135-139
[135]
THE PLANETS
(1) As we have studied these various constellations, it will have become apparent to you that the main function of the planets is to be distributing agents for the energies emanating from the zodiac, as they converge within our solar system, and become attracted to our planet. Students need to understand more thoroughly than they do, that the basis of the astrological sciences is the emanation, transmission, and reception of energies, and their transmutation into forces by the receiving entity. The energies of the various signs are attracted by the different planets, according to their stage of development, and by what is
esoterically called "ancient relationship" between the informing entities of the planets and of the constellations. This relation exists between beings, and is founded on a Law of Affinity. It is this law of affinity which produces the magnetic pull, and the dynamic response between constellations and planets within the solar system, and between some particular planet, and the forms of life upon another planet and the "impending energies", as they are called, which are being received from some major source. The capacity to receive and profit by the planetary energies (themselves received as emanated from some constellation), is dependent upon the point in evolution which determines the receptivity and the responsiveness of the mechanism of reception. This constitutes an unalterable law, and accounts for the power of certain planets which may have hitherto remained undiscovered, and which have therefore had little to do with evolution up to the present, owing to the unresponsiveness of the [Page 317] forms of reception. The planets, the energies and the forces, have existed all the time, but have remained ineffective, and consequently undiscovered owing to the non-existence of the needed instruments of response. They will, therefore, have no effect upon the life and history of an individual, and only become potent and "magnetically informing" when a man has reached a certain point of development, and is becoming sensitive to higher influences, and is in preparation for the treading of the Path. (16 - 266/7).
(2) How does it happen that one tiny non-sacred planet should be considered of such importance that these great Lives should be concerned with the unfoldment of mind in humanity? The answer is that They are not. It is humanity which - under the urge of great inflowing and outflowing energies - is concerned with the problem of mental development. In the last analysis, the problem of response to, and interpretation of the environing contacts, is one which is to be found on every planet, and particularly on the non-sacred planets. (16 - 493).
[136]
PRANA
(1) Solar prana - this is that vital and magnetic fluid which radiates from the sun, and which is transmitted to man's etheric body through the agency of certain deva entities of a very high order, and of a golden hue. It is passed through their bodies and emitted as powerful radiations, which are applied direct through certain plexi in the uppermost part of the etheric body. . . . These golden hued pranic entities are in the air above us, and are specially active in such parts of the world as California, in those tropical countries where the air is pure and dry, and the rays of the sun are recognised as being specially beneficial. Relations between man and this group of devas are very close, but fraught as yet with much danger to man. These devas are of a very powerful order, and, along their own line, are further evolved than man himself. Unprotected man lies at their mercy, and in this lack of protection, and man's failure to understand the laws of magnetic resistance, or of solar repulsion comes, for instance, the menace of sunstroke. (3 - 90)
(2) Primarily the functions of the etheric body are three in number:
1. It is the receiver of prana.
2. It is the assimilator of prana.
3. It is the transmitter of prana. (3 - 97).
(3) The pranic emanations of the sun are absorbed by the etheric body, [Page 318] via certain centres which are found principally in the upper part of the body, from whence they are directed downwards to the centre which is called the etheric spleen. . . . The main centre for the reception of prana at present, is a centre between the shoulder blades. (3 - 98).
(4) The more refined and rarefied the form, the better a receiver of prana will it be, and the less will be the resistance found to the uprising of kundalini at the appointed time. (3 - 103).
(5) The race suffers from certain incapacities, which may be described as follows:
First. Inability to tap pranic currents, owing to the unhealthy lives passed by so many. . . . The cure is apparent - the bringing about of better living conditions, the employment of more appropriate clothing, and the adoption of a freer and more salubrious mode of living. When the pranic rays can find free access to the shoulders, and to the diaphragm, the subnormal state of the average spleen will adjust itself automatically.
Second. Over-ability to tap pranic currents. . . . The etheric body receives prana or solar rays too rapidly, passes it through and out of the system with too much force, and this leaves the victim a prey of inertia and devitalisation. (3 - 106/7).
