The disciple by now has made his approach to the Ashram and has demonstrated his ability to serve and thereby utilize any ashramic energy which he may contact and occultly include. He is slowly becoming aware of three vibratory impressions which are slightly differing though colored by the ray which they express. First of all, he is aware of the vibration of his own soul; then he registers that of the Ashram, in the early stages focused for him through the mediation of some disciple senior to him; and finally, he becomes conscious of the vibration of the Master. Slowly he learns to distinguish them and know them as constituting three different channels whereby energy reaches him. They contact his consciousness upon the mental plane; later, he discovers that contact with them is facilitated once he can register them consciously upon their appropriate plane and through the appropriate center; it naturally takes time to develop this facility and (until he passes through the third initiation when major changes take place) he is expected to "retain the impression" upon the mental plane.

The development of sensitivity to contact, and the registering of "that which is other than the Self and yet which is the Self itself," are part of the great Science of Impression. This development - in the early stages of human evolution - is carried forward through the medium of the five senses and is to be found in the animal kingdom also. With this well-known and well-studied unfoldment I shall not deal, beyond saying that these five (in reality [544] seven) senses constitute avenues of spiritual approach to varying aspects of the divine manifestation in the three or five worlds of human evolution. It might here be pointed out that (in a mysterious manner) the seven centers in the etheric body are correspondences to the seven senses, for they are responsive to vibrations coming from the world soul or the human soul, from the Ashram and from the Master, as well as registering eventually the energies of all the seven rays; these pour into the disciple and through him as part of the great circulatory system of the sevenfold divine energy which is the basis of manifestation. I dealt with these senses and the circulating energies somewhat at length in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire.

Aspirants must not confuse teaching given to them by the Master in the work of the Ashram with this later [545] fusion of consciousness. In group formation, disciples are gathered together at times to receive instruction and are thereby protected within the group aura from the tremendous potency of the Master's presence. It is difficult for the average aspirant to realize the necessity for this, yet even disciples themselves, and in the early stages of their admission to the Ashram and of their training, have a potent effect upon those whom they may contact. The effect is produced without intention and is caused by the higher quality of the disciple's vibration or radiance to that of the person or group he contacts. The impression he makes produces stimulation - a stimulation which the person frequently finds it very difficult to handle, evoking not only good but also bad effects.

It will be obvious to you, therefore, that the presence of a Master will have a potent effect where an individual disciple is concerned. I have employed that separative term "individual disciple" because it indicates the cause of the possible difficulty or even danger. Such difficulty is always possible as long as any separative or self-centered instincts exist in the disciple; it takes a long time for a disciple to attain that disinterestedness and that inclusive spirit which will enable him to stand in the presence of the Master and present no barriers to direct contact with the Master's mind. This contact, leading to the desired fusion, falls into certain clearly defined stages: