TELEPATHY AND THE ETHERIC VEHICLE
ALICE A. BAILEY
“Much that I have given you here will serve to elucidate that which I have written upon esoteric astrology;* it will give you the key to that science of relationships which is essentially the key to astrology and also to the science of Laya Yoga. This latter science has (fortunately for the Aryan race) fallen into disrepute since later Atlantean days; it will, however, be restored and used upon a higher turn of the spiral, during the next five hundred years. When correctly and rightly restored, its emphasis will not be upon the nature of the centre involved, but upon the quality of the consciousness which distinguishes any particular centre and which will then necessarily condition its sphere of radiation. Under the great Law of Correspondences, all that I have here given or indicated can be applied by the student to all forms of life: to a universe, to a solar system, to a planet, to a human being, to any subhuman form and to the tiniest atom of substance (whatever you may mean by that last term!).
VI. THE PLANETARY LIFE — A CENTRE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM (Pages 182/197)
“We shall now endeavour to apply whatever knowledge is available to you at this time in relation to the planetary Life, expressing itself as a centre in the solar system. We shall also study its secondary expression through the medium of three major centres: Shamballa, the Hierarchy, and Humanity.
The fundamental concept of hylozoism underlies all the esoteric teaching upon the theme of manifesting life. All forms are composed of many forms, and all forms—aggregated or single in nature—are the expression of an indwelling or ensouling life. The fusion of life with living substance produces another aspect of expression: that of consciousness. This consciousness varies according to the natural receptivity of the form, according to its point in evolution, and to its position also in the great chain of Hierarchy.
However, dwarfing every other concept, is the concept of life itself. There is—as far as we have ever been permitted to know—only one Life, expressing itself as Being, as responsive consciousness, and as material appearance. That One Life knows itself (if such a term can be used) as the will-to-be, the will-to-good, and the will-to-know. It will be obvious to you that these are only terms or methods organised to convey a better picture than heretofore.
This is also a brief preamble to another statement, which can be worded as follows: The planetary Logos, the One in Whom we live and move and have our being, is the informing, ensouling life of this planet, the Earth; it is His life which integrates the planet as a whole, and His life which pours through all forms—great or small—which, [Page 183] in their aggregate, constitute the planetary form. Preserve, therefore, in your conscious imagination and by means of the innate symbol-making faculty which all men possess, the concept of our planet as a great lotus composed of many interweaving energies, located within the greater form of the solar system which is, as we know, esoterically portrayed as a twelve-petalled lotus. This lotus, the Earth, is responsive to the many entering energies with which I dealt at some length in my book upon Esoteric Astrology.*
At the heart of this vast sea of energies is to be found that cosmic Consciousness to Whom we give the name of Sanat Kumara, the Lord of the World, the Ancient of Days. It is His Will-to-Be which brought His manifested form into the tangible arena of life; it is His Will-to-Good which activates the Law of Evolution and carries His Form, with the myriad lesser forms of which it is composed, on to the ultimate glory which He alone visions and knows. It is His consciousness and His sensitive response to all forms and to all states of being and to all possible impacts and contacts which guarantees the developing consciousness of all the many lives within or upon this Earth of ours.
This great Centre of Existence works through a triangle of energies or through lesser centres, each of which is brought into active expression by one of the three major Rays or Energies. The Centre which is created by the Ray of Will or Power is called Shamballa and its major activity is bequeathing, distributing and circulating the basic principle of life itself to every form which is held within the planetary ring-pass-not of the planetary Life or Logos. This energy is the dynamic incentive at the heart of every form and the sustained expression of the intention of Sanat Kumara—an intention working out as the planetary Purpose which is known only to Him. [Page 184]
The second Centre is created by the Ray of Love-Wisdom; this is the basic energy which brought into being the entire manifested universe, for it is the energy of the Builder Aspect. To it we give—as far as humanity is concerned—the name of Hierarchy, for it is the controlling factor of the great chain of Hierarchy. The prime activity of this Centre is related to the unfolding consciousness of the planet, and therefore of all forms of life within or upon the planet; it is not related to the life aspect in any sense.
The task of the "units of Energy" who constitute the personnel of this Centre is to awaken and arouse the sense of awareness and of consciousness which is sensitive in its response to the life within all forms. Just as the basic mode of activity in and through Shamballa could be called the Science of Life or of dynamic livingness, so the basic science by means of which the Hierarchy works could be called the Science of Relationships. Consciousness is not only the sense of identity or of self-awareness, but it concerns also the sense of relation of that recognised self or the "I" to all other selves. This consciousness is progressively developed, and the Members of this second Centre, the Hierarchy, have the major and important task, in this particular solar systemic cycle, of bringing all the units in each kingdom of nature to an understanding of place, position, responsibility and relationships. This probably sounds entirely meaningless in relation to those conditions where the units of life are, for instance, in the vegetable or the animal kingdom, but a glimmering of understanding may come when you remember that the seed or germ of all states of consciousness is latent in every form, and of this the instinct to perpetuate and the instinct to mate are the major incubating areas.
