THE ONLY PATH ON EARTH

Spanning the Bridge of Antahkarana to The Great Central Sun-Being of the Galaxy

I should say at the outset that, given the necessary brevity of these informative pieces from The Halls of Shamballa, the subject matter at hand may be but a superficial skimming of the surface of a topic which goes to the heart of the evolutionary progress of every single individual incarnate on this planet that we call Earth. During Mid-Atlantean Times (which spanned hundreds of thousands of years), when the 4th Root Race of Humankind was the pinnacle of sentient achievement here, The Lord of the World and Head of Earth's Spiritual Hierarchy (Sanat Kumara) decreed that the Path of Initiation would be the most orderly and efficient means for raising consciousness and advancing spiritual awareness in the long march of the Sentient Race of Man toward the goals which had been established by The Solar Logos of this system of planets. It had been tremendously successful on Planet Venus, from whence Sanat Kumara had come as The Saviour to reverse the downward spiraling of this planet and her inhabitants, and at the time when it was made an integral part of the Plan, many of the Members of Earth's Hierarchy had been called to higher posts on other planets in this solar system, and new Members from within the ranks of Mankind would be eventually needed to fill their places (see "Who Is Sanat Kumara?"). This Path would be long and arduous and fraught with perils, setbacks, vicissitudes, and anguish, but none who were approved by The Lords of Karma for entering the Incarnational Cycle here would escape the imperative for stepping onto this Path no matter how long it took or however many lives were needed to find the Portal. This would be the Way for all Souls Who elected to learn the lessons offered by Schoolhouse Earth. It would be overseen by The Great Teachers and Benefactors of Humanity, Those Who are called The Ascended Masters, and They, in turn, would be guided by even Higher Levels of Wisdom and Light - The Chohans of the 7 Rays, The 3 Great Lords, The Kumaras and Buddhas of Activity, and The Ancient of Days, The Lord of The World (please see "The Ashram Of The King"). It would take as long as it took. All would be given the free will to choose just how long it would take, with no judgement being passed on any who remained mired in the preliminary stages for eons and eons. There would ultimately be success for all who agreed to participate in the experiment, which actually had been decided upon by The Source or Higher Self of Sanat Kumara, The Planetary Logos. The Tibetan Master, Djwhal Khul, has said a great deal about the Initiatory Path and considered the subject to be so important and immediate that the very first book He dictated to Alice A. Bailey was "Initiation: Human and Solar", which was published in 1922. There are three phases of growth along this journey, and they are called the Path of Probation, the Path of Discipleship, and the Path of Initiation. For each individual on the planet, it matters not the birth circumstances, the country of origin, the ethnicity and race, the cultural peculiarities, the religion, the type of education, the chosen work or profession, or any other factor comprising the uniqueness of each life. It is inescapable that all are upon this Path at one stage or another, and its requirements are adapted to the varying circumstances of each neophyte who has bravely chosen Planet Earth as the proving ground. It may take, and it usually does take, hundreds of lifetimes to traverse the length of the Path of Probation while under the unconscious and mostly unrecognized tutelage of one of the disciples to an Ascended Master. Classes are taken at night while asleep and in the astral body and are given by the disciple who is responsible to his Master. The lessons are necessarily fundamental, such as building of character by developing a certain structure of right thinking, right living, and right conduct. Positive qualities that are lacking are cultivated, and the attempt is made to bring the personality under control. The probationer is taught to recognize weaknesses and to correct them. The impetus is given to become a helper of others with a goal of becoming a server of the Race of Man. Rudimentary lessons in the Law of One or Unity are provided, and the student begins to understand the underlying principle for helping others: All are One. Basically, construction is begun on the building of the Causal Body (also called the Higher Mental Body) to eventually make it a fit receptacle for the Christ Principle and the energies of the Second Ray. The progress of the probationer is "charted" in the Akashic Records (the Hall of Records), which can be found by Those Who know the way on the upper Astral Planes and lower Mental Planes. During the latter stages of the probationer's journey, The Ascended Master is watching more closely his or her progress, and when the student is ready The Master becomes The Teacher and the student becomes the disciple of The Master and has graduated to the Path of Discipleship. The disciple pledges to do 3 things: to serve Humanity, to cooperate in the Plan of The Spiritual Hierarchy, and to follow the guidance of the Higher Self and not the dictates of the 3-fold personality. A disciple is one who is learning to transmute the personal consciousness into the impersonal, to do group work rather than individual work, to change the center of thinking and activity from the self to others. A disciple must develope a sensitivity to the vibration and telepathy of The Master, a practical purity of life, a freedom of care from the personal concerns, a dispassion for the discharge of duties and karmic indebtedness, and a disciple must learn to use the tongue in an altruistic way as a means of spreading love and compassion. The Throat Chakra is slowly mastered by the disciple in learning to guard the words that are used and in learning to use words constructively as a vehicle for the Love Force that flows through the disciple. The path of the disciple is a thorny one, beset by briars at every step and difficulties at every turn, yet in treading