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Discipleship in the New Age II - Teachings on Initiation - Part IX
On Hints

We will now proceed to a consideration of the hints which I have already given to you. They are seven in number. With two of them I have already dealt. They were:

  • Hint I. - The changes brought about in the Hierarchy have been the result of the work of the disciples of the world.
  • Hint II. - Human planning today is one of the first indications of the emergence of the will aspect. [388]

Five hints remain to be considered, and I list them here, not in the question form as given earlier, but in their original wording. I would ask you to read them several times straight through with concentrated thought and to note how closely they are related to each other, and how they cast a light upon the initiatory process which is unique, synthetic in value and enlightening. As I have told you, they are each of them subject to seven interpretations, but for our purposes we will confine ourselves to the study of them from the angle of accepted discipleship, i.e., of the disciples working in an Ashram and preparing for service and for initiation.

  • Hint III. - Disciples in all Ashrams have a task of "modifying, qualifying and adapting the divine Plan" simultaneously. Why is this so? Why is the Plan not imposed?
  • Hint IV. - The initiate knows because he works. What does this hint mean to you?
  • Hint V. - The key to the correct interpretation of a hint lies in its association with the idea of direction in time and space.
  • Hint VI. - The disciple must recognize the hint which is related to his point in consciousness... My one effort is to indicate the relation between initiation and revelation.
  • Hint VII. - One of the marks of readiness for initiation is the ability to see the expanding and inclusive Whole, and to note the law which is transcended when the part becomes the Whole.

In connection with the sixth hint, I pointed out that revelation - induced by right orientation and right thinking - is part of the training of the initiate. Many thus in training delay their progress by not recognizing the revelation when it arises above the line of their spiritual horizon.

You will note that the hints themselves frequently deal with the nature of a hint, because a hint is in reality and when properly considered, the seed or germ of an intended revelation. The Master knows well what is the next revelation [389] which will be in order for the disciple in training; through hints he sows the seed of revelation, but it remains for the disciple to discover that which the hint is intended to produce, and to nurture the seed until it flowers forth in the beauty of revelation.

In seeking to elucidate these hints for you I am not doing work which you should do. I am, in fact, only marshalling for your benefit the ideas, information and concepts which are already to be found in your subconscious mind - placed there through meditation, study and experimental critical living. Having done that, I leave it to you to proceed alone and unaided towards the moment of revelation. You talk of a series of initiations, but the Masters talk in terms of a series of revelations, and their work with their disciples is to prepare them for revelation. Bear in mind, brother of mine, that revelation is hard to take and to hold - a point oft overlooked. It is exhausting to the personality of the disciple, but it is of no service unless the personality recognizes it; it is excessively stimulating and the initiate passes through three stages where a revelation is concerned: First comes the stage of ecstasy and of supreme recognition; then darkness follows and almost despair when the revelation fades and the disciple finds that he must walk again in the ordinary light of the world; he knows now what is, but it is at this point that his test lies, for he must proceed on that inner knowledge but dispense with the stimulation of revelation. Finally, he becomes so engrossed with his service, with aiding his fellowmen and with leading them towards their next revelation that the excitement and the reaction are forgotten. He then discovers to his surprise that at any time and at will - if it serves his selfless interests - the revelation is forever his. Ponder on this.
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