surely as the brain becomes capable of illumination from the soul, via the mind. As the intuition develops, the radius of awareness grows and new fields of knowledge unfold.
The first field of knowledge receiving illumination might be described as comprising the totality of forms to be found in the three worlds of human endeavour, etheric, astral and mental. The would-be disciple, through this process, becomes aware of his lower nature and begins to realize the extent of his imprisonment and (as Patanjali puts it) “the modifications of the versatile psychic nature.” The hindrances to achievement and the obstacles to progress are revealed to him and his problem becomes specific. Frequently then he reaches the position in which Arjuna found himself, confronted by enemies who are those of his own household, confused as to his duty and discouraged as he seeks to balance himself between the pairs of opposites. His prayer then should be the famous prayer of India, uttered by the heart, comprehended by the head, and supplemented by an ardent life of service to humanity.
“Unveil to us the face of the true spiritual sun,
Hidden by a disk of golden light,
That we may know the truth and do our whole duty
As we journey to Thy sacred feet.”
As he perseveres and struggles, surmounts his problems and brings his desires and thoughts under control, the second field of knowledge is revealed—knowledge of the self in the spiritual body, knowledge of the ego as it expresses itself through the medium of the causal body, [60] the Karana Sarira, and awareness of that source of spiritual energy which is the motivating impulse behind the lower manifestation. The “disk of golden light” is pierced; the true sun is seen; the path is found and the aspirant struggles forward into ever clearer light.
As the knowledge of the self and as the consciousness of that which the self sees, hears, knows and contacts is stabilized, the Master is found; his group of disciples is contacted; the plan for the immediate share of work he must assume is realized and gradually worked out on the physical plane. Thus the activity of the lower nature decreases, and the man little by little enters into conscious contact with his Master and his group. But this follows upon the “lighting of the lamp”—the aligning of the lower and higher and the downflow of illumination to the brain.
It is essential that these points should be grasped and studied by all aspirants so that they may take the needed steps and develop the desired awareness. Until this is done, the Master, no matter how willing He may be, is powerless, and can take no steps to admit a man to His group and thus take him into His auric influence, making him an outpost of His consciousness. Every step of the way has to be carried out by a man himself, and there is no short or easy road out of darkness into light.
The white magician is ever one who, through conscious alignment with his ego, with his “angel”, is receptive to his plans and purposes, and therefore capable of receiving the higher impression. We must remember that while magic works from above downwards, and is the result of solar vibration, and not the impulses emanating from one or the other of the lunar pitris, the downflow of the impressing energy from the solar pitri is the result of his internal recollectedness, the indrawing of his [61] forces, prior to sending them concentratedly to his shadow, man, and his steady meditation upon the purpose and the plan. It may be of use to the student if he here remembers that the ego (as well as the Logos) is in deep meditation during the whole cycle of physical incarnation. This meditation is cyclic in nature, the pitri involved sending out to his “reflection” rhythmic streams of energy, which streams are recognised by the man concerned as his “high impulses,” his dreams and aspirations. Therefore, it will be apparent why workers in white magic are ever advanced and spiritual men, for the “reflection” is seldom responsive to the ego or the solar angel until many cycles of incarnation have transpired. The solar pitri communicates with his “shadow” or reflection by means of the sutratma, which passes down through the bodies to a point of entrance in the physical brain, if I might so express it, but the man, as yet, cannot focus or see clearly in any direction.
If he looks backward he can see only the fogs and miasmas of the planes of illusion, and fails to be interested. If he looks forward he sees a distant light which attracts him, but he cannot as yet see that which the light reveals. If he looks around, he sees but shifting forms and the cinematograph of the form side of life. If he looks within, he sees the shadows cast by the light, and becomes aware of much impedimenta which must be discarded before the light he sees in the distance can be approached, and then enter within him. Then he can know himself as light itself, and walk in that light and transmit it likewise to others.
It is perhaps well to remember that the stage of discipleship is in many ways the most difficult part of the entire ladder of evolution. The solar angel is unceasingly in deep meditation. The impulses of energy, emanating from him are increasing in vibratory rate and are becoming more and more powerful. The energy is [62] affecting more and more the forms through which the soul is seeking expression, and endeavouring to control.
