Commentary on Rule II for Applicants

Rule II:

When application has been made in triple form, let the disciple withdraw that application and forget it has been made.

The sentences:

A.                 When application has been made in triple form,

1.                  What is “application”?

a.                   Usually, an application is a request submitted to those in authority  to participate in a state of activity of greater value than the one in which the applicant finds himself or herself when making the application. Such participation is, in effect, a condition of energy enhancement, allowing the applicant (if the application is accepted) to receive a greater quantity and quality of energy than before the application was accepted.

b.                  In this instance, “application” is a kind of request to be allowed “to stand before the door” of initiation. The process of initiation is, from a certain perspective, “an increase in wages”—an analogy framed in the context of the third divine aspect.

c.                   The “request” submitted by the would-be initiate is not at all the standard request. It is far from a supplication and does not depend upon the favor of those in authority. The hoped-for response to the request depends upon Law.

d.                  There are certain requirements which, if fulfilled, will inevitably lead to the granting of permission to pass through the process of initiation.

e.                   If these requirements are not fulfilled, those in authority, no matter how lovingly or favorably disposed towards the applicant, cannot allow him or her to pass through. The Law must be upheld for the permanent benefit of all concerned.

f.                    Other ways to consider this kind of application are as 1) a firm intention or point of tension, 2) a condition of consciousness of a certain quality, 3) a sustained pattern of vibratory relationship.

g.                   The applicant intends to live up to the long-established requirements for those who would pass the door. He or she is single-minded (Sagittarius—the one-pointed disciple) in fulfilling these requirements. A necessary point of tension is sustained, thus preventing a descent into vibratory levels which are inconsistent with the requirements. Thus, in one respect, application is an act of will.

h.                   The applicant is also practicing “occult silence”, which, in essence, preserves consciousness of a necessary quality. He or she lives according to the following found in Counsel 11 from A Treatise on White Magic.

“Watch close the gates of thought. Sentinel desire. Cast out all fear, all hate, all greed.  Look out and up.” (TWM 473-474) 

Really, many of the Fifteen Counsels found in TWM (pp. 472-475) are precisely what is needed for successful application. The Tibetan gives us the following admonition:

“These rules may sound too simple for the learned aspirant but for those who are willing to become as little children they will be found to be a safe guide into truth and will eventually make them able to pass the tests for adeptship”. (TWM 472-473)

i.                     There is no need to go over the many, many requirements for initiation admirably detailed throughout the Tibetan’s books, and throughout the literature of discipleship. Any one of us, if asked to name, describe and justify them, could spontaneously write page after page. The point is, that initiation is the initiation of consciousness, not some outer happening dealing principally with the matter aspect of divinity. One’s application is thus, in part, made through the presentation of a certain necessary level of consciousness.

j.                    The application is also a sustained pattern of vibratory relationship amongst the multiple aspects of the applicant’s form nature. To put it simply, the three lunar vehicles—mental, astral and etheric-physical—must be in the proper condition, “the right shape” before application becomes appropriate. This “shaping up” requires training, as anyone interested in physical culture knows. The necessary training is also cultural (for the astral body) and educational (for the mental body). One then can present to the “Eye” of the authorities a triple mechanism which is ready to withstand the intensification of energy-impact and energy-circulation which initiation inevitably brings.

k.                  Of course, philosophically and really, one is presenting this prepared triple mechanism to ‘one’s-own-Self’—considered as the “Higher Self”, soul, or Solar Angel. Ultimately, the true “I” is the arbiter of further progress, as all the superior Entities in authority are, in fact, identical with the inmost Self of the applicant. ‘Not my will be done, but My Will be done’. This is expressed in the terminology of Identification.

l.                     Thus, the condition of the entirety of the energy system of the disciple—intentionally, sentiently and vibratorily—is, in itself, the application.

m.                 At a certain point in evolutionary development the condition of the disciple becomes an application.

n.                   Some disciples may already be an application to initiation and not know it consciously. When an alerted consciousness is added to a condition of evident readiness, then rapid progress can be made.

o.                  As students of the Ageless Wisdom, it behooves us to realize that we are making application by what we are. Our objective is to live in a state of application. Interestingly, as one begins to intelligently and lovingly apply what one knows, the state of application exists thereby. “Application”, thus, has these two important and related meanings.

