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The Rays and Initiations
The final volume in this treatise on the seven rays contains the fundamental spiritual structure on which the next presentation of the Ageless Wisdom teaching will build. The book is in two parts; the first part enumerates and details the Fourteen Rules for Group Initiation. These are the rules for disciples and initiates, paralleling on a higher turn of the spiral, the rules for applicants contained in the book "Initiation, Human and Solar". The second part of this volume is concerned with the Rays and the Initiations, those nine major expansions of consciousness through which the initiate becomes progressively liberated from the various forms of our planetary life, ultimately proceeding upon his chosen Path of development and service within the universe.
One of the outstanding principles unfolded through the pages of this book is that of the growth of the group idea--group service, group responsibility and group initiation. The possibility of group initiation seems to be one of the new emerging developments of the Aquarian era; therefore, the profound value to the disciple of the Fourteen Rules for Group Initiation. These rules embody great truths in symbolic form, into which the consciousness expands with the acceptance of occult obedience, and the meeting of all requirements on the Path of Initiation in a group penetrating together towards the centre of an ashram, and into the heart and will of the presiding Master.
Because "the way to the innermost sanctum is the way of outer service and because initiation is the effect of an increasing capacity to intuit the Plan, to register ashramic purpose and to act accordingly, "these rules are in reality great Formulas of Approach . . . approach to a specific section of the Path and not approach to the Initiator. I would have you reflect on this distinction. The initiate is becoming increasingly aware of the dynamics of the Science of the Service of the Plan. This distinctive realisation can only come when his fused and blended personality and soul expression of will has disappeared in the blazing light of the Divine Purpose."
Much of this teaching, while beyond the grasp of the average student today, is invaluable in expanding the mind to contemplate the larger patterns and processes in which the individual function may be viewed in perspective. In dealing with such abstruse matters, the author again demonstrates a marvelous capacity to relate the deepest and most profound aspects of the Master's teaching to the life and the consciousness of the aspirant in the world today. Since there is no separation in life, and since the aphorism "As above so below" applies in every particular throughout the cosmos, and recognisably within the solar and the planetary lives, there is great value in the clear delineation of continuity.
"Revelation concerns Oneness and nothing else. The practical nature of this truth is only recognised when the disciple attempts to do two To realise it individually and to bring the nature of planetary unity and of non-separateness to the minds and into the lives of men everywhere."
One of the outstanding principles unfolded through the pages of this book is that of the growth of the group idea--group service, group responsibility and group initiation. The possibility of group initiation seems to be one of the new emerging developments of the Aquarian era; therefore, the profound value to the disciple of the Fourteen Rules for Group Initiation. These rules embody great truths in symbolic form, into which the consciousness expands with the acceptance of occult obedience, and the meeting of all requirements on the Path of Initiation in a group penetrating together towards the centre of an ashram, and into the heart and will of the presiding Master.
Because "the way to the innermost sanctum is the way of outer service and because initiation is the effect of an increasing capacity to intuit the Plan, to register ashramic purpose and to act accordingly, "these rules are in reality great Formulas of Approach . . . approach to a specific section of the Path and not approach to the Initiator. I would have you reflect on this distinction. The initiate is becoming increasingly aware of the dynamics of the Science of the Service of the Plan. This distinctive realisation can only come when his fused and blended personality and soul expression of will has disappeared in the blazing light of the Divine Purpose."
Much of this teaching, while beyond the grasp of the average student today, is invaluable in expanding the mind to contemplate the larger patterns and processes in which the individual function may be viewed in perspective. In dealing with such abstruse matters, the author again demonstrates a marvelous capacity to relate the deepest and most profound aspects of the Master's teaching to the life and the consciousness of the aspirant in the world today. Since there is no separation in life, and since the aphorism "As above so below" applies in every particular throughout the cosmos, and recognisably within the solar and the planetary lives, there is great value in the clear delineation of continuity.
"Revelation concerns Oneness and nothing else. The practical nature of this truth is only recognised when the disciple attempts to do two To realise it individually and to bring the nature of planetary unity and of non-separateness to the minds and into the lives of men everywhere."
820 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1960
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About the author
Alice A. Bailey
470 books226 followersPease note: this is a different author from Alice Bailey.
Alice A. Bailey (1880-1949) was an English esoteric practitioner and writer.
At the age of 35, she entered the Theosophical Society center in Los Angeles (USA), at the Pacific Grove Theosophical Lodge. In 1919, Bailey (39 years old) severed her ties to the Theosophical Society and began to write texts that he claimed were dictated telepathically by a certain "Tibetan," or "D. K. ». She published those texts under the title Human and Solar Initiation. There she made known the existence of the spiritual hierarchy, which Madame Blavatsky had already spread, although not in an orderly way.
She later revealed that the Tibetan D.K. was the master Djwal Khul. She wrote using the teacher's name for 30 years, from 1919 until her death in 1949.
Alice A. Bailey (1880-1949) was an English esoteric practitioner and writer.
At the age of 35, she entered the Theosophical Society center in Los Angeles (USA), at the Pacific Grove Theosophical Lodge. In 1919, Bailey (39 years old) severed her ties to the Theosophical Society and began to write texts that he claimed were dictated telepathically by a certain "Tibetan," or "D. K. ». She published those texts under the title Human and Solar Initiation. There she made known the existence of the spiritual hierarchy, which Madame Blavatsky had already spread, although not in an orderly way.
She later revealed that the Tibetan D.K. was the master Djwal Khul. She wrote using the teacher's name for 30 years, from 1919 until her death in 1949.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 12, 2008
The ultimate mystical mind fuck. Alice A Baily is a mystic, a devil, and a seer of the hidden occult. She cured me of my need "to know".
July 11, 2017
Mi ci sono voluti tre anni per leggerlo. Indubbiamente allora mi sarebbe stato incomprensibile. Negli ultimi mesi qualcosa ho capito, grazie ad altri libri della stessa autrice e di altri autori. Consiglio di leggerlo dopo avere letto i precedenti tre volumi. Comunque mi ha svelato un mondo ed era il mondo che cercavo.
December 16, 2018
Currently slogging through this one. I have read many of AAB's books and i cannot rate them highly enough but this one is a bit of a slog for me. I don't really know why that is as I am used to AAB's 'style' with DK but I'm still not finished after several years of in and out.
August 8, 2012
A very deep explanation, though in a simple graspable way, of the types of humans, the path each one takes during the spiritual development, the purpose of taking births on this planet, the different levels or classes of human beings according to their spiritual development and a lot more.
May 12, 2015
Pretty granular and esoteric. Recommended for more advanced students of esoteric/hermetic philosophy. That said, I found it a valuable read. For a more approachable introduction to Theosophy, check out "How to Know Higher Worlds" by Rudolph Steiner.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews