The Great Initiation (8)

Today we are going to deal with the First Great Initiation. Preparation for this initiation is contained in the series of practices belonging to the First Class of Yoga. Brief Mystical Clues on this work are included in the first chapter of Patanjali’s textbook known under the title “Yogasutra”. Consequently, it describes what we usually do, i.e. SAMADHI-PADAH.

The First Great Initiation is a moment in which man ceases to be an ordinary man. He becomes a Saint, an Enlightened One, a Redeemed One. He is a Lord’s Pilgrim (sansk. PARIVRAJAKA). In this process one becomes part of the Communion of Saints, of the Great White Fraternity. This is not a reason to be proud, this is a reason to continue work, which consequently becomes more intense. That’s why a lot of Masters call their initiated disciples “workers” or “servants’.

Actions which are in accord with the laws of Nature are a sign of their activity, whereas showing the Destination, Direction and Means are kind of the Mission of Their Lives. First of all, the purification process bleaches the robes of the disciple’s consciousness. Joining the Circle of the Initiated Ones is preceded by a trial period. Numerous spiritual, prayer-focused or consciousness-focused courses serve this aim. This is the Trial Path that is also called the Preparatory Path. Initiation is a turning point in the development of one’s potential to Be God’s Image. One must be a good image of one’s Source so that Initiation may flow from This Source. It confers on one the Power to bestow a blessing. It is a magnificent charisma, a miraculous gift.

Many practices and activities bring us closer to ascending the higher Circle of Life. According to Laya transmission, there are nine Circles of Life that are possible to describe. Ordinary mankind occupies the fourth Circle of Life. It is a Circle of Heart Initiations. The three preceding Circles occupy, respectively, the Mineral Kingdom, the Plant Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom. The one above ours, one occupied by people aspiring to approach God is the Fifth Circle: the Star Circle.

Everyone who makes the necessary spiritual effort to develop oneself: one’s psyche and body, will undergo an Initiation so as to enter the current, the stream of the Fifth Circle of Life. The Initiation School of Divine Life conducted by the Radiant Fraternity starts with the First Initiation. Further development includes subsequent Initiations, ending with the Fifth One. Four Great Initiations are a result of sufficient preparation. The following four chapters of Patanjali’s Yogasutras are a brief preamble to the aspects of work leading to the attainment of the Grace of these Holy Initiations.

The Spiritual Brothership, the Assembly of the Hierarchy wield the sceptre of Initiation and possess the Power to bestow this Magnificent Blessing. Great Initiations depend on the extent of deep spiritual union with Lord and God existing inside your Heart, who, as you remember, is called Ishvara. Guruyoga practice proves very helpful here. Five Great Initiations come via the inner Higher Self, the Divine Spirit – Purusha.

Purusha, also referred to as the Jewel of the Dawn, is precisely Your own Higher Self, Your Primordial Nature in its own form. Ishvara is the ideal of God, who represents the human line of evolution until the moment he reaches his own primordial shape. Purusha is that which receives the Great Initiation. The substance of body and mind (psyche) is that which goes through the experience of being honoured with this incredible grace.

There are two Circles of Life (two waves of holy existence) that exist directly above ordinary, average mankind. They are inhabited by Beings who are closer to the destination of the journey than all the others. The Light Blue Circle is, in other words, the Sixth Circle of Life, also called the Circle of Masters of Wisdom. The Sixth Circle is also called the Light Blue Lodge and it is formed by all those who have completed their journey within the Light Blue Circle. The Third Great Initiation commences the Circle of Masters of Wisdom. It corresponds to the fruit in the Third Class of Yoga (Vibuthi-padah), on condition it has been completed duly.

The seventh Circle of Life is also called the White Lodge. It is inhabited by Beings who have completed their education, as well as the White Circle (the Light Blue Lodge) practice. The Fifth Great Initiation, in which God and Lord together with the Hierarchy grant Purusha, introduces one into the White Lodge. The White Lodge is called the Circle of the Evolution of Divine Beings.

One who wishes to enter the stream of spiritual life must transcend the highest peak of the Human Circle. Realisation of a truly Human Life, and, eventually, its transcending, is a necessary prerequisite. At this point man becomes a Pilgrim, Lord’s Itinerant. Esoteric Rituals which lead one onto the Eternal Path are Treasures of each spiritual tradition.