(6) The healer or healing group must remember that it is not mental energy only with which he works. He, for himself,
a. Creates a thought of healing power.
b. That created focal point of concentrated attention, becomes the directing agent for the healing force, or prana.
c. This prana is neither mental nor astral in nature. It is pure planetary substance or living essence, and is that substance of which the vital body of the planet is made.
d. The healer or the healing group, appropriates as much of this substance as possible, and by the power of their united thought, they direct it to and through the centre involved. Healing work is circulatory, and this must not be forgotten. The pranic energy (thought-directed), is not sent to the centre and there permitted to accumulate. It is passed through the centre, first of all to the organ involved, or the area where the difficulty is to be found, and then is sent out to the body as a totality. It might be regarded as a system of flushing, with a purificatory and stimulating effect. (17 - 287).
(7) Prana might be defined as the life-essence of every plane in the sevenfold area which we call the cosmic plane. It is the LIFE of the planetary Logos, reduced within limits, animating, vivifying, and correlating all the [Page 319] seven planes (in reality the seven subplanes of the cosmic physical plane), and all that is to be found within and upon them. . . . The fact that we call only that tangible, which we can see or touch and contact through the medium of the five senses, is entirely wrong. All is regarded as belonging to the world of form, which is found on the physical plane, the astral plane, and the levels of the lower mind, (11- 154/5).
[137]
THE PROBATIONARY PATH
(1) The Probationary Path precedes the Path of Initiation or Holiness, and marks that period in the life of a man when he definitely sets himself on the side of the forces of evolution, and works at the building of his own character. He takes himself in hand, cultivates the qualities that are lacking in his disposition, and seeks with diligence to bring his personality under control. He is building the causal body with deliberate intent, filling any gaps that may exist, and seeking to make it a fit receptacle for the Christ principle. (1 - 63).
(2) The immortal destiny of each and all of us is to attain the consciousness of the higher self, and subsequently that of the Divine Spirit. . . . Whilst the man is on the Probationary Path he is taught principally to know himself, to ascertain his weaknesses and to correct them. (1 - 64).
(3) Every time a son of man stands upon the Probationary Path Their (the Masters') work is facilitated, for it means that one small stream of life-energy is directed into new channels, and away from the old stream which tend to vitalise and feed the evil form, and one more conscious assailant can be trained to co-operate in the work of destruction. Every time an initiate is admitted to the Lodge degrees, it means that a new and powerful agent is available for the bringing down of force from higher levels to aid in the work of integration. (3 - 948/9).
(4) A great deal of training is given to a probationer without his really recognising it consciously. Fault tendencies are indicated to him as he seeks with sincerity to train himself for service, and the analysis of motive when truthfully undertaken, serves amazingly to lift the would-be disciple out of the astral or emotional world, into that of the mind. It is in the mental world that the Masters are first contacted, and there They must be sought.
. . . All this time the aspirant remains in ignorance of what has happened and is unaware of his subjective contacts. He, however, recognises in himself three things:
[Page 320]
Increased mental activity. This at first will give him much trouble, and he will feel as if he were losing in mind control instead of gaining it, but this is only a temporary condition and gradually he will assume command.
Increased responsiveness to ideas and increased capacity to vision the plan of the Hierarchy. This will make him, in the early stages, fanatical to a degree. He will be continually swept off his feet with new ideals, new isms, new modes of living, new dreams for race betterment. He will take up one cult after another as they seem to make possible the coming millennium. But after a time he regains his poise, and purpose assumes control of his life. He works at his own job, and carries forward his contribution to the activity of the whole, to the best of his ability.
Increased psychic sensitiveness. This is both an indication of growth and at the same time a test. He is apt to be taken in by the allurements of the psychic powers; he will be tempted to side-track his efforts from specialised service to the race into the exploitation of the psychic powers, and their use for self-assertion. The aspirant has to grow in all parts of his nature, but until he can function as the soul, the psyche, consciously and with the use of co-operative intelligence, the lower powers must be quiescent. (4 - 167/9)
(5) The path is, therefore, a path on which steady expansion of consciousness is undergone with increasing sensitivity to the higher vibrations. This works out at first as sensitiveness to the inner voice and this is one of the most necessary faculties in a disciple. The Great Ones are looking for those who can rapidly obey the inner voice of their soul. The times are critical and all aspirants are urged also to render themselves sensitive to the voice of their Master as well. His time is fully occupied and disciples must train themselves to be sensitive to His impression. A slight hint, a pointed finger, a hurried suggestion, may be all that He has time to give, and each disciple must be upon the watch. The pressure upon Them is great now that They are moving closer to the physical plane. More souls are conscious of Them than when They worked on mental levels only, and They also, working on denser planes, are finding conditions more difficult. The devas and disciples, aspirants and those upon the probationary path, are being gathered around Them now and are being organised into groups with special work assigned. (4 - 353).
