Where have we got to so far? We have discussed the need to focus on one’s intention at the start of the process of building out an Antahkarana. This intention is something tangible on the Mental Plane. It is a substance held in a ring-pass-not, in a state of extreme tension. The second step involves engaging the Emotional body and its creative potential to further energise the substance in the mental body. The disciple has to visualise what they are trying to achieve and how they are going to go about it. The analogy that was used was that of a cartoon that depicts the outline of a picture yet to be painted. We now arrive at Step 3, that of Projection. This is a critical point because this is where aspirants often fall short and give up on the process they are striving to achieve. They may have developed the capacity to visualise what they are trying to do and have constructed a desire form, which would have been used at a later stage in the building process. So what has gone wrong? The issue is one of “will”. The use of the Will in the process of projection, projection being Stage 3. This stage involves the use of one’s will, as well as further visualisation. To this is now added a “Word of Power”. Not just any old word or phrase of power, like “you shall not pass”, but a word of power that is specifically linked to the ray that the monad function upon. Up until this point, it does not matter what ray you are functioning on to achieve the objectives of the first two steps. How do you find out what your ray is? You get that from your master. Many clairvoyants claim to know what rays your various envelopes are functioning through. Smile at them politely and then leave the room. Only an initiate would know the answer to that question and they would not tell you, because they are initiates and don’t announce themselves. So, you would have to be under direct instruction from a master before you are going to get the answer to those questions.
What can be said about Step 3, Protection, is that it is quite a marked change from steps 1 & 2. A disciple has successfully organised the bridge substance in the ring-pass-not. They have brought into activity the Will aspect and are aware of what they have to do next in terms of process and performance. What they now need to do is project this organised substance forward from the ring-pass-not, as a line of light-substance. How is this done? Through the use of that ray-specific Word of Power. This is the same process used by the logos to create our solar system and even by the Absolute to create the Universe. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God”, then God said, “let there be light”. The same process just scaled down a tiny bit.
From the point of view of the disciple, this projection of “light substance” is the reverse process that originally occurred when the Monad, embedded on Plane 43:1, sent forth the Thread of Life, which finally anchored itself in the causal envelope, we call our Soul. It was in this manner that the Soul came into being in the first place. It is from here that the “Soul”, aka our solar devas, sent forth a dual thread that anchored itself in the head and the heart of the lower three-fold Persona. In the case of the building of the Antahkarana, the disciple is focused in their mental envelope, within the ring-pass-not. Here the disciple is drawing on all the resources of their threefold Persona and their Soul, to project a beam of light-substance towards the monad. This is the reversal of the process that the Monad originated.
This beam of light is the channel along with the final withdrawal of the Monad takes place. When the Monad sent down the Life Thread, it was an involutionary process. It focused on the Soul and Personality. The building of the Antahkarana is the final process by which the Monad abstracts itself from the lower two triads. This process is something called the “Great Renunciation”. What is being renounced? It is the life of the Persona and the Soul, which were tools for achieving a higher objective. This is what the 4th initiation (i4) is all about. The Antahkarana does not just serve the process of uniting the 1st and 2nd triads, it is about getting all the way back to the Monad on top of the 3rd triad. After taking the (i4), both the Soul and Persona have no hold on the disciple any more. This, as mentioned before, is when the “veil of the Temple” is rent in twin from top to bottom. It is this veil that separates the outer court, the Persona’s life, from the Holy place, the Soul and from there to the Holy of Holies, the Monad. We see this in the construction of the Temple of Jerusalem. I think of it more through the lens of the Temple of Karnak. It always amazed me how you have a whopping big building at its entrance, that then processed into a smaller courtyard. This then built up to a small room, in which stood a statue that was only about one foot tall. All that masonry for a simple statue the size of a doll! But hey, we are talking about the monad here. The monad is the smallest particle of matter in the Universe. It may be all-powerful, but it comes in a pint-sized bottle. The analogy of the building to what we are discussing here all seems to make sense now.
