THE WAY OF THE DISCIPLE
The white magician is ever one who, through conscious alignment with his ego, with his "angel", is receptive to his plans and purposes, and therefore capable of receiving the higher impression. We must remember that while magic works from above downwards, and is the result of solar vibration, and not the impulses emanating from one or the other of the lunar pitris, the downflow of the impressing energy from the solar pitri is the result of his internal recollectedness, the indrawing of his [61] forces, prior to sending them concentratedly to his shadow, man, and his steady meditation upon the purpose and the plan. It may be of use to the student if he here remembers that the ego (as well as the Logos) is in deep meditation during the whole cycle of physical incarnation. This meditation is cyclic in nature, the pitri involved sending out to his "reflection" rhythmic streams of energy, which streams are recognised by the man concerned as his "high impulses," his dreams and aspirations. Therefore, it will be apparent why workers in white magic are ever advanced and spiritual men, for the "reflection" is seldom responsive to the ego or the solar angel until many cycles of incarnation have transpired. The solar pitri communicates with his "shadow" or reflection by means of the sutratma, which passes down through the bodies to a point of entrance in the physical brain, if I might so express it, but the man, as yet, cannot focus or see clearly in any direction.
If he looks backward he can see only the fogs and miasmas of the planes of illusion, and fails to be interested. If he looks forward he sees a distant light which attracts him, but he cannot as yet see that which the light reveals. If he looks around, he sees but shifting forms and the cinematograph of the form side of life. If he looks within, he sees the shadows cast by the light, and becomes aware of much impedimenta which must be discarded before the light he sees in the distance can be approached, and then enter within him. Then he can know himself as light itself, and walk in that light and transmit it likewise to others.
It is perhaps well to remember that the stage of discipleship is in many ways the most difficult part of the entire ladder of evolution. The solar angel is unceasingly in deep meditation. The impulses of energy, emanating from him are increasing in vibratory rate and are becoming more and more powerful. The energy is [62] affecting more and more the forms through which the soul is seeking expression, and endeavouring to control.
This brings me to the consideration of the seventh point I made in my earlier analysis of Rule I. I said, "The soul's meditation is rhythmic and cyclic in its nature as is all else in the cosmos. The soul breathes and its form lives thereby". The rhythmic nature of the soul's meditation must not be overlooked in the life of the aspirant. There is an ebb and flow in all nature, and in the tides of the ocean we have a wonderful picturing of an eternal law. As the aspirant adjusts himself to the tides of the soul life he begins to realise that there is ever a flowing in, a vitalising and a stimulating which is followed by a flowing out as sure and as inevitable as the immutable laws of force. This ebb and flow can be seen functioning in the processes of death and incarnation. It can be seen also over the entire process of a man's lives, for some lives can be seen to be apparently static and uneventful, slow and inert from the angle of the soul's experience, whilst others are vibrant, full of experience and of growth. This should be remembered by all of you who are workers when you are seeking to help others to live rightly. Are they on the ebb or are they being subjected to the flow of the soul energy? Are they passing through a period of temporary quiescence, preparatory to greater impulse and effort, so that the work to be done must be that of strengthening and stabilising in order to enable them to "stand in spiritual being", or are they being subjected to a cyclic inflow of forces? In this case the worker must seek to aid in the direction and utilisation of the energy which (if misdirected) will eventuate in wrecked lives but which when wisely utilised will produce a full and fruitful service.
The above thoughts can also be applied by the student of humanity to the great racial cycles and much of interest will be discovered. Again, and of more vital importance [63] to us, these cyclic impulses in the life of the disciple are of a greater frequency and speed and forcefulness than in the life of the average man. They alternate with a distressing rapidity. The hill and valley experience of the mystic is but one way of expressing this ebb and flow. Sometimes the disciple is walking in the sunlight and at other times in the dark; sometimes he knows the joy of full communion and again all seems dull and sterile; his service is on occasion a fruitful and satisfying experience and he seems to be able to really aid; at other times he feels that he has naught to offer and his service is arid and apparently without results. All is clear to him some days and he seems to stand on the mountain top looking out over a sunlit landscape, where all is clear to his vision. He knows and feels himself to be a son of God. Later, however, the clouds seem to descend and he is sure of nothing, and seems to know nothing. He walks in the sunlight and is almost overpowered by the brilliance and heat of the solar rays, and wonders how long this uneven experience and the violent alternation of these opposites is to go on.
Once however that he grasps the fact he is watching the effect of the cyclic impulses and the effect of the soul's meditation upon his form nature, the meaning becomes clearer and he realises that it is that form aspect which is failing in its response, and re-acting to energy with unevenness. He then learns that once he can live in the soul consciousness and attain that 'high altitude' (if I might so express it) at will, the fluctuations of the form life will not touch him. He then perceives the narrow-edged razor path which leads from the plane of physical life to the soul realm, and finds that when he can tread it with steadiness it leads him out of the ever changing world of the senses into the clear light of day and into the world of reality.