(6) Time and again, along the Road, he will revolt from control and will fall back into the glamour of his supposed freedom. There is freedom from the control of the personality. There is freedom from the control of personalities. But there is never any freedom from the Law of Service, and from [Page 321] the constant interplay between man and man, and soul and soul. To stand really free is to stand in the clear unimpeded light of the soul, which is basically and intrinsically group consciousness.
Therefore, when one of you is beset by uncertainty and unrest, desiring and demanding to walk free, and that no authority be imposed upon you, see that you are not submitting to the glamour of desire to be freed from your group impacts, and make sure that you are not seeking - as a sensitive soul - a way of escape. (10 - 48).
[138]
PROPHECIES
(1) Anent Initiation.. . . Before many centuries pass, the old mysteries will be restored, and an inner body will exist in the Church - the Church of the period, of which the nucleus is already forming - wherein the first initiation will become exoteric, in this sense only, that the taking of the first initiation will, before so very long, be the most sacred ceremony of the Church, performed exoterically as one of the mysteries given at stated periods, attended by those concerned. (1 - 9).
(2) It might be noted here that three great discoveries are imminent and during the next two generations will revolutionise modern thought and life. (1934)
One is already sensed and is the subject of experiment and investigation, the releasing of the energy of the atom. This will completely change the economic and political situation in the world, for the latter is largely dependent on the former. Our mechanical civilisation will be simplified, and an era ushered in which will be free from the incubus of money (its possession and its non-possession), and the human family will recognise universally its status as a bridging kingdom between the three lower kingdoms of nature and the fifth or spiritual kingdom. There will be time and freedom for a soul culture which will supersede our modern methods of education, and the significance of soul powers and the development of the superhuman consciousness will engross the attention of educators and students everywhere.
A second discovery will grow out of the present investigations as to light and colour. The effect of colour on people, animals and units in the vegetable kingdom will be studied and the result of these studies will be the development of etheric vision, or the power to see the next grade of matter with the strictly physical eye. Increasingly will people think and talk in terms of light. . . .
[Page 322]
The third development, which will be the last probably to take place, will be more strictly - in the realm of what the occultists call magic. It will grow out of the study of sound and the effect of sound, and will put into man's hands a tremendous instrument in the world of creation. Through the use of sound the scientist of the future will bring about his results; through sound, a new field of discovery will open up; the sound which every form in all kingdoms of nature gives forth, will be studied and known, and changes will be brought about and new forms developed through its medium. One hint only may I give here, and that is, that the release of energy in the atom is linked to this new coming science of sound. (4 - 333/5)
(3) Upon the spiritual side . . . the whole field of religion will be inspired and re-oriented from Rome, because the Master Jesus will again take hold of the Christian Church in an effort to re-spiritualise it and to re-organise it. From the chair of the Pope of Rome, the Master Jesus will attempt to swing that great branch of the religious beliefs of the world again into a position of spiritual power, and away from its present authoritative and temporary political potency. (9 - 59).
(4) Colour can destroy just as it can heal; sound can disrupt just as it can bring about cohesion; in these two thoughts lie hid the next step ahead for the science of the immediate future. The laws of vibration are going to be widely studied and comprehended, and the use of this knowledge of vibration on the physical planes will bring about many interesting developments. They will be partially an outgrowth of the study of the war and its effect, psychological and otherwise. More was effected by the sound of the great guns, for instance, than by the impact of the projectile on the physical plane. These effects are as yet practically unrecognised, and are largely etheric and astral.
Music will be largely employed in construction, and in one hundred years from now, it will be a feature in certain work of a constructive nature. This sounds to you utterly impossible, but it will simply be the utilisation of ordered sound to achieve certain ends. (2 - 250).