The third Centre is that of the Human Kingdom, which is brought into being by means of the energy of the third [Page 185] Ray of Active Intelligence. Its major function is intelligent creation; but it has nevertheless a secondary activity which is to relate the second and the third Centres to each other and to assume progressive control of the subhuman kingdoms and relate them to each other. This secondary function is only now assuming proportions which can be recognised and noted.
Central Triangle of Energies <Pages 185,190>
Each of these three Centres has a governing and controlling Triangle or central Triangle of Energies. In relation to Shamballa, this Triangle is composed of the three Buddhas of Activity Who represent conscious intelligent life, conscious, intelligent and active wisdom, and conscious, intelligent and active creation.
In connection with the Hierarchy, the central Triangle is composed of the Manu, representing loving intelligent life, the Christ, representing loving intelligent consciousness, and the Mahachohan, representing loving intelligent activity, and therefore between Them representing every phase of group livingness, group expression and group action; these qualities focus through the Mahachohan, primarily because He is the Lord of Civilisation and the civilisations of humanity represent progressive growth and unfoldment.
Only in the final root-race of men upon our planet will the essential central Triangle make its appearance and function openly in the third planetary Centre, that of Humanity. Men are not yet ready for this, but the areas of conscious creative activity, out of which this triangle of functioning embodied energies will emerge, is already in preparation. One point of this future triangle will emerge out of the field of world governments, of politics and of statesmanship; another will appear out of the world religions, and a third out of the general field of world economics and finance. Today no such men of spiritual will, of spiritual love and of [Page 186] spiritual intelligence are to be found upon Earth; even if they did emerge in these three fields of expression they could do little good, for the sense of recognition and of responsibility is as yet inadequately developed; later, they will appear and will then openly relate the department of the Manu to that of world government, the department of the Christ to that of the world religions, and the department of the Lord of Civilisation to that of the social and financial order. That time will surely come, but it will come only after the externalisation of the Hierarchy and its open functioning upon the physical plane. Then, some senior disciples from each of the three hierarchical departments will appear and will attempt the experiment of this centralising and embodiment of the three qualities of the central Triangle. They will then discover, by direct action, when and if mankind is ready for such an experiment of direct control and if it has developed the needed sense of responsibility—a responsibility which will produce cooperation.
All these three Centres can therefore be depicted in the following manner: with the completed circle of the entire energy form, with the central triangle of energies carrying the qualities of the three major rays, and then the point at the centre which stands for the
dynamic embodied Life. In connection with Shamballa, that point is Sanat Kumara Himself; when the right time comes (though the hour is not yet) He will place His Representatives as the central points in both the Hierarchy and in Humanity. For this relatively distant event the doctrine or the theory of Avatars, of Mediators or of Inter-Mediaries is preparing the way, thus enabling men to think in these representative and inclusive terms. Not even in the Hierarchy is the time yet [Page 187] ripe for the "residence in state of the divine Representative." Each year, the Buddha comes and carries the force of Sanat Kumara to the Hierarchy but—He cannot stay. The "units of energy," the Members of the Hierarchy, cannot bear for long the strong quality of the incoming vibration, except after due preparation and in group form, and then only for a few scant minutes; nevertheless the "period of dynamic potency" is being prolonged during this century from one day to five; the next century may see an even longer period of registration instituted.
At the close of the age, the three major Centres will be in complete, unified and synchronised activity, with Sanat Kumara in Shamballa overshadowing and informing His Representatives in the hierarchical and human Centres; then the central Triangle in each Centre will not be only actively functioning, but they will be working together in the closest rapport, thus forming symbolically a "Star with nine points, ever revolving"; then the massed energies of the three major Centres will dominate the other four centres, controlling the manifestation of the Life Expression in all the kingdoms of nature.
