Good evening everyone, and welcome to our group meditation in the sign of Capricorn. The seed thought for our meditation tonight is "Lost am I in light supernal, yet on that light I turn my back". As with other seed thoughts, we see an extraordinarily deep Idea expressed in simple, common words - with, in this case, one exception - "supernal". My first thought when seeing the unusual phrase, "light supernal", was that it simply meant light of exceptional brilliance: and this is certainly one meaning it could have. But it turns out that "supernal" has another meaning which is more revealing - it is a poetic or literary equivalent to "celestial’ or "heavenly", because it is derived from "super", meaning "above". As such, its direct opposite is "infernal", derived from "infernus", meaning, "below". As with "supernal", "infernal" has acquired another meaning, becoming associated with the idea of hell, and hence with the lower fires of matter, fire by friction - leading to the term "inferno". So this intriguing phrase, "light supernal", sets up, by implication, an opposition between two spheres or realms of existence - a heavenly realm of pure light, and a hellish one of burning darkness.

Now, while we may, in our more disgruntled moments, think of some of the more challenging circumstances of life as hellish, we probably don’t see all life in the three worlds that way. Yet if we look at it from the angle of the Solar Angel, the Soul, which is Itself a Being of Light, this picture begins to look more plausible. In the fifth Rule for Applicants, we read, "Let the applicant see to it that the solar angel dims the light of the lunar angels, remaining the sole luminary in the microcosmic sky." (Init. Hum. & Sol. p.195) Thus, the responsibility to transmit higher light into the lower realms is clearly indicated. This is the great work of redemption which we, as Solar Angels, signed up for, in ages long past. A more detailed picture of part of this process is given in the keynote for the full moon Approach to the Hierarchy, which can be found on the meditation outline:

"He who faces the light and stands within its radiance is blinded to the issues of the world of men; he passes on the lighted way to the great Centre of Absorption. But he who feels the urge to pass that way, yet loves his brother on the darkened path, revolves upon the pedestal of light and turns the other way.

"He faces towards the dark and then the seven points of light within himself transmit the outward streaming light, and lo! the face of those upon the darkened way receives that light. For them, the way is not so dark. Behind the warriors—twixt the light and dark—blazes the light of Hierarchy."

This keynote echoes that of Capricorn in reminding us of the sacrificial act of turning away from the higher light to face once more the realms of darkness from which we have climbed. It also stresses the active role which disciples must play in the process of transforming light into forms which are useful in the three worlds.

Before we delve further into the mysteries of light reception and transmission, let’s pause for a few moments, and then say together the Affirmation of the Disciple:

I am a point of light within a greater Light.
I am a strand of loving energy within the stream of love divine.
I am a point of sacrificial Fire, focussed within the fiery Will of God.
And thus I stand.

I am a way by which men may achieve.
I am a source of strength, enabling them to stand.
I am a beam of light, shining upon their way.
And thus I stand.

And standing thus revolve
And tread this way the ways of men,
And know the ways of God.
And thus I stand.

OM

Light, even as a purely physical phenomenon, is ubiquitous. This may seem a strange thing to say when we gaze up at the night sky, seeing tiny points of light surrounded by darkness. And when we see pictures taken from space, this darkness appears even more absolute. But this is simply because light does not illuminate empty space as it travels through it. If it did so, the whole sky would be ablaze. The whole universe is thus filled with invisible luminous energy, which only becomes visible when it falls upon a body of some kind. And notice that this invisible light is the light that we human beings can detect with our very limited sense of sight. If we include the other wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, then, as modern astronomy reveals, a whole new menagerie of bodies suddenly appears, and the previously visible ones would be transfigured.

It does not seem too far a stretch to suggest that the same conditions regarding physical light are mirrored in the higher realms. But even before we consider realms truly beyond the three worlds, we are already immersed in lighted visions. The first level ‘beyond’ the dense physical is the etheric, which is spoken of in the Bailey books in terms which conjure a vision of lighted bodies with specific focal points of greater intensity, the centres. The astral plane of the emotions is named for its starry radiance, which is, however, largely a delusive light that can lead us astray. And when we reach the lower mental plane, the association of concrete knowledge with light is well known.

