Through the active work of the two rays above discussed, we find the fourth ray producing eventually in man the appearance of the intuition. The fifth ray is responsible for the development in him of the intellect. Here again we find appearing in man his great gift of synthesis and his prerogative [Page 322] of unification, for—as earlier said—he blends in himself the qualities of three kingdoms in nature, including the one before and the one after his own.
1. The kingdom of souls..........................Intuition.
2. The human kingdom............................Intellect.
3. The animal kingdom............................Instinct.
Hence his problem, and hence his glory. We might also say that through the union of the positive intuition and the negative instinct the intellect is born, for man repeats in himself the great creative process as enacted in the universe. This is the inner creative side of consciousness, just as we have the outer creative side in the creation of forms.
Process:
In the human family, owing to the presence within the human physical form of a thinking entity, called by us the Soul, the procedure followed in order to produce conscious control is that of adaptation. All forms in the three lower subhuman kingdoms are also subjected to the process of adaptation, but that is a group adaptation to environment, whereas in humanity we have the adaptation of the individual to his environment. The person who works consciously and intelligently at adapting himself to that situation and those conditions in which he finds himself is relatively rare. Conscious adapting of oneself to circumstances is the result of evolutionary development. The stages by which man arrives at this capacity may be enumerated as follows:
1. That unconscious adaptation to his environment of the man who is primarily an unintelligent animal. Low grade savages are in this class, and many purely agricultural peasants who have not been subjected to modern education. The man at this stage is little better than an animal and is governed entirely by instinct.
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2. An unconscious adaptation to environment carried on by the man who is beginning to evidence some faint flickers of mental perception. This is partly instinctual and is based on a growing self-love. There is more of the "I" consciousness in him, and rather less of group instinctual awareness. You find this growing self-realisation in the low grade slum dwellers, for instance, and in the petty criminal who is instinctual enough and bright enough to live by his wits and to show quickness in reactions and deftness manually. It is the stage of animal cunning.
3. A conscious and purely selfish adapting of oneself to the environment. In these cases, the man is definitely aware of his motives; they are consciously thought out and recognised, and the man makes "the best of his circumstances". He forces himself to live as far as possible harmoniously in his surroundings. In this there is really good motive, but principally the man is governed by a desire for comfort—physical, emotional and mental—to such a degree that he will discipline himself into such a condition that he fits wherever he may be and can get on with anyone.
4. From this stage on the differentiations become so numerous that they are difficult to follow, being mixtures of pure selfishness (developed often to the nth degree), of a growing recognition of the group, of an awakening realisation of the right of other people to a similar degree of comfort and harmony, and of a steady effort to adapt conditions of character and personality life, so that the purely selfish interests do no real damage to others, until we arrive at...
5. The average really good man who is struggling to adapt himself to his surroundings, to his group relations and responsibilities in such a way that some measure of love [Page 324] can be seen. I refer not here to that instinctual love for family and children and herd which men share in common with the animals and which often breaks down when the loved individuals assert themselves. The tie is not strong enough to hold, and the motive is too selfish to resist the pull. I refer to that motivated love which recognises the rights of others and consciously strives to adapt itself to those recognised rights whilst tenaciously holding on to the rights of the personality.
6. Then we have the work of adaptation as carried on by the aspirants of the world who are theoretically convinced of their group relation, of its paramount importance, and of the need of every personality to develop its powers to the fullest capacity in order to bring real value to the group and to serve adequately the group need. In true esotericism, there is no such motive as "killing the personality", or of disciplining it to such an extent that it becomes a dead poor thing. The true motive is to train the threefold lower nature, the integrated personality, to the highest demonstration of its powers, latent or developing, in order that those powers may be brought to the helping of the group need, and the personality of the aspirant may be integrated into the group. Thereby the group life is enriched, the group potency is increased, and the group consciousness is enhanced.
What is therefore to be seen going on in the life of the true aspirant today (his developing recognition of group responsibility) can also be seen going on in groups, in organisations and nations. Hence the many experiments. A process is going forward whereby these groups, large or small, are being subjected to a housecleaning, to a discarding of the rubbish of old and worn-out ideas, and to a period of disciplining and training [Page 325] which must precede all real group life. When this process is over, we shall have these groups approaching each other in a new and real spirit of cooperation, of religious fusion, and in an international attitude which will be new indeed. Then they will have something of a surer and greater value to offer to the whole. Within all these groups which are struggling towards this newer realisation and integration, and which express what we might call "the sixth stage of adaptation,", are those who are already at the seventh stage.
7. Here we have complete unselfish adaptation to the group need and purpose. Those who have reached this point in their evolution are decentralised as regards their own personality life. The focus of their mental attention is in the soul and in the world of souls. Their attention is not directed towards the personality at all, except in so far as is needed to force it to adhere to group or soul purpose. These servers who are expressions of soul radiance and attractive power are knowers of the Plan, and in every organisation they constitute the new and slowly growing group of World Servers. In their hands lies the salvation of the world.