When one comes to the consideration of the sphere of radiation of these three major Centres, it is interesting to note that, at this time and in this present world cycle, the most potent radiation and the widest range of influence is that of the Hierarchy. Apart from "giving life" to all forms upon and within the planet, the influence or radiation of Shamballa is definitely and consciously restricted, until such time as the Hierarchy and Humanity can respond constructively. It is present, needless to say, and evokes response from those able to swing within its sphere of radiation; but it is felt that as yet there are too many forms of expression which could not react correctly to the work of the "Destroyer of forms," which is the most potent [Page 188] aspect of this first ray centre and the one which manifests first, because its work must be accomplished before the two other aspects of its potency can function rightly. The centre called humanity has as yet an inadequate radiation because of its—at present—inadequate development; its sphere of influence is relatively limited, though men are beginning to work outward in the direction of the subhuman kingdoms and to attract more forcefully the kingdom of souls than heretofore. The Hierarchy has, however, no interior restrictions such as are consciously and deliberately imposed upon itself by Shamballa or which are unconsciously imposed by humanity; any blocking of the hierarchical radiation (if I may use such a term) will come from the forms on which the impact of its radiation is sought, but the outgoing influence of the central Triangle of the Hierarchy is unique and far-reaching.
All that we have here been considering takes place within the etheric body of the planet, for all these centres exist etherically, and only etherically, and are not affected by the fact that the "units of energy" in Shamballa or in the Hierarchy may be functioning in physical vehicles. Some are and some are not. The conditioning Lives in both these Centres work entirely through etheric means, wielding and controlling energies; the Human Centre, with its "units of energy" works largely at present upon purely physical levels or in the medium of that type of substance which we call "material"; men work with outer forms, with the tangible elements and with material factors. The "units" in the other Centres work with substance and not with matter. This is an interesting and vital distinction. The Hierarchy is existent upon the buddhic plane, which is the first of the cosmic ethers, and it works from there, impressing mental matter. Shamballa works on the levels of the three highest ethers whilst Humanity works primarily in the three worlds [Page 189] of the dense cosmic physical plane. The New Group of World Servers has in it "units of energy" who can work both with matter and with substance.
There is here a most interesting distinction and one that is seldom grasped. Esoterically speaking, the word "matter" or material is given to all forms in the three worlds; and though the average human being finds it difficult to understand that the medium in which the mental processes take place and that of which all thoughtforms are made is matter from the spiritual angle, yet so it is; substance—technically speaking and esoterically understood—is in reality cosmic etheric matter, or that of which the four higher planes of our seven planes are composed. From the human angle, ability to work with and in the cosmic etheric substance demonstrates first of all when the abstract mind awakens and begins to impress the concrete mind; an intuition is an idea clothed in etheric substance, and the moment a man becomes responsive to those ideas, he can begin to master the techniques of etheric control. All this is, in reality, an aspect of the great creative process: ideas, emanating from the buddhic levels of being (the first or lowest cosmic ether) must be clothed in matter of the abstract levels of the mental plane; then they must be clothed in matter of the concrete mental plane; later, with desire matter, and finally (if they live so long) they assume physical form. An idea which comes from the intuitive levels of the divine consciousness is a true idea. It is noted or apprehended by the man who has, within his equipment, substance of the same quality—for it is the magnetic relation between the man and the idea which has made its apprehension possible. In the great creative process he must give form to the idea, if he possibly can, and thus the creative artist or the creative humanitarian comes into being and the divine creative intention is thereby aided. [Page 190] Ideas can, however, be stillborn and abortive, and thus fail to arrive at manifestation.
The Sequence of Inter-Related Triangles <Pages 190,192>
The student is well aware that the three major Centres have their correspondences in the human etheric body and that each of them is related to its higher correspondence and can thus be "impressed" or affected and awakened by the corresponding higher agent. It might be stated that:
1. Energy from the planetary centre, Shamballa, utilises the head centre, the thousand petalled lotus, when the man is adequately developed. This centre is the agent of the divine will within the life of the spiritual man, working through the Spiritual Triad. It is only actively useful when the antahkarana is constructed or in process of construction.
2. Energy from the planetary centre, the Hierarchy, utilises the heart centre. This centre is the agent of divine love (expressing basically the will-to-good) working through the soul of the individual aspirant or disciple; this becomes possible when contact with the soul has been attained in some measure and the aspirant is on the way to become a soul-infused personality.
3. Energy from the third planetary centre, Humanity, utilises the throat centre, working through the integrated personality, and therefore only when a relatively high degree of evolutionary unfoldment has been attained. The throat centre only becomes creatively and spiritually active when the lower nature has been to some degree subordinated to idealistic aspiration: this aspiration need not be one that is usually regarded as spiritual and religious by the orthodox and therefore imprisoned thinker. It must, however, be one of which the whole integrated man [Page 191] is the instrument and which will be of such a large nature that it will call all his creative faculty into expression.
