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Initiation, Human and Solar, by Alice A. Bailey, [1922], at sacred-texts.com
The Solar Words.
The basis of all manifested phenomena is the enunciated sound, or the Word spoken with power, that is, with the full purpose of the will behind it. Herein, as is known, lies the value of meditation, for meditation produces eventually that inner dynamic purpose and recollection, or that internal ideation which must invariably precede the uttering of any creative sound. When it is said that the Logos produced the worlds through meditation it means that within His own centre of consciousness there was a period wherein He brooded over and meditated upon the purposes and plans He had in view; wherein He visualised to Himself the entire world process as a perfected whole, seeing the end from the beginning and being aware of the detail of the consummated sphere. Then, when His meditation was concluded, and the whole completed as a picture before His inner vision, He brought into use a certain Word of Power which had been committed to Him by the One about Whom naught may be said, the Logos of the cosmic scheme of which our system is but a part. With cosmic and Logoic initiations we are not concerned, except in so far as the human initiations reflect their stupendous prototypes, but it is of interest to the student to realise that just as at each initiation some Word of Power is committed to the initiate, so similarly to the Logos was committed the great Word of Power which produced our solar system, that Word which is called the
[paragraph continues] "Sacred Word," or AUM. It must be here remembered that this sound AUM is man's endeavour to reproduce on an infinitesimally small scale the cosmic triple sound whereby creation was made possible. The Words of Power of all degrees have a triple sequence.
First. They are sounded by some fully selfconscious entity, and this invariably takes place after a period of deliberation or meditation wherein the purpose in toto is visualised.
Second. They affect the deva kingdom and produce the creation of forms. This effect is dual in character—
b. The devas on the involutionary arc, the lesser builders, who have not passed through the human stage, also respond to the sound, but unconsciously, or perforce, and through the power of the initiated vibrations build the required forms out of their own substance.
Third. They act as a stabilising factor, and as long as the force of the sound persists, the forms cohere. When the Logos, for instance, finishes the sounding of the sacred AUM, and the vibration ceases, then disintegration of the forms will ensue. So with the Planetary Logos, and thus on down the scale.
The Words of Power, or the permutations of the AUM, exist in every possible tone, sub-tone, and quarter-tone, and upon these shades of sound the work of creation and its sustentation is built up. A multiplicity of sounds exists within each greater sound and affects different groups. It
must be remembered also that, generally and broadly speaking, the sounds within the solar system fall into two groups:—
2. Eventuating sounds, or those which are produced from within the forms themselves during the evolutionary process, and which are the aggregate of the tones of every form in any particular kingdom of nature. Every form likewise has a tone which is produced by the minute sounds produced by the atoms composing that form. These sounds grow out of the other group and affect inferior groups or kingdoms, if the word "inferior" may be used in connection with any department of divine manifestation. For instance, the human kingdom (the fourth creative Hierarchy) was produced by a triple AUM sounded in a particular key by the three persons of the Trinity in unison,—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, or Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma. This sound is still going forth; the interplay and interblending of the many tiny notes of each human being produces a great united sound which call be heard in the high places and which, in its turn, is having a definite effect upon the animal kingdom. It is one of the factors which produces animal forms, both for human and animal occupation, for it must ever be remembered that man links the animal and the divine.
It is neither possible nor desirable to enumerate the Words of Power, but certain general indications may be given which will help the student to realise somewhat the magnitude of the subject and its intricacy.
1. The Great Word, as sounded by the Logos of the solar system, and communicated to Him by His superior.
2. Three Words committed by the Solar Logos to each of the three Logoi as follows:—
b. The sound U to Vishnu, God the Son. He is the form-builder and provides the body which the spirit must occupy, thereby making divine incarnation possible. A is the life sound, U is the form sound.
c. The sound M to Brahma, Who, in His work of Energy-provider, links in active intelligence, spirit and form, or the self and not-self.
