Mayavirupa

The Mayavirupa is literally the illusory form; it is the body of temporary manifestation which the Adept creates on occasion through the power of the will and in which He functions in order to make certain contacts on the physical plane and to engage in certain work for the [human] race.  CF 761

Mayavi Rupa.  Sanskrit, “Illusive Form.”  It is the body of manifestation created by the adept by an act of will for use in the three worlds.  It has no material connection with the physical body.  It is spiritual and ethereal and passes everywhere without let or hindrance.  It is built by the power of the lower mind, of the highest type of astral matter.  IHS 221

…The stage wherein–after the fourth initiation–there is direct unbroken relation between the Monad, via the Triad, and the form which the Master is using to do His work among men.  This form may be either His temporary personality, arrived at along the normal lines of incarnation, or the specially created form to which Theosophists give the technical but cumbersome word “mayavirupa.”  It is the “true mask, hiding the radiant light and the dynamic energy of a revealed Son of God.”  RI 50-51

He [the initiate] can work through a physical body (with its subtler sheaths) or not, as he sees fit. He realizes that he, as an individual, no longer needs a physical body or an astral consciousness, and that the mind is only a service instrument. The body in which he now functions is a body of light which has its own type of substance. The Master, however, can build a body through which He can approach His incoming disciples and those who have not taken the higher initiations; He will normally build this body in semblance of the human form, doing so instantaneously and by an act of the will, when required. The majority of the Masters who are definitely working with humanity either preserve the old body in which They took the fifth initiation or else They build the “mayavirupa” or body of maya, of physical substance. This body will appear in the original form in which They took initiation. This I personally did in reference to the first case; i.e., preserving the body in which I took initiation.  This the Master K.H. did in creating a body which was made in the form in which He took the fifth initiation.  RI 705

The Master Jesus on the Cross could not respond to any saving process (even had He desired to do so) because the soul body–as is always the case at the fourth initiation–was destroyed; there was nothing to respond to the evocative power of an outside person, interested or loving.  As an adept and as one in whom monadic consciousness was firmly established, the powers then available to Jesus could not be used in the saving of His physical body.  At the same time, it must be remembered that He would have no desire to save it, because He now possessed the power (demonstrated later in the Gospel story) to create a body at will in order to meet His needs.  EH 654

Some of the Masters will create what is called in the language of the East the “mayavirupa”–a vehicle of expression which is built of atomic physical and astral substance and of concrete mental substance. This They can create at will, use at will and cause to vanish at will; Their problem is not, therefore, so acute in the matter of appearing and of reappearing as is that of the initiate who cannot thus create to suit his purpose and his service.  EX 697

Applicants for initiation and initiates up to the third initiation use both the sutratma and the antahkarana, employing them as a unit.  The power of the Triad begins to pour through, thus energizing all human activities upon the physical plane, and vitalizing in ever increasing degree the man’s thought forms.  The key to the formation of the Mayavirupa is found in the right comprehension of the process.  CF 959-960 [See also: ENA 31]

The three aspects of the will, as focused in the Spiritual Triad, are now in full expression; the initiate is animated by Purpose, but faces still greater evolutionary developments; of these I do not need to speak, as they concern divine aspects as yet unknown and unregistered by man.  The reason for this complete ignorance is that the vehicles of any man below the third initiation contain too much “impure matter” to record the impact of these divine qualities.  Only the “created body” (the mayavirupa) of an initiate of the fourth initiation can begin to register these divine impacts; it is therefore a waste of our time to consider even the possibility of their existence.  RI 317

The soul then prepares itself for the coming fourth initiation.  This is basically a monadic experience and results–as you know–in the disappearance or destruction of the soul vehicle or causal body, and the establishment, therefore, of a direct relation between the monad on its own plane and the newly created personality, via the antahkarana.  EH 518

The causal body is itself eventually done away with when the pupil takes the fourth initiation and can freely create his own body of manifestation.  LOM 275

In the mode whereby the liberated disciple can now create a body for physical plane contact and for service in the three worlds–this time not under the Law of Necessity but under the Law of Service, as understood by the initiate.  EH 505

