Commentary on Rule VII for Disciples and Initiates

Commentary on Rule VII for Disciples and Initiates

Part I of V

Focus for the Second Month of Study on Rule(s) VII

A.From the second month up until the fifth month, we will focus upon the Rule VII for Disciples and Initiates

During the second month we will focus upon the first sectionofRule VII for Disciples and Initiates (from February 25thto March 25th 2005).

We might choose as theme for our meditation

Either Rule VII for Disciples and Initiates:

“Rule VII for Disciples and Initiates: Let the group life emit the Word of invocation and thus evoke response within those distant Ashrams where move the Chohans of the race of men. They are no longer men as are the Masters, but, having passed beyond that lesser stage, have linked Themselves with the Great Council in the highest Secret Place. Let the group sound a dual chord, reverberating in the halls where move the Masters but finding pause and prolongation within those radiant halls where move the ‘Lights which carry out the Will of God’.” (RI, p. 136)

Or sub-themes, to which DK refers in His commentary to the Rule, such as (RI, p. 132 to p. 136 middle):
Rule VII for D+I is “concerned with the life of Shamballa and with the purposes of the Great Council”. (cf. RI, p. 132)
“The fact of the Hierarchy is to many thinkers an established fact; the hypothesis that there may be a Hierarchy is a widespread recognition. Information concerning its grades, its modes of working and its objectives are now common property; much has been accepted and much proved by those who believe this teaching.” (cf. RI, p. 133)
The Teaching on the Hierarchy “has now seeped down into the consciousness of the masses and is there producing curiosity, relief and hope, speculation and cynical laughter, conscious spiritual effort or sustained ridicule—according to the type of mind, the sensitivity to truth or the crass credulity of the recipient. But the knowledge, belief and hope in the existence of a planetary Hierarchy has today leavened the entire mass of human thinking in a far wider and deeper manner than perhaps the most optimistic suspect; herein lies the hope of the world, and here is to be found also a fertile field for spiritual work during the coming decades.” (cf. RI, p. 133)
“The rules whereby the Hierarchy may be reached are already well known to the aspirants of the world; they must become equally well known to the average person.” (cf. RI, p. 133)
“The objectives of the hierarchical work must be emphasised and the nature of the divine Plan unfolded so that purpose and goal may be presented to humanity; the synthesis of the chain of hierarchical Existences—from the smallest atom of matter up to and including the Lord of Life Himself—must be unfolded; the essential and spiritual interdependence of all and the interrelation of every unit of divine life must be proved. This will eventually lead to that established unity of effort which will express itself in the merging of the fourth and the fifth kingdoms in nature, and to the establishment of that brotherhood which will constitute the germ or the seed of the coming manifestation of the Hierarchy as the Heart of God (directly related to the Heart of the Sun) in physical expression.” (cf. RI, p. 133-134)
“The entire field of the world—meaning by that phrase all the kingdoms in nature in united inner and outer relationship—will be the medium of recognised spiritual experience and also the field of expression of certain divine qualities and aspects which have hitherto been in quiescent abeyance.” (cf. RI, p. 134)
“A great upheaval in all the kingdoms in nature has characterised this day and generation; a stupendous destruction of all forms of divine life and in every kingdom has been the outstanding note of this upheaval. Our modern civilisation has received a death blow from which it will never recover, but which will be recognised some day as the "blow of release" and as the signal for that which is better, new and more suitable for the evolving spirit, to make its appearance.” (cf. RI, p. 134)
“The coherent life of all the planetary forms has been temporarily rendered incoherent. As an ancient prophecy has put it: ‘No true united Sound goes out from form to form, from life to life. Only a cry of pain, a demand for restitution and an invocation for relief from agony, despair and fruitless effort goes out from here to There.’” (cf. RI, p. 135)
“All this upheaval of the "soil" of the world—spiritual, psychological and physical—all this disruption of the forms and of the familiar contours of our planetary life had to take place before there could come the emergence of the Hierarchy into the public consciousness; all this had to do its work upon the souls of men before the New Age could come in, bringing with it the Restoration of the Mysteries, and the rehabilitation of the peoples of the earth.” (cf. RI, p. 135)
“The disruption, disintegration and the completely chaotic conditions existing for the past five hundred years within all the kingdoms of nature have at last worked their way out into paralleling physical conditions. This is good and desirable; it marks the prelude to a better building of a better world, the construction of more adequate forms of life and of more correct human attitudes, plus a sounder orientation to reality.” (cf. RI, p. 135)
“The best is yet to be.” (cf. RI, p. 135)
“Everything is being rapidly brought to the surface—the good and the bad, the desirable and the undesirable, the past and the future (for the two are one); the plough of God has nearly accomplished its work; the sword of the spirit has severed an evil past from the radiant future, and both are seen as contributory in the Eye of God; our material civilisation will be seen as giving place rapidly to a more spiritual culture; our church organisations, with their limiting and confusing theologies, will soon give place to the Hierarchy, with its emerging teaching—clear, factual, intuitive and non-dogmatic.” (cf. RI, p. 135)
“The Hierarchy has been invoked and its Members are ready for a great ‘act of evocation,’ of response to the invoking sound of humanity and of a definite (though relatively temporary) ‘act of orientation.’ This will force the Hierarchy, of its own freewill, to turn towards a new and more intimate type of relation with humanity.” (cf. RI, p. 135-136)
The “period of orientation will end when a powerful, earthly Hierarchy will factually, externally and in reality hold sway on earth, working in all the kingdoms of nature and thus bringing about (in truth) the expression of the divine Plan.” (cf. RI, p. 136)
The “plan is implemented through the medium of the senior Members of the Hierarchy, Who invoke the ‘Lights which carry out the Will of God’; They are Themselves invoked by the Light-Bearers, the Masters; They again, in Their turn, are invoked by the aspirants and disciples of the world. Thus is the chain of Hierarchy only a life line, along which travel the love and life of God, from Him to us and from us to Him.” (cf. RI, p. 136)
“This dual thought of the relationship between humanity and the Hierarchy, and between the Hierarchy and the highest Centre, Shamballa, is completely covered in Rule VII in its two forms—for applicants, and for disciples and initiates.” (cf. RI, p. 136)

