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Discipleship in the New Age I - Talks to Disciples - Part II
You would find it useful to keep what might be called a spiritual diary. This does not involve the daily entering of the day's events and has no relation to the happenings which may concern the personality. Note this. In this diary you should record the following: Any spiritual experience which may come to you, such as contact with some Presence, either that of your own soul, the angel of the Presence, contact with some disciple and eventually - when your life and work and discipline warrant it - contact with one of the Masters. Record this in an impartial way, preserving the scientific attitude and seeking ever a practical explanation before accepting a mystical one. A spirit of agnosticism (not of atheism) is of real value to the beginner and preserves him from the snares of the world illusion and of lower psychism. Any illumination which may come to you, throwing a flood of light upon a problem and revealing the way that you or the group should go. Any intuition which - corroborated by the reason - carries one forward into knowledge and evokes the wisdom of the soul and its registration by the brain, via the mind. Any telepathic happenings between you and your fellow disciples. This telepathic interplay should be cultivated but it must be most carefully checked and counter-checked and the strictest accuracy preserved. Thus we shall have the fostering of the spirit of Truth, which is the governing principle of all true telepathic communication. An Ashram functions telepathically when fully and rightly organized. Any phenomena of a mystical and spiritual kind should also be noted. The seeing of the light in the head comes under this category. Its brilliance should be noted, its growth and dimming; the hearing of the Voice of the Silence which is the voice of the soul but not of the subconscious; the registering of messages from the soul or from other disciples and world Servers; expansions of consciousness which initiate you into the conscious life of [15] God, as it manifests through any forms and the hearing of the note of all beings. A close study of the third part of The Light of the Soul (the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali) will indicate the type of phenomena which should find its place in this diary. Any experiences of a psychic kind which do not come under any of the above headings. Those mentioned above come under the heading of the higher psychism and concern the higher psychic faculties, spiritual perception, intuitive knowledge, mental telepathy (and not the telepathy which is based upon the solar plexus activity). The lower psychic experiences can also be noted - whether pleasant or unpleasant. Once noted, however, they should be forgotten for they are of no moment. Days may go by and weeks with no record. Let this in no way disconcert you. The sensitivity of the mechanism of the soul to spiritual vibration has to be cultivated and existing sensitivity to lower psychic impressions has to be tuned out; so many voices clamor for attention, so many impressions - emanating from the physical and astral forms around us - register upon our consciousness, that the vibrations and sounds coming from the subjective and spiritual world are lost and not registered and recorded. You will find it interesting to note, at the end of a few years, the difference in the data recorded and the development of sensitivity to the right kind of impression. This can only be realized after much time has elapsed and much spurious material has been eliminated, after being recognized for what it is: astralism, spurious claims and thought-forms. Another question might here be asked: What should disciples in a Master's group look for as evidence of successful group work? First and foremost, as you well know, group integrity and cohesion. Nothing can be done without this. The subjective linking of the disciples with each other in their own group, and the linking of the group with other groups occupied with special work within the Ashram and the emergence (as a result of this) of a group and an ashramic consciousness are vital objectives. It is hoped that this will also [16] eventuate in a telepathic interplay which will bring potent results and successful outer work. From these activities will emerge a group circulation of energy which will be of service in world salvage. Each of you should remember that purity of body, control of the emotions and stability of mind are fundamental necessities and should be daily the attempted achievement. Again and again, I come back to these prime character requirements and - tiresome as the reiteration may be - I urge upon you the cultivation of these qualities. I would like to remind you also that you are adult and mature men and women who need not specific statements as to faults and characteristics. I seek only to make suggestion as to trends of thought. Note here the word suggestion, for that is all I seek to give. The disciple must be left free to follow a suggestion or a hint as seems wise to him. This entire work might be termed an experiment in esoteric common sense and in willingness to accept suggestion. It is a trial of the intuition and a test in discrimination. This work to which I have called you is also an experiment in impersonality, in willingness to work and learn, in freedom to choose or reject, in observation and in techniques. All have their value. This is an experiment likewise for me. I have worked hitherto with only three occidental chelas, of whom A.A.B. is one. The other two are totally unknown to any of you. I ask for your aid and cooperation during these early stages of the work as far as the reaching of conclusions is concerned. I ask you to stand together - no matter what eventuates or what forces may seek to separate you. I ask my disciples to love each other in spite of character and ray differences and to work loyally together for group coherence and integrity - no matter what diverse opinions you may hold or what may occur as time elapses. If you can hold together down the years and throughout this life cycle, then the group can carry forward into the future and work together on other planes, thus conserving energy. Can you persist and carry on? Can such a telepathic interplay be set up that the barrier of death will eventually prove no barrier at all and continuity of communication persist? [17] Many such questions arise and time alone will give the answer. If there is persistence in effort, if there is the loyal link of love, if there is adherence to the group ideal and if there is mutual forbearance and understanding and patience, it may be possible that this group can be welded into a unit which will indeed be a living atom in the hierarchical body. You are all on the Path of Discipleship at some stage or another; in this lies opportunity. This is a body (small indeed) of disciples who - through devotion to truth, through their attempt to do their duty, and their mutual karmic relation both to each other and to me - have been chosen (in spite of limitations and faulty development) to work together towards the specific end of forming a nucleus of spiritual power and energy for the helping of humanity. But above all else, it is a group formed to inaugurate the methods of the New Age as regards group work, and the training of disciples and their preparation for initiation, along with other groups all over the world who have caught the new vision and are working under the inspiration and the impression of the Masters. The foundation of these schools of the Mysteries which will later be restored to the world and to which I referred in Letters on Occult Meditation may be possible if all of you measure up to opportunity. This should be borne in mind. The experiment may fail. Whether it does or not, real profit will in any case eventuate.... That you may one and all measure up to the opportunity and carry the work forward in the three worlds and in the kingdom where the light of the soul streams forth is my earnest wish and desire.
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