[73] This rule is one of the most difficult in the book and yet one of the most comprehensive. It will take us some time rightly to handle it. We have in it an interesting illustration of the microcosmic correspondence to the macrocosm. It can be elucidated in two ways in relation to the light it mentions.
Reference is made to the “greater light” which illuminates the three and, secondly, to the throwing upward of the “lower light”.
The “greater light” is that of the soul, who is light itself illuminating the manifestation of the three-fold personality. Herein lies the correspondence to the macrocosm as it is symbolized for us in God, the manifesting light of the solar system. The solar system is three in one, or one in three, and the light of the Logos illuminates the whole. The “lower light” is that which is hidden within the human being on the physical plane. This light, at a certain stage of man’s experience, is awakened throughout the physical body and blends eventually with the “greater light”. The light and life of God Himself may emanate from the central Spiritual Sun, but it is only as the light within the solar system itself is awakened and aroused that there will come that eventual blazing forth which will typify the glory of the Sun shining in its strength. Similarly, the light of the soul may emanate from the Monad, but it is only as the light within the little system (directed by the soul) is awakened and aroused that there will come the eventual shining forth of a son of God.
[74] In these instructions, however, we are dealing primarily with the microcosm and the light within it; we shall not enlarge upon the macrocosmic analogies.
In considering this second rule, we must note that a conscious relation has been established between the soul and its shadow, the man on the physical plane. Both have been meditating. Students would do well to note this and to remember that one of the objectives of the daily meditation is to enable the brain and mind to vibrate in unison with the soul as it seeks “in meditation deep” to communicate with its reflection.
The correspondence to this relation, or synchronizing vibration is interesting:
Soul......................Man on the Physical Plane
Mind.....................Brain
Pineal Gland.........Pituitary Body
The relation also between the centers, and their synchronization is interesting and in it is epitomized the evolution of the race as well as the racial unit, man.
Head Center...........Base of the Spine
Heart Center...........Solar Plexus
Throat Center..........Sacral Center
In the above lies a hint for the more advanced student (and he is the one who hesitates so to regard himself). It is also symbolized for us in the relation between the Eastern and the Western hemispheres and between those great bodies of truth which we call Religion and Science.
The life of meditation proceeds and the rapport between the soul and its triple instrument becomes steadily closer, and the resulting vibration more powerful. How many lives this will take depends upon various factors, which are too numerous to be mentioned here but which the student will find it useful to consider. Let him list the factors which he feels he needs to take into account as he seeks to decide his evolutionary standpoint. [75]
The result of this response is a reorientation of the lower man in order to produce a synthesis of the Three and the One so that the work of the Four may proceed. Here you have the reflection consummated in the microcosm of that with which the Solar Logos started, the “Sacred Four” of the Cosmos; man in his turn becomes a “Sacred Four”—spirit and the three of manifestation.
Four words should be pondered upon here:
1. Communication
2. Response
3. Reorientation
4.Union
The Old Commentary expresses it in the following terms:
“When communion is established, words are forthwith used, and mantric law assumes its rightful place, provided that the One communicates the words and the three remain in silence.
“When response is recognized as emanating from the three, the One, in silence, listens. The roles are changed. A three-fold word issues from out the triple form. A turning round is caused. The eyes no longer look upon the world of form; they turn within, focus the light, and see, revealed, an inner world of being. With this the Manas stills itself, for eyes and mind are one.
“The heart no longer beats in tune with low desire, nor wastes its love upon the things that group and hide the Real. It beats with rhythm new; it pours its love upon the Real, and Maya fades away. Kama and heart are close allied; love and desire form one whole—one seen at night, the other in the light of day . . . .
. . . . . . .
“When fire and love and mind submit themselves, sounding the three-fold word, there comes response.
“The One enunciates a word which drowns the triple sound. God speaks. A quivering and a shaking in the form responds. The new stands forth, a man remade; the form rebuilt; the house prepared. The fires unite, and [76] great the light that shines: the three merge with the One and through the blaze a four-fold fire is seen.”