[Underlining and Bolding—MDR]

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The Rule which is our theme for consideration at this time is one of deep significance and esoteric interest; it is concerned with the life of Shamballa and with the purposes of the Great Council.

When we think of the “Great Council” we must realize that it is focussed within the innermost sanctum of Shamballa of which the essential members are Sanat Kumara and the Three Buddhas of Activity. The three Esoteric Kumaras may also be considered members, though the mode of their participation is not given exoterically.
The Buddhas of Activity are considered exoteric Kumaras. At various times changes of position occur between the esoteric and exoteric Kumaras.
It is obvious that of the deliberations of this “Great Council” we can know practically nothing (at our present stage of evolution) except what is told to us by some great soul spiritually closer to that Council.

This rule is also one of rare beauty and extraordinary implications, and it offers me the opportunity to enlarge upon a subject little known or understood by any esotericist in the average esoteric group.

In this section we see the Tibetan advancing the teaching presently available. If we think carefully about the esoteric teaching available before His writings, we will recognize the infrequency with which Shamballa was mentioned and the almost total lack of any specific information with respect to it.

The [Page 133] reason for this is that it is only as the new cycle draws closer—as it is drawing today—that the new and fuller teaching, the greatly extended horizon and the tremendously enhanced perception of the spiritual observer and worker become possible and apparent.

We are living in times during which the horizon of human consciousness is expanding greatly and rapidly. There are certain stresses and strains with such rapid expansion.
The “new cycle” drawing closer is clearly (at least) the Age of Aquarius with its anticipated beginning in 2117 (the year of another transit of Venus across the face of the Sun).
There are, doubtlessly, other great cycles of which we know nothing, converging at this time.

Much, very much, has been given out during the past one hundred years anent the Masters, and (as we are considering the subject of initiation and of preparation for that great transitional experience) it is necessary to understand somewhat the nature of Those with Whom the disciple has to associate, and the kind of world and of consciousness in which They live and move and have Their being.

If we stop to assess the extent of the teaching offered by the Tibetan through AAB and partially through HPB, we may stand amazed at what has been offered. Hierarchy is surely doing what it can to prepare the minds and hearts of humanity for the great planetary developments which lie immediately ahead.
Initiation is called a “transitional experience”. Humanity which is preparing to undergo the first initiation is, therefore, obviously passing through a tremendous transition. Those who are stagnant in their perceptions will not notice this, and those who possess a deliberately chosen retrogressive consciousness will resent it and fight against it, but those who seek to cooperate with the development of truly Aquarian understanding and with the movement of humanity towards the fifth kingdom of nature will rejoice in this transition and its inevitable difficulties. How else to progress?
Increasingly, disciples of the world will be more closely associated with the Masters of the Wisdom. The Externalization of the Hierarchy will guarantee this.
Eventually, groups of disciples will come into closer energy-contact with the high beings who move with the precincts of Shamballa. A direct association will be a far distant eventuality, but at length it will come. At the present time disciples in their groups must at least become more receptive to the streams of energy emanating from such beings. After all, groups which are “merged in the fifth” are to be “nourished by the sixth and seventh”.