Ok, so where have we got to now? We need to project the energy that has been painstakingly accumulated and organised by the disciple’s creative imagination. This energy has been brought to a point of exquisite tension by focusing mental impulses, which is an aspect of willpower. What needs to happen next is that the disciple needs to call upon all the resources of their causal envelope, their Soul. What resources are we talking about? Remember we have already talked about the morphology of the causal lotus. It has three whorls of petals and inside them is what is known as the “jewel in the lotus”. It is here that the Monad, on the 43:1 plane of matter, anchors itself. Those three whorls of petals, nine in total, are known as Knowledge, Love and Sacrifice petals. They are, as we know, actually the bodies of solar devas. What we need to be aware of is that they are expressions of the causal body and are effects of monadic radiation. This is why Hylozoics focus on the monad and not the Soul. The Soul is where most other teachings focus. Stuff the Soul, focus on the monad.
The rainbow Bridge is projected upwards, providing safe passage for the pilgrim’s weary feet. The disciple must wake up to the call of the jewel in the lotus, which resides in the, now-open, lotus itself. How does the disciple do this? It must respond to the controlling influences of the Sacrifice petals in the causal lotus. These petals represent the Will aspect. The disciple must transmute knowledge into wisdom, and love into unity with all. To this must be added the “power to renounce”. These are the three qualities of the Soul, as represented by the lotus. When all three aspects, Knowledge, Love and Will are functioning with some potency at the very centre of the Soul life, the heart of the lotus begins to stir. It is worth pointing out here the analogy between the casual lotus and the three planetary centres.
Shamballa = The Jewel in the Lotus
Hierarchy = The three groups of petals
Humanity = The three permanent atoms within the aura of the lotus (47:1, 48:1 and 49:1)
It is worth clearing up a misconception about the term “sacrifice” and what it means from an esoteric perspective. It is not about giving up something, nor is it renunciation of all that may make life worth living. This is where mystics get it all wrong, as they retreat into their cave and live off bat droppings. Sacrifice from an esoteric perspective is about achieving a state of bliss and ecstasy. I can cope with that. It is the realisation of another divine aspect of yourself, which hitherto has been hidden by the Soul and the Persona. It is an understanding and recognition of the will-to-good, another esoteric term, which makes the whole process of creation possible and inevitable. This is the true cause of manifestation.
So how do we get to this point? The disciple has gained the fruits of experience, which we call knowledge and has transmuted them into wisdom, hopefully. The disciple also has focused on living life honestly and in reality, not some subjective construct. Finally, the will-to-good becomes the crowing goal of life. With all this under their belts, disciples are now ready to evoke their Will. Remember, evocation is a projection of energy. It starts with a link being made between the lower and higher mind, then between spirit and matter. This leads to the linkage between the Monad and the Persona becoming a reality. This duality has trumped the triplicity that has existed up until now, which was Spirit, Soul and Persona. This allows the potency in the jewel in the lotus, at the (i4), to destroy the three surrounding expressions of the whorl. These petals disappear. In reality, the solar devas are released from their onerous task. This is what is known as the “second death”, the death of form altogether.
So to summarise where we have got to so far. Building the Antahkarana is a living process. It grows out of daily experiences and is dependent on the expression of the divine aspects of life on the physical plane, as far as it is possible. The next step is to try and align the Persona with the demands of the Soul. This is done by using one’s intellect as a service to Humanity. Love and unity are now becoming the controlling factor in life. When the term “divine sacrifice” is properly understood and implemented, it becomes a natural process of an individual’s intention. It is now that it becomes possible to project the “bridge”. Vibrations are set up in the lower levels of divine manifestation that become strong enough to produce a response from higher levels. Finally, when the Word of Power is used correctly and the Rainbow Bridge is rapidly built.
This has gotten us a long way but there are still three more steps. See you at the next presentation.