The fourth initiation marks the complete realization of this relation by the initiate.  It enables him to say:  “I and my Father are one.”  It is for this reason that the crucifixion, or the Great Renunciation, takes place.  Forget not that it is the soul that is crucified.  It is Christ Who “dies.”  It is not the man; it is not Jesus.  The causal body disappears.  The man is monadically conscious.  The soul-body no longer serves any useful purpose; it is no more needed.  Nothing is left but the sutratma, qualified by consciousness–a consciousness which still preserves identity whilst merged in the whole.  Another qualification is creativity; thus consciousness can be focussed at will on the physical plane in an outer body or form.  This body is will-created by the Master.  RI 455

When the antahkarana is built, and the mental unit is superseded by the manasic permanent atom, and the causal body disappears, then the adept knows that the lower mind, the mental body, is also an illusion and is, for him, non-existent.  There are then–as far as his individual consciousness is concerned–only three focal points or anchorages (both of these expressions are inadequate to express the full meaning):

1. Humanity, in which he can focus himself at will through the medium of what is called technically the “mayavirupa”–a bodily form which he creates for the fulfillment of monadic purpose.  RI 481

At the fourth initiation, the initiate is brought into the Presence of that aspect of Himself which is called “His Father in Heaven.”  He is brought face to face with his own Monad, that pure spiritual essence on the highest plane but one, which is to his Ego or higher self what that Ego is to the personality or lower self….For the remainder of his appearances in the three worlds he is governed only by will and purpose, self-initiated, and creates his body of manifestation, and thus controls (within karmic limits) his own times and seasons.  The karma here referred to is planetary karma, and not personal.  IHS 117

This marks the fourth Initiation; after that Initiation, the Adept makes for Himself a body of manifestation, a free creation–there is nothing in Him to call into objectivity a body for use in the three worlds and evolved under the Law of Causes.  LOM 11

The intuition (or buddhi) being the unifying principle and thus welding all, at the fourth initiation the lower vehicles go, and the adept stands in his intuitional body, and creates from thence his body of manifestation.  LOM 339

Since buddhi is the unifying principle (or the welder of all), at the fifth initiation the adept lets the lower vehicles go, and stands in his buddhic sheath.  He creates thence his body of manifestation.  IHS 16-17

It must be remembered that a Master has no personality at all.  His divine nature is all that He has.  The form through which He works (if he is working through and living in a physical vehicle) is a created image, the product of a focussed will and the creative imagination; it is not the product of desire, as in the case of a human being.  This is an important distinction and one which warrants careful thinking.  The lesser lives (which are governed by the Moon) have been dispersed.  They no longer respond to the ancient call of the reincarnating soul, which again and again has gathered to itself the lives which it has touched and colored by its quality in the past.  The soul and the causal body no longer exist by the time the fourth initiation is undergone.  What is left is the Monad and the thread, the antahkarana which it has spun out of its own life and consciousness down the ages and which it can focus at will upon the physical plane, where it can create a body of pure substance and radiant light for all that the Master may require.  This will be a perfect body, utterly adapted to the need, the plan and the purpose of the Master.  None of the lesser lives (as we understand the term) form part of it, for they can only be summoned by desire.  In the Master there is no desire left, and this is the thought held before the disciple as he begins to master the significance of the fourth Rule.  RI 101

If the deva, or solar Angel, is no longer attracted by matter, then there is no identification, and objective life is no longer the law of his existence.  He identifies himself then with quality, or energy, and becomes an expression of the divine attributes.  Objectivity may then ensue as a voluntary offering to the good of the group or planetary existence, but identification with the separated form is no longer the case.  The human vehicle then created is as much a thought form in this case as any other particularized idea, and the greatest act of conscious magic is to be seen.  All other magical creations are subsidiary to this.  Through manipulation of negative and positive energy, thus bringing them to the point of equilibrium before informing them, the perfected body of the Adept is formed.  CF 1013-1014

In the case of all avatars it is the will aspect which is brought into play, and which produces appearance–either the will of the perfected adept, such as the Buddha Himself, or (as in the case of the true Avatar, Who is, and Who has not achieved) the will of the planetary Logos or of the solar Logos, taking form for a specific purpose.  It involves a higher display of the creative faculty than that displayed by the Adept in the creation of His body of manifestation, the Mayavirupa.  CF 760-761

—-

Initiation, Human and Solar

INITIATION DEFINED

The question anent initiation is one that is coming more and more before the public. 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 esoteric, 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 esoterically as one of the mysteries given at stated periods, attended by those concerned. It will also hold a similar place in the ritual of the Masons. At this ceremony those ready for the first initiation will be publicly admitted to the Lodge by one of its members, authorized to do so by the great Hierophant Himself.