8. The final group in this scale of adaptation is that of the higher initiates, the perfected Elder Brethren and Great Companions. They are perfectly adapted to Their personalities, to each other and to world conditions; but as a group They are learning how to adapt the forces of nature, the energies of the rays and the potencies of the zodiacal signs to the world need and the world demand in a practical manner and at any particular time. It is here that the work of the disciples of the world, and of the higher types of aspirants, proves helpful [Page 326] as a field of experiment, and it is in the new group of World Servers that the process of adaptation goes on.
I have endeavoured to outline these stages of the process of adaptation in terms of consciousness, viewing the subject therefore philosophically and psychologically. It should be remembered that this process, as it goes on in consciousness, produces (surely and inevitably) corresponding changes in mechanism and structure, and in sense perception through the apparatus of the body. On these changes I lay no emphasis in this treatise, for they are beautifully dealt with by modern science, which is steadily forging ahead in the right direction. I lay the emphasis upon consciousness as the pre-disposing factor, and on the developed sense of awareness which produces an inner demand for improved equipment. The improving of equipment as a result of the demand of consciousness is the secret of the evolutionary impulse, down the ages. This inner demand in man awakens the centres, and the awakening of the centres determines the response of the endocrine system, governs the nervous system in its threefold capacity, and also the blood stream. Thus the outer form or mechanism is ever an indication of the point of evolution of the inner subjective and spiritual man.
The Secret:
This is called, in esotericism, "the secret of translation". I might bring the general concept underlying those words down to the intelligence of the average student by telling him that when a man really understands the elevating power of the aspiration, he can begin to work with the secret of translation. Students must lose sight of the foolish and erroneous idea that aspiration is really an emotional attitude. It is not. It is a scientific process, governing evolution itself. [Page 327] When given free scope and duly followed, it is the mode par excellence whereby the matter aspect, or the whole personality, is "raised up into heaven". The effect of continued aspiration, when followed by right action, is to bring about three things:
1. A stimulation of the higher atoms of the three bodies.
2. The discarding, as a result of this stimulation, of those atomic substances which (when present) occultly hold the aspirant down to earth.
3. The increasing of the magnetic attractive power of the higher atoms, which draw to themselves atoms of high vibration to take the place of those of low vibration. One point I should like to make here, in order to correct an almost universal wrong mental attitude. Right atoms of high vibration are attracted into a man's body or bodies by the power of the united attraction of the atoms already present, and not primarily by the will of the soul, except in so far as that will acts upon the high grade atoms already present and responsive.
Aspiration is an activity of an occult and scientific nature, and is instinctual in substance itself. This point needs emphasis when instructing groups.
It is an interesting side-light thrown upon the phenomena of aspiration that the power to levitate the body, which is so oft today the subject of psychic interest and research, is dependent upon having produced a peculiar alignment of the personality through aspiration and an act of the will. It presupposes in the three bodies a certain percentage of atoms of the adequate vibrations and lightness.
This secret of translation is the underlying cause of the caste system, and caste is a symbol of translation. In the last analysis, souls pass from caste to caste as they "translate" [Page 328] their bodies. The clue to the translation is to be found in the fact that no act of translation ever involves one body alone, and no "passing on and up" into another dimension, into another state of consciousness and another "caste," ever takes place unless an alignment has been produced between (for instance):
a. The physical body and the emotional body.
b. These two and the mental body.
c. These three and the soul.
d. These four and the group of World Servers.
In these four alignments we have the esoteric parallels of which the outer caste system is the prostituted symbol. Ponder on this, for the caste system is universal in the world. It is when the third alignment has been truly accomplished and when the light of the fourth constituent to the relationship dominates the inherent light of the other three, that the objective of man's evolution is reached. This brings us to the point next to be considered.
Purpose:
This purpose is the Transfiguration. This is the esoteric goal set before humanity. This was the tremendous event which was enacted before humanity by the greatest of all the sons of God in His Own Body, Whom I and all true disciples regard as the Master of all the Masters, the Christ. What shall I say about this culminating event for which the entire personality of man waits? This third great initiation marks a crisis in the initiatory work, and produces a further synthesis experienced in the life of the spiritual man. Up to the third initiation, man has been occupied with the process of fusing soul and body into one unity. After the third initiation (and owing to an event which takes place) man is [Page 329] oriented towards, and becomes occupied with, a further fusion in consciousness, that of spirit-soul-body. I speak of a fusion in consciousness. The unity is ever there, and man in evolution is really becoming aware of that which already exists.
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You are neither behind the point of perfection nor are you advancing toward it. You are at the point of perfection and it is from there you must understand your self from.
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