In this solar system, the heart centre is the first usually to be awakened and active; as soon as there is life in that centre and a measure of activity, the other two major centres can begin to awaken. The correspondence to this can be seen in the fact that the Hierarchy is the mediating or middle factor between the planetary head and throat centres, between Shamballa and Humanity. That is why the emphasis is laid upon the heart aspect in all the teachings.
There are two centres which are regarded as "receptive and distributing agents" in an unique manner:
1. The Ajna Centre (the centre between the eyebrows) works in connection with the three major centres but mainly, at this stage of human development, as the distributor of soul force and of spiritual energy as received from the heart and throat centres.
2. The Solar Plexus Centre works in connection with the sacral centre and with the centre at the base of the spine, the centre of life; it works also with all subsidiary centres below the diaphragm, gathering and transmuting their energies and transmitting "that which has been purified" into the higher major centre.
It might here be added that the will-to-be is, from one angle, the energy of immortality; it is the energy which pours into and works through the head centre, whilst the will-to-live demonstrates as the fundamental instinct of self-preservation and is to be found positively focussed in the centre at the base of the spine. The latter is related to the personality [Page 192] and is closely allied to desire, and therefore to the solar plexus centre; there is a direct line of hitherto unrecognised energy between the lowest centre in the spine and the solar plexus; the other is related to the divine-spiritual man and is closely allied to the soul, and therefore to the heart centre.
Man’s Integral Relationship and Creative Function Within the Whole <Pages 192,197>
The intricacy of all these relationships is most difficult for the neophyte to grasp, and this difficulty is further increased by the many and varying stages of development, of ray distinctions, and also by the numerous emphases or principles which are laid upon vehicles, upon differing planes and planetary levels of consciousness and of existence. With all this the student is not asked to deal. The factors of importance which he should attempt to realise and upon which he can construct the temple of his life and his current mode of living are simply the following—and they are the same for each and all, no matter what his ray or his point in evolution may be:
1. Man's etheric body is an integral part of the planetary etheric body and is responsive to the free distribution of the many circulating energies.
2. The three periodical vehicles which compose the expression of the human being and which make him what he is (the Monad, the Soul, and the Personality) are each related to the three planetary centres: Shamballa, the Hierarchy, and Humanity, and therefore to each of man's individual three major centres.
3. The three centres in the human being which are to be found above the diaphragm (the head, the heart and the throat centres) are the organs of reception for energies coming from the three planetary centres. [Page 193]
4. The agent for the distribution of the energies received via the head, the heart and the throat centres is the ajna centre between the eyebrows.
5. The agent for the purification, transmutation and transmission of the energies of all centres below the diaphragm is the solar plexus centre. It is this centre through which the majority of human beings are at this time working. It is the major controlling centre, both for the reception and the distribution of energies, until such time as the heart centre is awakening and beginning to control the personality.
There is necessarily much more to be said anent this subject of the major planetary and human centres, but I have here given the student enough upon which to ponder (I had almost said upon which to puzzle). The one important thing to be borne in mind is the relationship between the centres, i.e.:
1. Between the centres below the diaphragm and those above it.
2. Between the three major centres with each other.
3. Between the three major centres and the three planetary centres.
All of this must be thought of in terms of circulating and freely moving energies, distributing themselves throughout the etheric body of the planet (and therefore through the human etheric body) under the essential purpose of Shamballa and under the direction of the Hierarchy.
It is the theme of relationship therefore, which is the basic pattern in the evolutionary process of unfoldment in this, the second solar system (of three systems) which is [Page 194] that of the Son, wherein the quality of the second divine aspect, Love, is being perfected. In this perfecting process man participates unconsciously at first, during the long cycle of evolutionary unfoldment under the Law of Necessity; but when he becomes the aspirant and takes the first steps upon the path towards spiritual maturity, he begins to play a crucial role which he maintains until he attains spiritual liberation and himself becomes a member of the Hierarchy, of the fifth or spiritual kingdom, through perfected service in the fourth or the human kingdom.
The relationship between the fourth and the fifth kingdoms is being continually increased. bringing new powers and more vital livingness into the human family which is registered by its most advanced members consciously. The distribution of energies from the Hierarchy constitutes a very interesting sequence, some of which can be indicated briefly. As we know the Hierarchy is the ashram of the Lord of Love, the Christ; we also know that this greater Ashram is constituted of the seven Ray Ashrams, each having at its centre a Chohan or a Master of the Wisdom; each of the seven Ashrams has connected with it one or more subsidiary Ashrams.