In this pictorial writing which I have sought to convey in modern English, the sages of old embodied an idea. The Old Commentary from which these words are taken has no assignable date. Should I endeavor to tell you its age I have no means of proving the truth of my words and hence would be faced with credulity—a thing aspirants must avoid in their search for the essential and Real. I have sought in the above few phrases to give the gist of what is expressed in the Commentary, through the means of a few symbols and a cryptic text. These old Scriptures are not read in the way modern students read books. They are seen, touched and realized. The meaning is disclosed in a flash. Let me illustrate:—The words “the One enunciates the word which drowns the triple sound” are depicted by a shaft of light ending in a symbolic word in gold superimposed over three symbols in black, rose and green. Thus are the secrets guarded with care.
I felt it might be of interest to students to know this much about this ancient test book of the Adepts.
Our consideration of this rule will fall into two parts:
The relation between the soul and the personality. This will be handled particularly with reference to meditation in the daily life, more than from the theoretical and the academical.
The significance of the words, “the lower light is thrown upward.” These deal with the centers and the Kundalini Fire.
I would like here to point out the advisability of each student arriving at an understanding of his etheric body, and this for certain reasons.
First, the etheric body is the next aspect of the world substance to be studied by scientists and investigators. This time will be hastened if thinking men and women [77] can formulate intelligent ideas anent this interesting subject. We can aid in the revelation of the truth by our clear thinking and from the standpoint of the present pronouncements about the ether, scientists will eventually arrive at an understanding of etheric forms or bodies.
Secondly, the etheric body is composed of force currents, and in it are vital centers linked by lines of force with each other and with the nervous system of the physical man. Through these lines of force, it is connected also with the etheric body of the environing system. Note that in this lies the basis for a belief in immortality, for the law of brotherhood or unity and for astrological truth.
Thirdly, the need of realizing that the etheric body is vitalized and controlled by thought and can (through thought) be brought into full functioning activity. This is done by right thinking and not by breathing exercises and holding the nose. When this is grasped, much dangerous practice will be avoided and people will come into a normal and safe control of that most potent instrument, the vital body. That this end may rapidly be consummated is my earnest wish.
Occult study is of profound importance, and students of these sciences must bring to bear upon them, all that they have of mental application and concentrated attention. It involves also the steady working out of the truths learnt.
Occult study, as understood in the Occident, is intellectually investigated but not practically followed. Theoretically some glimmering of light may be appreciated by the man who aspires to the occult path, but the systematic working out of the laws involved has made small progress as yet.
Wherein lies the hindrance? It may be of value if we study three things: [78]
1. The Occidental hindrances to correct occult study.
2. How these hindrances may be surmounted.
3. Certain things the aspirant may safely undertake in the equipping of himself for treading the occult path, for that is the stage, and for the majority, the only stage at present possible.
One of the main hindrances to the correct apprehension of the laws of occultism and their practical application lies in the fact of the comparative newness of the occident, and the rapid changes which have been the outstanding feature of European and American civilisation. The history of Europe dates back a bare three thousand years, and that of America, as we know, barely as many centuries. Occultism flourishes in a prepared atmosphere, in a highly magnetised environment, and in a settled condition which is the result of age-long work upon the mental plane.
This is one reason why India provides such an adequate school of endeavour. There knowledge of occultism dates back tens of thousands of years and time has set its mark even upon the physique of the people, providing them with bodies which offer not that resistance which occidental bodies so oft afford. The environment has been long permeated with the strong vibrations of the great Ones who reside within its borders and who, in Their passage to and fro, and through Their proximity, continuously magnetise the environing ether. This in itself affords another line of least resistance, for this etheric magnetisation affects the etheric bodies of the contacted population. These two facts, of time and of high vibration, result in that stability of rhythm which facilitates occult work, and offer a quiet field for mantric and ceremonial enterprise.
These conditions are not to be found in the West, where constant change in every branch of life is found, where [79] frequent rapid shifting of the scene of action causes wide areas of disturbance which militate against any work of a magic nature. The amount of force required to effect certain results does not warrant their use, and time has been allowed to elapse in an effort to produce an equilibrising effect.
