The Path of Initiation

by Ann Frazier West on 04/23/12

     According to Vera Stanley Alder (author, teacher of esoteric traditions), the last Great Initiation of humanity as a whole was at the individualization eighteen million years ago, when animal-men passed into the human self-conscious kingdom.  The coming second Great Initiation of humanity as a whole will see it pass into the spiritual kingdom (while still remaining in the earthly bodies) and become spirit-conscious.

     The Devic, mineral, plant, animal, and elemental kingdoms will all be involved in the great coming Initiation as a result of their own patient and painful development.  A person cannot take an initiation until he/she has been able to bring the organs and cells of the body under the influence of his own "will-to-progress."  The cells of the body must be stepped up to a higher rate of vibration in order to withstand the higher vibration of the energies that will make up the new environment of the world at the time of its Initiation.

     Perhaps you've watched for signs of preparation for a World Initiation.  There are many teachers and authors offering assistance in preparation for the "birth of a new world," "conscious evolution" and other  approaches to the spiritualization of our planet.  There is a breaking up of old forms on many levels to make way for the newer forms that work better for us now; misuse of energy and resources are being exposed; there is more awareness on the planet regarding health and nutrition; people are personally responding more to disasters, globally - we are our brothers' keepers.  We are being guided by those Great Ones in the seen and unseen worlds.  We are never alone in our journey.

     While the World prepares for its next Great Initiation, each of us is on an individual path of of Initiation.  As we follow our own paths we contribute to the Greater Divine Plan.  It is my hope that you, the reader of this blog, will also be contributors - with comments, questions, theories of your own.  I'll begin with an overview of the Path of Initiation as depicted for us by our most recent great World Teacher, Jesus the Christ, on his Earth journey.  In the next post I'll go into more detail about the first individual initiation and follow with each initiation through the fifth one.  This will establish at least a partial background for future studies of Universal Law,; the Seven Rays: the Chakra system; levels of consciousness, or any topic of your choice for those readers who have not followed this particular system of study. 

        "There was," we are told, "in every ancient country having claims to civilization, an Esoteric Doctrine, a system which was designated WISDOM,"  and those who were devoted to its study and to passing it on were first known as sages, or wise men . . . Pythagoras termed this system . . . "the Gnosis or Knowledge of things that are."  Under the noble designation of WISDOM, the ancient teachers, the sages of India, the Magi or magicians of Persia and Babylon, the seers and prophets of Israel, the hierophants of Egypt and Arabia, and the philosophers of Greece and the West, included all knowledge which they considered as essentially divine; classifying part as esoteric and the remainder as exterior (or exoteric).

     Through the ages humanity has fought over non-essentials of traditional interpretation, and it appears that much of the secret teaching and the technique of the intended Christian life has been omitted.  I realize that Christianity is a comparatively young religion, and we each approach the interpretation and comprehension of any faith from an individual developmental level.  Some will interpret the written Word or belief system of a faith in a very literal sense, and others will read it as allegory and symbolism.  Jesus taught with this observation in mind when he taught through parables.  In the King James version of the Holy Bible, Matthew 13:55, Jesus is quoted as saying, "I will open my mouth in parables: I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundations of the world."

     Alice Bailey, author and Theosophist, tells us that "a myth is a valid and proven truth which bridges, step by step, the gap between the past gained knowledge, the present formulated truth, and the infinite and divine possibilities of the future.  The truth of one age becomes the myth of the next, but its significance and its reality remain untouched and require only re-interpretation in the present."  Perhaps we need to study more of what is behind the symbol of the written Word and shift our attention from the world of outer forms to that of inner realities.

     Throughout the eons or phases of our evolution the major religions have been introduced as the need has arisen in human experience and as humanity has achieved a readiness in consciousness to comprehend the deeper teachings.  According to the Bailey work, "Christianity is, for us today, a culminating religion.  It is the greatest of the later divine revelations."  Our task seems to be to determine for ourselves, at whatever developmental level in our consciousness, the reality of the message behind the words, keep open minds and hearts - able to move forward at a steady pace, integrating and activating the principles of our own faith, whether it is a part of an organized religion or an independent study, according to our own understanding at any given time.  Any theory or system of study can be approached intellectually.  It is when we put it into practice and integrate its principles that it becomes a truth for us.  And as our consciousness opens and develops, our comprehension of those principles changes; we're never static in our knowledge of a thing.  So it seems important to keep an open mind and allow the growth to take place, doesn't it?