The frontier of the lower mental is also the edge of the three worlds, and beyond this lies the higher mind, which could be seen as our first window into the higher realms. In fact, the mental plane, taken as a whole, is particularly associated with light through its numerical connection with the fifth ray. Thus we read: "…the fifth ray is one of unique and peculiar potency in relation to the human kingdom. The reason is that the fifth plane of mind is the sphere of His major activity and it is on this plane that we find the triple aspects of mind:

1. Abstract or higher mind, the embodiment of a higher triad.
2. The concrete or lower mind, the highest aspect of the lower self.
3. The ego or solar Angel, the pure Son of Mind, Who expresses intelligence, both abstractly and concretely, and is the point of unification.

This Life has also much power today in connection with the fifth root-race and with the transference of the consciousness of humanity into the fifth or spiritual kingdom… Just as the personality has no other function in the divine plan than to be a channel for, and the medium of expression of, the soul, so the lower mind is intended to be the channel for the pure inflow of higher mind energy.

This fifth ray is a Being of the intensest spiritual light…" (Es. Psych. I p.75)

Now as this passage indicates, the mediating factor in this process of light transmission is the Soul. The association of the Soul with light is so well known to us that it hardly seems to bear repeating. But in fact it does bear repeating, because it is one of the basic underpinnings of esoteric truth, and as such is capable of multiple levels of interpretation. Thus we have the passage from Esoteric Psychology Vol. I, "The soul is light essentially, both literally from the vibratory angle, and philosophically from the angle of constituting the true medium of knowledge. The soul is light symbolically, for it is like the rays of the sun, which pour out into the darkness; the soul, through the medium of the brain, causes revelation. It throws its light into the brain, and thus the way of the human being becomes increasingly illumined." (p.132). There is also the quote from Glamour: A World Problem, "Light and substance are synonymous terms. Soul and light are equally so, and in this equality of idea—light, substance, soul—you have the key to fusion and to the at-one-ment which Christ expressed so fully for us in His life on Earth." (p.193)

The continuation of this passage indicates that, just as there are differing grades of substance, so there are differing grades of light: "When, therefore, students and aspirants have made progress in soul contact, they have taken one of the first important steps towards the comprehension of light and its uses. They must however be careful not to confuse the light which they can bring to bear on life, circumstance, events, and on environment with the intuition. The light with which we are concerned expresses itself in the three worlds and reveals form and forms, their reaction and effects, their glamour and attractive appeal, and their power to delude and imprison consciousness. The light concerned is soul light, illuminating the mind and bringing about revelation of the world of forms in which that life is immersed.

The intuition is concerned with nothing whatsoever in the three worlds of human experience but only with the perceptions of the Spiritual Triad and with the world of ideas. The intuition is to the world of meaning what the mind is to the three worlds of experience. It produces understanding just as the light of soul produces knowledge, through the medium of that experience." (Ibid.)

We have progressed quite far now up the ladder of light, but there is still further to go, and we will find that it is only when we reach the topmost rung, as far as our planet is concerned, that we come into contact with the true "light supernal". For in The Rays and the Initiations, the Tibetan indicates that it is from Shamballa that the Light of Life, the Light Supernal, streams. He further notes that light is a symptom and an expression of Life, and "essentially, occultly and in a most mysterious way the terms, Light and Life, are interchangeable within the limits of the planetary ring-pass-not. Beyond those limits—who knows? Light can be regarded as a symptom, a reaction to the meeting and consequent fusion of spirit and matter." (p.143)

Having reached the Summit of Light for our planet, which is appropriate to the mountain top symbolism of the goat of Capricorn, the question then may be asked, what are we to do with this light? Well, we already know the answer - it is to turn around and re-transmit this light, We must, in other words, appropriate the light and become light-bearers. Of course, this may sound straightforward, but given the nature and intensity of the energies involved, it is bound to be anything but straightforward. It is probably no coincidence that to bear something means not only to carry, but also to endure, and to give birth.

Some inkling of what this process actually might be is given by the Tibetan in the following passage, where, addressing one of His discipleship groups, He places this work in the Aquarian group context:

"What is it that I and Those Who are working on the inner side are seeking to do with these groups? What is the larger objective? The groups have not been formed to train individuals. They have been formed (each of them) as seed groups for a definite and specific end. They are organised to provide channels in the world for the distribution of certain peculiar types of force which will work out into manifestation in specific ways. Energy has always been manipulated by the Hierarchy and distributed in the world of men. I refer to the energies used in relation to the awakening of the human consciousness, to the integration of the world of souls with the world of men; I refer to the activities whereby the human kingdom can become a great station of light and a powerhouse of spiritual force, distributing it to the other kingdoms in nature.