The climax of the disturbed condition has been passed, and a more stable state of affairs is gradually being brought about, and this may permit of definite occult work being attempted with success. The Master R. is working upon this problem, and likewise the Master of the English race,—not the Master who occupies Himself with the Labour Movement or the betterment of social conditions. They are aided by a disciple of rare capability in Sweden, and by an initiate in the southern part of Russia, who works much on the mental levels. Their aim is so to tap the resources of force stored up by the Nirmanakayas that its downflow may sweep out lower grade matter, and thus permit the free play of a higher vibration.
Another hindrance may be found in the strong development of the concrete mind. I would here impress upon you that this development must in no way be considered a detriment. All has been in due course of evolution, and later when the Orient and the Occident have reached a point of better understanding and interplay their interaction will be of mutual benefit; the East will profit from the mental stimulation afforded by the strong mental vibration of its Western brother, whilst the Occidental will gain much from the abstract reasoning of the Oriental, and, through the effort to grasp that which the first subrace of the Aryan root race so easily apprehended, he will contact his higher mind, and thus build with greater facility the bridge between the higher and the lower mind. The two types need each other, and their effect upon each other tends to eventual synthesis. [80]
The concrete mind, in itself, offers opportunity for a treatise of great length, but here it will suffice to point out a few of the ways in which it hinders those races who so paramountly represent it.
a. By its intense activity and stimulated action it hinders the downflow of inspiration from on high. It acts as a dark curtain that shuts out the higher illumination. Only through steadiness and a stable restfulness can that illumination percolate, via the higher bodies, to the physical brain and so be available for practical service.
b. The wisdom of the Triad exists for the use of the personality, but is barred by the disquisitions of the lower mind. When the fire of mind burns too fiercely, it forms a current which counteracts the higher downflow, and forces the lower fire back into seclusion. Only when the three fires meet, through the regulation of the middle fire of mind, can a full light be achieved, and the whole body be full of light, the fire from above—the triadal light—the fire of the lower self,—kundalini—and the fire of mind,—cosmic manas—must meet upon the altar. In their union comes the burning away of all that hinders and the completed emancipation.
c. By discrimination—a faculty of the concrete mental body—the lower bodies are trained in the art of distinguishing illusion from the centre of reality, the real from the unreal, the self from the not-self. Then ensues, consequently, a period that must be surmounted wherein the attention of the Ego is centred necessarily on the lower self and its vehicles, and wherein, therefore, the vibrations of the Triad, the laws that deal with macrocosmic evolution, and the subjugation of fire for the use of the [81] Divine, have temporarily to be in abeyance. When man quickly sees the truth in all that he contacts, and automatically chooses truth or the real, then he learns next the lesson of joyful action, and the path of bliss opens before him. When this is so, the path of occultism becomes possible for him, for the concrete mind has served its purpose, and has become his instrument and not his master, his interpreter and not his hinderer.
d. The concrete mind hinders in another and more unusual way, and one that is not realised by the student who attempts, at first, to tread the thorny road of occult development. When the concrete mind is rampant, and dominates the entire personality the aspirant cannot cooperate with these other lives and diverse evolutions until love supersedes concrete mind (even though he may, in theory, comprehend the laws that govern the evolution of the Logoic plan and the development of other solar entities besides his own Hierarchy). Mind separates; love attracts. Mind creates a barrier betwixt a man and every suppliant deva. Love breaks down every barrier, and fuses diverse groups in union. Mind repels by a powerful, strong vibration, casting off all that is contacted, as a wheel casts off all that hinders its whirling periphery. Love gathers all to itself, and carries all on with itself, welding separated units into a unified homogeneous whole. Mind repels through its own abundant heat, scorching and burning aught that approaches it. Love soothes and heals by the similarity of its heat to the heat in that which it contacts, and blends its warmth and flame with the warmth and flame of other evolving lives. Finally, mind disrupts and destroys whilst love produces coherence and heals. [82]
Every change, in human life, is subject to immutable laws, if such a paradoxical statement may be permitted. In the attempt to find out those laws, in order to conform to them, the occultist begins to offset karma, and thus colours not the astral light. The only method whereby these laws can as yet be apprehended by the many who are interested is by a close study of the vicissitudes of daily existence, as spread over a long period of years. By the outstanding features of a cycle of ten years, for instance, as they are contrasted with the preceding or succeeding similar period a student can approximate the trend of affairs and guide himself thereby. When the point in evolution is reached where the student can contrast preceding lives, and gain knowledge of the basic colouring of his previous life cycle, then rapid progress in adjusting the life to law is made. When succeeding lives can be likewise apprehended by the student, and their colouring seen and known, then karma (as known in the three worlds) ceases, and the adept stands master of all causes and effects as they condition and regulate his lower vehicle.