Everyone must cross the Purification Circle as the Trial (Preparation) Path which is also called the Apprenticeship, prior to the first Great Initiation. Normally, the term True Disciple is used with reference to those who received the Stamp of Initiation, and the term Candidate (Aspiring One, Trial Disciple) is used to describe those who are still preparing themselves for this moment. A helping hand of older Brothers and Sisters of the Hierarchy is constantly held out to humanity, to You. God keeps waiting for you and calling: “Come here”.

Everything that is unexplored is a Mystery. If you ask questions, you receive answers. Only those who ask questions receive answers. Only those who seek, find the way and its destination. Those who followed the Way, became the Way. Buddha is not different from the Way. Jesus is not different from the Way, Rama is not different from the Way. The enlightened ones hold the torch of Radiance above, thus brightening the Expanse of Darkness for those who seek. Each Luminescent Soul may give an account of how they accomplished their Goal. This is how Holy Scriptures were created.

The Heart Lotus (sanskr. Anahata Padma) experiences each of the Initiations most powerfully. The Trial Path (the Purification Circle) is work on three outside petals of the Heart Flower. The three petals, i.e. types of energy are:

  1. golden and yellow
  2. reddish and pink,
  3. blue and light blue.

The Opening of the Heart, until Three Petals fully flourish, means preparation, purification for the Initiation. The vibration of prańava, the holy sound, the word AUM, stimulates the heart to grow in the right direction. Ordinary, deep and unhurried breathing which consists of inhaling and exhaling, efficiently discards burdens inside the heart, so that it can flourish.

Each religion and each spiritual tradition refers to the Heart in this way or another and prepares the Heart for the Grace of Initiation. Lack of sensitivity inside the Heart makes it difficult to develop the Lotus Flower and impossible to accept the energy of Inititation. The first aspect of the Purification Circle is Learning (The Right Outlook), the second aspect is Practice (Proper Meditation) and the third aspect is Synthesis (Proper Actions). Afterward we receive the Fruit of Grace, known in yoga as Shiva Siddhis.

The first aspect reveals itself in search, the second aspect reveals itself in eagerness to fulfil, and the third aspect glows with universalism and perceiving the entirety. Man is a fruit of work with energies in three kingdoms: that of minerals, plants and animals. It is analogous to the Heart. The First Initiation signifies that one ceases to be human.

The Heart comprises a repeated cycle of the evolutionary progress of the entire Nature. However, the sequence is reversed here. In the evolutionary cycle, at first we have the elementary work of minerals, and the animal consciousness emerges at the end, whereas in the heart everything starts with the mind, which developed as a result of natural evolution. Inside the Heart everything grows thanks to energy received from the transformation of the thinking mind.

In the first phase man is interested in the animal kingdom. He frees himself from beastly emotions such as aggression, animosity, fear, selfishness, i.e, radically egoistical attitude orientated to oneself, or jealousy. The initial phase of the Purification Circle binds the Heart with the solar plexus and stomach, as a result of which man tends to become a vegetarian. Love for animals is an ideal motif of spiritual development.

In the second phase you will approach the plant kingdom, the awareness of trees, grass and flowers. Those who practice within the second aspect, often escape to natural environment, where they can live in harmony with the plant world and the water world at the same time. The world of plants is related to the world of the water element. In the evolution of plants one discovers one’s own path leading towards the goal. The symbol of a flower is a symbol of metamorphosis of the realm of emotions and feelings. The transformation of the whole emotional realm of human experiences takes place in this very phase. Beauty may be a key factor in opening the second petal of the heart.

In the third phase man become closer to the world of minerals, precious stones and crystals. An ordinary rock or stone may reveal a lot about what used to be Primordial consciousness. Crystal Pure Consciousness may be the leading theme of a practice. Discovering universal laws and relationships will be a sign of being active. Great activity will be a sign of power and the energy of earth accumulated in its own, crystal-like, pure quality of the Heart, and Your own Heart will shine like a diamond.

Only man develops self-knowledge. You may reach the completeness of I AM consciousness. This is God’s Name revealed to Moses (Hebrew: EHIEH). This is the Highest Name of God (Elohim) worshipped in the Jewish tradition. Muslims adore the I AM in exactly the same meaning. God is one that Exists (Arabic: ALLAH al- Qajjum). Jesus speaks of Himself I AM, emphasising the rank and importance of I AM in Christianity. The completeness of the consciousness of existence is also highlighted in Vedic and Hindu teachings (OM AHAM in Sanskrit).