2.                  Application is to be made “in triple form”. The meaning is obvious. A dis-integrated personality cannot pass through the threshold. It does no good to be a great thinker possessed of a reactive emotionality and an infirm body. One cannot afford to be weak in any of the three vehicles, nor will it suffice to be strong in two of them and weak in one.

3.                  Of course ray and astrological tendencies (and even soul-pattern) often militate against a perfect balance between the three, and such perfection is not expected. The condition of any one of the three may always be somewhat in advance of the others, but a reasonably integrated condition of all three vehicles is required.

4.                  We can see why the first initiation does not occur until millions of years of evolution have elapsed; the form must be prepared (under Virgo and Vulcan), and it takes a long time.

5.                  Each one of us well might ask, “What is the state of my overall application?” “What is the condition of my application in any one of my three personality vehicles, and in the personality as a whole?” Is application really in process, and if not, what, specifically, have I to do to ensure that it is?” (The requirements are manifold, but your intuition will know the very thing you have to do to make your living-application viable.)

6.                  We need not think that this type of application applies only to the first initiation. No matter what the initiation for which we are being prepared (or for which we are preparing ourselves) application is in process, and that application will be evidenced in a spiritually enhanced personality condition. (As soul-infusion continues, the condition of the personality is inevitably enhanced.)

7.                  When has application been made in triple form? How will one know that it has been made? Those of us who have trodden the Path of Purification, know when something still remains to be purified, passed through the flame. We know from the inharmony experienced within any particular vehicle, or within the interplay between the vehicles. While perfection is not demanded—an insistence on perfection which becomes obsessive is in itself an obstacle and represents self-centeredness—a point must be reached when the disciple can honestly say, “I have done what I can do”.

One will recognize that application has been made by the cessation of the greatest inharmonies hitherto present within the vehicles or in their interplay. The intention and the thought of the ideal have been sustained and the worst frictions have ceased. Conscience (which can be the Voice of the Soul) no longer accuses, and a feeling of lighted-integration supervenes.

8.                  Perhaps it will be up to every disciple to discern when application has been made. That moment will not come without a previous sustained, self-conscious effort. A relative effortlessness is earned; it is not the natural state of things. When a point of tension consistent with the requirements is applied to the three vehicles, friction and discomfort will, at first, result. After much work, a reasonable harmony will supervene, and then, the disciple is ready for a next step.

9.                  So, the first stage is one of hard work—of “making application” by “shaping up” in three ways.

10.              The second stage is an inner recognition that the preliminary work has been done and that one can move on to the implications of the next sentence.

 

B.                 … let the disciple withdraw that application and forget it has been made.

1.                  The disciple is now no longer so conscious of making application. The disciple knows that he or she has become the application.

2.                  What does it mean to “withdraw that application”? Perhaps, we can consider this withdrawal simply as a transfer of attention. Yes, the instrument must be kept in good condition; a good violinist needs a good violin, thus instrument-maintenance is a necessity. But, one cannot forever attend to the condition of the instrument and forget that which is to be expressed through it.

3.                  It is sufficient that a reasonable amount of “work upon the self” has been accomplished. One is sufficiently fit. The attention must be transferred to what that self (that instrument) can actually do of value in the world.

4.                  Service becomes the preoccupation. One takes oneself as one finds oneself, and “gets on with the work”.

5.                  We have all met those who, it seems, cannot for a moment forget that they are a “disciple” (or worse) an “initiate”. Perhaps, we too, have been like this, or are, from time to time. This form of self-preoccupation serves no one but one’s own self-image (in short, ego). It is a form of habitual self-reassurance based upon spiritual insecurity.

6.                  The little “i” is at the center of the entire process.

“still others are well intentioned and hard driving disciples, but never for a second do they forget themselves;” (R&I 29)

When there is so much conscious and unconscious attention given to the self and its status—“I am a disciple”; “I am an applicant for initiation”; “I am an initiate” of such and such a degree—how can there be any true service? And without true service, how can there be any discipleship and initiation?

