We started, in the last presentation to look at the realisations necessary to become a disciple. Let us conclude this topic by examining the following. On our joinery through the 4th Kingdom of Nature, we gradually come to realise that we are not our envelopes. We must learn to use these envelopes and the consciousness they contain. What consciousness might that be? Elemental essences of course. An aspirant to discipleship must learn to trust themselves, in life itself and in the laws that pertain to life. From this, the disciple must go on to develop “divine indifference” as to what happens to their envelopes, and their tools. Remember, your envelopes are on loan. They do not belong to you. You just have to learn to use them in the right manner. Free yourself from anxiety and fear, from sorrow and concerns, for everything that befalls your envelopes, which up until now you have considered be your “self”. Whatever happens to your envelopes, happens in accordance with the Law. If you accept these things, then you are ready for discipleship.
Understand this from the start, no one is important in the eyes of the Hierarchy. A disciple is just a more or less fit tool. The Hierarchy does not give us knowledge to aggrandise ourselves but to serve others. It is to be expected that we make mistakes. We shroud ourselves in our illusions and fiction. With our assumptions and conjectures. Do not expect your guardian angel to help you sort out your personality quirks. That is your problem. A teacher does not hinder a disciple from making mistakes. The law is the law and Self-Realisation is the law. If a disciple is given information confidentially by their master and they share this with others, that knowledge is removed from their mental envelope and they lose contact with the Hierarchy.
Making mistakes is a way of learning. Others may damn you for these mistakes and paint all that you say as being false, as a result. This is a fact of life. The disciple knows that such is their destiny, considering the current stage of human evolution. Most things they say or don’t say will be misconstrued. But this learning process is something we should be grateful for. It gives the disciple the opportunity to develop further. The pessimist sees only mistakes. The optimist sees lessons gained from mistakes. This is the path of the aspirant.
Disciples do not have their problems solved for them, nor can they solve the problems of others. Humanity must solve its own problems. If you are given solutions to problems, how will you ever learn? Your entire existence is a series of problems, put there, precisely, for you to learn. Something to consider is that many problems are solved when you cease to put yourself at the centre of them. Problem-solving leads to the development of qualities and abilities. It is the parasites of this world that live off the work of others, screaming the refrain, “it is the government’s fault”. Such individuals are content to have others work and supply knowledge for them. This makes them drones. This attitude has consequences.
It has been mentioned that vegetarianism refines the organism, as does abstinence from alcohol and tobacco, not to mention recreational drugs. Being an ascetic has no merit in itself. Laurency reports that a 45-self wrote to an aspirant: “ True, you have offered several times to give up meat and drink, and I have refused. Since you
cannot become a regular disciple, why should you?” The whole point of abstinence is to be independent of animal cravings. Treat your organism well but don’t let it rule you. The disciple frees themselves from dependence on their feelings, sentimentality and emotionality. This is not about killing your emotions but controlling them. You do not kill your desires, as many believe you should, but give them the right channels to flow through. The emotional is as necessary for the disciple as the mental. It is from emotions that we derive our power but they must be channelled into service.
The disciple must learn to discern the fiction in many teachings. They must see how these teachings do not accord with reality. Through self-determination, the disciple frees themselves from public opinion and those that proclaim authority through religion, philosophy or science. But don’t waste your time fighting these fictions. Evolution will eventually resolve outstanding illusions. This doe not mean the disciple should hide their light from others. If others are prepared to listen, then they can be liberated from their illusions and fiction. The rest can hold to their own opinions.
The disciple, themselves, should accept nothing that conflicts with their common sense. This common sense has to be deeply rooted in their knowledge of reality, life and the Laws that give life. Being “mistaken” for a disciple, and they are often mistaken, is not a problem. They have done their best and they have benefited from it. Blind acceptance should be avoided, even if it is a “divine decree”. This just indicates a lack of insight. Holding these truths to be self-evident, an agnostic can serve evolution more effectively than a “believer”, if they exhibit greater common sense. Avoid fanaticism at all costs. Do not force knowledge on others. Just answer questions that seekers may ask. It is pointless discussing esoterics with people trapped in their emotional world. There are the esoteric and the exoteric, one is the world of reality and the other a world of illusions. There is no point of contact.
Here is something to consider carefully. Engaging in studies of past lives does not benefit consciousness development. If there is fiction in your life today, can you imagine what it must have been like then? As you know, Laurency deplores the fostering of curiosity. The value in the past lies in the understanding and capacity gained. There is no point in revisiting your old mistakes. Bear in mind that you attract whatever you look at. This ends up wasting our energies fighting old battles. To become a disciple, you must let the “dead bury their dead”. Never look back. The power of the past should not hold sway. By the way, this relates to the original meaning of the term, “forgiveness of sins”.
Laurency tells us that comprehension is a result of a new brain in a new incarnation, whereas understanding is a result of the self’s achievements in past incarnations. You can comprehend without understanding and understand without being able to explain, why? It is worth noting that memorised knowledge does not develop judgment. Study is not ability; learning is not wisdom and teaching is not life. What matters is our own experiences. Through knowledge, we cease to grope in the dark.
Finally, disciples come to realise that “life is energy”. Insight is needed to use this energy purposefully. Without the knowledge and wisdom to use this energy properly, the disciple risks harming themselves and their environment. Returning to the words of wisdom from one of our favourite masters, 45-self D.K., he says to aspirants to discipleship: By methodically ordering your affairs, you learn to rightly economise on time and to use it purposefully. By discarding everything of secondary importance, with a sense of right proportions, you learn exactness and purposiveness. By aspiring rightly, and by “aspiring” he means meditating, at fixed times, you get the necessary contact and inspiration. By consistently applying self-made rules, your envelopes are gradually refined to become suitable tools.
Disciples must accept themselves as they are. “Divine indifference” must be the ruling motto. Faults and failings there are, but these fall away as a greater understanding of the Laws of Life are grasped and applied. The laws of life are not prohibitions. Either you see their validity or you do not. If the latter applies, there are many more incarnations to enjoy coming to this realisation. People think laws restrict their freedoms. Nothing could be further from the truth. Laws are what liberates us. We win our freedom by applying them correctly.
Remember, what we dislike in others is found in ourselves. Why else would we notice it? We detest and judge in others, what we latently harbour in ourselves. You help people more with love and understanding than with your intellect. D.K. tells us “Watch with care your thoughts anent each other, and kill out at once all suspicion, all criticism, and seek to hold each other unwaveringly in the light of love. You have no idea of the potency of such an effort.” “Love brings all earthy karma to an end”. “We foster love by cultivating the thoughts pertaining to love every day. Anyone who loves in the right way will not be bound by the person they love.”