This brings me to the consideration of the seventh point I made in my earlier analysis of Rule I. I said, “The soul’s meditation is rhythmic and cyclic in its nature as is all else in the cosmos. The soul breathes and its form lives thereby”. The rhythmic nature of the soul’s meditation must not be overlooked in the life of the aspirant. There is an ebb and flow in all nature, and in the tides of the ocean we have a wonderful picturing of an eternal law. As the aspirant adjusts himself to the tides of the soul life he begins to realise that there is ever a flowing in, a vitalising and a stimulating which is followed by a flowing out as sure and as inevitable as the immutable laws of force. This ebb and flow can be seen functioning in the processes of death and incarnation. It can be seen also over the entire process of a man’s lives, for some lives can be seen to be apparently static and uneventful, slow and inert from the angle of the soul’s experience, whilst others are vibrant, full of experience and of growth. This should be remembered by all of you who are workers when you are seeking to help others to live rightly. Are they on the ebb or are they being subjected to the flow of the soul energy? Are they passing through a period of temporary quiescence, preparatory to greater impulse and effort, so that the work to be done must be that of strengthening and stabilising in order to enable them to “stand in spiritual being”, or are they being subjected to a cyclic inflow of forces? In this case the worker must seek to aid in the direction and utilisation of the energy which (if misdirected) will eventuate in wrecked lives but which when wisely utilised will produce a full and fruitful service.
The above thoughts can also be applied by the student of humanity to the great racial cycles and much of interest will be discovered. Again, and of more vital importance [63] to us, these cyclic impulses in the life of the disciple are of a greater frequency and speed and forcefulness than in the life of the average man. They alternate with a distressing rapidity. The hill and valley experience of the mystic is but one way of expressing this ebb and flow. Sometimes the disciple is walking in the sunlight and at other times in the dark; sometimes he knows the joy of full communion and again all seems dull and sterile; his service is on occasion a fruitful and satisfying experience and he seems to be able to really aid; at other times he feels that he has naught to offer and his service is arid and apparently without results. All is clear to him some days and he seems to stand on the mountain top looking out over a sunlit landscape, where all is clear to his vision. He knows and feels himself to be a son of God. Later, however, the clouds seem to descend and he is sure of nothing, and seems to know nothing. He walks in the sunlight and is almost overpowered by the brilliance and heat of the solar rays, and wonders how long this uneven experience and the violent alternation of these opposites is to go on.
Once however that he grasps the fact he is watching the effect of the cyclic impulses and the effect of the soul’s meditation upon his form nature, the meaning becomes clearer and he realises that it is that form aspect which is failing in its response, and re-acting to energy with unevenness. He then learns that once he can live in the soul consciousness and attain that ‘high altitude’ (if I might so express it) at will, the fluctuations of the form life will not touch him. He then perceives the narrow-edged razor path which leads from the plane of physical life to the soul realm, and finds that when he can tread it with steadiness it leads him out of the ever changing world of the senses into the clear light of day and into the world of reality.
The form side of life then becomes to him simply a [64] field for service and not a field of sensuous perception. Let the student ponder upon this last sentence. Let him aim to live as a soul. Then the cyclic impulses, emanating from the soul, are known to be impulses for which he himself is responsible and which he has sent forth; he then knows himself to be the initiating cause and is not subject to the effects.
Looked at from another angle we get two factors, the breath and the form which the breath energises and drives into activity. Upon careful study, it becomes apparent that we have, for aeons of time, identified ourselves with the form; we have emphasised the effects of the imparted activity but have not understood the nature of the breath, nor known the nature of the One who breathes. Now in our work we are concerning ourselves with that One Who, breathing rhythmically, will drive the form into right action and right control. This is our objective and our goal. A right understanding is necessary nevertheless if we are to appreciate intelligently our task and its effects.
Much more could be said on this rule but enough has been here given for the average applicant to discipleship to consider and upon which to base action. Most of us are average, are we not? If we regard ourselves otherwise, we divorce ourselves from others and become guilty of the sin of separateness—the one real sin.
