This post speaks about rules 10 -14 that the Bailey teachings imply are helpful for the Probationer Disciple (that includes the Chela in the Light) to follow prior to taking what Bailey calls the First Initiation (or major expansion of consciousness, or enlightenment experience). 

RULES FOR 1ST INITIATION — CHELA IN THE LIGHT

             As a reminder there are Fourteen Rules found in the Alice Bailey book, Initiation Human and Solar, pp. 192 –196 are meant to prepare someone for the First Initiation (expansion of consciousness). These rules Bailey says are for the Probationary Disciple, which also covers the Chela in the Light stage that I have correlated with the 5th Subplane of the Mental Plane. Again Bailey does not assign these rules to any subplanes the way I have. Keeping this in mind I have assigned Rules 10 – 14 to this subplane (though they do not all neatly fit there). Also because the rules are short I am including them word for word. The main rule is in italics, followed by commentary from the Bailey books, which is then followed by my own (LL) commentary.

RULE 10.

The Army of the Voice, the devas in their serried ranks, work ceaselessly.  Let the disciple apply himself to the consideration of their methods; let him learn the rules whereby that Army works within the veils of Maya.

This rule refers to the work of occult investigation, which must be pursued at some time or another by all who seek initiation.  Though it is not safe for the uninitiated to tamper with the parallel evolution of the devas, yet it is necessary and safe to investigate the procedure pursued by the builders, the methods followed by them, in reproducing from the archetype, via the etheric that which we call physical manifestation; their sounds must be somewhat theoretically cognised, and the sounds whereby they are swept into activity considered.  This involves, therefore, the organised study, by all applicants, of:—

  1. The purpose of sound.
  2. The esoteric meaning of words, of grammar, and of syntax.
  3. The laws of vibration and of electricity, and many other subsidiary studies which concern themselves with the manifestation of divinity and consciousness through the medium of deva substance and the activity of the controlling devas.  The laws of the macrocosm will be investigated, and the correspondence between the activities of the microcosm, and the active manifestation of the macrocosm will be recognised (Initiation: Human and Solar, p. 203).

LL Commentary: This rule can seem particularly obtuse and make you wonder if before you can be a First Degree initiate and do good in the world you have to become an expert in knowing about the devas, which most people view as fairies and nature spirits. That can lead you into thinking you are supposed to get into some ancient archaic knowledge about little elves and sprites, which can immediately sound absurd. Personally, I don’t feel that is what is implied here. In many esoteric traditions the word deva is synonymous for substance, and Bailey is using the phrase “devic substance” precisely for that reason. She is also emphasizing words like voice, sound, word, grammar, syntax, vibration and electricity. As I see it she is saying we need to learn how to use our speech and words with the proper grammar and syntax if we are going to manifest divinity through “devic” substance correctly. Or, to put it in another way, we need to understand that sound is creative and what we give “voice” to has an impact. Our speech, our words, what we say, what we write, the way we write or say it in regards to its grammar, meaning, and syntax all matter. Why? Because words clothe ideas.

How well we give voice to something, or write something, helps others understand what we are trying to say., or not. The way we speak and write allows them to become more conscious of the idea we are trying to convey and its meaning in their lives. Or, our speech and creative expression of words (music, sound), can bewilder, frighten, and even spiritually stunt our own and other people’s growth. Before we take the First Initiation we need to take the responsibility for adjusting our ideas and speech in such a way it matches the consciousness of those around us so that they can comprehend what we are trying to convey to them. For example, with small children we may talk about the Divine in one way. For adults, or those more evolved in their consciousness, we might share about the Divine in another way. The different ways we share our understanding reflects how we need to clothe an idea with a different vibration, or electric charge that can stimulate someone’s consciousness, otherwise we may retard or even hinder their understanding. Said another way, we can end up electrifying someone so that they are inspired to expand their consciousness and come closer to the Divine, or we can dampen and fry their enthusiasm creating an aversion in them to Divine ideas, or making them even more englamoured and confused.

The importance of speech, how we convey ideas, who we convey ideas to, learning to use criticism wisely and constructively — these are just a few things we become responsible for in our speech, the written word, music, art, through social media and more. At the time I am writing this (2019) the world is very concerned with all of this precisely because of deliberate attempts to confuse and mislead others through propaganda and totally made up stories and so-called “facts.” We see more than ever why it is important to convey ideas that are truthful, have integrity and enlighten and inspire others so that their consciousness is expanded. Only then will people be able to evolve, build discernment, want to discover who they are really are as Souls, and learn more about the true nature of the Divine.

 

RULE 11.

Let the disciple transfer the fire from the lower triangle to the higher, and preserve that which is created through the fire of the midway point.

This means, literally, the control by the initiate of the sex impulse, as usually understood, and the transference of the fire which now normally vitalises the generative organs to the throat centre, thus leading to creation upon the mental plane through the agency of mind.  That which is to be created must then be nourished and sustained by the love energy of nature issuing from the heart centre.