You are the picture of Completeness. God (Brahman) is Omnipresent. There is no place in which He is absent. All matters of this world are familiar to God. The same laws are binding throughout the universe. Rita is the eternal law and the ultimate principle of all phenomena. Commandments ensue from the first principle. The oneness of all the laws is consistent with the first principle of all phenomena.

You are the picture of the Entirety. Each Entirety has its Centre, its headquarters. If the brain is Your Centre, then the Sun is the brain of the solar system. The Universe as a Whole also has its brain. The discovery of the Centre of the entire Universe will be interesting for science. And where is the brain of the being called God, Brahma?

By transforming yourself you may also change your surroundings. If there are no changes in your surroundings (environment), this means that You have not changed as a person. Any alteration within You finds an immediate reflection in your environment. This is the law of the mirror. The stronger the change inside you, the clearer reflection it finds in your surroundings. The feedback law is the same as the principle of the mirror. Simple work with oneself may transform the world. If you seek Peace, calm down. If you seek Love – Love.

Action provokes counter-action. The resistance of your surroundings results from the principle of Action and Reaction. It indicates that you strive for something and you use force. You haven’t reached it yet. This is normal. If You change something, then the process of transformation will end. You will cease to apply force and the counter-reaction “disappears”. When you gather the fruit, it is both inside and outside of you. Accept that things are the way you wish them to be. Accept the fruit instead of fighting for it.

Your environment is a mirror reflection of Your inner world. When you see people and occurrences you may find out a lot about yourself. The purification of the three heart petals means the purification of your own life, own environment. Therefore, when you redeem yourself, you redeem your entire world. The path of self-liberation is the same as the path of liberation that you pave for other people.

The Purification Circle (The Trial Path) may consist of three preliminary initiations that are granted by Your direct Teacher, as a preparation for the Great Initiation. Opening one’s heart for others, and, what is more important, keeping one’s heart open is an indicator of work performed. One who doesn’t want to open his heart and pull down all the walls that separate him from other hearts, will not find anything of interest on spiritual paths.

Eliminating feeling of resentment, aversion, hostility, touchiness, vindictiveness and malice is a portion of work performed, particularly in the second phase. The initial phase focuses on freeing oneself from the bondage of mental and intellectual habituation and concepts. This leads to the conversion of the mental realm (psyche) from illusion to real knowledge.

Silencing the chaos of constantly appearing reminiscences and mental projections is a very fundamental practice. In terms of yoga we say that the only thing left inside one’s consciousness is cultivating PRAMANA (the Right Outlook). The first aspect of the Purification Circle may be called Mind Transformation, and the second may be called Transformation of Emotions.

The third aspect reaches as far as to deep, primordial instincts, which accompany the material world since the beginning of the stage of mineral evolution. Transformation of primordial instincts is the work within the third aspect of the Purification Circle. Liberation from the conditioning determined by instinct is the final pillar that has to be erected before receiving Initiation. One’s work will focus on transforming activities such as speaking, eating, sex, sleeping and all other derivative activities. Usually, the third part is the longest one: Pure Primordial Instinct is finally perceived as God’s Will. Not until then does full, spiritual devotion (sanskr. Ishvarapranidhana) become complete.

Initiation introduces one into the Consciousness of Guru, of the Divine Hierarchy, into God’s consciousness and into Oneness with HIM. One completes the First Class (sanskr. ANGA). There are many signs, fruit of completion and stamps of Initiation. It is easy for the Initiated Ones to recognize each other. Great Initiations are great, as they mean more work, more service, more devotion and more knowledge which is indispensable for the former. Any tips on effective work within this Purification Circle are contained in Samadhi-padah, including the necessary knowledge and exercises.

Purification means Sanctification. Initiation is God’s Grace. If one follows the instructions, one practices the knowledge. One who proves to be faithful in small matters, will be entrusted with more important ones. Transformation of the mind is a birth, transformation of emotions is a baptism, transformation of instincts is a communion. This is the way in which we experience the Spiritual Birth, the Stamp of the Enlightened Ones. This is a truly spiritual sense of the initiaton of Confirmation, initiation into the Power of the Holy Spirit. May each soul attain its eternal Goal in the task within the self-fulfilling Universal Mystery of Creation that it has been assigned. Hum!

Acharya Lalit’ Mohan G.K.

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