Four Words Defined

When we speak of Initiation, of wisdom, of knowledge, or of the probationary Path, what do we mean? We use the words so glibly, without due consideration of the meaning involved. Take, for instance, the word first mentioned. Many are the definitions, and many are the explanations to be found as to its scope, the preparatory steps, the work to be done between initiations, and its result and effects. One thing before all else is apparent to the most superficial student, and that is, that the magnitude of the subject is such that in order to deal with it adequately one should be able to write from the viewpoint of an initiate; when this is not the case, anything that is said may be reasonable, logical, interesting, or suggestive, but not conclusive.

The word Initiation comes from two Latin words, in, into; and ire, to go; therefore, the making of a beginning, or the entrance into something. It posits, in its widest sense, in the case we are studying, an entrance into the spiritual life, or into a fresh stage in that life. It is the first step, and the succeeding steps, upon the Path of Holiness. Literally, therefore, a man who has taken the first initiation is one who has taken the first step into the spiritual kingdom, having passed out of the definitely human kingdom into the superhuman. Just as he passed out of the animal kingdom into the human at individualization, so he has entered upon the life of the spirit, and for the first time has the right to be called a “spiritual man” in the technical significance of the word. He is entering upon the fifth or final stage in our present fivefold evolution. Having groped his way through the Hall of Ignorance during many ages, and having gone to school in the Hall of Learning, he is now entering into the university, or the Hall of Wisdom. When he has passed through that school he will graduate with his degree as a Master of Compassion.

It might be of benefit to us also if we studied first the difference or the connection between Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom. Though in ordinary parlance they are frequently interchanged, as used technically they are dissimilar.

Knowledge is the product of the Hall of Learning. It might be termed the sum total of human discovery and experience, that which can be recognized by the five senses, and be correlated, diagnosed, and defined by the use of the human intellect. It is that about which we feel mental certitude, or that which we can ascertain by the use of experiment. It is the compendium of the arts and sciences. It concerns all that deals with the building and developing of the form side of things. Therefore it concerns the material side of evolution, matter in the solar systems, in the planet, in the three worlds of human evolution, and in the bodies of men.

Wisdom is the product of the Hall of Wisdom. It has to do with the development of the life within the form, with the progress of the spirit through those ever-changing vehicles, and with the expansions of consciousness that succeed each other from life to life. It deals with the life side of evolution. Since it deals with the essence of things and not with the things themselves, it is the intuitive apprehension of truth apart from the reasoning faculty, and the innate perception that can distinguish between the false and the true, between the real and the unreal. It is more than that, for it is also the growing capacity of the Thinker to enter increasingly into the mind of the Logos, to realize the true inwardness of the great pageant of the universe, to vision the objective, and to harmonize more and more with the higher measure. For our present purpose (which is to study somewhat the Path of Holiness and its various stages) it may be described as the realization of the “Kingdom of God within,” and the apprehension of the “Kingdom of God without” in the solar system. Perhaps it might be expressed as the gradual blending of the paths of the mystic and the occultist, – the rearing of the temple of wisdom upon the foundation of knowledge.

Wisdom is the science of the spirit, just as knowledge is the science of matter. Knowledge is separate and objective, whilst wisdom is synthetic and subjective. Knowledge divides; wisdom unites. Knowledge differentiates whilst wisdom blends. What, then, is meant by the understanding?

The understanding may be defined as the faculty of the Thinker in Time to appropriate knowledge as the foundation for wisdom, that which enables him to adapt the things of form to the life of the spirit, and to take the flashes of inspiration that come to him from the Hall of Wisdom and link them to the facts of the Hall of Learning. Perhaps the whole idea might be expressed in this way:
Wisdom concerns the one Self, knowledge deals with the not-self, whilst the understanding is the point of view of the Ego, or Thinker, or his relation between them.

In the Hall of Ignorance the form controls, and the material side of things has the predominance. Man is there polarized in the personality or lower self. In the Hall of Learning the higher self, or Ego, strives to dominate that form until gradually a point of equilibrium is reached where the man is controlled entirely by neither. Later the Ego controls more and more, until in the Hall of Wisdom it dominates in the three lower worlds, and in increasing degree the inherent divinity assumes the mastery.