(5) The time is near at hand wherein there will be a fuller expression of ray purpose, type or quality, and therefore a truer appearance.
This is owing to the imminent appearance, or manifestation, of certain great Lives Who will embody the energy of rays two, three, five and seven. They will thus constitute focal points for the inflow of these four types of divine energy, and this will produce a tremendous stimulation of their corresponding and responding units of life. These four Beings, Who will [Page 323] appear as human beings in the field of the modern world, may be looked for before the end of this century, and Their united effort will inaugurate definitely the New Age, and usher in the period which will go down in history as the time of glory for the fifth root race. Each of these four Masters, for that They will be, is also subjectively the focal point for a triple inflow of energy from the centre in the Body of God. . . . (14 - 73/4).
(6) The next twenty-five hundred years will bring about so much change, and make possible the working of so many so-called "miracles", that even the outer appearance of the world will be profoundly altered; the vegetation and the animal life will be modified and developed, and much that is latent in the forms of both kingdoms, will be brought into expression through the freer flow and the more intelligent manipulation of the energies which create and constitute all forms. The world has been changed beyond belief during the past five hundred years, and during the next two hundred years the changes will be still more rapid and deep-seated, for the growth of the intellectual powers of man is gathering momentum, and Man, the Creator, is coming into possession of His powers. (14 - 83).
(7) Those of us who foresee that which may or ought to be, are nevertheless well aware that though the fulfilment of the prophecy is inevitable, yet the time factor may not work out as indicated. This will be because the distressed human mechanisms of those to whom the work is given, will fail to react either correctly, or at the right time. (14 - 367).
(8) Men will feel at the close of this present war (1945), as if nothing had been left them, and that they are destitute and denuded of all that made life worth living - so dependent have they become upon the so-called high scale of living. But these attitudes will serve as stepping stones to a new way of life, and a better and more simple way of living; new values will be released and comprehended among men, and new goals will be revealed. And the day will come, in the experience of humanity, when men will look back at the pre-war centuries, and wonder at their blindness, and be shocked at their selfish and materialistic past. The future will shine with an added glory and, though difficulties and problems incident to world adjustment and the new relationships between the spiritual man and his material environment will be found, the future will prove itself as the best yet unrolled. Difficulties will be found on all planes up until the last initiation, but the destructiveness of the life process will never again be so potent. The reason for this is that humanity is most definitely emerging from the thralldom of matter, and in such cases destruction parallels the impact of the descending spirit upon opposing matter. Ponder on this statement. (16 - 500).
[Page 324]
(9) In the next century, and early in the century, an initiate will appear and will carry on their teaching. It will be under the same "impression", for my task is not yet completed, and this series of bridging Treatises between the material knowledge of man and the science of the initiates has still another phase to run. But the remainder of this century must be dedicated to rebuilding the shrine of man's living, to reconstituting the new civilisation upon the foundations of the old, and to the reorganising of the structures of world thought, world politics, plus the redistribution of the world's resources in conformity to divine purpose. Then, and only then, will it be possible to carry the revelation further.
All this is dependent upon the triumph of the Forces of Light, and the consequent victory of those who stand for human freedom. If the forces of materialism and cruelty triumph, and selfish and wicked national interests and ambitions had prevailed, the revelation would still come, but very much later. The courage of those fighting for freedom remains unimpaired. The Hierarchy stands. Light is breaking in the world as the realities of the situation emerge more clearly.
Be of good cheer, for there is no true defeat of the human spirit; there is no final extinction of the divine in man, for divinity ever rises triumphant from the darkest pit of hell. There is need, however, to overcome the inertia of the material nature in response to human need, individually and by the nations not engrossed with the essentials of the situation. This shows signs of happening. There is no power on Earth which can prevent the advance of man towards his destined goal, and no combination of powers can hold him back. (16 - 532/3).
(10) A great discovery in relation to the use of light, by the power and the directive agency of thought, will come at the end of this century, or the beginning of the next. Two small children - one living in this country (U.S.A.), and one in India - will work out a formula along scientific lines, which will fill in some of the existing gaps in the scale of light vibration, carrying on from the high frequency rays and waves as you now have them. This will necessitate instruments hitherto undreamt of, but really quite possible. They will be so sensitive that they will be set in motion by the power of the human eye, under the focussed direction of thought. From then on tangible rapport with the spirit world will be possible. I cannot do more than give you the clue. (17 - 378/9).
