The
third quality which must be utterly rooted out and destroyed is that of all
reaction towards recognition, whether that recognition is accorded by the world
of men, by other disciples, or by the Master.
The ability to work without any token of recognition, to see others
claim the reward of action taken, and even to be unaware that the results of
the good initiated by the individual disciple or [Page 212]
his group are claimed by others, are the hallmarks of the hierarchical
worker. The Masters get no recognition
for the work done by Their disciples, though They initiated the original
impulse and have given both guidance and direction; the disciple carries out
the Plan; he shoulders the responsibility; he pays the price, either good or
bad, or the karmic results of instituted activity, and he is the one who gains
the recognition of the crowd. But—until
the disciple seeks no recognition, until he fails to think in terms of results
and is unaware of the reaction of the world to his work as an individual
disciple—he has yet far to go in order to gain the higher initiations. The entire problem becomes increasingly
difficult when an entire ashramic group is concerned, for the recognition of
the group service seems little to ask from the world which is served;
nevertheless, such a demand and such an expectation delay the complete
absorption of the group into the inner Ashram.
These
are not, however, impossible objectives, or I would not waste your time or mine
in their delineation. The group can
measure up to the occult necessity if unitedly they recognise the scope of the
endeavour and unitedly strive for complete absorption in service—an absorption
so deep that it excludes all other recognitions, particularly those of a
personal nature. We come back, therefore
(as is continually the case), to the fact that when a group can arrive at a
suitable point of united tension, non-essential reactions disappear and
undesirable qualities are automatically removed.
These
three types of work along the lines of destruction merit your careful
consideration and—because they are along the line of the destroying aspect—it
will be apparent to you that the method employed is that of the utilisation of
the group Will. It will be equally
apparent that the group Will can only make its appearance under the Law of
Occult Continuity when, and if, the group is functioning intelligently and
demonstrating love adequately.
We
now come to the third factor which group initiation involves. This is diversity in unity, consciously
recognised [Page 213] and utilised. A group is not composed of disciples all of
whom are being prepared for the same initiation. This is oft a hard saying for group members
to accept. The significance of my
earlier statement, that a group is composed of men and women all of whom are at
the same point in evolution, is a generalisation and simply means that all of
them have reached the point where they are pledged and unalterably committed to
the work of the Ashram, under some particular Master.
The
work, however, requires a diversity of quality and of potencies in order to be
effective in manifestation upon the outer plane. It needs those who are in close contact with
the Master, and are therefore initiates of a certain standing; it needs also
those who have facility of relationship with the inner Ashram and are therefore
senior disciples, though not necessarily high initiates; it needs also those
not so advanced upon the Path of Discipleship because they have, or can
establish, a close connection with ordinary humanity in the life of
everyday. A group of disciples such as
this is consequently a miniature hierarchy, and a hierarchy exists in its
various degrees in order to permit of a wide range of effective
relationships. Ponder on this
statement. You can see now why there is
necessity for the elimination of personality reactions, for only thus could the
groups function as a coordinated unit with the various members recognising each
other's status and yet not moved to jealousy or belittlement thereby; the work
is then carried forward on the basis of inspiration, coordination and practical
application. The senior members of the
group, and those with the most advanced status (whatever that may be), provide
the incentive of the Plan as they receive it from the Master; the more
experienced among the disciples then coordinate the Plan within the group,
relating it to the Ashram and indicating its approach to the world of men; the
neophytes—pledged and dedicated though yet without experience—carry out the
Plan upon the physical plane. This
entails, as you can see, smooth and effective coordination, a proper attention
to the general picture, and an application of the detail of [Page 214] work to the immediate necessity. It is a hard task for a group of intensely
individualistic disciples (and all disciples are individual) to begin to take
the first steps towards these attitudes and the relationships which distinguish
the Hierarchy as a whole.
Still
another important factor in the group preparation for initiation is the
cultivation of silence. How, we ask
ourselves at times when the functioning of the Ashram is under discussion, can
we train our disciples to realise that, essentially, silence is not refraining
from speech. So many disciples seem to
think that it is, and that they have to learn not to talk if they hope to take
initiation. Some would do a great deal
better if they talked more than they do—along right lines. The silence imposed in an Ashram is
refraining from certain lines of thought, the elimination of reverie and the
unwholesome use of the creative imagination.
Speech is consequently controlled at its source, because speech is the
result of certain inner sources of ideas, of thought and of imagination; it is
the precipitation (at a certain point of saturation, if I might so express it)
of inner reservoirs which overflow on to the physical plane. The retention of speech and the suppression
of words, if they are the result of a realisation that what is to be said is
wrong, or undesirable, or unwise, or wasteful, of energy will simply increase
the inner banking up and will lead eventually to a still more violent display
of words at a later date; it may also bring about serious and disastrous
conditions within the astral body of the disciple. The silence of thought is to be cultivated and,
my brothers, I do not mean silent thinking.
I mean that certain lines of thought are refused admission; certain
habits of thinking are eradicated and certain approaches to ideas are not
developed. This is done by a process of
substitution, and not by a violent process of suppression. The initiate learns to keep his thought
apparatus in a certain effective condition.
His thoughts do not intermingle the one with the other, but are
contained (if I may thus pictorially word it) in separate compartments or
carefully filed for reference and later use.
There are certain [Page 215] layers of
thought (again speaking symbolically) which are held within the Ashram itself
and are never permitted to enter the mind of the disciple or the initiate when
not consciously working in the Ashram; others are related to the group and its
work and are given free play within the group ring-pass-not; still others are
of a more mundane nature and govern the daily life and relationships of the
disciple with personalities and with the affairs of civilised living and physical
plane events. These are only indications
of what I mean, but will suffice to show (if you duly meditate) a little of
what is meant by the silence of the initiate.
Within the permitted levels of contact, speech is free and unimpeded;
outside those levels, no indication is given that the other spheres of thought
activity, with their conditioning speech, even exist. Such is the silence of the initiated
disciple.
We
have therefore considered briefly but suggestively four qualities which a group
preparing for initiation needs to develop, to consider and unitedly to
achieve. They are:
1.
The achieving of a non-sentimental group interrelation.
2.
Learning how to use the forces of destruction constructively.
3.
Attaining the power to work as a miniature Hierarchy, and as a group to
exemplify unity in diversity.
4.
Cultivating the potency of occult silence.
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