7.                  By transferring the attention to service, one is not really withdrawing the application; one is enhancing it. One is simply changing one’s orientation.

“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”
(DINA II 15)

8.                  This change of orientation cannot be feigned. It must be based upon true motive. Only by turning one’s back (in service) upon the apparent advantages of initiation, does one prove one’s worthiness to receive it.

9.                  Of course, one still cares. The intention to pass through the door is set in one’s consciousness and cannot be utterly erased from consciousness. But, for practical purposes, it ceases to be any kind of preoccupation. The power of one’s attention is not focussed with anticipation on the enhancements which lie, metaphorically, on the further side of the door. Attention—naturally and with pure, loving motive—is focussed on making this world a better place, on improving the condition of one’s brothers and sisters—in short, on service.

10.              So, with respect to our application, we forget and yet do not forget. We cannot be oblivious to the fact that we have trained ourselves to be fit for the company of our superiors. But the heart has enough love in it to show us the importance of giving (even the little we have—for we are the “poor ones”), and we get on with the task, in effect forgetting our orientation towards the “door of initiation”.

11.              This, of course, is one of the paradoxes of the Path of Initiation. We remember by forgetting. We move ahead by turning back. Really, at every point upon the Ladder of Initiation, the initiate will be asked to turn back. At the third initiation, the mantram is so utterly clear:

“Lost am I in light supernal, yet on that light I turn my back.”

Thoroughly invested in the joy and challenge of service, one may almost have to be reminded that the time for “an increase in wages” has come. Perhaps the ceremonial moment will come as a surprise (at the astrologically correct time). Perhaps (if ceremony is not a part of the outpicturing of initiation) the indicative energy-enhancement will come upon the candidate unawares, and he or she will simply notice the resultant empowerment while in the full flow of service.

12.              Let’s just say that the true applicant/candidate puts first things first. The welfare of the world is what comes first, and there is a great and consuming joy in contributing to that welfare. I would say that service (raised to a sufficient point of intensification) is initiation. There is something in this thought which an be pondered with profit.

 

C.                 Herein lies one of the initial tests.  The disciple's attitude of mind must be that he cares not whether he takes initiation or not.

1.                  We have been discussing this idea. In what consists this test? The disciple is “in good shape” and fit. But if he cannot take his eyes off himself, he fails in the test of selflessness. He demonstrates that energy (as good as it may be) may not be selflessly applied.

2.                  The initiate of the Great White Lodge is group conscious. Self-preoccupation is an enhancement of the third aspect of divinity (that of intelligence), but has little to do with the second—the love aspect.

3.                  This salutary attitude of mind—that “I care not whether or not I take initiation”—cannot be forced, pretended or faked. Everyone in their “heart of hearts” will know whether or not they care—or rather, whether they care for others more than they care about receiving that spiritual empowerment we call initiation.

4.                  So, then, we ask ourselves: “Do I care whether I take initiation now or soon?” “If I care, why do I care?” “If I do not care, why do I not?” “Is love burning so strongly in my heart that it burns away any caring for my own advantage?” In short, “Is the fire of love irradiating my being”, because if so, there will be no problem withdrawing the application, forgetting that it has been made, and not caring whether or no one takes initiation (now or soon).

5.                  A little study of the state of mind of many students of spirituality will demonstrate that they are not there yet. Are we there? Spiritual selfishness is very deep.

“A group is brought together under karmic law, ashramic necessity and soul direction.  Immediately there is presented to the watching Masters an opportunity for the very definite training of some willing aspirants, but also an equally definite point of tension, indicating real difficulty.  There is little, in reality, to link these people except inclination, a joint aspiration and a goal seen and held in unison.  The outstanding characteristic of such a group is spiritual selfishness.  This statement may surprise you until a close scrutiny of your own heart is undergone, and then I venture to predict that you will discover that it is not divine love of humanity that has enabled you to find your way into the outer group of some Ashram but desire for development, for achievement and for liberation.” (R&I 210)

“The Master K.H., in one of the few (the very few) paragraphs in The Mahatma Letters which are genuine and not simply the work of H.P.B., gave a hint to aspirants of that time when He said that so many of them were so "spiritually selfish."  This spiritual selfishness has led the average esoteric student to appropriate initiation and to make it personal and individual.  Yet one of the prime prerequisites for initiation is a clear and concise recognition of one's own group, not through a process of wishful thinking, but through factual cooperation and work upon the physical plane.” (R&I 342)

So let us submit our heart to “a close scrutiny”, and see what may be the case.