Aspects of Initiation

Initiation, or the process of undergoing an expansion of consciousness, is part of the normal process of evolutionary development, viewed on a large scale, and not from the standpoint of the individual. When viewed from the individual standpoint it has come to be narrowed down to the moment wherein the evolving unit definitely apprehends that (by dint of his own effort, aided by the advice and suggestions of the watching Teachers of the race) he has reached a point wherein a certain range of knowledge of a subjective nature, from the physical plane point of view, is his. It is in the nature of that experience wherein a pupil in a school realizes suddenly that he has mastered a lesson, and that the rationale of a subject, and the method of procedure, are his to use intelligently. These moments of intelligent apprehension follow the evolving Monad throughout his long pilgrimage. What has been misinterpreted somewhat at this stage of comprehension is the fact that at various periods the emphasis is laid on different grades of expansion, and always the Hierarchy endeavors to bring the race to the point where its units will have some idea of the next step to be taken.

Each initiation marks the passing of the pupil in the Hall of Wisdom into a higher class, marks the clearer shining forth of the inner fire and the transition from one point of polarization to another, entails the realization of an increasing unity with all that lives and the essential oneness of the self with all selves. It results in a horizon that continuously enlarges until it includes the sphere of creation; it is a growing capacity to see and hear on all the planes. It is an increased consciousness of God’s plans for the world, and an increased ability to enter into those plans and to further them. It is the effort in the abstract mind to pass an examination. It is the honor class in the Master’s school, and is within the attainment of those souls whose karma permits and whose efforts suffice to fulfil the aim.

Initiation leads to the mount whence vision can be had, a vision of the eternal Now, wherein past, present, and future exist as one; a vision of the pageant of the races with the golden thread of pedigree carried through the many types; a vision of the golden sphere that holds in unison all the many evolutions of our system, deva, human, animal, vegetable, mineral, and elemental, and through which the pulsating life can be clearly seen beating in regular rhythm;

  • a vision of the Logoic thought-form on the archetypal plane,
  • a vision that grows from initiation to initiation until it embraces all the solar system.

Initiation leads to the stream that, once entered, sweeps a man onward until it carries him to the feet of the Lord of the World, to the feet of his Father in Heaven, to the feet of the threefold Logos.

Sotāpanna

Initiation leads to the cave within whose circumscribing walls the pairs of opposites are known, and the secret of good and evil is revealed. It leads to the Cross and to that utter sacrifice which must transpire before perfect liberation is attained, and the initiate stands free of all earth’s fetters, held by naught in the three worlds. It leads through the Hall of Wisdom, and puts into a man’s hands the key to all information, systemic and cosmic, in graduated sequence. It reveals the hidden mystery that lies at the heart of the solar system. It leads from one state of consciousness to another. As each state is entered the horizon enlarges, the vista extends, and the comprehension includes more and more, until the expansion reaches a point where the self embraces all selves, including all that is “moving and unmoving,” as phrased by an ancient Scripture.

Initiation involves ceremony. It is this aspect that has been emphasized in the minds of men, perhaps a little to the exclusion of the true significance. Primarily it involves the capacity to see, hear, and comprehend, and to synthesize and correlate knowledge. It does not necessarily involve the development of the psychic faculties, but it does entail the inner comprehension that sees the value underlying the form, and recognizes the purpose of pervading circumstances. It is the capacity that senses the lesson to be learnt from any given occurrence and event, and that by means of these comprehensions and recognitions effects an hourly, weekly, yearly growth and expansion. This process of gradual expansion – the result of the definite effort and strenuous right thinking and living of the aspirant himself and not of some occult teacher performing an occult rite – leads to what one might term a crisis.

At this crisis, which necessitates the aid of a Master, a definite act of initiation is performed, which (acting on a particular center) produces a result on some one body. It keys the atoms to a certain pitch, and enables a new rate of rhythm to be attained.

This ceremony of initiation marks a point of attainment. It does not bring about attainment, as is so often the misconception. It simply marks the recognition by the watching Teachers of the race of a definite point in evolution reached by the pupil, and gives two things:

  1. An expansion of consciousness that admits the personality into the wisdom attained by the Ego, and in the higher initiations into the consciousness of the Monad.
  2. A brief period of enlightenment wherein the initiate sees that portion of the Path that lies ahead to be trodden, and wherein he shares consciously in the great plan of evolution.

After initiation, the work to be done consists largely in making that expansion of consciousness part of the equipment for the practical use of the personality, and in mastering that portion of the path that has yet to be traversed.