(11) The future holds within its silence other modes of saving humanity. The cup of sorrow and the agony of the Cross are well-nigh finished. Joy and strength will take their place. Instead of sorrow we shall have a joy [Page 325] which will work out in happiness, and lead eventually to bliss. We shall have a strength which will know naught but victory, and will not recognise disaster. Even the Black Lodge knew of this change in the mode of salvation, and hastily founded its groups of youths, banded together by the motto "joy through strength, and strength through joy". It seems to be a law for group development to receive recognition from the side of evil, prior to that recognition coming from the good. But "after weeping cometh joy, and that joy cometh in the morning". Only the dawn is with us as yet - the dawn of the Aquarian Age. The full tide of light is inevitably moving upon its way towards us. (18 - 234).
(12) The great scientific discovery, called colloquially the "splitting of the atom", will be turned eventually to the production of those conditions which will enable mankind to follow the good, the beautiful and the true. This men will then be able to do, freed from the dread presence of purely materialistic thinking. This is no idle vision or vague dream. Many scientists today (and particularly those who love their fellowmen) are not only visioning the non-destructive aspect of atomic energy, but are already engaged in harnessing - for the good of humanity - some of its products and its radioactive properties.
Curiously enough, it is the wise, controlled use of the results of this scientific adventure in connection with the atomic bomb, which will eventually bring about a specific revelation of the nature of certain forces in relation to light; this event will transform world thinking, and lead to a new type of transmutative process, as far as man is concerned.
From all the above, you will note that some of the effects upon humanity as a whole, and the skeleton structure of the new and beautiful future, will take place as a result of the new incoming first ray activity. No details can yet be given, but enough has been written down anent the basic, predisposing cause to enable you who read, to ponder upon the possible effect, spiritually speaking. What is coming is a civilisation of a different yet still material nature, but animated by a growing registration by the masses everywhere, of an emerging spiritual objective, which will transform all life and give new value and purpose to that which is material. (18 - 647/50).
[Page 326]
[139]
PSYCHIC POWERS
(1) I would like to pause here, and point out two things which should be borne in mind:
First, that many people are today living in the Atlantean state of awareness, in the Atlantean consciousness, and for them the expression of these lower psychic powers is normal, though undesirable. For the man who is a mental type, or who is overcoming gradually the psychic nature, these powers are abnormal (or should I say subnormal?), and most undesirable. In this discussion with which we are now engaged, I am not dealing with the man with the Atlantean consciousness, but with the modern aspirant. For him to develop the previous racial consciousness, and to revert to the lower type of development, (which should have been left far behind) is dangerous and retarding. It is a form of atavistic expression.
Secondly: that when a man is firmly polarised upon the mental plane, when he has achieved some measure of contact with the soul, and when his entire orientation is towards the world of spiritual realities, and his life is one of discipline and service, then, at times, and when necessary, he can at will call into use these lower psychic powers in the service of the Plan, and in order to do some special work upon the astral plane. But this is a case where the greater consciousness includes normally the lesser consciousness. This is however seldom done, even by the adepts, for the powers of the soul - spiritual perception, telepathic sensitivity, and psychometrical facility - are usually adequate to the demand and the need to be met. I interject these remarks, as there are some enlightened men who use these powers, but it is always along the line of some specific service to the Hierarchy and humanity, and not along any line connected with the individual.
When a man has wandered into the bypaths of the astral plane, and has left the secure place of mental poise and intellectual altitude (again I am speaking symbolically), when he has succumbed to glamour and illusion (usually being quite sincerely deceived and well-intentioned), and when he has unfolded in himself - through misapplied stimulation and experiment - old habits of contact, such as clairvoyance and clairaudience, what can he do, or what shall be done to him to bring about right conditions?
Many of these people find their way into the hands of psychologists and psychiatrists; many are to be found today in our sanitariums and asylums, placed there because they "saw things" or heard voices, or dreamed dreams, and because they had unfitted themselves for normal living. They appear [Page 327] to be a danger, both to themselves and to others. They constitute a problem and a difficulty. The ancient habits must be dropped, but because of their antiquity they are very powerful, and to drop them is easier said than done. The practices whereby the lower psychic powers have been developed, must be given up. . . . (15 - 476/8).