He aspires to the occult path and considers changes and events in the light of all preceding events, and the longer and more accurate his memory the more he can dominate all possible situations.
Thus two of the hindrances will be found to be:
a. The comparative newness and change which is characteristic of the Occident.
b. The development of the concrete mind.
Our third hindrance grows out of the preceding one. It consists of the emphasis that has been laid in the West upon the material side of things. This has resulted in a three-fold condition of affairs. First, the world of spirit, or the formless abstract world of subjective consciousness is not recognised in a scientific sense. It is recognised [83] innately by those of mystic temperament, and by those who are able to study the subjective history of men and races, but science recognises not this aspect of manifestation, nor do scientific men, as a whole, believe in a world of super-physical endeavour. All that in the earlier races held paramount place in the lives and thought of the peoples is now approached sceptically, and discussions are preceded by a question mark. But progress has been made and much has arisen out of the war. The question, for instance, is rapidly changing from the formula “Is there a life after death?” to the enquiry “Of what nature is the future life?” and this is a portent of much encouragement.
Secondly, the masses of the people are suffering from suppression and from the effects of inhibition. Science has said, There is no God and no spirit within man. Religion has said, There must be a God, but where may He be found? The masses say, We desire not a God constructed by the brains of theologians. Therefore the true inner comprehension finds no room for expansion, and the activity that should be finding its legitimate expression in the higher aspiration, turns itself to the deification of things,—things pertaining to flesh, connected with the emotions, or having a relation to the mind. The war, again, has accomplished much by relegating things to their just position, and, by the removal of possessions, many have learnt the value of essentials, and the necessity of eliminating that which is superfluous.
A third condition of affairs grows out of the above two. A right apprehension of the future does not exist. When the life of the spirit is negated, when the manifesting life concentrates itself on things concrete and apparent then the true goal of existence disappears, the true incentive to right living is lost, and the sarcastic words of the initiate, Paul, “Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die” characterise the attitude of the majority of men. [84]
Men deaden the inner voice that bears witness to the life hereafter, and they drown the words that echo in the silence by the noise and whirl of business, pleasure and excitement.
The whole secret of success in treading the occult path depends upon an attitude of mind; when the attitude is one of concrete materialism, of concentration upon form, and a desire for the things of the present moment, little progress can be made in apprehending the higher esoteric truth.
A fourth hindrance is found in the physical body, which has been built up by the aid of meat and fermented foods and drinks, and nurtured in an environment in which fresh air and sunlight are not paramount factors. I am here generalising, and speaking for the masses of men, and not for the would-be earnest occult student. For long centuries food that has been decomposing, and hence in a condition of fermentation, has been the basic food of the occidental races; and the result can be seen in bodies unfitted for any strain such as occultism imposes, and which form a barrier to the clear shining forth of the life within. When fresh fruit and vegetables, clear water, nuts and grains, cooked and uncooked, form the sole diet of the evolving sons of men, then will be built bodies fitted to be vehicles for highly evolved Egos. They patiently await the turning of the wheel, and the coming in of a cycle which will permit of their fulfilling their destiny. The time is not yet, and the work of elimination and adjustment must be slow and tedious.
Certain paramount realisations must precede this work of removing hindrances, and they might be enumerated as follows:
a. A realisation that in obedience to the next duty and [85] adherence to the highest known form of truth lies the path of further revelation.
b. A realisation that dispassion is the great thing to cultivate, and that a willingness to undergo joyously any amount of temporary inconvenience, pain or agony, must be developed, having in view the future glory which will blot out the clouds of the passing hour.
c. A realisation that synthesis is the method whereby comprehension is attained, and that, by blending the pairs of opposites, the middle path is gained that leads straight to the heart of the citadel.