The fact of the Hierarchy is to many thinkers an established fact; the hypothesis that there may be a Hierarchy is a widespread recognition. Information concerning its grades, its modes of working and its objectives are now common property; much has been accepted and much proved by those who believe this teaching.

We may not realize it, but the spread of knowledge concerning the factual existence of the Spiritual Hierarchy of our planet and its modes of working are a tremendous advantage to humanity. The sense of plan and purpose is thereby greatly stimulated, and humanity is saved from the license arising from a destructive hedonism and, even, nihilism.
We note an important statement: not only has much been “accepted” anent the existence and nature of the Spiritual Hierarchy, but much has been proved.
Importantly, belief must follow proof or verification. Humanity must achieve a truer understanding of an orientation to the Hierarchy if it to verify for itself the existence of that Hierarchy. The correct orientation is other than “show me and then I will believe”. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.”

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Before proceeding to a discussion of Rule VII, however, I would like to spend a moment studying some of the effects of this steadily growing fund of knowledge.

As students of occultism it is our duty to absorb the Tibetan’s thought, ponder it, and add to the “fund of knowledge”. To the extent possible, this “knowledge” must be applied.
We can see how much the mind of humanity must be prepared concerning the nature of the Hierarchy before it would be possible for that Hierarchy to externalize in a constructive manner.

It has become the possession of the many and not only of the rare and discreet esotericist and occult student;

We note the requirement that the true student of esotericism is not only rare but, importantly, “discreet”. Until thispresent era, the “Secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven” have not been shouted from the rooftops, and even today, in an period of extensive dissemination of the inner teaching, only the slightest part of it has been made exoteric.
Discretion is a virtue related to the responsible use of energies and forces.

this teaching has now seeped down into the consciousness of the masses and is there producing curiosity, relief and hope, speculation and cynical laughter, conscious spiritual effort or sustained ridicule—according to the type of mind, the sensitivity to truth or the crass credulity of the recipient.

The Hierarchy relies upon a method of slow recognition and assimilation, here called seeping. The process is gradual and occurs almost unconsciously. It may take fifty years for a new idea to become incorporated into the public consciousness. The results of the gradual infusion of new ideas are more clearly seen in retrospect.
DK is entirely realistic about public reaction to knowledge concerning the Spiritual Hierarchy. The ‘soil’ in which Hierarchy must plant the seed of wisdom is not uniformly receptive.
As disciples we wish to be neither cynical and rejecting nor crassly credulous. There is a middle road of discerning receptivity and patient experimentation.

But the knowledge, belief and hope in the existence of a planetary Hierarchy has today leavened the entire mass of human thinking in a far wider and deeper manner than perhaps the most optimistic suspect;

The real effect has been noted by Hierarchy. We are not in a position to see it. Hierarchy measures the progress of human consciousness as a whole.
The word “leavened” is interesting, as it suggests a rising or elevation. Man used to live on “unleavened bread” which we can interpret as knowledge devoid of the elevating vision of the second aspect of divinity. Such knowledge is spiritually ‘flat’.

herein lies the hope of the world, and here is to be found also a fertile field for spiritual work during the coming decades. For this all disciples must prepare.

In this field we, as disciples, have been working. That “fertile field” must continuously be seeded during the coming two decades (before 2025). At that time, the great Centennial Conclave will occur, and new plans for the regeneration of the humanity and the planet will be laid and implemented by Shamballa and its Ashram (the Spiritual Hierarchy).

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The rules whereby the Hierarchy may be reached are already well known to the aspirants of the world; they must become equally well known to the average person; the objectives of the hierarchical work must be emphasised and [Page 134] the nature of the divine Plan unfolded so that purpose and goal may be presented to humanity;

The Hierarchy’s wishes for the dissemination of knowledge concerning its purpose, nature and practices could not be more clearly presented.
In case we have wondered whether one should discuss the Spiritual Hierarchy with the “average” individual, this section gives the affirmative in no uncertain terms.
Not only are average individuals to become familiar with the Spiritual Hierarchy, but its purpose, nature and modes of work are to become “well known” to them.
This, in effect, means that humanity is to come into a measure of understanding of the Divine Plan. Fortunately, much progress along this line has occurred—quietly.

the synthesis of the chain of hierarchical Existences—from the smallest atom of matter up to and including the Lord of Life Himself—must be unfolded;