An appreciation of the above thoughts should build in the aspirant a realisation of the value of his meditation work, whilst the idea of a cyclic response to soul impulse lies back of the activities of a morning meditation, a noonday recollection, and an evening review. A larger ebb and flow is also indicated in the two aspects of the full moon and the new moon. Let this be borne in mind.
May there be a full and steady play of cyclic force from the kingdom of spirit upon each one of us calling us forth into the realm of light, love and service and producing [65] a cyclic response from each one! May there be a constant interchange between those who teach and the disciple who seeks instruction!
Much preliminary work will have to be done. The disciple on the physical plane and the inner teacher (whether one of the Great Ones or the “Master within the Heart”) need to know each other somewhat, and to accustom themselves to each other’s vibration. Teachers on the inner planes have much to contend with owing to the slowness of the mental processes of students in physical bodies. But confidence and trust will set up the right vibration which will produce eventually accurate work. Lack of faith, of calmness, of application, and the presence of emotional unrest will hinder. Long patience those on the inner side need in dealing with all who must, for lack of other and better material, be utilized. Some physical injudiciousness may make the physical body non-receptive; some worry or care may cause the astral body to vibrate to a rhythm impossible for the right reception of the inner purpose; some prejudice, some criticism, some pride, may be present that will make the mental vehicle of no use. Aspirants to this difficult work must watch themselves with infinite care, and keep the inner serenity and peace and a mental pliability that will tend to make them of some use in the guarding and guiding of humanity.
The following rules might therefore be given:
1. It is essential that there should be an endeavor to arrive at absolute purity of motive.
2. The ability to enter the silence of the high places will follow next. The stilling of the mind depends upon the law of rhythm. If you are vibrating in many directions and registering thoughts from all sides, this law will be unable to touch you. Balance and poise must be restored before equilibrium can be reached. The law of vibration and the study of atomic substance are closely [66] intertwined. When more is known about these atoms and their action, reaction and inter-action, then people will control their bodies scientifically, synchronizing the laws of vibration and of rhythm. They are the same and yet unlike. They are phases of the law of gravitation. The earth is itself an entity which, by the force of will, holds all things to itself. This is an obscure matter, little has been learned about it as yet. The inbreathing and outbreathing of the entity of the earth affects vibration potently,—that is the vibration of the physical plane matter. There is a connection also between this and the moon. Those members of humanity who are specially under lunar influence respond to this attraction more than any others, and they are difficult to use as transmitters. The silence that comes from the inner calm is the one to cultivate. Aspirants are urged to remember that the time will come when they too will form part of the group of teachers on the inner side of the veil. If then they have not learnt the silence that comes from strength and from knowledge, how will they bear the apparent lack of communication that they will then find exists between them and those on the outer side? Learn therefore, how to keep quiet or usefulness will be hampered by astral fretfulness when on the other side of death.
3. Remember always that lack of calm in the daily life prevents the teachers on egoic levels from reaching you. Endeavor therefore to remain quiescent as life unrolls, work, toil, strive, aspire, and hold the inner calm. Withdraw steadily into interior work and so cultivate a responsiveness with the higher planes. A perfect steadiness of inner poise is what the Masters need in those whom They seek to use. It is an inner poise that holds to the vision yet does its outer work on the physical plane with a concentrated physical brain attention which is in no way deviated by the inner receptiveness. It involves a dual activity. [67]
4. Learn to control thought. It is necessary to guard what you think. These are days when the race as a whole is becoming sensitive and telepathic and responsive to thought interplay. The time is approaching when thought will become public property, and others will sense what you think. Thought has, therefore, to be carefully guarded. Those who are contacting the higher truths and becoming sensitive to the Universal Mind must protect some of their knowledge from the intrusion of other minds. Aspirants must learn to inhibit certain thoughts, and prevent certain knowledge from leaking out into the public consciousness when in contact with their fellow men.
It is of course of vital interest to appreciate the significance of the words “scatters not his force.” There are so many lines of activity into which the soul-inspired disciple may throw himself. Assurance as to varying lines of activity is not easy to reach and every aspirant knows perplexity. Let us put the problem in the form of a question, relegating it to the plane of every-day endeavour, as we are not yet in a position to comprehend in what way a soul can “scatter its forces” on the higher planes.