the path and surmounting the difficulties and adhering to the overall good of the group, there will come attainment of the goal. A server of the Human Race stands forth, one who may be used as a voluntary vehicle by The Ascended Masters to develope, promote, and accomplish various aspects of the Plan of Sanat Kumara. Many, many lifetimes may be necessary as a disciple to a Master of Earth's Hierarchy before the Portal of the First Initiation is entered. Loneliness must be mastered because there is a dissociation from the preoccupations and concerns of all three aspects of the lower self personality (physical, emotional, and mental) and a reorientation of centeredness in the Higher Self or Soul. Happiness must be cultivated by the disciple, which springs from the forgetfulness of the self and the acknowledgement of the Divine Self within. Patience and endurance must be developed based on the knowing of the Higher Self that It is immortal and that there is time for everything. And the disciple must be prepared for the free expression of pure love without conditions as the Kundalini Fire is transferred from the Manipura Chakra up to the Anahata Chakra (Heart Center). It is not easy to love as do The Great Ones without expectation of anything in return. Finally, the disciple must gradually and absolutely give over the will of the minimally-comprehending personality to the Knowing-Will of The Master and all of That One's Wisdom. "Not my will but Thine be done". These are the steps leading to the Portal of the Birth of The Christ in the Cave of the Heart and the blissful security of being under the direct care and supervision of an Ascended Master of the Wisdom. A disciple is one who, after a lengthy and decidedly turbulent Probationary Path in the Hall of Ignorance, has been accepted into the Ashram of The Ascended Master where instruction is received at night in astral form from one of the Master's Initiate Members of the Ashram. Once accepted into discipleship, the disciple necessarily surrenders his or her will over to the powerful Will of The Beloved Master for the benefit of Humanity, the evolution of Earth, and the Plan which has been laid out by The Planetary Logos in conjunction with the guidance given by The Solar Logos and its Solar Hierarchy. The surrendering of the will has the full approval of the Higher Self, which is under the direct instruction of The Master. Yes, The Ascended Masters with Their Cosmic Consciousness are The Teachers of the Souls Who have become incarnate participants on this planet. This goes on lifetime after lifetime until the student-disciple is ready to enter the Portal of Initiation and take the First Initiation along that hallowed, mystical Path of Initiation trodden by the most exemplary, high-minded personages in history (and pre-history). There are 5 Major Initiations in this planetary scheme before one cycles off the Wheel of Rebirth, although 2 more Major Initiations may be achieved and taken by those High Initiates Who remain with Earth out of sacrifice and compassion for the long-suffering Human Race. Examples of Those Who have ascended and yet Who chose temporarily not to go on to more advanced evolutionary schemes are: El Morya, Kuthumi, Hilarion, Sananda, Saint Germain, and Maitreya. The 5 Initiations are called the Birth, the Baptism, the Transfiguration or Soul Merge, the Renunciation or Personal Crucifixion, and the Revelation. The life lived by Jehoshuah Ben Yussef (Jesus) intentionally exemplified the first 4 Initiations (He Ascended as Apollonius of Tyana). The 6th Initiation is The Level of The Chohans of the 7 Rays, and the 7th Initiation is The Level of The 3 Great Lords of Hierarchy (Manu, Bodhisattva, Mahachohan). The 5 Initiations are taken on the higher 3 sub-Planes of the Mental Plane, depending on which Initiation is taking place. The Ceremony of the Initiation marks the stupendously profound point of attainment of the Initiate but does not bring about that attainment. The goal of life as an incarnate aspect of the Soul is to bring about the realization of that Divine Source of Self (Self Realization) and then to bring the lower nature under its control. This is what the Initiatory Path is designed to do and what it most certainly does. That is the reason for the emphasis upon meditation, which gradually opens wider and wider a channel of conscious communication to the Higher Self, so that the personality may come more and more under its influence, may become more aligned with its purposes and goals, may become a better conduit for the Energies, Light, and Forces of the Soul, and may center the consciousness more in the Higher Mental Body (Causal Body). And all throughout this journey, the Soul is under the instruction and care of The Master, so alignment with Soul is naturally alignment with The Master. Volumes might be written about the Initiations themselves, but I'm afraid that I can give only an extremely condensed overview here. By the time that the First Initiation is taken, the physical body must have a very high degree of control by the Higher Self. The obedience of the flesh to the wisdom and constraints of the Higher Self must be practically automatic and supersede the desires of the personality. The temptations of the flesh are no longer temptations. The Initiate passes out of the Hall of Learning and into the Hall of Wisdom and becomes a Member of The Spiritual Hierarchy. The intervening period between the First and the Second may take many lives as the Initiate learns to bring the emotional body under full control, and the Second Initiation Itself marks the attainment of that control as well as the death of desire. Aspiration to serve, love, and make progress has become very strong. The emotional/astral body has become pure and unruffled, and the lower nature is giving way to the higher as the Soul is beginning to bend the lower vehicles to its will and purpose. By the time of the Third Initiation the lower self has come under the complete control of the Higher Self, and there has been developed the control of the mental vehicle, the lower mind, which is now illumined by the Soul. The personality is flooded with