It might here be pointed out that much information anent the three departments of the Hierarchy of our planet will come to the student who wisely ponders these functions.
3. Seven Great Words, again based on the sacred three sounds A U M. These produced creation, or the manifestation of the seven planes of our solar system. They are committed not to human entities, but to the seven great Devas or Raja-Lords who are the ensouling lives of a plane; hence in the various initiations their collaboration is necessary, before these key words can be committed to the initiate.
4. Forty-nine Words related to the forty-nine subplanes or Fires. These again are committed to the forty-nine Builders of the Sacred Fires.
The above two groups of words are in the jurisdiction of the third aspect, and are given out by Brahma.
5. There are again five Great Words with signs which come under the department of Vishnu, or God the Son,
and are breathed out by Him. By their means the five kingdoms of nature on the evolutionary arc came into being:
b. The vegetable kingdom.
c. The animal kingdom.
d. The human kingdom.
e. The spiritual kingdom.
These five are permutations of, or are built up upon the sound U, as the ones earlier enumerated are built up upon the sound M.
In connection with the first three kingdoms it may be of interest to note that they are based upon two sounds, the U sounded on the basic key tone of the M. In the fourth kingdom the M tone is dying down and the two notes sounded forth are the U and the A. In the fifth kingdom the M has subsided into a distant undertone, the U is blended with it so as to be indistinguishable, and the A, or Shiva note, is pealing forth in power, and is practically the only note heard. By the sounding of this note,—that of Shiva the Destroyer,—the not-self is negated, and all that is not of spirit passes into dissolution. It is the coming in of the A sound which affects the severance or liberation of the initiate from the three worlds.
6. There are certain Words also committed to each of the Planetary Logoi, and they are the basis of planetary manifestation. As is well known, the sound of the Brahma aspect, or the third aspect of our particular Planetary Logos, is FA, and herein lies much of illumination as to His point in evolution, for it is immediately apparent that the A sound is reaching even the dense physical.
7. Within our own Hierarchy there are numbers of Words built up upon the Great Word of our Planetary Logos, and these are committed to the Departmental Heads,
who in turn pass them on in permutated order to the graded initiates. It will be wise here for the student to differentiate carefully in his mind between words and sounds, for the word veils the thought or intended idea or purpose, and the sound makes it possible to manifest in matter of some kind, on one or other of the seven planes.
We cannot here trace the expansion of the basic words, from their enunciation by cosmic entities down to the infinitesimal differentiations produced in the speech of man, the vocal expression of the animals, and the song of birds. Each is a manifestation of consciousness in some degree, and each produces an effect. What the initiate is learning to do is to make sounds consciously, and thus produce a studied and desired result; to utter words, and be fully aware of the consequence on all planes; and to create forms and direct energy through sacred sounds, and thus further the ends of evolution.
It has been necessary to digress thus before taking up the committal of words to the initiate, in order to emphasise the radical importance of the matter, and thus account for the carefully guarding of this aspect of divine work.
The Use of the Words.
We have already dealt with the significance of the Words of Power in a brief manner. We might now sum up certain of the inferred postulates, and then touch somewhat upon the initiation ceremony, and the Words as committed to the initiate. The postulates here made are nine in number, and if duly pondered upon by the aspirant, will reveal to him much anent the creative process and the power of speech.
1. All the Words of Power are rooted in the Great Word committed to the Solar Logos at the dawn of manifestation.
2. All the Words of Power are permutations or expansions of the three basic sounds, and increase in length as the planes are involved, until the sentences and speech of the finite unit, man, in their myriad differentiations are arrived at.
3. Therefore, on the path of return, speech becomes ever more brief, words are more sparingly used, and the time eventually comes when the adept employs formulas of words only as required to carry out specific purposes along two lines:—
b. Specific direction of energy.
This, of course, on the planes in the three worlds.