The Place and Effect of Initiation

The ceremony of initiation takes place on the three higher subplanes of the mental plane, and on the three higher planes, according to the initiation. The five-pointed star, at the initiations on the mental plane, flashes out above the head of the initiate. This concerns the first initiations which are undergone in the causal vehicle. It has been said that the first two initiations take place upon the astral plane, but this is incorrect, and the statement has given rise to a misunderstanding. They are felt profoundly in connection with the astral and physical bodies and the lower mental, and affect their control. The chief effect being felt in those bodies the initiate may interpret them as having taken place on the planes concerned, as the vividness of the effect and the stimulation of the first two initiations work out largely in the astral body. But it must ever be remembered that the major initiations are taken in the causal body or – dissociated from that body – on the buddhic plane or atmic plane. At the final two initiations which set a man free from the three worlds, and enable him to function in the body of vitality of the Logos and wield that force, the initiate becomes the five-pointed star and it descends upon him, merges in him, and he is seen at its very center. This descent is brought about by the action of the Initiator, wielding the Rod of Power, and puts a man in touch with the center in the Body of the Planetary Logos of which he is a part, and this consciously. The two initiations called the sixth and seventh take place on the buddhic and atmic planes; the five-pointed star “blazes forth from within Itself,” as the esoteric phrase has it, and becomes the seven-pointed star; it descends upon the man and he enters within the flame.

Again, the four initiations, prior to that of the adept, mark respectively the attainment of certain proportions of atomic matter in the bodies – for instance, at the first initiation one-fourth atomic matter, at the second one-half atomic matter, at the third three-quarters atomic matter, and so on to the completion. Since buddhi is the unifying principle (or the welder of all), at the fifth initiation the adept lets the lower vehicles go, and stands in his buddhic sheath. He creates thence his body of manifestation.

Each initiation gives more control on the rays, if one may so express it, although this does not adequately convey the idea. Words so often mislead. At the fifth initiation, when the adept stands Master in the three worlds, He controls more or less (according to His line of development) the five rays that are specially manifesting at the time He takes the initiation. At the sixth initiation, if He takes the higher degree, He gains power on another ray, and at the seventh initiation He wields power on all the rays. The sixth initiation marks the point of attainment of the Christ, and brings the synthetic ray of the system under His control. We need to remember that initiation gives the initiate power on the rays, and not power over the rays, for this marks a very definite difference. Every initiate has, of course, for his primary or spiritual ray one of the three major rays, and the ray of his Monad is the one on which he at length gains power. The love ray, or the synthetic ray of the system, is the final one achieved.

Those who pass away from the earth after the fifth initiation, or those who do not become Masters in physical incarnation, take their subsequent initiations elsewhere in the system. All are in the Logoic Consciousness. One great fact to be borne in mind is, that the initiations of the planet or of the solar system are but the preparatory initiations of admission into the greater Lodge on Sirius. We have the symbolism held for us fairly well in Masonry, and in combining the Masonic method with what we are told of the steps on the Path of Holiness we get an approximate picture. Let us enlarge somewhat:

The first four initiations of the solar system correspond to the four “initiations of the Threshold,” prior to the first cosmic initiation. The fifth initiation corresponds to the first cosmic initiation, that of “entered apprentice” in Masonry; and makes a Master an “entered apprentice” of the Lodge on Sirius. The sixth initiation is analogous to the second degree in Masonry, whilst the seventh initiation makes the Adept a Master Mason of the Brotherhood on Sirius.

A Master, therefore, is one who has taken the seventh planetary initiation, the fifth solar initiation, and the first Sirian or cosmic initiation.

——–

Excerpted from:

“Initiation, Human and Solar – Chapter II – Initiation Defined” By Alice Bailey and Djwhal Kuhl

Path IV. The Path to Sirius

This path is of all the Paths the most veiled in the clouds of mystery. The reason for this mystery will only be apparent to the pledged initiate, though a clue to the secret may be gained if it is realized that in a peculiar and esoteric sense the sun Sirius and the Pleiades hold a close relation to each other. It is a relation analogous to that which lower mind holds to higher mind. The lower is receptive to, or negatively polarized to the higher. Sirius is the seat of higher mind and mahat (as it is called, or universal mind) sweeps into manifestation in our solar system through the channel of the Pleiades. It is almost as if a great triangle of mahatic energy was thus formed. Sirius transmits energy to our solar system via that

    “…sevenfold brooding Mother, the silver constellation, whose voice is as a tinkling bell, and whose feet pass lightly o’er the radiant path between our worlds and hers.”