6.                  If we find that we do care (too much) whether or not we take initiation, what should we do? I would suggest trying to see the world as it really is. Caring, in the sense here meant, simply means that we are not thinking in terms of humanity and its welfare, but are still asking something for the personal self. Our perspective is not broad enough and our sense of values is not adjusted to the whole.

7.                  It will not serve to say to oneself, “I should not care; I should not care”. This would only give energy to the excessive caring. Rather, an attempt to view life with “an adjusted sense of right proportion” (which is true humility) is required. That, and also reminding oneself who one really is—not the little ego at all, for it is the little ego who (in this selfish sense) cares too much.

8.                  The real antidote to this kind of caring is a realized change of identity. To do this one gets rid of false identifications—and there are many ways to do so.

9.                  Only in the midst of service fully and lovingly rendered does the applicant/candidate suddenly realize that he or she has passed through the door. So, in a way, one “stands before the door” by leaving it behind and immersing oneself fully in the ‘world’ (the lower energies and forces in which one must serve). Otherwise, full of illusion, one remains, as it were, knocking outside.

 

D.                 Selfish motive must not enter in.

1.                  We have been saying this.

2.                  Selfish motive is based upon a limited sense of selfhood. It arises through wrong identification.

3.                  One has to get rid of the self that has the motive, because surely, it is a false self. To this effect, the prophylactic use of the “Who am I?” exercise is just what the doctor ordered. Self-forgetfulness is the real disease. Self-remembrance, the great cure. With right Self-remembrance, self-forgetfulness can occur. (The capitalizations tell the story.) We can be sure that the ‘self-forgetting Self’ has no problem in withdrawing, forgetting and not caring—(all conceived correctly, of course). A word by itself tells very little unless we know the context and, hence, the true meaning.

 

E.                  Only those applications which reach the Master through the energy engendered through pure altruistic motive are transmitted by Him to the recording angel of the Hierarchy,…

1.                  Someone is watching. The inner group is alert. It is a joy to them when we make progress and thus, swell their ranks.

2.                  The Ashram is organized and entry into it is not a matter of chance. We are supervised, from the inner planes, by those more advanced than ourselves, who report to those more advanced than they are, until at last the Master is informed. (He does not waste His time doing what others can do; the Law of Economy prevails in ashramic affairs.)

3.                  It is the Master Who decides (when the Law has been fulfilled) that the applicant/candidate may be admitted. And since the Christ is the Initiator for the first two initiations, He, as Head of the Hierarchy, must somehow be informed of an approaching “little one”.

4.                  This is such an important sentence, and enjoins upon us the contemplation of the phrase, “pure altruistic motive”.

5.                  Perhaps there are many (wrong) ways to apply. We remember that even a brother tending towards the Black Lodge, may pass the first two initiations. Even they may have worthy motives—initially—but fail the Test of Temptation presented between the second and third initiations.

6.                  “Pure” suggests that the motive has been submitted to the fire, and that one has passed through an appropriate “burning ground”. Pure motive is not mixed motive. If we examine ourselves deeply, in our “heart of hearts”, we will know what drives us; we will know what we want. When impure motive is encountered, one can at the very least prove to oneself the futility of such an objective. Fighting impurity on its own level does little (except, unfortunately, strengthen the impurity). But invalidating the impurity through perspective and insight—this course of action is fatal to the impurity.

7.                  “Altruistic” motive is a state of mind which cares more for the other than one cares for oneself. The altruism of the Christ must be extraordinary. Altruism is a great power. One is not depriving oneself of anything through altruism; rather one is gaining everything. “To those who give all, all is given”.