4. The aspirant, therefore, has mainly three things to do when preparing for initiation:—
b. To control his speech every minute of every day. This is a statement easily made, but most difficult to make practical. He who achieves it is rapidly nearing emancipation. This applies not to the reticence, the moroseness, the silence, and the voicelessness which often distinguishes natures but little evolved, and which are in reality an inarticulate condition. It refers to the controlled use of words to effect certain ends, and the retention of speech energy when not needed,—a very different matter. It involves a realisation of cycles; of times and of seasons; it supposes a knowledge of the power of sound, and of the effects produced p. 157 through the spoken word; it involves an apprehension of the building forces of nature and their due manipulation, and is based on an ability to wield mental matter, and to set it in motion, in order to produce results in physical matter, consonant with the clearly defined purpose of the inner God. It is the shining forth of the second aspect of the Self, the Vishnu, or form-building aspect, which is the prime characteristic of the Ego on its own plane. It would be well to ponder on this.
c. To meditate, and thus arrive at the purpose of the Ego. By thus meditating the first aspect comes steadily into greater prominence, and the conscious will of the inner God can make itself felt on the physical plane.
The three activities of the aspirant must parallel each other, and it will be noted that the second is the outcome of the first and will manifest as energy on the physical plane. Only when the aspirant has made real progress in these three lines of endeavour will the first of the Great Words be committed to him.
5. Every Great Word includes within itself its differentiations, its expansions and permutations, and by its utterance the initiate sets in motion the lesser, through the vibration of the greater. Hence the terrific responsibility and the magnitude of the results achieved. Each Word is committed to the initiate orally and visually. It is spoken to him first in the form of seven syllables, each of which he has to memorise as a separate Word. Then he is shown how to blend these seven so as to make a threefold sound and thus produce more united and far reaching results. Finally the three die blended into one Word which is committed to him. The seven words which form the Great Word at any initiation are communicated to the initiate by the initiates of equal rank with his own. This group divides itself into
seven groups, according to subray or ray formation, and each group then chants one word in rapid rotation. Simultaneously, the colours and symbols of the various sounds pass in front of him, so that he hears and sees that which is committed to him. The more advanced group around the throne of office (the three Departmental Heads at the first two initiations, and the Pratyeka Buddhas at the final ones) chant then for him the triple Word which blends the seven, and again he sees it before his inner eye. Finally the Initiator sounds it forth, and the initiate becomes aware within himself, in practical experience, of the one great sound, and knows in one particular centre what its vibration is. As is well known, every centre is connected with some plane, scheme, ray, and other septenary divisions, and thus the significance of its inner reaction will be apparent.
6. The Masters and initiates, in Their work of aiding the evolution of the three worlds, concern Themselves principally with the seven syllables of the Word of Their degree or initiated grade. The three Words which blend the seven are seldom used except under the direct sanction of one of the departmental heads (according to the syllable involved each Word is directly connected with the triple AUM, and therefore with the Brahma, Vishnu, or Siva aspect, of which the three Heads are the planetary representatives) .
When any initiate desires to use, for evolutionary purposes, the entire Word as a unit, the sanction of the assembled Lodge has to be gained, for such a Word affects the matter of an entire plane within a planetary scheme, and consequently the matter of those planes which are subsidiary to the one involved. For instance, an initiate of the third degree, in sounding the Word of his degree, affects the matter of the lower mental subplanes, and subsequently the matter of the astral and physical planes. An initiate of the second degree similarly affects the astral plane, and subsequently
the physical. Far reaching results are thus achieved, and the work of many is thus affected.