The form side of life then becomes to him simply a [64] field for service and not a field of sensuous perception. Let the student ponder upon this last sentence. Let him aim to live as a soul. Then the cyclic impulses, emanating from the soul, are known to be impulses for which he himself is responsible and which he has sent forth; he then knows himself to be the initiating cause and is not subject to the effects.
Looked at from another angle we get two factors, the breath and the form which the breath energises and drives into activity. Upon careful study, it becomes apparent that we have, for aeons of time, identified ourselves with the form; we have emphasised the effects of the imparted activity but have not understood the nature of the breath, nor known the nature of the One who breathes. Now in our work we are concerning ourselves with that One Who, breathing rhythmically, will drive the form into right action and right control. This is our objective and our goal. A right understanding is necessary nevertheless if we are to appreciate intelligently our task and its effects.
Much more could be said on this rule but enough has been here given for the average applicant to discipleship to consider and upon which to base action. Most of us are average, are we not? If we regard ourselves otherwise, we divorce ourselves from others and become guilty of the sin of separateness—the one real sin.
An appreciation of the above thoughts should build in the aspirant a realisation of the value of his meditation work, whilst the idea of a cyclic response to soul impulse lies back of the activities of a morning meditation, a noonday recollection, and an evening review. A larger ebb and flow is also indicated in the two aspects of the full moon and the new moon. Let this be borne in mind.
May there be a full and steady play of cyclic force from the kingdom of spirit upon each one of us calling us forth into the realm of light, love and service and producing [65] a cyclic response from each one! May there be a constant interchange between those who teach and the disciple who seeks instruction!
Much preliminary work will have to be done. The disciple on the physical plane and the inner teacher (whether one of the Great Ones or the "Master within the Heart") need to know each other somewhat, and to accustom themselves to each other's vibration. Teachers on the inner planes have much to contend with owing to the slowness of the mental processes of students in physical bodies. But confidence and trust will set up the right vibration which will produce eventually accurate work. Lack of faith, of calmness, of application, and the presence of emotional unrest will hinder. Long patience those on the inner side need in dealing with all who must, for lack of other and better material, be utilized. Some physical injudiciousness may make the physical body non-receptive; some worry or care may cause the astral body to vibrate to a rhythm impossible for the right reception of the inner purpose; some prejudice, some criticism, some pride, may be present that will make the mental vehicle of no use. Aspirants to this difficult work must watch themselves with infinite care, and keep the inner serenity and peace and a mental pliability that will tend to make them of some use in the guarding and guiding of humanity.
The following rules might therefore be given:
1. It is essential that there should be an endeavor to arrive at absolute purity of motive.
2. The ability to enter the silence of the high places will follow next. The stilling of the mind depends upon the law of rhythm. If you are vibrating in many directions and registering thoughts from all sides, this law will be unable to touch you. Balance and poise must be restored before equilibrium can be reached. The law of vibration and the study of atomic substance are closely [66] intertwined. When more is known about these atoms and their action, reaction and inter-action, then people will control their bodies scientifically, synchronizing the laws of vibration and of rhythm. They are the same and yet unlike. They are phases of the law of gravitation. The earth is itself an entity which, by the force of will, holds all things to itself. This is an obscure matter, little has been learned about it as yet. The inbreathing and outbreathing of the entity of the earth affects vibration potently,—that is the vibration of the physical plane matter. There is a connection also between this and the moon. Those members of humanity who are specially under lunar influence respond to this attraction more than any others, and they are difficult to use as transmitters. The silence that comes from the inner calm is the one to cultivate. Aspirants are urged to remember that the time will come when they too will form part of the group of teachers on the inner side of the veil. If then they have not learnt the silence that comes from strength and from knowledge, how will they bear the apparent lack of communication that they will then find exists between them and those on the outer side? Learn therefore, how to keep quiet or usefulness will be hampered by astral fretfulness when on the other side of death.
3. Remember always that lack of calm in the daily life prevents the teachers on egoic levels from reaching you. Endeavor therefore to remain quiescent as life unrolls, work, toil, strive, aspire, and hold the inner calm. Withdraw steadily into interior work and so cultivate a responsiveness with the higher planes. A perfect steadiness of inner poise is what the Masters need in those whom They seek to use. It is an inner poise that holds to the vision yet does its outer work on the physical plane with a concentrated physical brain attention which is in no way deviated by the inner receptiveness. It involves a dual activity.