Within the solar system there is an interesting correspondence to this cosmic interplay in the relation between the Venus scheme, our Earth scheme and the Venus chain in our scheme.

Curiously enough it will be through a comprehension of the human antahkarana, or the path which links higher and lower mind and which is constructed by the Thinker during the process of evolution, that light on this abstruse matter will come. There is (in connection with our planetary Logos) just such an antahkarana, and as He builds and constructs it, it forms part of the fourth Path, and permits the passage of the bulk of our humanity to this distant objective, and this without obstruction. A clue to the nature of this Path and as to the reason why so many of the human Monads seek this particular stream of energy lies in the right understanding of the above suggestion.

The initiates who tread this way are primarily those of the fourth and the sixth order. As earlier pointed out, this is the Path that the “lords of compassion” most frequently follow, and at this time the Egyptian Master and the Master Jesus are preparing Themselves to tread it. The mystics of the Occident who have come into incarnation during the past one thousand years are a peculiar group of Egos whose impulse is towards this type of cosmic energy. In this system they have developed certain basic recognitions and the “ecstasy” of the occidental mystic is the germ, latent within him, which will some day flower forth into that cosmic rapture for which we have as yet no name.

Cosmic rapture and rhythmic bliss are the attributes of the fourth path. It is a form of identification which is divorced from consciousness altogether. The reason also why the majority of the sons of men follow this Path lies in the fact of its numerical position. These units of the fourth kingdom, the bulk of the fourth Creative Hierarchy on this fourth globe of the fourth scheme in a solar system of the fourth order are innately compelled to seek this fourth WAY in order to perfect themselves. They are called the “blissful dancing points of fanatical devotion.” This is as near as we can get to the true description. They have also been described as the “revolving wheels which turn upon themselves, and find the open door to perfect bliss.”

The energy of Path IV reaches us from Sirius via the Sun. This must be understood as a blind behind which one of the signs of the zodiac veils itself.

The hierarchies concerned with this specific type of cosmic force hide themselves under the numbers fourteen and seventeen. This will serve as a complete blind to the average reader, but will carry to the pledged chela the hint needed to produce illumination.

The method whereby the adept fits himself to pass upon this path is termed that of duplex rotary motion and “rhythmic dancing upon the square.”

The symbol, which is first given to the pledged disciple to study but which may, however, be described, is a duality of interlocked wheels revolving at a great pace in opposite directions, and producing a unified whole. These wheels are portrayed as manifesting electric blue flame, rotating and revolving with great rapidity around an equal-armed Cross. The Cross is pictured in orange fire with a deep emerald green circle, flaming at the point in the center where the four arms of the Cross meet. The symbolism of these colors links this fourth path to the solar system preceding this one. In that system the Sirian influence was more potent than in the present one.

It is not possible to add more to this beyond pointing out that the quality gained by the adept who treads this path may not be revealed. He comes under the concentrated influence of the energy which is identified with the planetary antahkarana. It is not permitted, therefore, to state what its specific quality may be, as it would convey too much information to the intelligent reader as to the nature and the objective of our particular planetary Logos.

PATH IV. THE PATH TO SIRIUS

  • Attributes – cosmic rapture and rhythmic bliss.
  • Source – Sirius via the Sun which veils a zodiacal sign.
  • Hierarchy – veiled by the numbers 14 and 17.
  • Method – duplex rotary motion and rhythmic dancing upon the square.
  • Symbol – two wheels of electric fire, revolving around an orange Cross, with an emerald at the center.
  • Quality – unrevealed.

Above excerpted from “A Treatise on Cosmic Fire – Section Three – Division B – The Nature of the Cosmic Paths”

Below excerpted from “The Rays and the Initiations – Part Two – Section One – The Aspirant and the Mysteries of Initiation”

4. The Path to Sirius

I have frequently hinted in my various books that the Sun, Sirius, is closely related to our planetary Life; much is known in the Hierarchy anent this connection, and the particular relationship of this fourth Path to humanity, the fourth kingdom in nature, but little can be communicated to the general public. I may, however, tell you certain things which may make your imaginative rangings (if I may use so strange a phrase) creatively profitable to you.