8.                  “Pure altruistic motive” is a propelling force. Many applications are earthbound and sluggish. They have no wings because pure altruism is missing. We see the kind of refined discrimination to which applications are subjected. The Law (the Law of Love) says, in effect, “No initiation without Love”. Such altruism is its own reward; this is why I said earlier than a sufficient intensification of service is initiation.

9.                  We remember that the initiate is initiate before he is initiated. “Love for all beings” makes the initiate; then, he or she is fit for the “occult accolade”.

10.              There is a “recording angel of the Hierarchy”. A close study within A Treatise on Cosmic Fire of the ‘personnel’ in the Department of Karma is sure to produce wonder. It is all highly organized, and nothing escapes the ‘Eye’ and its many allied ‘eyes’. The Lords of Karma are Argus—‘thousand eyed’.

11.              Perhaps we being to realize that our entire approach to the Rite of Initiation must proceed under Occult Law. There are Laws. There are Rules. There are no exceptions. Saturn must be fulfilled on all levels of the cosmic physical plane.

 

F.                  … only those disciples who seek initiation because of the added power to help and bless that it confers, will find a response to their plea.

1.                  The word “plea” is interesting. It shows how much the spirit in the heart longs for initiation—which is a gradual return to the high estate of spirit. The agony of spirit is to be (apparently) separated from itself. Something in us is yearning for ‘Home’, and initiation is the way.

2.                  In this sentence we understand that initiation is empowerment. Through our descent into the lower worlds, we (a projection of the monad) have been stripped our much of our power; we have been Self-divested of the wealth of our former high estate. We need at least some of that power in order to begin the long journey home. A virtuous circle is developed: empowerment leads to ever greater access to power. Finally, we achieve “escape velocity”, and yet, paradoxically, can be found laboring within the valleys, our feel planted firmly upon the plains of Earth.

3.                  So many disciples have a somewhat negative response to the word “power” or “will”. Of course the abuses have been many, and the first ray is easily misunderstood in our second ray system. But power is needed—intelligence and love alone will not suffice (though they certainly lead to empowerment).

4.                  Power, freedom, joy, bliss—these ideas are related. Thus, let us acknowledge that in many ways we are seeking power—especially spiritual power, for ultimately, the acquisition of power means the dominance of spirit over circumstance—and every spirit wants that.

5.                  In this particular sentence, it is the power to help and bless which is sought. We see here the use of the first ray for the sake of the second. We come to love the process of redemption/salvation so much that we seek to see it proceed more swiftly, more mightily. We yearn for the power make this happen.

6.                  So, again, what is the motive? There is no question that the initiate can help and bless more powerfully, more effectively, than can the disciple or aspirant, or average human being. Initiates are great forces for Good. When we seek to join Them, why do we so seek? Do we want to part of the “club”? Yes, it’s a joke, but not so far from the mark. So many want to be “one of Them”, forgetting that “They” are consumingly oriented towards helping humanity.

7.                  All of us, these days, are studying initiation together. We are obviously interested in the subject, for a great variety of motives. In reading the Tibetan’s injunctions, we are admonished to see to our motives, and make sure they are square with hierarchical intent.

8.                  Let us assure ourselves that we are consumed with the urge to help—consumed with the urge to bless. It is interesting that blessing cures emotional ills. (IHS 206) It looks as if the world needs lots of blessing, which carries within itself the power of restoration, such that “all is well” (reflective of the “Well Being” characteristic of Shamballa).

9.                  The requirements for initiation, we see, are very strict. One cannot “talk one’s way past the guard”. The throat cannot successfully masquerade as the heart. So let us have a realistic grasp of the requirements and realize that, essentially, they are all based on real Love.

 

G.                 These careless of initiation receive not the occult accolade, and those anxious, through selfishness or curiosity, to participate in the mysteries, enter not the door but remain knocking outside.

1.                  In this sentence we are presented with an important dichotomy—a pair of opposites which must be understood.

2.                  “Carelessness” will not do; equally (and oppositely) “selfishness and curiosity” will not do.