The lower triangle referred to is:—

  1. The solar plexus.
  2. The base of the spine.
  3. The generative organs.

Whilst the higher one is, as pointed out:—

  1. The head.
  2. The throat.
  3. The heart.

This might be interpreted by the superficial reader as an injunction to the celibate life, and the pledging of the applicant to abstain from all physical manifestation of the sex impulse.  This is not so.  Many initiates have attained their objective when duly and wisely participating in the marriage relation.  An initiate cultivates a peculiar attitude of mind, wherein there is a recognition that all forms of manifestation are divine, and that the physical plane is as much a form of divine expression as any of the higher planes.  He realises that the lowest manifestation of divinity must be under the conscious control of that indwelling divinity, and that all acts of every kind should be regulated by the endeavour to fulfill every duty and obligation, to control every action and deed, and to utilise the physical vehicle so that the group may be thereby benefited and aided in its spiritual progress, and the law perfectly fulfilled.

That it may be advisable, at certain stages, for a man to perfect control along any particular line through a temporary abstention is not to be denied, but that is a means to an end, and will be succeeded by stages when—the control having been gained—the man demonstrates perfectly through the medium of the physical body, the attributes of divinity, and every centre will be normally and wisely used, and, thus race purposes furthered.

Initiates and Masters, in many cases marry, and normally perform their duties as husbands, wives, and householders, but all is controlled and regulated by purpose and intention, and none is carried away by passion or desire.  In the perfect man upon the physical plane, all the centres are under complete control, and their energy is legitimately used; the spiritual will of the divine inner God is the main factor, and there will be a unity of effort shown on all the planes through all the centres for the greatest good of the greatest number.

This point has been touched upon because so many students go astray upon these matters, and cultivate either an attitude of mind which results in the complete atrophying of the entire normal physical nature, or indulge in an orgy of license under the specious plea of “stimulating the centres,” and thus furthering astral development.  The true initiate should be known by his wise and sanctified normality, by his steady conformity to that which is best for the group as emphasised by the group laws of the land, by his control and his refraining from excess of any kind, and by the example he sets to his environing associates of spiritual living and moral rectitude, coupled with the discipline of his life. (Initiation: Human and Solar, pp. 204 — 206).

LL Commentary: We have talked about the transfer from the sacral center (associated with sexuality and pleasure) to the throat center (associated with creativity, especially in regards to bringing forth new ideas) before in the chapters connected to Group Seven including those on the Aspirant, Probationer Disciple, and Accepting Disciple (comprising Little Chelaship and the Chela in the Light). The main point Bailey is making is that by the time you are ready to take the First Initiation you need to be more focused in the higher centers than the lower. As you do this one needs to exercise caution that they are not shifting into the higher centers at the expense of the lower centers. On the spiritual path you can still make money, have sex, even marry. You can still have pleasure and enjoy life in the physical world. But, it needs to be balanced so that the higher centers are not sacrificed in their potency and vibration by the demands of the lower centers.  The secret is to remain in the world. Why? Because as Bailey says in this rule, “the physical plane is as much a form of divine expression as any of the higher planes. He realises that the lowest manifestation of divinity must be under the conscious control of that indwelling divinity.” But, you are increasingly not a part of the world, meaning you see through it. You know “maya as fact” and see yourself as a “soul” as I discussed when talking about the Chela in the Light.

Anchored more and more in these realizations you can see what part you are to play in the world without getting attached to it. And, you can help to influence the world for the better without getting sucked down into the lower chakras and forget who you are and lose your ability to have a positive influence. For example, if you immerse yourself in an environment where drugs and alcohol are present because you want to help others recover from their addictions to drugs and alcohol and you start to have a drug or drinking problem yourself, you have dropped your capacity to be a role model and positive influence. You are not someone identified as Soul helping others to either abstain or handle responsibly alcohol or other drugs. You are someone who is likewise succumbing to an addiction and role modeling to others ways that feed the problems of the personality and not help the spiritual evolution of the person.

Again, this is not an escape from the world program. It is not a runaway and get yourself high in all kinds of samadhi or drug induced spiritual states. Quite the opposite. Bailey mentions in many places in her teachings that we are not meant to runaway from the world and become absorbed in spiritual states. Especially as we get to the First Initiation and go beyond it, we are meant to be in the world and to demonstrate how we can become conscious at all levels. Keeping this rule in mind is important because some of the major temptations especially of the Probationary Disciple is to find ways to leave this world behind. It is simply too painful, or boring, or chaotic. As we go through the various initiation stages we learn that the painful, boring, chaotic (and also beautiful, amazing, and entrancing) external world, is as much of who we are spiritually as seemingly formless spiritual realms.