This great Sun which is to our solar Logos what the Monad is to the spiritual man, has a peculiar part to play where our Earth is concerned. It might be considered by those with a sound sense of occult proportion that our tiny planet with its planetary Logos (one of the “imperfect Gods” of The Secret Doctrine) would be too small to enter in the slightest way into the consciousness of that Supreme Illumined Entity Who is greater even than our Solar Logos. Such, however, is the case. There is a relationship of very ancient date between our Lord of the World, Sanat Kumara, and the Lord of Sirius, and this exists in spite of the fact that our planet is not a sacred planet. It might be added that our planet is, in the immediate cycle, owing to the factors I have lately considered with you, rapidly passing out of this category, and on the inner planes and subjectively considered is a sacred planet; the effects of this transition from non-sacred to sacred have not fully demonstrated themselves objectively. The mystery of this relationship is partially revealed at one of the higher initiations and it is then realized by the initiates that there is a good and adequate reason for the relation and that the following esoteric events, relations and happenings are simply consequences:

1. The majority of liberated humanity, and therefore a large number of the initiates who have to make decision, choose this way to the cosmic center.

2. The relationship as it expresses itself is between the Hierarchy and Sirius, and not between Shamballa and that stupendous Sun. The energy evoked in response to this relationship enters the Hierarchy via the Heart of the Sun, creating as a consequence a triangle of spiritual energy of enormous potency. You have, therefore;

Sirius

*

   The Hierarchy *                                                             * Heart of the Sun

3. As progress is made in the course of taking the higher initiations, it becomes apparent to the initiate that two major streams of energy enter our planetary life:

  • A stream of energy coming from the cosmic mental plane and from that focal point which is to Sanat Kumara what the egoic lotus, the soul, is to the spiritual man; it carries the life principle of our planet and centers itself in Shamballa. From there it is dispersed throughout all forms upon the planet and we call it Life. It must be remembered that this life principle embodies or is impregnated with the will and purpose of That which over-shadows Sanat Kumara as the soul over-shadows the personality.
  • A stream of energy coming from the sun, Sirius; this enters directly into the Hierarchy and carries with it the principle of buddhi, of cosmic love. This, in a mysterious way, is the principle found at the heart of every atom.

The life principle follows the line of 1.3.5.7, whilst the buddhic flow follows the line of 2.4.6. Thus atma-buddhi becomes the blended reality which is brought to full unfoldment as evolution proceeds. The energy of Sirius by-passes (to use a modern word) Shamballa and is focused in the Hierarchy. Its effect is not felt until after the third initiation, though the Masters use this energy whilst training disciples for the second, the fourth and the sixth initiations.

4. The entire work of the Great White Lodge is controlled from Sirius; the Ashrams are subjected to its cyclic inflow; the higher initiations are taken under its stimulation, for the principle of buddhi, of pure love (i.e., love-wisdom) must be active in the heart of every initiate prior to the initiation of the great decision; it is therefore only initiates of the fifth, sixth and higher initiations who can work consciously with the potent buddhic “livingness” which permeates all Ashrams, though unrecognized by the average disciple.

5. This Sirian influence was not recognized, and little of it was definitely focused in the Hierarchy, until Christ came and revealed the love of God to humanity. He is the expression, par excellence, of a Sirian initiation, and it is to that high place He will eventually go – no matter what duties or hierarchical obligations may take Him elsewhere between that time and now. The Buddha was originally to have chosen the fourth Path but other plans confront Him now and will probably claim His choice.

6. Sanat Kumara is not on the Sirian line but – to speak in symbols, not too deeply veiled – Lucifer, Son of the Morning, is closely related, and hence the large number of human beings who will become disciples in the Sirian Lodge. This is the true “Blue Lodge,” and to become a candidate in that Lodge, the initiate of the third degree has to become a lowly aspirant, with all the true and full initiations awaiting him “within the sunshine of the major Sun.”

7. None of the above facts indicates divergence of view between Shamballa and the Hierarchy, nor do they signify cleavage or differing aims and goals. The whole subject is reflected in such minor relations on Earth as those between:

  • The Spiritual Triad and the Personality.
  • The mental unit and the manasic permanent atom.
  • Atma-Buddhi.
  • The Christ and the Buddha.