3.                  There are too many exacting requirements to fulfill for the careless one to fulfill. In the “little things” the quality of the individual is revealed. Carelessness in these things, in the preparatory requirements, is a harbinger of carelessness to come. Hierarchy is fire and carelessness cannot be allowed in the handling of fire; too much is at risk. The entire edifice of Wisdom would be threatened if its custodians were careless.

4.                  Carelessness is action characterized by the inability to perceive consequences and implications. An educated individual is one who can perceive consequences and implications. Such perception makes responsibility possible—accountability to the whole. Carelessness has no place in Hierarchy—a Point of Tension made of individuals who are supremely aware.

5.                  Then, there is anxiousness, which is a solar plexus condition, the presence of which demonstrates that the lower aspects of personality are still in control. The Christ possesses “calmness forever unperturbed”. Anxiety (based on self-concern) is its opposite.

6.                  We have already focussed thought on selfishness and its drawbacks. Selfishness is related to the third aspect of divinity and to rotary motion. It does not promote relationship based on love—which is precisely what the Hierarchy is all about. Groups filled with selfish individuals become selfish groups and are candidates for cooperation with the Black Lodge—which is the inspiration for selfishness upon our planet. Prolonged selfishness is all a “great mistake” based upon mis-identification. Why think that one is less when one is really more? It is just that to the glamored, deluded consciousness, the real more seems like less, and so the real less is not relinquished. This is a mistake that costs millions and millions of years in retardation.

7.                  As for curiosity, it may seem harmless enough, but it is based purely upon an appetite of mind, and carries with it no assurance of character, quality, morality, or altruistic orientation. The mind becomes acquisitive and pursues that which is “nice to know”. This lower mind seeks to satisfy itself and thereby feed the lower ego which then, only generates more pride and selfishness.

8.                  Initiation demands that the whole man enter the process. The little mind, devoid of nobility, must not venture where it does not belong. The question to be applied is simply this: “Why do you want to know?”

9.                  The members of the Black Lodge have superb concrete minds. The mind has become, in itself, a kind of “eighth sphere”, separated from the other principles. This is a great disaster, the Tibetan tells us. We cannot, therefore, expect that the White Lodge will feed any tendency of the mind to act as a separate and isolated sphere of prideful acquisition.

10.              As for the “occult accolade”, it is an accolade of fire. It represents a stupendous release of spiritual energy which is meant to empower the waiting form. If that form is not ready—through impurity or weakness—the accolade of fire will destroy it. The careless, anxious, selfish and curious are notoriously unready. One can expect only abuse were fire to be placed in their hands.

11.              Thus, they remain knocking—outside. Their attitudes are not those of the occultist. There is insufficient penetration, sensitivity, sympathy, delicacy, intimacy. They cannot, as it were, permeate the door (a Neptunian reference). They are engrossed in the third aspect of divinity, and lack the subtlety of the second aspect, upon which initiation (in its early stages) is fundamentally based.

12.              It cannot be lost on us that the one who keeps knocking, is still facing the door. With self-centered personal anxiety or in pride, he knocks, forgetting to turn towards the field of service which, in itself, would produce a more audible and acceptable knock. One knocks by serving, and it is a knock that must and will be answered.

 

H.                 Those who are keen to serve, those who are weighed down with a sense of world need, and the personal responsibility thereby awakened, and who have fulfilled the law, knock and meet with response, and make application which meets with recognition.

1.                  This sentence is the summation.

2.                  The successful applicant is “keen to serve”—not out of duty alone, but with a keen perception of why service is so needed, and a keen desire to act on that perception. Such an applicant is alive to the life of service. To be keen is the very opposite of dullness. The Hierarchy cannot accept dullards. The energy presented by the successful applicant is acute. The level of activity (third aspect) is high (though not chaotic); the mind is sharp, the emotions responsive, the body resilient. At a sufficient point of tension, they are a bit like a coiled spring, without being debilitated by personal tension. The Members of the Hierarchy awaken us when we encounter them. The successful applicant carries this keen, awakening energy.

3.                  The successful applicant is “weighed down by a sense of world need.” This is very Aquarian image. Such candidates know how to carry (or at least, begin carrying) the “burden of the world”. This does not mean that they go about sadly or mournfully—silently implying, “Look how burdened I am—for your sake!” In fact, they will be joyous and exhilarated. But, they are under tension, and they do feel the pressure. It’s just that they don’t complain about it, so many will never know the strain under which they labor.