     Teachers and Wise Ones tell us that religion must eventually be a composite of many truths, from many sources.  Our main task is to discover our own divinity and to manifest it in the outer life.  Eventually, we will realize the unity of the teachings of the East and West.

     The life story of Jesus the Christ reveals to us a perfect example of the life of the seeker on the Path of higher consciousness.  Each of the important events in his life represents one of the initiations we're each destined to experience as a human being living an Earth life.  These particular events are found on his journey from Bethlehem to Calvary.  The message of the Christ was epitomized by his words: "I and my Father are one."

     Through the process of the five great Initiations, he gave to us examples of the stages and methods whereby identification with God can be brought about.  This is the keynote of the entire Gospel story.

     Christ lived his life in a small but significant strip of land which we call Palestine, the Holy Land.  He came to prove to us the possibility of individual attainment.  He emerged out of the Orient (as all the Teachers throughout the ages seem to have done) and worked in that part of the country which seems like a bridge between the Eastern and Western hemispheres, separating two most different civilizations.  Christianity is a bridging religion - the religion of that transitional period which links the era of self-conscious individualistic existence to a group-conscious unified world - bridging the gap between Eastern belief and philosophy and our Western materialism and scientific attainment, both divine expressions of reality.

     The Christ gives us the process or path to follow to attain the level of perfection set for us by our own inner Divinity.  These are the initiations through which we will all someday pass:

     1.  The Birth at Bethlehem, to which Christ offered interpretation when he said, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  In other words, a new attitude emerges within the Soul of the spiritually awakened individual at the first initiation.  The voice of conscience becomes stronger and stronger until it is irresistible.  The individual can be compared to a newborn needing care and guidance from its elders  -- becoming "as a little child" (Mark 10:15).  The mind is now more open, seeing the world and the Creator from a new perspective.

     2.  The Baptism in Jordan.  This is the baptism to which John the Baptist referred us, telling us that the baptism of the Holy Spirit and of fire must be administered to us by the Christ.  A new level of consciousness is again attained.

     3.  The Tranfiguration.  Here perfection is for the first time demonstrated, and here the divine possibility of such perfection is proven to the disciples.  The command goes forth to us, "Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."  The manifestation of the inner spirit through the outer form of the initiate of the third degree takes place and new spiritual powers are earned, ready for development.

     4.  The Crucifixion.  This initiation is called the Great Renunciation, in the Orient, with its lesson of sacrifice and its call to the death of the lower nature.  The fourth initiation generally follows the third in the same life, and the initiate is now known as an Arhat: "One worthy of divine honors."

     5.  The Resurrection and Ascension, the final triumph which enables the initiate to know the meaning of the words:  "Oh death, where is thy sting?  Oh grave, where is thy victory?"  "I and my Father are One."  The individual is now one with the Creator and all that lives.  Divine powers are developed and employed.

     The gospel narrative, then, is not only an account of the passage of the man Jesus through the five great initiations to perfection, but it is also the story of every human being who finds and treads the path of discipleship and initiation. For they are allegorically and mystically newborn, baptized and crucified.  They have buried their human nature forevermore and ascended to the full powers of Christhood.  

     The sixth great initiation brings the title of Chohan or Lord, the seventh that of Mahachohan or Great Lord, and at the eighth Buddhahood is achieved.  The very highest attainment possible to human beings on this Earth - and then only on the first ray -- is to take the ninth initiation, which brings the Ego (the immortal part of the being) to the inconceivably lofty stature of the One Initiator sometimes called the Lord of the World.

     This information is introductory and will be expanded in future posts, with each initiation explained in more detail.  Please feel free to respond to this blog, sharing your own thoughts, understanding, knowledge, and experience on the subject of initiation.

References:

Vera Stanley Alder; Alice A. Bailey, Geoffrey Hodson; Todd Michael.