(2) One of the major lessons to be learnt upon the Path of Discipleship, is to learn to distinguish that which is real from that which is illusion.
What then is to be seen and heard by the medium when in trance, or when giving an exhibition of clairvoyance or clairaudience? Several possibilities, which I might list as follows:
1. A revelation of the "wish life" of the person or group to whom the medium is addressing himself. This wish life takes form in proportion to the power of the unexpressed wish, or the mental ability of the person or persons concerned.
2. A recognition by the medium of the thought-forms, or thought-form to be found in the aura of the person in the audience or circle. These thought-forms have been built over a space of time, and are usually of some one deeply loved, or as deeply disliked. They are often so real in appearance, that the person can recognise them when described by the medium, and the medium can at the same time by a process of telepathy (via the solar plexus centre) become aware of the things which the sitter wishes to hear, which will be in line with the usual mannerisms and methods of speech and thought of the departed or living friend. This accounts for the mediocre calibre of the usual utterance and statement made at a seance. The average person who frequents a seance, is not usually of the highest grade of intelligence, unless he is simply there as an investigator.
3. A few rare cases when a soul on the path of return to incarnation, or immediately after death, is impelled (for good and sufficient purpose) to make a contact with a friend or relative via a medium. Such cases are known, and usually presuppose more than average intelligence on the part of the sitter, the communicator, and the medium. They constitute, however, the exceptional occurrence.
4. The revelation to the clairvoyant and clairaudient worker of much of the phenomena of the astral plane, which parallels that of the physical plane, and which is conditioned by the quality and calibre of the circle of people who constitute the audience. This, the medium interprets to them, and it usually evokes recognition.
I am here casting no doubt on the sincerity of the performance, nor on those mediums who are born with these clairvoyant and clairaudient facult-[Page 328] les. I am only pointing out that the phenomena which they are contacting, is astral in nature, and that anyone looking at a circle, from the standpoint of the higher psychic powers, would note around each sitter, a group of astral forms (self-created) of those who have departed physical life through death, of those who are constantly in his thoughts though still alive, and also a kaleidoscopic and changing process of appearing and disappearing forms (some quite nebulous, and some quite substantial, according to the power of thought) which concern the wish life of the sitter, which are concerned with his home affairs, his business, or are built up around his health. The sensitive tunes in on these, connects them with the attendant thought-forms, and hence the production of the usual performance found in the seance room, or with the average audience. The medium is truly and accurately relating just what he sees and hears, and therefore is
sincere and truthful, but because he receives no real training in the art of interpretation, and in the technique of distinguishing the illusory from the real, he is, perforce, unable to do more than describe the phenomena seen, and the words heard.
When, however, the mystic opens up these same powers, as is sometimes the case, the phenomena seen and the words which are heard, can be of a very high order. Nevertheless they are still astral, for they concern happenings and phenomena, found upon the higher levels of the astral plane. He comes into contact with the spiritual or religious wish life of the race, and according to the basic trend of his individual aspiration at the moment, so will be his contacts. If he is an earnest and devoted Christian, he will see one of the beautiful and vital thought-forms of the Christ there to be found, and in the wonder of that revelation, his love and his imagination, and all that is best in him, will be evoked in adoration and mystery. Hence some of the inspired writings and illumined visions of the mystic. If he is a Hindu, there may come to him a vision of the Lord of Love, Shri Krishna, or, if a Buddhist, he may see the Lord of Light, the Buddha, in all His radiance. If he is an occult student, or a Theosophist, or Rosicrucian, he may see a vision of one of the Masters or of the entire Hierarchy of adepts; he may hear words spoken and thus feel assured, past all controversy, that the Great Ones have chosen him for special privilege, and for unique service. And yet, his consciousness has never moved from off the astral plane and his contacts have only been a wonderful and inspiring expression of the phenomena of that plane, released to his inner sight and hearing through his aspiration.