With these three things paramountly controlling his views on life, the student may hope, by strenuous endeavour, to overcome the four hindrances which we have touched upon.
In taking up our consideration of the second Rule we will deal first with the relation of the soul to the personality, primarily from the standpoint of meditation. We are dealing therefore with “the greater light” and will take up later the “throwing upward of the lower light”. This is in line also with the law of occult knowledge that one begins with universals.
It should be borne in mind that these rules are only for those whose personality is coordinated and whose minds are gradually being brought under control. The man therefore is utilising the lower mind, the reasoning mind, whilst the soul is utilising the higher or abstract mind. Both units are working with two aspects of the universal principle of mind, and on this ground their relation becomes possible. The man’s work with his mind is to render it negative and receptive to the soul, and this is his positive occupation (note the use here of the word ‘positive’ in the attempt to make the mind receptive, for herein lies the clue to right action). The soul’s work in [86] meditation is to make the point of that meditation so positive that the lower mind can be impressed, and so the lower man can be brought into line with the Eternal Plan.
Thus, again, we have a relation established between a positive and a negative vibration, and the study of these relations carries much information to the student, and is part of the teaching given in preparation for the first initiation. A list of these related situations might here be given showing them in their progressive relation on the path of evolution.
1. The relation between male and female physical bodies, called by man, the sex relation, and deemed of such paramount importance at this time. In the vale of illusion, the symbol oft engrosses attention and that which it represents is forgotten. In the solving of this relationship will come racial initiation, and it is with this that the race is now engrossed.
2. The relation between the astral body and the physical, which, for the majority, is the control, by the positive astral nature, of the negative automatic physical. The physical body, the instrument of desire, is swayed and controlled by desire,—desire for physical life, and desire for the acquisition of the tangible.
3. The relation between the mind and the brain, which constitutes the problem of the more advanced men and races and of which the vast system of schools, colleges, and universities indicate the importance. Much progress in this relation has been made during the past fifty years, and the work of the psychologists marks its highest point. When this is understood, the mind will be regarded as the positive factor and the other two aspects of the form nature will respond receptively. They will be the automatons of the mind.
4. The relation between the soul and the personality, which is the problem engrossing the attention of aspirants now, for they are the pioneers of the human family, the pathfinders into the world of the soul. With this [87] relation, the mystics and the occultists concern themselves.
5. The relation between the centres below the diaphragm and those above, or between:
a. The centre at the base of the spine and the thousand petalled lotus, the head centre. In this the four petals of the basic centre become the many, or the quaternary is lost in the universal.
b. The sacral centre and the throat. In this there comes a union between the twelve Creative Hierarchies and the quaternary, and the secret of the sixteen petals of the throat lotus is seen.
c. The solar plexus centre and the heart, in which the ten of the perfect man in this solar system is lost in the consummated twelve. As the twelve Creative Hierarchies (in their outer and creative aspect) are contacted by the man, who is the perfected quaternary from the standpoint of the form, so in the relation between the solar plexus and heart is the second aspect perfected; the love of the soul can express itself perfectly through the emotional nature.
6. The relation between the two head centres, or between the centre between the eyebrows and the centre above the head. This relation is set up and stabilised when soul and body are a functioning unit.
7. The relation between the pineal gland and the pituitary body as a result of the above.
8. The relation between the higher and the lower mind, involving steady and increasing soul contact. The meditative attitude of the soul is duplicated in the three bodies (or by the spiritual man) and the steady meditation of the soul goes on also on its own plane. It is with this and with its effects that we are primarily concerned in this rule.
A later relationship, which in no way concerns us, is [88] set up after the third initiation between the soul and the monad, and throughout the course of cosmic evolution these relationships will emerge. The race as a whole is, however, only concerned with the setting up of a relation between soul and body and beyond this there is no need to go.