Light from above, the Soul becomes merged with the personality, the consciousness has become focused upon the Mental Plane, and the personality is liberated and has become simply an agent for the Soul. The 3-fold lower self may be considered absorbed by the Higher Self, and the psychic faculties have become stimulated and may be safely wielded and wisely used for helping the Human Race. It is essentially the elimination of the thought-form of the personality and a Great Initiation for the Soul on its own Plane. An ocean of love pours through the Initiate who becomes a servant of the will of the Soul. The personality consciousness is aware of no separation from the Soul and is completely free of any lure of matter-form. The Fourth Initiation marks the completion of the Bridge of Antahkarana which has been under construction between the personality and The Monad. The Monad is The Higher Self of the Higher Self. The lifetime during which the Renunciation is taken is one of tremendous suffering and great sacrifice. All has been renounced in the world of form: family, friends, material gains, reputation, character, desires, ambitions, standing, and even life itself. Even the perfected personality has been laid upon the altar of sacrifice. The Renunciation is a Monadic Experience as the Causal Body and the Soul Vehicle Itself is dissipated and reabsorbed into its Source, The Monad. There is, thereafter, a direct relation between The Father In Heaven (Monad) and the newly-created personality via the Antahkarana through which powerful forces and energies may be utilized for carrying on the work of the Adept. The Divine Intermediary (Soul) is no longer required. A line of Light between The Monad and personality is established. "I and my Father are one!". The Monumental Event of Ascension is the Fifth Initiation. This evolutionary crisis signifies the exit from the Wheel of Rebirth in the world of form. The Initiate Being is perfected as far as this planetary scheme is concerned, and That One usually goes on to higher and greater evolutionary schemes, one of which is Sirius (The Higher Self of our Solar Logos). A Fifth Level Initiate from Earth is equivalent to a First Level Initiate on Sirius, an "Entered Apprentice". The Path to Sirius is one of the 7 Paths that may be chosen and attracts the majority of Ascended Masters from this planet. If remaining with Earth, two more Major Initiations may be taken while carrying out the Purpose and Plan of Sanat Kumara and The Great Council of Shamballa. Any further work directly in the world of form involves the creation of the body of manifestation (mayavirupa) simply by the use of the will and intent accompanied by visualization, if The Master has not retained the old form from the final lifetime (now a Body of Light). During the Ceremony of Initiation Itself, which takes place on various levels of the Higher Mental Planes, there are different Participants, depending upon the Initiation. The Hierophant or Administrator of the 1st Two Initiations is The Bodhisattva, The World Teacher (previously Maitreya, currently Kuthumi). The Hierophant of the last Three Initiations is The One Initiator, Sanat Kumara, Who is present at the first two and His Power streams forth, but He's not seen face to face until the Third. There are two Sponsors for each Initiate, two Ascended Masters for the first Two Initiations and The Bodhisattva and The Mahachohan for the last Three Initiations. A Triangle of Force is formed by 3 Adepts in the earlier Initiations and by 3 Kumaras in the later Initiations. There are 5 stages to each Initiation which could be considered as ceremonies in and of themselves: the Revelation of the Presence, the Granting of a Vision, the Application of the Rod of Initiation, the Administration of the Oath, and the Giving of the Secret and the Word. The Sponsors and the Initiate form a triangle for the reception of the powerful force of the Rod of Initiation, which the Initiate could not withstand alone, and the Rod of Sanat Kumara is called the Flaming Diamond, which He brought from Venus. Details of these Initiations may be found in "Initiation: Human and Solar" published by Lucis Publishing, and a more detailed description of the Ceremonies may be found in "What Initiation Is Really About". This Path that has been given to us by The Lord of the World is one which allows an acceleration of spiritual developement through extraordinary discipline, arduous effort, and painful endeavor. It is not for the faint of heart and those who have become seduced by the material pleasures. It is in the nature of an experiment which is different on different planetary schemes, but its success was so spectacular on Planet Venus that Sanat Kumara, through His incomprehensible Wisdom, has offered it to Mankind in its struggles to attain higher consciousness. No one is forced against their free will to walk this Path though all wind up on it, whether they know it or not consciously, because agreements and contracts have been made preincarnatively, and the will of the personality voluntarily becomes subordinated to the greater will and wisdom of the Higher Self. From an overall perspective, this Path, from the stumblings as a probationer to the discipleship under an Ascended Master to the Ascension Itself, parallels the construction effort of building the Bridge of Antahkarana from the 3-fold personality to the True Source of our being, The Monad, The Higher Self of our Higher Self. Initially the Bridge is built to the Soul over eons of lifetimes while progressively the physical, emotional, and mental aspects of the lower self come under the enlightened control of the Soul. Finally the Bridge is further spanned from the Soul to The Monad during the later stages of the Initiatory Path as Monadic Consciousness is entered, the Causal Body is dissipated, and the Soul is reintegrated back into The Monad. A Master stands forth, free of the fetters of the Earth, where once stood an animal-man with barely the stirrings of mental activity. May your path lead you to The Stars and Beyond. OM MANI PADME HUM! James Oliver Cyr, M.D.

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