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4. Learn to control thought. It is necessary to guard what you think. These are days when the race as a whole is becoming sensitive and telepathic and responsive to thought interplay. The time is approaching when thought will become public property, and others will sense what you think. Thought has, therefore, to be carefully guarded. Those who are contacting the higher truths and becoming sensitive to the Universal Mind must protect some of their knowledge from the intrusion of other minds. Aspirants must learn to inhibit certain thoughts, and prevent certain knowledge from leaking out into the public consciousness when in contact with their fellow men.
It is of course of vital interest to appreciate the significance of the words "scatters not his force." There are so many lines of activity into which the soul-inspired disciple may throw himself. Assurance as to varying lines of activity is not easy to reach and every aspirant knows perplexity. Let us put the problem in the form of a question, relegating it to the plane of every-day endeavour, as we are not yet in a position to comprehend in what way a soul can "scatter its forces" on the higher planes.
What is the criterion whereby a man may know which out of several lines of activity is the right line to take? Is there, in other words, a revealing something which will enable a man unerringly to choose the right action and go the right way? The question has no reference to a choice existing between the path of spiritual endeavour and the way of the man of the world. It refers to right action when faced with a choice.
There is no question but that a man is faced, in his progress, with increasingly subtle distinctions. The crude discrimination between right and wrong which occupies the child soul is succeeded by the finer distinctions of right, or of more right, of high, or higher, and the [68] moral or spiritual values have to be faced with the most meticulous spiritual perception. In the stress and toil of life and in the constant pressure on each one from those who constitute their group, the complexity of the problem is very great.
In solving such problems, certain broad discriminations can precede the more subtle and when these decisions have been made the more subtle can then take their place. The choice between selfish and unselfish action is the most obvious one to follow upon the choice between right and wrong, and is easily settled by the honest soul. A choice which involves discrimination between individual benefit and group responsibility rapidly eliminates other factors, and is easy to the man who shoulders his just responsibility. Note the use of the words "just responsibility." We are considering the normal, sane man and not the over-conscientious morbid fanatic. There follows next the distinction between the expedient, involving factors of physical plane relations of business and of finance, leading up to a consideration of the highest good for all parties concerned. But having through this triple eliminative process arrived at a certain position, cases arise where choice still remains in which neither common sense nor logical, discerning reason seem to help. The desire is only to do the right thing; the intent is to act in the highest possible way and to take that line of action which will produce the best good of the group apart from personal considerations altogether. Yet light upon the path, which must be trodden, is not seen; the door which should be entered is unrecognized and the man remains in the state of constant indecision. What, then, must be done? One of two things:
First the aspirant can follow his inclination and choose that line of action out of the residue of possible lines which seems to him the wisest and the best. This involves belief in the working of the law of Karma and also [69] a demonstration of that firm decisiveness which is the best way in which his personality can learn to abide by the decisions of his own soul. It involves also the ability to go forward upon the grounds of the decision made, and so to abide by the results without forebodings or regrets.
Secondly, he can wait, resting back upon an inner sense of direction, knowing that in due time he will ascertain, through the closing of all doors but one, which is the way he should go. For there is only one open door through which such a man can go. Intuition is needed for its recognition. In the first case mistakes may be made, and the man thereby learns and is enriched; in the second case, mistakes are impossible and only right action can be taken.
It is obvious, therefore, that all resolves itself into an understanding of one's place upon the ladder of evolution. Only the highly advanced man can know the times and seasons and can adequately discern the subtle distinction between a psychic inclination and the intuition.
In considering these two ways of ultimate decision let not the man who should use his common sense and take a line of action based upon the use of the concrete mind, practice the higher method of waiting for a door to open. He is expecting too much in the place where he is. He has to learn through right decision and right use of the mind to solve his problems. Through this method he will grow, for the roots of intuitive knowledge are laid deep within the soul and the soul, therefore, must be contacted before the intuition can work. One hint only can here be given:—the intuition ever concerns itself with group activity and not with petty personal affairs. If you are still a man centered in the personality, recognize it, and with the equipment available, govern your actions. If you know yourself to be functioning as a soul and are lost in the interest of others, untrammeled by selfish desire, then [70] your just obligation will be met, your responsibilities shouldered, your group work carried forward, and the way will unfold before you, whilst you do the next thing and fulfill the nest duty. Out of duty, perfectly performed, will emerge those larger duties which we call world work; out of the carrying of family responsibilities will come that strengthening of our shoulders which will enable us to carry those of the larger group. What, then, is the criterion?
For the high grade aspirant, let me repeat, the choice of action depends upon a sound use of the lower mind, the employment of a sane common-sense and the forgetfulness of selfish comfort and personal ambition. This leads to the fulfilment of duty. For the disciple there will be the automatic and necessary carrying forward of all the above, plus the use of the intuition which will reveal the moment when wider group responsibilities can be justly shouldered and carried simultaneously with those of the smaller group. Ponder on this. The intuition reveals not the way ambition can be fed, nor the manner in which desire for selfish advancement can be gratified.