The above somewhat uncorrelated items of information will give you a general idea of the significant connection between our unimportant little planet and that vast expression of divinity, the Life which is manifesting through Sirius; it is an expression which is organized and vital beyond anything man can vision and which is free to a completely unlimited extent, again beyond the power of man to comprehend. The principle of freedom is a leavening energy which can permeate substance in a unique manner; this divine principle represents an aspect of the influence which Sirius exerts on our solar system and particularly on our planet. This principle of freedom is one of the attributes of Deity (like will, love and mind) of which humanity knows as yet little. The freedom for which men fight is one of the lowest aspects of this cosmic freedom, which is related to certain great evolutionary developments that enable the life or spirit aspect to free itself from the impact, the contact and the influence of substance.

It is the principle of freedom which enables Sanat Kumara to dwell on the Earth and yet stand free from all contacts, except with Those Who have trodden the Path of Liberation and now stand free upon the cosmic physical plane; it is that which enables the initiate to achieve a state of “isolated unity”; it is that which lies behind the Spirit of Death and forms the motivating power of that great releasing Agency; it is that which provides a “pathway of power” between our Hierarchy and the distant sun, Sirius, and gives the incentive towards the “culture of freedom” or of liberation which motivates the work of the Masters of the Wisdom; it is that which produced the ferment and the vortex of conflict in far distant ages and which has been recognized in the present through the results of the Law of Evolution in every kingdom in nature; this is that which “substands” or lies under or behind all progress. This mysteriously “exerted influence,” this “pulling away” from form (as we might simply call it), emanates from Sirius and for it we have no name; it is the law of which the three cosmic laws – the Laws of Synthesis, of Attraction and of Economy – are only aspects. None of these three subsidiary laws imposes any rule or limitation upon the Lord of the World. The Law of Freedom, however, does impose certain restrictions, if one can use such a paradoxical phrase. It is responsible for His being known as the “Great Sacrifice,” for (under the control of this law) He created our planetary life and all that is within and upon it, in order to learn to wield this law with full understanding, in full consciousness, and yet at the same time to bring release to the myriad forms of His creation.

The Law of Economy affects humanity as a whole today throughout every phase of its life; the Law of Attraction is beginning to gain some control, particularly in the work which the Hierarchy undertakes to do; and many initiates and senior disciples are becoming aware of the significance of the Law of Synthesis and are reacting to its impact. Later on, when moving to one of the seven Paths, the Master will work with the Law of Freedom. This is not, as you may well surmise, its true name, for in the last analysis, freedom and liberation are effects of its activity. This unique and mysterious law governs the Life and the Lives upon Sirius, and it is to that unknown “sphere of functioning and intelligent activity” what the Law of Economy is to our planet – the lowest of the laws controlling existence in planetary form.

This Law of Economy includes, as you know from my earlier writings, many lesser or subsidiary laws; it might therefore be stated that this Law of Freedom also does the same. Until more divine attributes are realized as existing and recognized as aspects, it is not possible for the name of the law which embodies the Law of Freedom to be given, for there is no word in our language adequately available. The above information will, however, link Sirius and our little planet, the Earth, in your minds.

Below excerpted from “A Treatise on Cosmic Fire – Section Three – Division C – Seven Esoteric Stanzas”

STANZA LXXVII

(From Archive 49)

PATH IV. The Path to Sirius.

The mysterious Lhas of the sacred hidden fire withdraw Their thought, emerge from meditation, and all that is – between the first and third – is lost to sight. Naught is. Sound dies away. The Words are lost, for there is none to hear. The colors fade, and every point grows dim.

The ocean passes into quietude. The Mother slumbers and forgets her Son. The Father too retreats within the unknown place where fire lies hidden.

The serpent stretches forth inert. Its coils smother the lower fire and choke the sparks… Silence reigns. The absent Lhas forget the worlds and play at other games… All passes into nothingness. Yet still the Lhas themselves remain.

* * *

The mysterious Lhas of the fivefold force unite Their thought, sink into meditation deep and link the first and third. The worlds emerge, and – rushing into forms prepared – pursue their cycles.

* * *

The twelve-pointed play Their part and are the result of the communion of the One above the Sun with one of the seven wives.

* * *

The Master of the Sacred Heart is He who builds a Path between the sphere whereon His lot is cast and the great manasic orb. He builds it knowingly, calling in the aid of points of blue. These emerge from the heart of one of the seven. (The PLEIADES.)

These He bloweth upon and they find their place as stones in the one Way He constructeth for the treading of the many as they wend their way through mind to mind and thence to understanding. (Manas to mahat and thence to buddhi.)

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