As the man seeks to reach control of the mind, the soul in its turn becomes more actively aggressive. The work of the solar Angel has hitherto been largely in its own world and concerned with its relation to spirit, and with this the man, working through his cycles on the physical plane, has had no concern. The main expenditure of energy by the soul has been general, and outward-going into the fifth kingdom. Now the solar Angel approaches a time of crisis and of re-orientation. In the early history of humanity there was a great crisis which we call individualisation. At that time the solar Angels, in response to a demand or a pull from the race of animal-men (as a whole, note that), sent a portion of their energy, embodying the quality of mentalisation, to these animal-men. They fecundated, if I might so express it, the brain. Thus was humanity brought into being. This germ, however, carried within it two other potentialities, that of spiritual love and spiritual life. These must in due time make their appearance.
The flowering forth of the mind in men, which so distinguishes the present age, indicates to the solar Angel a second crisis, of which the first was but the symbol. That for which the solar Angel exists is making its presence felt within humanity, and another strong pull is being exerted upon the solar Angel which this time will produce a second fecundation. This will give to man those qualities which will enable him to transcend human limitations, and become a part of the fifth or spiritual Kingdom in nature. The first effort of the solar Angel turned animal-men into human beings; the second will [89] turn human beings into spiritual entities, plus the gains of experience in the human family.
For this the solar Angel, the soul, is organising itself and re-orienting itself so that its power can be redirected into the world of men. Contact must be made by the soul between the lower aspect of its triple nature and the aspect which has already found lodgment in the brain of man. Intelligent activity and love wisdom must be united, and the union must take place on the physical plane. In order to do this the soul is entering into “meditation deep”, in union with all other souls who may have brought their instrument into a responsive state. This is the basic group meditation, and when a man achieves what the oriental books call “samadhi”, he has succeeded in participating, as a soul, in this group meditation, and enters upon that cycle of service which expresses itself through the planetary Hierarchy. The rational mind and the abstract mind function as a unit, and the motivating principle is love. The soul, expressing love and abstract intelligence, is at one with its expression on the physical plane through the brain, and, when this is the case, the lower man has synchronised his meditation with that of the soul.
This is the objective of our work. Let this not be forgotten, and let every effort be made to bring mind and brain into such a functioning condition that a man can slip out of his own meditation and (losing sight of his own thoughts) become the soul, the thinker in the kingdom of the soul.
It is perhaps a new thought to some that the soul is organising itself for effort, re-orienting its forces, and preparing for a fresh and powerful impulse, but so it is. All forms of life under the force of evolution pass from initiation to initiation and the soul is not exempt from the process. Just as the soul of animal-man became united with another divine principle, and so brought into [90] being the fourth kingdom in nature, so the soul in humanity is seeking contact with another divine aspect. When that contact is made the Kingdom of God will come on earth; the physical plane will thereby be transformed and that peculiar period, presented symbolically under the term millennium, will come.
The Knowers of God in that era will preponderate over those who are simply aspiring to that knowledge, and their contact and the results of the force they transmit will be felt in all the kingdoms of nature. Dominion over all forms, and the power to act as transmitters of that spiritual energy we call love is the promised reward of the triumphant solar Angels, and the prized goal of their meditation work. The Sons of God will triumph on earth in full incarnated expression, and will bring light (therefore life) to all the manifested forms. This is the “life more abundant” of which the Christ speaks. This is the achievement of the true Nirvanee who, living in unbroken meditation in the spiritual realm yet can work on earth. The work of initiation is to enable a man to live ever at the centre, but to act as a distributor of divine energy in any direction and—after the later initiations—in all directions.
We will now, in our consideration of the next rule, take up the work of the “lesser light” of man on the physical plane. I, who have entered somewhat into an understanding of the life of the solar Angel, seek to assure my fellow pilgrims that the passing things of the senses are but trivial, and of no value compared to the rewards, here and in this life, to the man who seeks to merge his everyday consciousness with that of his own soul. He enters then into the community of souls, and stands not alone. The only lonely periods are the result of wrong orientation and the holding on to that which hides the vision, and fills the hands so full that they cannot grasp what has been called “the jewel in the lotus.”