7. Every Word, differentiated or synthesised, affects the deva kingdoms, and hence the form-building aspects of manifestation. No sound is ever made without producing a corresponding response in deva substance, and driving multitudes of tiny lives to take specific forms. These forms persist and carry out their functions just as long as the sound which caused them is prolonged, and the specific will-energy of the one who initiated the sound is directed towards the living form. This is equally true of a Solar Logos enunciating the AUM, and thus producing the solar system; of a Planetary Logos sounding his planetary Word, and producing a planetary scheme; of an adept producing results for the helping of humanity on the physical plane; and of an ordinary human being, who—in much differentiated diversified speech—expresses an inner purpose or state of mind, and thus builds a form or vehicle in deva substance. The majority of human beings as yet build unconsciously, and the form constructed is either of a beneficent or maleficent agency, according to the underlying motive or purpose of the man, and will carry out his will as long as its term of being persists.
8. Every Word sounded is distinguished by:—
b. A particular tone.
c. A special form.
d. A degree of energy or activity.
e. The nature of the ensouling life, self-conscious, self-conscious, or unconscious, God, man, or deva.
[paragraph continues] The student, again, will find this equally true of a solar system, of a planetary scheme, of a human being, of a thought form ensouled by an elemental life, and of the atom of the physicist or chemist. In the knowledge of these facts,
and in their conscious realisation, may be known the true occultist. The Solar Logos sounded forth a Word, the form of our solar system came into being, its color being blue and its note a particular cosmic musical tone. Its degree of activity is of a specific mathematical notation beyond the grasp of the human mind at this stage of development; and the nature of its great ensouling Life, that of the triple Logos, is active, intelligent Love.
9. The Great Word of our solar system keys in, if it might be so expressed, with other Words, and is but one Word of the sevenfold Word, known to that great Existence Who stands in the same relation to the Solar Logos as the latter does to the Planetary Logos. The sacred Words of seven solar systems (of which ours is but one) make up this septenary sound, which vibrates at this time in the cosmic spheres.
In these nine statements are very cursorily summed up the major truths anent the creative processes in the solar system. In them lies hidden the secret of the true magic, and in their comprehension will come to the man who has spiritual intuition, purity of life and motive, altruistic intention, and a stern self-control and courage, the power to further the purposes of the Ego, who is a conscious collaborator in the work of evolution, and a sharer in part of the plans of the Planetary Logos of our scheme. They are given in this brief form both to protect the concealed truths and yet to reveal them to those who are ready.
These seven Words of the solar system, which form the logoic Word which we only know in its triple form as AUM, are revealed at the seven initiations.
At the second initiation is given the Word for the astral plane.
At the third initiation is given the Word for the lower mental plane.
At this initiation, in which, as earlier said, the Hierophant is the Lord of the World, not only is the Word given for the lower mental plane, but a word which synthesises the three Words for the three worlds is also committed. It is given to the initiate as a topic for meditation, until he takes the fourth initiation, but he is forbidden to use it until the final liberation, as it gives entire control on the three lower planes.
At the fifth initiation the Word for the buddhic plane is given.
At the sixth initiation the Word for the atmic plane.
At the seventh initiation the Word for the monadic plane is given.
[paragraph continues] At the sixth initiation the Word which synthesises the fourth, fifth and sixth Words is given by the Hierophant, and thus the initiate wields complete control, through the power of sound, over the substance of the five planes of human evolution. At the seventh initiation the triple AUM, in its true character, is revealed to the illuminated Buddha, and he can then manipulate energy in the six worlds or planes.
Two more initiations can be taken, but little is ever said about them on our earth scheme, for the reason that our scheme is not a "sacred" scheme, and few, if any, of our humanity achieve the eighth and ninth initiations. To do so, they must first pass to another scheme for a lengthy period of service and instruction. All that can be hinted at is,
that at the eighth initiation the duality of the triple AUM is brought out, and at the ninth the one sound of the Absolute stands revealed, and its significance is heard and seen. This brings into the consciousness of the initiate somewhat of the energy and power of the "One about Whom Naught may be Said," or the Logos of our Solar Logos. The unit of consciousness is then perfect, as the Logos is perfect, and passes on to work paralleling that of the Solar Logos. Such is the great program and the opportunity reaching out before the sons of man, aye, and before every atom everywhere.