THE TWO REVELATIONS
We can now consider the stages of the initiation
ceremony, which are five in number, as follows:—
1. The "Presence" revealed.
2. The "Vision" seen.
3. The application of the Rod, affecting:—
a. The bodies.
b. The centres.
c. The causal vehicle.
4. The administration of the oath.
5. The giving of the "Secret" and the Word.
These points are given in due order, and it must be
remembered that this order is not idly arranged, but carries the initiate on
from revelation to revelation until the culminating stage wherein is committed
to him one of the secrets and one of the five words of power which open to him
the various planes, with all their evolutions.
All that is aimed at here is to indicate the five main divisions into
which the initiation ceremony naturally divides itself, and the student must
bear in mind that each of these five stages is in itself a complete ceremony,
and capable of detailed division.
Let us now take up the various points, dwelling
briefly upon each, and remembering that words but limit and confine the true
meaning.
The revelation of the "Presence."
Right through the later periods of the cycle of
incarnation wherein the man is juggling with the pairs of opposites, and
through discrimination is becoming aware of reality and unreality, there is
growing up in his mind a realisation that he himself is an immortal Existence,
an eternal God, and a portion of Infinity.
Ever the link between the man on the physical plane and this inner Ruler
becomes clearer until the great revelation is made. Then comes a moment in his existence when the
man stands consciously face to face with his real Self and knows himself to be
that Self in reality and not just theoretically; he becomes aware of the God
within, not through the sense of hearing, or through attention to the inner
voice directing and controlling, and called the "voice of conscience." This time the recognition is through sight
and direct vision. He now responds not
only to that which is heard, but also to that which he sees.
It is known that the first senses developed in a child
are hearing, touch, and sight: the
infant becomes aware of sound and turns his head; he feels and touches;
finally, he consciously sees, and in these three senses the personality is
co-ordinated. These are the three vital
senses. Taste and smell follow later,
but life can be lived without them, and should they be absent, the man remains
practically unhandicapped in his contacts on the physical plane. On the path of inner, or subjective
development, the sequence is the same.
Hearing—response to the voice of conscience, as it
guides, directs, and controls. This
covers the period of strictly normal evolution.
Touch—response to control or vibration, and the
recognition of that which lies outside of the separated human [Page 114] unit on the physical plane. This covers the period of gradual spiritual
unfoldment, the Paths of Probation and of Discipleship right up to the door of
initiation. The man touches at intervals
that which is higher than himself; he becomes aware of the "touch" of
the Master, of the egoic vibration and of group vibration, and through this
occult sense of touch he accustoms himself to that which is inner and
subtle. He reaches out after that which
concerns the higher self, and through touching unseen things, habituates
himself to them.
Finally, Sight—that inner vision which is produced
through the initiation process, yet which is withal but the recognition of
faculty, always present yet unknown.
Just as an infant has eyes which are perfectly good and clear from
birth, yet there comes a day wherein the conscious recognition of that which is
seen is first to be noted, so with the human unit undergoing spiritual
unfoldment. The medium of the inner
sight has ever existed, and that which can be seen is always present, but the
recognition of the majority as yet exists not.
This "recognition" by the initiate is the
first great step in the initiation ceremony, and until it has transpired all
the other stages must wait. That which
is recognised differs at the different initiations, and might be roughly
summarised as follows:—
The Ego, the reflection of the Monad, is in itself a
triplicity, as is all else in nature, and reflects the three aspects of
divinity, just as the Monad reflects on a higher plane the three aspects—will,
love-wisdom, and active intelligence—of the Deity. Therefore:
At the first initiation the initiate becomes aware of
the third, or lowest, aspect of the Ego, that of active intelligence. He is brought face to face with that
manifestation of the great solar angel (Pitri) who is himself, the real
self. He [Page 115]
knows now past all disturbance that that manifestation of intelligence is that
eternal Entity who has for ages past been demonstrating its powers on the
physical plane through his successive incarnations.
At the second initiation this great Presence is seen
as a duality, and another aspect shines forth before him. He becomes aware that this radiant Life, Who
is identified with himself, is not only intelligence in action but also is
love-wisdom in origin. He merges his
consciousness with this Life, and becomes one with it so that on the physical
plane, through the medium of that personal self, that Life is seen as
intelligent love expressing itself.
At the third initiation the Ego stands before the
initiate as a perfected triplicity. Not
only is the Self known to be intelligent, active love, but it is revealed also
as a fundamental will or purpose, with which the man immediately identifies
himself, and knows that the three worlds hold for him in the future naught, but
only serve as a sphere for active service, wrought out in love towards the
accomplishment of a purpose which has been hid during the ages in the heart of
the Self. That purpose, being now
revealed, can be intelligently co-operated with, and thus matured.
These profound revelations shine forth before the
initiate in a triple manner:—
As a radiant angelic existence. This is seen by the inner eye with the same
accuracy of vision and judgment as when a man stands face to face with another
member of the human family. The great
solar Angel, Who embodies the real man and is his expression on the plane of
higher mind, is literally his divine ancestor, the "Watcher" Who,
through long cycles of incarnation, has poured Himself out in sacrifice in
order that man might BE.
As a sphere of radiant fire, linked with the initiate
standing before it by that magnetic thread of fire which passes through all his
bodies and terminates within the centre of the physical brain. This "silver thread" (as it is
rather inaccurately called in the Bible, where the description of its loosing
of the physical body and subsequent withdrawal is found) emanates from the
heart centre of the solar Angel, linking thus heart and brain,—that great
duality manifesting in this solar system, love and intelligence. This fiery sphere is linked likewise with
many others belonging to the same group and ray, and thus it is a literal fact
in demonstration that on the higher planes we are all one. One life pulsates and circulates through all,
via the fiery strands. This is part of
the revelation which comes to a man who stands in the "Presence" with
his eyes occultly opened.
As a many tinted Lotus of nine Petals. These petals are arranged in three circles
around a central set of three closely folded petals, which shield what is
called in the eastern books "The Jewel in the Lotus." This Lotus is a thing of rare beauty,
pulsating with life and radiant with all the colours of the rainbow, and at the
first three initiations the three circles are revealed in order, until at the
fourth initiation the initiate stands before a still greater revelation, and
learns the secret of that which lies within the central bud. In this connection the third initiation
differs somewhat from the other two, inasmuch as through the power of a still
more exalted Hierophant than the Bodhisattva, the electrical fire of pure
Spirit, latent in the heart of the Lotus, is first contacted.
In all these words, "solar angel,"
"sphere of fire," and "lotus," lies hid some aspect of the
central mystery of human life, but it will only be apparent to those who have
eyes to see. The mystic significance of
these pictorial phrases will prove only a snare or a basis for incredulity to
the man who [Page 117] seeks to materialise them
unduly. The thought of an immortal
existence, of a divine Entity, of a great centre of fiery energy, and of the
full flower of evolution, lies hidden in these terms, and they must be thus
considered.
(ALICE A. BAILEY, INITIATION, HUMAN AND SOLAR, pp. 92-102)
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