An Ashram is an emanating source of hierarchical impression upon the world. Its "impulsive energies" and its inciting forces are directed toward the expansion of the human consciousness, through the magnetic lives of the group members as they carry on their duties, obligations and responsibilities in the outer world: it is aided also by the steady vibratory activity of the members of the Ashram who are not in physical incarnation and by the united clear thinking and convinced awareness of the entire Ashram. Beginners, such as are most aspirants (though not all), are usually engrossed with the fact of the Ashram. Trained disciples are engrossed with the work to be done, and the [Page 195] Ashram—as an Ashram—plays little part in their thinking; they are so preoccupied with the task ahead and with the need of humanity and of these to be served that they seldom think of the Ashram or of the Master at its centre. They are an integral part of the ashramic consciousness and their conscious occupation is called, in the ancient writings, "the emanating of that which flows through them, the teaching of the doctrine of the heart which is the force of truth itself, the radiating of the light of life, borne upon the stream to which the non-initiate gives the name, `the light of love'."
The members of the Ashram constitute a united channel for the new energies which are, at this time, entering the world; these energies pour dynamically through the Ashram out into the world of men; they stream with potency through the Master at the heart of the Ashram; they move with "luminous speed" throughout the inner circle; they are stepped down by those who constitute the outer circle, and this is right and good; they are delayed by the beginner and the new disciple from breaking forth into the world of men, and this is not so good. They are delayed because the new disciple has turned his back upon the world of men and his eyes are fastened upon the inner goal and not upon the outer service; they remain fixed upon the Master and His senior disciples and workers, and not upon the mass of human need.
It is essential that servers everywhere—the intelligent men and women of good will—get a grasp, fresh and clear, of the work to be done and that they become "relaying channels and not delaying points of selfish interest" in the divine flow. This takes vision and courage. It takes courage to adjust their lives—daily and in all relations—to the need of the hour and to the service of mankind; it takes courage to attack life problems on behalf of others and [Page 196] to obliterate one's own personal wishes in the emergency and need, and to do so consistently and persistently. However, there is much to encourage the server. Humanity has now reached a point in development where there is a definite grasp of the Plan of the Hierarchy—call it brotherhood, sharing, internationalism, unity or what you will. This is a growing and factual apprehension and is a general recognition by the thinkers and esotericists of the world, by the religious people of enlightenment, by broad minded statesmen, by industrialists and business men of inclusive vision and humanitarian insight, and even today by the man in the street. There is also a more definite recognition of emerging spiritual values and a greater readiness to relinquish hindrances to service. The plans of the Christ for humanity's release are more matured, for they had to wait until such time that the trend of human aspiration became more clearly emphatic; and the new era, with its latent possibilities can now be seen upon the horizon, stripped of the veils of glamour and wishful thinking which obscured it ten years ago. All of this is a challenge to the disciple. What is it that he must do?
The disciple has to take himself as he is, at any time, with any given equipment, and under any given circumstances; he then proceeds to subordinate himself, his affairs and his time to the need of the hour—particularly during the phase of group, national or world crisis. When he does this within his own consciousness and is, therefore, thinking along lines of the true values, he will discover that his own private affairs are taken care of, his capacities are increased and his limitations are forgotten. He takes his place with those who perceive the needs of the coming cycle—a cycle wherein the new ideas and ideals must be stressed and for which a fight must be made, wherein the wider plans for the good of the whole must be understood, [Page 197] endorsed and preached, the new and clearer vision for human living must be grasped and finally brought into being, and a cycle wherein the effort of all members of the New Group of World Servers must be given to the lifting of humanity's load.
There is a certain esoteric Mantram which embodies this attitude—the attitude of the disciple who is striving, in cooperative endeavour with others, to link hierarchical intent with human aspiration and thus bring humanity nearer to its goal. The intent of the Hierarchy is to increase men's capacity for freedom in order to function effectively with that "life more abundantly" which the Christ will bring and which demands that the spirit of man be free—free to approach divinity and free also to choose the Way of that approach. The Mantram bears the name, "The Affirmation of the Disciple." It involves certain inner recognitions and acceptances which are readily perceived by those whose intuition is sufficiently awake; but its meaning should not be beyond the ability of any sincere student and thinker to penetrate if it appeals to them as significant and warranting their effort.
I am a point of light within a greater Light.
I am a strand of loving energy within the stream of Love divine.
I am a point of sacrificial Fire, focussed within the fiery Will of God.
And thus I stand.
I am a way by which men may achieve.
I am a source of strength, enabling them to stand.
I am a beam of light, shining upon their way.
And thus I stand.
And standing thus, revolve
And tread this way the ways of men,
And know the ways of God.
And thus I stand.”