| The State of Mind of the Soul And whilst
all these phases, stages and realizations are taking place in the life of the personality,
what is the attitude of the soul upon its own plane? A consideration of this involves,
first of all, a recognition of the three aspects of mind which are to be found upon what
we call the mental plane: [511]
- The lower
concrete mind, which is the attitude of thought held by the tiny aspect of the soul
which was initially "put down" into manifestation at the time of
individualization. This - during the long cycle of incarnations - has become increasingly
sensitive to its over-shadowing Self. This over-shadowing Self says to its incarnated
aspect: "Having pervaded this entire universe with a fragment of myself, I
remain." The pull of that over-shadowing "remaining Self" is what draws the
little fragment back to its originating source.
- The Son of
Mind, the soul, the product of the thought of the Universal Mind, the thinking,
perceiving, discriminating, analyzing Identity or spiritual Entity. This aspect of the One
Life is characterized by pure mind, pure reason, pure love and pure will. A "Lord of
Sacrifice" Who, through incarnating experience, integration and expression, has
undertaken the task of redeeming matter, and of raising substance into Heaven! These are
familiar truths and ancient platitudes, but they still remain largely theory to you. You
can test their theoretical nature by asking yourself: What am I doing, as a soul (if I
function as a soul at all), to raise my matter aspect, my three vehicles and the substance
out of which they are made, on to higher planes of expression?
- The
higher abstract mind which is to the soul what the lowest aspect of the soul, embodied
in the knowledge petals, is to the concrete mind. This abstract mind is the lowest aspect
of the Spiritual Triad.
Once
integration has taken place between the personality and the soul, then the soul - in its
own body and nature and on its own plane - can begin to attend to a higher integration or
linking relation which it must eventually bring about between itself and the Spiritual
Triad. Accomplishment [512] upon a lower level ever makes possible accomplishment upon a
higher. There is no true higher accomplishment until, step by step, the lower reflected
aspect is mastered, used and recognized as an instrument for bringing about still higher
activities.
The state
of mind of the soul during the processes of lower integration can be briefly summarized as
follows:
- That of a complete disinterest during the earlier stages of the cycle of incarnation.
Its "embedded aspect" (as it has been called) is quite adequate to the slow and
tedious task of evolving the bodies, developing their characteristics and buying the
bitter experience of blindness and ignorance. This period is by far the longest, and
whilst it is proceeding the soul goes forward with its own life interest upon its own
level of experience, upon its own ray and under the influence of the Master Who will
eventually guide the thinking (through gladly accepted impression) of the developing
personality. Forget not that this kingdom or this aggregate of souls is what the Christian
calls the Kingdom of God and the occultist calls the spiritual Hierarchy of our planet.
Remember also that the purpose of its aggregated life is to induce realization in
consciousness of the spiritual polarization of the planetary Life.
- As evolution proceeds, the three vehicles - now created and developed - become potent,
and their vibration becomes strong enough to attract a measure of attention from the
preoccupied soul. The first reaction is irritation. Occult irritation is not
crossness, as human beings express it, but response to contact - a response which does not
please. In other words, it is friction. You will, therefore, better understand the meaning
of the statement that the last fetter which the Master casts off is [513] irritation. The
personality no longer attracts attention; friction therefore ceases, and there is nothing
left but a pure channel through which spiritual energy can pour. Irritation, as you
understand it, takes place when your personal, self-will, self-esteem, ideas and plans are
infringed upon by those of another person. It is not this form of irritation which the
Master casts off.
The second reaction is that of a meditation process or the generation of power, later to
be used in the three worlds to enhance soul energy within the form and to create the field
of knowledge, peopled by the thought-forms into which the personality will later venture.
The soul is therefore preparing for its own reorientation towards Life and its expression
in the three worlds, and not to the gaining of life experience.
When the
personality becomes dominant, the soul introduces a new factor into the life of its
reflection, the incarnating soul. It mobilizes and focuses the energy of the soul ray, and
by an act of the will brings it into direct contact with the ray of the personality. This
has a reflex action on the rays of the threefold lower man, stimulating them, awakening
them, and conditioning the etheric body so that the centers, through which the personality
rays are pouring, and the head center which is responsive to the soul ray, can become more
active. The ajna center, through which the personality works, intensifies its activity,
and two things occur:
- The personality life becomes increasingly potent and the man develops into an intense
individual.
- The head center begins to exert an influence upon the ajna center, and slowly and
gradually upon the center at the base of the spine. Self-will grows as do all the
qualities. [514]
The soul is
now in what esotericists call "a process of reversal." This produces a great
interest in its reflection in the three worlds, and three things then happen:
- The lower
concrete mind becomes subject to illumination from the soul.
- The energy
of the soul ray increasingly pours into the personality, intensifying its conflict.
- The path of
the man around the zodiac from Aries via Pisces to Taurus is reversed and he then proceeds
anti-clockwise.
All these
factors produce violent conflict upon the Probationary Path, which increases as the man
steps upon the Path of Discipleship. The potency of the personality, dominant and being
dominated, is that which induces an intense karmic activity. Events and circumstances pile
fast and furiously into the experience of the disciple. His environment is of the highest
quality available in the three worlds; his experience fluctuates between the extremes; he
works off his karmic obligations and pays the penalty of past mistakes with great
rapidity.
All this time, incarnation succeeds incarnation and the familiar process of death,
intervening between cycles of experience, goes on. However, all the three deaths -
physical, astral and mental - are carried out with a steadily awakening state of
awareness, as the lower mind develops; the man no longer drifts - asleep and unknowing -
out of the etheric, astral and mental vehicles, but each of them becomes as much an event
as is physical death.
Finally the time comes when the disciple dies with deliberation and in full
consciousness, and with real knowledge relinquishes his various vehicles. Steadily the
soul takes control, and then the disciple brings about death through an act of the
soul-will and knows exactly what he is doing. [515] |
