In previous presentations, we have looked at the path of discipleship in some detail. I wish to return to this topic and look at the process in light of what we know about the functioning of our envelopes of incantation. The control, training, and development of the mental, as well as the emotional envelope, form an important part of the work of anyone who aims to become a pupil or chela of a Master and, later, an Initiate of the Great White Brotherhood.
The following is a table of the four well-known “Qualifications” for the Path that leads to Initiation. It will be seen that in practically all of these, there is a mental element.
Volumes have been written on the Qualifications, so only a brief description will be attempted here. The Qualifications are not expected to be perfect, but they must be at least partially possessed before Initiation is possible.
1. Discrimination: The aspirant must learn that the inner life—the life of and for the soul—is the real life. As C.W. Leadbeater succinctly says, “Few things matter much: most things do not matter at all.”
This does not mean that worldly duties and responsibilities, once undertaken, may or should be neglected. On the contrary, they should be performed by the aspirant even more scrupulously and carefully than by others. It is the spirit in which they are done that matters, the recognition of the important aspects and those that are not important.
The “opening of the doors of the mind,” or “conversion,” as it has been called, is precisely what the Bible speaks of: “Set your affection on things above and not on things of the earth…for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Discrimination is greatly stimulated by the rapidly changing circumstances that the disciple is typically exposed to, emphasising the instability of all external things. A disciple’s life is generally characterised by turbulence and stress, so their qualities and abilities can be encouraged to grow quickly and brought to perfection rapidly.
2. Indifference: When one recognises the instability and unsatisfactory nature of external things, indifference to them naturally follows. The aspirant becomes indifferent to things that come and go and increasingly focuses attention on the unchanging reality that is always present.
3. Six mental attributes are essential prerequisites for a potential disciple to have mastered. These include:
a. Control of thought: The need for controlling thoughts has already been emphasised in this series.
The student must bring order to the chaos of their emotions and thoughts by eliminating minor interests and controlling wandering thoughts. Living in the world makes this task even more challenging due to the constant bombardment of disruptive waves of emotion and thought, leaving no opportunity to gather one’s forces to make a real effort. Many find steady, daily practice in concentration and meditation to be a suitable method for this. The student must work with great energy and perseverance to bring their mind under control, as the rapid growth in thought power accompanying their progress can be dangerous if not properly managed. It’s better for the student to have control over this increased force, as the alternative is like giving a child dynamite to play with.
b. Control of action: Inner control must be complemented by the control of outer actions. Just as the mind obeys the soul, the lower nature must obey the mind. Carelessness in human activity must be eliminated.
c. Tolerance: Tolerance is the noble virtue of quietly accepting each individual and form of existence as they are without insisting that they should conform to our preferences. Respecting the individuality of others is a key characteristic of a disciple.
d. Endurance: Endurance entails a mindset that joyfully withstands all challenges and harbours no resentment while unwaveringly moving towards the goal. The aspirant recognises that nothing happens to them without following the Law, and the Law is just. They must understand that as they settle karmic debts accumulated over lifetimes in a few short lives, the payments will be proportionately substantial.
e. Faith: The struggles that the aspirant is going through develop faith in their Master and in themself. This leads to a serene, strong confidence that cannot be shaken.
f. Balance: Balance or equilibrium grows to some extent without conscious effort during the striving after the previous five qualifications. The soul gradually disentangles itself from ties that bind it to the world of senses, and the objects that used to disturb its balance lose their power to do so. Balance amid mental troubles of every kind is also necessary, and this balance is further taught by the swift changes guided by the ever-watchful care of the Master.
The fourth qualification is:
4. Desire for Liberation: The deep, intense longing for liberation, the yearning of the soul towards union with the Divine, follows the attainment of the other Qualifications. This adds the last touch to the readiness to enter into full discipleship. Once the longing has definitely asserted itself, the soul that has felt it can never again quench its thirst at earthly fountains.
The attainment of this stage makes them ready for initiation, an Adhikari ready to “enter the stream” that cuts them off forever from the interests of earthly life, except as they can serve their Master in them and help further the evolution of humanity.
This yearning for spiritual things seems to be symbolised in Freemasonry by the inner attitude of the Candidate in “humbly soliciting to be admitted to the mysteries and privileges of Ancient Freemasonry.” In this attitude, as every Freemason knows, the emphasis is on the inner urge of the Candidate himself; no man can walk the occult path on the inspiration of another.
In the Buddhist system, the names given to the stage are somewhat different, although the qualifications themselves have the same effect. Rather than giving the Pali nomenclature, I will give the English equivalent:
1. Opening: The opening of the doors of the mind, or perhaps escaping by the doors of the mind. It involves a conviction of the impermanence and worthlessness of mere earthly aims.
2. Preparation: Preparation for action. Doing what is right for its own sake, with complete indifference to the enjoyment of the fruit of action.
3. Attention or conduct.
a. Quietude of thought that comes from control of the mind.
b. Subjugation: mastery over words and actions.
c. Cessation from bigotry or belief in the necessity of ceremonies. This includes independence of thought and tolerance.
d. Endurance or forbearance, including complete absence of resentment.
e. Intentness, one-pointedness, involving the incapability of being turned aside by temptation.
f. Faith, confidence in one’s Master and oneself.
4. Liberation: Direct order of succession, signifying that it follows naturally from the other three; intense desire for liberation.
5. Fitness: The condition of fitness for Initiation.
The student will readily perceive that these Qualifications necessarily follow from soul-consciousness. When we can look at life from the perspective of the soul, we see it with discrimination, and desirelessness or lack of longing is inevitable. Conduct will be that of the soul itself, and shatsampatti or control of conduct will follow. As the world of the soul is a world of unity and love in its widest sense, soul-consciousness implies love, a word which is sometimes used to designate, from a somewhat different angle, the last of the four qualities, Mumuksha, or longing for liberation.
In the following presentation, we will continue our look at the requirements a “probationer” must fulfil to meet the requirements set by their master. Here, we need to make a clarification that underlies all that will be talked about in the rest of this topic. The relationship between a master and their disciple is no longer as it used to be. There are too few masters and too many pupils for the old system to work. However, for simplicity, the methodology that is described is using the old modalities, as these have been defined, and the exact nature of the new protocols has been alluded to but not elaborated upon.
The new system is run by the senior disciples of the master, not the master themself. These disciples assemble a “soul group” of between three and nine individuals who have to find each other first and slowly come into telepathic rapport with one another. I am sure Zoom meetings qualify! A Unity (46) group envelope is built by the teacher, and this vehicle is used to transmit teaching to the whole group simultaneously. Using a group instead of working with an individual speeds up the process of learning and advancement. If one member falls behind, other individuals in the group coalesce around them, even incarnating into their lives to assist them in catching up with the rest of the group. However, the attributes that each individual in the group needs to master remain the same, and it is these attributes and the lessons they are imparted which will be discussed in the following presentation.