The statement is of vital importance; it expresses our immediate objectives and the nature of the field of service in which you—as a group and not as individuals—can function. This manipulation of energies has (for centuries) been carried forward by us but its effects have only been registered unconsciously by man. We have (speaking symbolically) rayed forth the light and distributed the water of life in a wide and general distribution with here and there (and rarely) some one isolated individual, responding actively and consciously. He thus became a tiny focal point of spiritual energy and light. Now it has seemed to us possible to focus the light and knowledge much more definitely and to form groups on earth—composed of the isolated, responding individuals—so that more light and more knowledge can be spread abroad. This we decided to do in two ways:

1. Through the collaboration of all the Masters of the Great White Lodge, working through Their Own disciples.

2. Through the specifically focussed activity of the Masters Morya and Koot Hoomi and myself, Their servant and disciple.

Through the first method, the New Group of World Servers came into being and the disciples and aspirants of the world, working on all the rays and under the guidance—consciously or unconsciously recognised—of the Masters Who are specifically pledged to help humanity. Thus a vast powerhouse and station of light has been formed. It is a diffused and widespread light and its channels are to be found all over the world, in every country and in every major city. This you know and with this branch of the work (to which I am personally pledged) you are actively cooperating and should cooperate.

But it was felt that it should also be possible to focus the light still more intensively through smaller and more carefully chosen and selected groups. Through these much smaller groups of disciples, the phenomenal appearance of certain types of energy could be expressed; certain powers could be unfolded and a more specialised experiment be possible. Peculiar powers could be studied and focussed, intensified light and power could be so clearly demonstrated that the sons of men would come to recognise the influence and to give proof of the supernormal which is the heritage of future centuries.

To this particular branch of hierarchical work, I pledged myself; it would provide the nucleus for the coming types of civilisation and the characteristics and activities which could be unfolded under the incoming new major influences. These have always interested me and I have specialised in them. Naturally, I looked around among those whose lives I have been watching—sometimes for several incarnations. Among these were those of you who are now working with me. These groups constitute the germ of a great experiment. If successful, they will, in the course of the next 275 years:

1. Anchor on earth certain types of the higher forces which the race needs and which are not yet active.
2. Develop the six supernormal powers to which I have referred ...
3. Train the group members in that synthetic relation which characterises the Hierarchy and so prepare them for initiation.

Out of these groups will be picked those who can be definitely prepared for certain expansions of consciousness and who can be trusted to contact aspects of the Plan, hitherto not revealed. As you make progress in this work and as you seek to understand the group implications, it will become ever more clear to you what the Plan really is… if you have the needed patience, the willingness to work impersonally and proceed with love, if you will submerge your personalities in the group life, you will know, you will perceive and the light will break in; the power to work will come to you. We shall then have radiant focal points or light bearers and channels for the planned distribution of force—a thing which has never yet been, upon the scale which we now contemplate." (DINA I pp.53-4)

This passage provides insight into the long-term nature of hierarchical planning and work in distributing light: and the key role which group cooperation with the Hierarchy plays. But even this objective is only a preliminary experiment which is preparing the way for the final consummation, which lies far in the future, and which is described in four parts:

1. "1. The first aim and the primary aim is to establish, through the medium of humanity, an outpost of the Consciousness of God in the solar system. This is a correspondence, macrocosmically understood, of the relationship existing between a Master and His group of disciples. This, if pondered on, may serve as a clue to the significance of our planetary work.
2. To found upon earth (as has already been indicated) a powerhouse of such potency and a focal point of such energy that humanity—as a whole—can be a factor in the solar system, bringing about changes and events of a unique nature in the planetary life and lives (and therefore in the system itself) and inducing an interstellar activity.
3. To develop a station of light, through the medium of the fourth kingdom in nature, which will serve not only the planet, and not only our particular solar system, but the seven systems of which ours is one. This question of light, bound up as it is with the colours of the seven rays, is as yet an embryo science, and it would be useless for us to enlarge upon it here.
4. To set up a magnetic centre in the universe, in which the human kingdom and the kingdom of souls will, united or at-oned, be the point of most intense power, and which will serve the developed Lives within the radius of the radiance of the One About Whom Naught May Be Said." (Es. Psych. II p.217)

The glory of this vision may lie far ahead, but each of us can contribute in our meditation tonight as we work together to bring in the light. As a reminder, our seed thought is, "Lost am I in light supernal, yet on that light I turn my back".

Festival of Capricorn -
London - January 2011
Dominic Dibble

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