|
ESOTERIC TENETS
Master and disciple
relationships (1)
by Aart Jurriaanse
Just as professors are not used to
teach school children, so the
Hierarchy cannot afford to allow its
senior members to spend their
valuable time and energy on training
junior disciples. If the relatively
high mental level of the present day
esoteric student is taken into
consideration, together with the
abundance of literature that is
available from which suitable
material can be selected to fit every
stage of development, then it will be
seen that the earlier training can to
a large extent be self-implemented.
When the student is ready for the
subsequent stage, where guidance and
teachings are needed beyond his
personal capacity, then the help and
guidance of an advanced disciple will
be made available to him, on either
the exoteric or esoteric level,
depending on circumstances. It is
only after disciples have attained
certain minimum spiritual
qualifications that they will come
under consideration for personal
instruction by the Master.
The grading of disciples is a
relatively simple process. The
Masters do not need special records
or have to study progress reports for
this purpose -- they can immediately
recognize the stage of development
reached by a disciple, simply by
studying the quality of the light
radiated by the worker. When the
man's aura attains a certain hue, and
his vibrations reach the required
intensity, he will automatically draw
the attention of some particular
Master, who will then submit him to
tests to determine whether he has
reached the stage that will justify
personal attention. The choice of a
pupil by a Master will depend on the
Master's needs, the quality of the
available disciples, the control of a
mutual Ray, and past karmic
associations. The average student
cannot possibly conceive how
preoccupied the members of the
Hierarchy are in guiding the fortunes
of man towards its destiny, in
accordance with the divine Plan. The
Masters do not have the time, the
interest or any intention of
intruding or interfering with the
details of the disciple's personality
life on Earth.
All that concerns them is the growth
of man's inner light and the extent
to which this is reflected in the
quality of his service. They
therefore only deal with the man on
mental or soul levels, and do not
concern themselves with any hasty or
thoughtless deed or word which the
man himself can rectify again. The
ultimate responsibility for the
guiding of the individual lies with
the soul, and even the soul can only
exert a minimum of influence until
the lower man is ready and willing to
accept such help. The disciple who is
in touch with the Masters will soon
find that he will not be subjected to
flattery and promises, because
nothing is said to feed the
disciple's pride or which might
foster self-satisfaction, and which
might consequently lead to future
slackness. When the disciple's life
and deeds produce a growing radiatory
light, such progress will be amply
rewarded by increased opportunities
for service being put in his way,
together with the needed capacities
to fulfil the task satisfactorily.
In the life of a disciple periods
will possibly come when he seems to
have lost all contact with his
Master, and when it is as if all
relations have been severed. Should
this happen, the disciple must
realize that such severance can only
be of a temporary nature and must be
due to some lack or excessive
disturbance in the disciple's
environment or etheric surround, and
that the condition certainly does not
originate from the Master's side.
Before a disciple is admitted into a
Master's group, he will already have
been kept under observation for a
considerable time, and the Master
will be well aware of all his
qualities -- both his virtues and
shortcomings. So when he is finally
accepted, the Master's decision will
be irrevocable as far as his own
standpoint is concerned, and this
arrangement could then only be broken
by deliberate and conscious action on
the part of the disciple.
The Masters do not want adoration or
veneration from any man; they desire
the disciple to be impersonal in all
his dealings, as it is an attitude of
impersonality that will lead to
spiritual love and understanding.
What the Masters are looking for is
intelligent dedication to the needs
of mankind.
This same attitude of impersonality
is also maintained by the Master
himself in his dealings with his
disciples, and it certainly does not
form part of his objective to make
his pupils self-satisfied with their
status or activities by undue
complimentary words. If he wants to
guide them it is his responsibility
to focus their attention upon their
failures and limitations; it is for
him to help them to detach themselves
from the form aspect of life and
equip them to recognize and correctly
utilize any expansions of
consciousness. He therefore has to
keep a close watch on the waxing and
waning of the disciple's inner light,
and on the vibrations that are
radiated; it is then for him to make
suggestions for improvement of his
pupil's attitudes and life
expressions, and to point out where
personality adjustments could be
effected to lead to greater freedom
from personality dominance, and
therefore to an intensification of
the spiritual life as displayed by
acts of service. If in this process
of impersonal admonishment the
student should take offence and show
resentment, it is but an indication
that such a student is as yet too
deeply immersed in personality
reactions, and is therefore not yet
ready for more advanced work.
Disciples should thus learn to work
from soul or spiritual focus and not
from personality focus.
Disciples must learn to stand on
their own feet, to use their own
discretion, not to lean too heavily
on the Master's support, and not to
distract his attention unduly from
his own pressing activities. The
Masters are fully occupied with the
many aspects of the constantly
changing world picture, and with the
guiding of the minds of world leaders
who must unconsciously be steered to
conform to the Plan and Purpose of
the Lord of the World. The more
advanced the disciple, and the closer
he approaches to the Master, the
deeper his understanding of the
position, and the greater his
endeavour to fulfil his own duties to
the best of his ability, and to
relieve the Master of as much of his
minor duties as the disciple's
aptitudes and circumstances will
allow.
Aart Jurriaanse, wrote 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.
“I
choose to identify with the
underprivileged. I choose to identify
with
the poor. I choose to give my life
for those who have been left out of
the sunlight of opportunity. I choose
to live for and with those who find
themselves seeing life as a long and
desolate corridor with no exit
sign. This is the way I’m going. If
it means suffering a little bit, I’m
going that way. If it means
sacrificing, I’m going that way. If
it means
dying for them, I’m going that way,
because I heard a voice saying, Do
something for others.” Martin Luther
King, Jr.
Return to Directory of articles by Aart
Jurriaanse
From the work of AAB
Updated: Sex &
the Disciple + New:
Homosexuality
Links
Disclaimer:
As a non-profit, educational, private initiative the mindlight.info website, while very grateful
for their Great Work, is not affiliated with the Theosophical Society,
Lucis Trust, Alice Bailey, the Tibetan, Agni Yogi Foundation,
Helena Roerich, H.P. Blavatsky, George Adamski, Benjamin Creme, Share
International, Peter Liefhebber, Sai Baba, Bette Stockbauer, or
Howard Ray Carey. Quoted texts are the intellectual property of the
copyright holders. For the latest news on the emergence of Maitreya & the Masters of Wisdom, see the SI web site:
http://www.share-international.org
|