What is the criterion whereby a man may know which out of several lines of activity is the right line to take? Is there, in other words, a revealing something which will enable a man unerringly to choose the right action and go the right way? The question has no reference to a choice existing between the path of spiritual endeavour and the way of the man of the world. It refers to right action when faced with a choice.
There is no question but that a man is faced, in his progress, with increasingly subtle distinctions. The crude discrimination between right and wrong which occupies the child soul is succeeded by the finer distinctions of right, or of more right, of high, or higher, and the [68] moral or spiritual values have to be faced with the most meticulous spiritual perception. In the stress and toil of life and in the constant pressure on each one from those who constitute their group, the complexity of the problem is very great.
In solving such problems, certain broad discriminations can precede the more subtle and when these decisions have been made the more subtle can then take their place. The choice between selfish and unselfish action is the most obvious one to follow upon the choice between right and wrong, and is easily settled by the honest soul. A choice which involves discrimination between individual benefit and group responsibility rapidly eliminates other factors, and is easy to the man who shoulders his just responsibility. Note the use of the words “just responsibility.” We are considering the normal, sane man and not the over-conscientious morbid fanatic. There follows next the distinction between the expedient, involving factors of physical plane relations of business and of finance, leading up to a consideration of the highest good for all parties concerned. But having through this triple eliminative process arrived at a certain position, cases arise where choice still remains in which neither common sense nor logical, discerning reason seem to help. The desire is only to do the right thing; the intent is to act in the highest possible way and to take that line of action which will produce the best good of the group apart from personal considerations altogether. Yet light upon the path, which must be trodden, is not seen; the door which should be entered is unrecognized and the man remains in the state of constant indecision. What, then, must be done? One of two things:
First the aspirant can follow his inclination and choose that line of action out of the residue of possible lines which seems to him the wisest and the best. This involves belief in the working of the law of Karma and also [69] a demonstration of that firm decisiveness which is the best way in which his personality can learn to abide by the decisions of his own soul. It involves also the ability to go forward upon the grounds of the decision made, and so to abide by the results without forebodings or regrets.
Secondly, he can wait, resting back upon an inner sense of direction, knowing that in due time he will ascertain, through the closing of all doors but one, which is the way he should go. For there is only one open door through which such a man can go. Intuition is needed for its recognition. In the first case mistakes may be made, and the man thereby learns and is enriched; in the second case, mistakes are impossible and only right action can be taken.
It is obvious, therefore, that all resolves itself into an understanding of one’s place upon the ladder of evolution. Only the highly advanced man can know the times and seasons and can adequately discern the subtle distinction between a psychic inclination and the intuition.
In considering these two ways of ultimate decision let not the man who should use his common sense and take a line of action based upon the use of the concrete mind, practice the higher method of waiting for a door to open. He is expecting too much in the place where he is. He has to learn through right decision and right use of the mind to solve his problems. Through this method he will grow, for the roots of intuitive knowledge are laid deep within the soul and the soul, therefore, must be contacted before the intuition can work. One hint only can here be given:—the intuition ever concerns itself with group activity and not with petty personal affairs. If you are still a man centered in the personality, recognize it, and with the equipment available, govern your actions. If you know yourself to be functioning as a soul and are lost in the interest of others, untrammeled by selfish desire, then [70] your just obligation will be met, your responsibilities shouldered, your group work carried forward, and the way will unfold before you, whilst you do the next thing and fulfill the nest duty. Out of duty, perfectly performed, will emerge those larger duties which we call world work; out of the carrying of family responsibilities will come that strengthening of our shoulders which will enable us to carry those of the larger group. What, then, is the criterion?
For the high grade aspirant, let me repeat, the choice of action depends upon a sound use of the lower mind, the employment of a sane common-sense and the forgetfulness of selfish comfort and personal ambition. This leads to the fulfilment of duty. For the disciple there will be the automatic and necessary carrying forward of all the above, plus the use of the intuition which will reveal the moment when wider group responsibilities can be justly shouldered and carried simultaneously with those of the smaller group. Ponder on this. The intuition reveals not the way ambition can be fed, nor the manner in which desire for selfish advancement can be gratified.