The climax of the disturbed condition has been passed, and a
more stable state of affairs is gradually being brought about, and this may permit of
definite occult work being attempted with success. The Master R. is working upon this
problem, and likewise the Master of the English race, - not the Master who occupies
Himself with the Labor Movement or the betterment of social conditions. They are aided by
a disciple of rare capability in Sweden, and by an initiate in the southern part of
Russia, who works much on the mental levels. Their aim is so to tap the resources of force
stored up by the Nirmanakayas that its downflow may sweep out lower grade matter, and thus
permit the free play of a higher vibration. Another hindrance may be found in the strong
development of the concrete mind. I would here impress upon you that this development must
in no way be considered a detriment. All has been in due course of evolution, and later
when the Orient and the Occident have reached a point of better understanding and
interplay their interaction will be of mutual benefit; the East will profit from the
mental stimulation afforded by the strong mental vibration of its Western brother, whilst
the Occidental will gain much from the abstract reasoning of the Oriental, and, through
the effort to grasp that which the first subrace of the Aryan root race so easily
apprehended, he will contact his higher mind, and thus build with greater facility the
bridge between the higher and the lower mind. The two types need each other, and their
effect upon each other tends to eventual synthesis. [80]
The concrete mind, in itself, offers opportunity for a treatise of great length, but
here it will suffice to point out a few of the ways in which it hinders those races who so
paramountly represent it.
- By its intense activity and stimulated action it hinders the downflow of inspiration
from on high. It acts as a dark curtain that shuts out the higher illumination. Only
through steadiness and a stable restfulness can that illumination percolate, via the
higher bodies, to the physical brain and so be available for practical service.
- The wisdom of the Triad exists for the use of the personality, but is barred by the
disquisitions of the lower mind. When the fire of mind burns too fiercely, it forms a
current which counteracts the higher downflow, and forces the lower fire back into
seclusion. Only when the three fires meet, through the regulation of the middle fire of
mind, can a full light be achieved, and the whole body be full of light, the fire from
above - the triadal light - the fire of the lower self, - kundalini - and the fire of
mind, - cosmic manas - must meet upon the altar. In their union comes the burning away of
all that hinders and the completed emancipation.
- By discrimination - a faculty of the concrete mental body - the lower bodies are trained
in the art of distinguishing illusion from the center of reality, the real from the
unreal, the self from the not-self. Then ensues, consequently, a period that must be
surmounted wherein the attention of the Ego is centered necessarily on the lower self and
its vehicles, and wherein, therefore, the vibrations of the Triad, the laws that deal with
macrocosmic evolution, and the subjugation of fire for the use of the [81] Divine, have
temporarily to be in abeyance. When man quickly sees the truth in all that he contacts,
and automatically chooses truth or the real, then he learns next the lesson of joyful
action, and the path of bliss opens before him. When this is so, the path of occultism
becomes possible for him, for the concrete mind has served its purpose, and has become his
instrument and not his master, his interpreter and not his hinderer.
- The concrete mind hinders in another and more unusual way, and one that is not realized
by the student who attempts, at first, to tread the thorny road of occult development.
When the concrete mind is rampant, and dominates the entire personality the aspirant
cannot cooperate with these other lives and diverse evolutions until love supersedes
concrete mind (even though he may, in theory, comprehend the laws that govern the
evolution of the Logoic plan and the development of other solar entities besides his own
Hierarchy). Mind separates; love attracts. Mind creates a barrier betwixt a man and every
suppliant deva. Love breaks down every barrier, and fuses diverse groups in union. Mind
repels by a powerful, strong vibration, casting off all that is contacted, as a wheel
casts off all that hinders its whirling periphery. Love gathers all to itself, and carries
all on with itself, welding separated units into a unified homogeneous whole. Mind repels
through its own abundant heat, scorching and burning aught that approaches it. Love
soothes and heals by the similarity of its heat to the heat in that which it contacts, and
blends its warmth and flame with the warmth and flame of other evolving lives. Finally,
mind disrupts and destroys whilst love produces coherence and heals. [82]
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