4.                  Because their eyes are open, they know the great issues and the risks which humanity is presently incurring, as well as the potentials which may be realized if all goes as it should. Such applicants are done with trivial things. Superficial lightness is not their way, for they have much to uphold. They cannot be frivolous or they may drop the load. Carrying such burdens, as we all know, requires great concentration.

5.                  Their eyes are focussed beyond the little ego—and the group, the community, the nation, the world—these are their real concern. They have begun to enter into the consciousness of the “I-that-is-we”.

6.                  Their sense of “personality responsibility” is awakened. “Someone has to do it” and they know that someone is not “someone else”. When, at last, does the disciple arrive at the realization that, although the problem is huge, the little action by the little person counts?

7.                  And, the successful applicant/candidate has “fulfilled the law”. Many of the major debts are paid. They cannot enter through the door carrying a list of many things undone, many wrongs un-righted, many obligations unfulfilled. Karma and its necessary expiation, definitely holds some otherwise worthy individuals back. Astrology and karma—these can temporarily inhibit passage in those who are otherwise ready. For if the karmic law is unfulfilled and if the astrological moment for initiation is not correct, initiation cannot occur. There is a deep wisdom in assuring that all is truly prepared and ready. The road is long and one false step can produce a great fall—not only for oneself but for the many connected to oneself.

8.                  In these studies we are learning to discriminate between an application which cannot rightfully be acknowledged, and one which will, under law, meet with recognition. Knowing these facts should save us time and serve to correct mistaken attitudes.

9.                  How conscious are we of our spiritual approach? Sufficiently? One should never too eagerly say, “Yes”. There are so many requirements to be fulfilled, but the great synthesis of love and intelligence removes the tedium from an overly meticulous observance of deficiencies.

 

I.                    They are the ones who send forth a cry for added power to aid, which penetrates to the ear of Those Who silently wait.

1.                   Note the “cry”; it is very much like the “plea” mentioned above. The applicant to initiation is beset by a sense of urgency, and the emotions are invested. Fiery aspiration is not a bland and lifeless thing. The applicant is on fire—hopefully with the fires of the heart.

2.                   The correct motive is again repeated—“added power to aid”. Initiation is empowerment. Power is a danger when the motive is incorrect; hence the constant repetition of that which constitutes the right motive.

3.                   Just as there is a single “Eye” (the Wisdom Eye), there appears to be a single “Ear”. This “Ear” must be a kind of group receptivity—a group attentiveness on the part of the benevolent inner authorities. What is suggested is that They ‘hear as one’ and ‘understand as one’. They dwell in a state of oneness, and can both see and hear the potential for unity arising from the candidate-as-application. Again, the idea that the candidate does not submit the application but is the application.

4.                   The Initiator and His assistants, dwell in the synthesis which is silence. They have “perfect poise”, the  “completed point of view” of the monad, and “divine understanding”. Their understanding is profound and tests every cry or plea that reaches Their “Ear”.

5.                   And They wait. Patience is one of the final aspects of the will to be developed. Sanat Kumara, the greatest exponent of Divine Will upon our planet, is the One Who has learned (more than any on this planet have learned) how to wait. He is always described as standing and waiting “at the very center of the Council Chamber of the Lord”.

6.                   There is a deep mystery in this waiting. It suggests the fullest possible love and understanding—and science. Only when there is true readiness is the Waiting One (whether it be the Master, the Christ or the King) ready to act.

7.                   The waiting of Those (here described) is an act of sustained, dynamic tension. The waiting is far from passive. It is an act of magnetism, drawing the candidate/applicant into ever greater conformity with the requirements.

8.                   We, too, have our opportunities to silently exert constructive patience. There are many around us who, in one way or another, have not met the requirements. Do we chasten them? Do we become irritated? Do we simply stop waiting and say “fend for yourself”? In these little things we are tested. Fortunately a supreme example is set for us, and if we are wise, we will reflect it in our lives of service.