Keeping this rule in mind helps you avoid any gross imbalances that can emerge later on. Just as the Integrated Personality is too absorbed in the three lower chakras of money, pleasure, and power at the expense of the higher realms, the Aspirant, Probationary Disciple and to a lesser degree the Chela in the Light can be too absorbed in the three higher chakras can likewise become imbalanced. For example, they may be too inclined to be up in spiritual trances and altered state experiences (the head center), esoteric ideas (the throat center), and a vague love of all that is (the heart center), without being grounded enough to manifest all of this into the three lower worlds. Living in the three lower worlds means learning to handle money, pleasure, and power wisely and spiritually. Loving all that is means actively learning to engage in loving all that is. We are not meant to live by the phrase, “I love humanity; it’s just the people I can’t stand.” We have to actually love the people around us especially in such a way they experience being loved by us. All this is extremely important to understand, because as we go farther along the spiritual path it may get harder and harder to remember. These rules then are like the A, B, C’s of spiritual life, offering foundational suggestions to help us progress safely and wisely so that we have less difficulty and run into fewer pitfalls as we go along.

RULE 12.

Let the disciple learn the use of the hand in service; let him seek the mark of the messenger in his feet, and let him learn to see with the eye that looks out from between the two.

This rule looks easy of interpretation upon the first reading, and seems to enjoin upon the applicant the use of the hands in service, of the feet upon hierarchical errands, and the development of clairvoyance.  But the real meaning is much more esoteric.  Occultly understood, the “use of the hands” is the utilisation of the chakras for centres) in the palms of the hands in:—

  1. Healing bodily ills.
  2. Blessing, and thus curing emotional ills.
  3. Raised in prayer, or the use of the centres of the hands during meditation in the manipulation of mental matter and currents.

These three points will bear careful consideration, and much may be learnt by occidental students from the study of the life of Christ, and a consideration of His methods in using His hands.  More cannot be said here, as the subject is too vast to be enlarged upon in this brief commentary.

The “mark of the messenger” in the feet, is a reference to that well-known symbol of the wings on the heels of Mercury.  Much upon this subject will be revealed to students in occult schools who will gather together all that can be found concerning the Messenger of the Gods, and who also will study with care information which astrological students have gleaned anent the planet Mercury, and which occult students have gathered concerning the inner round.

On the surface, the expression “the eye which looks out from between the two seems to signify the third eye, which clairvoyants utilise, but the meaning is very much deeper than that, and lies hidden in the following facts:—

  1. That the inner vision is that which all self-conscious beings, from a Logos to a man, are in the process of developing.
  2. That the Ego, or Higher Self, is literally to the Monad what the third eye is to man, and therefore is described as looking out from between the Monad or spiritual self on the one hand, and the personal self on the other.

In the fullest sense, therefore, this rule incites the applicant to develop self-consciousness, and thus learn to function in the causal body on the higher levels of the mental plane, controlling from thence all the lower vehicles and seeing clearly all that can be seen in the three worlds, in the past and in the future.

LL Commentary: One of the things that you discover when trudging your way through the Bailey writings (yes that is how I feel it has been for me sometimes, slogging my way through them as I have read them over and over to try to figure them out), is how things that at first seem esoteric, glamorous, and mysterious end up being fairly simple in the end. This rule reflects that process in my opinion. Essentially it is asking us to become the Ego (which in the Bailey teachings is equivalent to Soul, not the selfish “egotistical personality” as the word is used in modern times today). As the Higher Self, Soul, or “Ego” functioning in the causal body we learn to get up each and every day with a heart that is genuinely open and ask how we can use our hands, our feet, our eyes to see what is needed to make the world a more spiritual place. With that inner vision more fully opened we can then see what must be done and using all our skills go do it. The proof that we have done a good job of this will be how much those around us benefit from our presence and are more inclined to to move farther along on their own path of spiritual evolution. But, then none of this may be very exciting or even glamourous work. It is much more fun to have mystical highs than to “chop wood, carry water.” And, we might want to put a new spin on that Buddhist phrase of “Before enlightenment chop wood, carry water — after enlightenment chop wood, carry water.” Because before enlightenment we are mainly chopping wood and carrying water for our own benefit to sustain us on our spiritual pather. But after enlightenment, as Bailey suggests in this rule, our hands, feet, and eyes are being used to “chop wood and carry water” for others more than even for ourselves.

RULE 13.

Four things the disciple must learn and comprehend before he can be shewn that inmost mystery:  first, the laws of that which radiates; the five meanings of magnetisation make the second; the third is transmutation, or the secret lost of alchemy; and lastly the first letter of the Word which has been imparted, or the hidden name egoic. 

This rule cannot be enlarged upon.  It concerns mysteries and subjects too immense to be fully handled here.  It is included in these rules so that it may form a subject for meditation, for study, and for group discussion.

RULE 14.

The final rule is very brief and consists of five words.

Listen, touch, see, apply, know.

These words concern what the Christian might aptly call the consecration of the three major senses, and their utilisation in the evolution of the inner spiritual life, application then made of that which is learnt and ascertained, followed by the fruition of realised knowledge.

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