All this is brought about through the over-activity of the solar plexus [Page 329] centre, stimulated by the energy pouring in from the heights he has attained in aspirational meditation. The results are very emotional in their nature, and the reactions developed, and the consequent service rendered, are on emotional levels. A great deal of this is to be seen among the teachers in the world at this time in many lands. Such teachers have been, and are true aspirants. They have awakened in consciousness upon the higher levels of the astral plane. They have there seen the thought-forms which humanity has created of the spiritual Hierarchy, or the reflections on those levels of that Hierarchy (a still more potent group of thought-forms) and have heard repetitions of that which has been said and thought by the world aspirants of all time - all of it most beautiful, good and true. They then proceed to teach and proclaim what they have thus heard, seen and learnt, and frequently do much good - on astral levels. They are, all the same, confusing the reflection with the reality, the reproduction with the original, and the humanly constructed with the divinely created.
Forget not, that the astral plane is that whereon man has to learn to distinguish truth from error, and the real from the unreal. Thus those who are deceived, are only learning a needed lesson. The fact of the astral plane is being steadily recognised, and that is good. The fact of the existence of the spiritual Hierarchy and of the Masters, is being brought to the attention of the masses, even if it is being done by those who are confusing the reflection and the thought-form, with reality.
The question could here properly be asked: How can the mystic avoid this error and confusion? How can he distinguish the real from the illusory? This constitutes an individual problem for every mystic, and there is no one profound and scientific rule whereby he can guide his reactions. The only rules which I can give you are so simple, that those who are occupied at this time with teaching and proclaiming that which they have astrally contacted, may not like to follow them. The attitude of mind which will guard the mystic from astral delusion and error is:
1. The cultivation of a spirit of true humility. There is a spiritual arrogance which masks itself behind a cloak of humbleness, and which is very prevalent at this time. It leads people to regard themselves as the chosen of the Hierarchy to save the world; it leads them to look upon themselves as the mouthpieces of the Masters or of the Christ; it tends to make them separative in their attitudes to other leaders and teachers, refusing to recognise the many aspects of the one work, and the many methods which the Mind of God has devised for reaching the masses.
2. The refusal to accept any contact or message which has personality [Page 330] implications, or which sets its recipient apart, thus tending to the development of a Messiah complex. I like that phrase. It is simple and concise, and illustrates dramatically the state of mind, and describes the assured nature of the consciousness of many of the present teachers of humanity. A true contact with the Hierarchy, and the true accolade of service, carries with it the conviction of the existence of the many servers in the one Service, of the many messengers carrying the one message, of the many teachers of the many aspects of the one Truth, and of the many and various ways back to the Heart of God. When this all-embracing revelation accompanies the call to service, then the spirit of inclusiveness is developed, and the man can be sure that he is truly called to co-operate, and convinced of the reality of his vision.
3. The freedom from emotional appeal. The true disciple and mystic is ever mentally polarised. His vision is free from the deluding reactions of the solar plexus centre. His vision awakens the heart centre and evokes the response of his personality energy (focussed in the ajna centre), and produces eventually a "centering in the place of light". This indicates the growing activity of the head centre. He may later use controlled emotional appeal in dealing with the masses, but he himself seeks to remain free from all emotional control. (15 - 569/73).
(3) Negative, unintelligent mediumship and psychism reduces its exponent to the level of an automaton; it is dangerous and inadvisable, because it deprives a man of his free will and his positivity, and militates against his acting as a free intelligent human being. The man is not acting in these cases as a channel for his own soul, but is little better than an instinctual animal, if he is not literally an empty shell, which an obsessing entity can occupy and use. (13 - 10).
(4) At the same time, there are mediums of a very much higher order, whose lives are offered in service to advanced souls on the other side of the veil, and who give themselves so that their fellowmen may learn of them; thus, on both sides of the veil of separation, are souls aided and given opportunity to hear and serve. But these, too, would profit by a more intelligent training and by a more accurate understanding of the technique of their work and the organisation of their bodies. They would then be better channels and more dependable intermediaries. (13 - 11).
(5) The disciple, occupied with hierarchical plans for the future, has a completely open mind as regards the growth of true psychic powers. He deplores and represses all negative conditions and forms of thinking as he contacts them in his environment, but he encourages the growth of all [Page 331] forms of higher sensory perception which expand the human consciousness, and enrich its content. (13 - 587).
See also: "Spiritualism" and (5 - 49/50, 741/2).