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Fourth and fifth
initiation: renunciation and revelation A discussion of the requirements of these two initiations, which lead to liberation from strictly human experience, and prepare the initiate for further spiritual evolution on one of the Seven Cosmic Paths. (950 words) After the soul has assumed full responsibility for the 'transfigured personality', a period of intensive training is entered and an unbelievable amount of knowledge is rapidly absorbed and accumulated. The initiate must now learn thoroughly to grasp the laws of the three lower planes, and how to wield them intelligently for furthering the hierarchical scheme of evolution. He must become versed in esoteric technicalities, and has to develop fourth dimensional vision. He is not only working constantly at expanding his spiritual nature, but he is simultaneously learning to direct the activities of the building devas. With the Fourth Initiation the initiate is at last brought face to face with his own Monad, his "Father in Heaven", who so far has only been known as the spiritual Entity inspiring the soul. As a result of this direct contact between the Monad and the soul-infused personality, the functions of that vague concept, the Soul, which for aeons has served as the intermediary between the Monad and its instrument of manifestation in the three lower worlds, now becomes redundant. The soul is consequently absorbed within the Monad and disappears as a separate entity, and in its place naught is left but the energy of Love-Wisdom, and the dynamic Divine Will as directed by the Monad. The Fourth Initiate therefore is directly controlled by his Monad, by means of the 'Bridge of Light' (the Antahkarana). For as long as the initiate has to function or appear in the three worlds of men, he avails himself of a 'personality' which to the average man will have a perfectly normal appearance. The form side of existence is, however, no longer needed as a medium for gaining experience; from now on it will only serve as an outer mask through which the initiate or the Master may unobtrusively work among men to fulfil his spiritual purpose. This personality or body of expression will therefore not be the product of physical procreation, but will be self-created by the focussed Will and Purpose of the Monad, and it will thus not be subject to the normal laws of nature. This body of manifestation will not in any way limit the initiate or hold him prisoner; by means of the applied Will it can at any time and according to the requirements of circumstances be 'dissolved' or made to fade away from human vision; it can be radically changed in outer appearance, or can be transferred at a moment's notice from one part of the world to another. With the Great Renunciation everything that used to shackle the disciple to the material world is relinquished in order that the energies and powers which the initiate controls may be applied to the benefit of mankind as a whole. He is now dominated by the energy of the will-to-good. He is still aware of the experiences gleaned from his numerous physical incarnations, but he has discarded all that proved insignificant, retaining only the essence which has been transmuted into wisdom. As the purified distillation of the past, his destiny now faces new realms of experience and spiritual adventures, which will lead him from human evolution to Spiritual Evolution and ultimately to the choice of one of the Seven Cosmic Paths. Initiation of revelation According to human standards, man has attained perfection when he is ready for the Fifth Initiation. This also marks the time when the initiate has gained sufficient wisdom, love and spirituality to be admitted to the acknowledged ranks of the Masters of Wisdom. The Initiation of Revelation will place in the initiate's hands the power to wield Light as the carrier of Life to all in the three worlds; to his vision will also be revealed the next step to be taken upon the Way of Higher Evolution. The Way is then revealed to him in a totally new light, and it therefore signifies the true emergence of the initiate from the tomb of darkness of material being, and the entrance into the world of Reality and of Spiritual Being which lies beyond all that man has hitherto sensed or known. These are of course realms of thought and being which are as yet far beyond human conception and comprehension, and these representations are only briefly expressed to round off the picture which has so far been sketched. It is realized that to the man in the street these thoughts of the Tibetan's will be just ludicrous nonsense, or the more sympathetic might regard them as the whimsical phantasies of a fanciful dreamer! The Seven Cosmic Paths As pointed out before, the Path of Evolution is never ending. When from the human standpoint liberation has been achieved after the Fifth Initiation, new realms of expansion will be revealed to the initiate. The realms to be trodden will ultimately include the whole cosmic sphere, and are divided into Seven Cosmic Paths of Evolution, each Path being determined by one of the Seven Cosmic Rays of Energy. Each initiate has the free decision to follow whichever Path he chooses, but the probability is that, as a result of the Law of Attraction, the initiate's choice will be strongly influenced by his vibration as induced by his Monadic Ray. Some of these Paths may keep the initiate linked to the Hierarchy and to Earth service for many aeons to come, whilst others may lead to wider planetary activities within our solar system, or even to outer-planetary or cosmic activities. The final decision as to the Path to be followed must be made at the consummation of the Sixth Initiation -- the Initiation of Decision. From this decision there will be no turning back. Aart Jurriaanse, a South African author, has written a number of compilations from the books of Alice A. Bailey. Among these are: Of Life and other worlds; Prophecies; Ponder on this; Serving Humanity; The Soul; The Quality of Life; and he is also the author of Bridges which is a Commentary on these teachings. Directory of articles by Aart Jurriaanse "Love is an active force which transforms. Love which does not act is hardly love at all. Love in action is the essence of love. It is an ability to love the world and all that is in it which is the capacity of Maitreya. The deepest desire of the heart of the One who can do that is to unify all. He looks into the world and sees 5.6 billion people: suffering, striving, competing, all the different actions, some positive, some deeply negative. He sees all of that and His urge, His deepest desire, the outflow of His spiritual heart's need, is to bring all of that together, to unify it all." Benjamin Creme, in Maitreya's Mission Vol. III
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