11. The Law of the Schools. (The Law of Love and
Light.) This is a mysterious term used to cover the law as it affects the expansions of
consciousness which an initiate undergoes, and his ability to attract to himself through
knowledge,
- His own
Higher Self, so as to produce alignment and illumination,
- His Guru,
- That which
he seeks to know,
- That which
he can utilize in his work of service,
- Other souls
with whom he can work.
It will be
evident, therefore, to the thoughtful student that this Law of the Schools is primarily
applicable to all units of divine life who have arrived at, or transcended the stage of
self-consciousness. It has consequently a vital connection with the human kingdom, and
there is an occult significance in the fact that this is the eleventh [1174] Law. It is
the law which enables a man to unite two of his aspects (the personal self and the Higher
Self). It is the law which governs the transition of the human atom into another and a
higher kingdom. It is the law which (when comprehended and conformed to) enables a man to
enter into a new cycle. It is the law of the adept, of the Master, and of the perfected
man. For this reason it might be of profit here if we dealt with it a little more fully
than with the other laws, for mankind is now at the stage where a number of its units are
ready to come under the specific influence of this law, and thus be transferred out of the
Hall of Learning, via the Hall of Wisdom, into the fifth or spiritual kingdom.
This Law of
the Schools does not specifically apply to the deva evolution. They come under another law
called "The Law of Passive Resistance" which does not concern us here, nor would
it profit us to consider it. Three main groups of existences are controlled by it:
- Human beings from the moment they tread the Probationary Path.
- All the units of the fifth kingdom, therefore, all the members of the Hierarchy.
- The planetary Logoi throughout the system.
It will be apparent, therefore, that this law concerns the great experiment which has
been inaugurated on earth by our planetary Logos in connection with the process of
initiation, and it has only held sway since the Door of Initiation was opened in Atlantean
days. It does not, therefore, apply to all the members of the human family; some
of whom will achieve slowly and under the sway of the basic Law of Evolution. It does not
affect, in any way, for instance, those members of the human family who have
individualized on the earth chain through the fanning of the spark of mind - one of the
methods employed by the Lords of the Flame, as earlier seen. [1175]
It can be studied in two main divisions, first, in connection with the human units
passing under hierarchical influence in the Hall of Wisdom, and also in connection with
the various planetary schemes. Each scheme exists in order to teach a specific aspect of
consciousness, and each planetary school or Hierarchy subjects its pupils to this law,
only in manners diverse. These planetary schools are necessarily governed by certain
factors of which the two most important are the peculiar karma of the planetary Logos
concerned, and His particular Ray.
It is not
possible at this stage to convey to students the information as to the nature of each
planetary school. They exist in five great groups:
- The esoteric non-sacred planets, called in occult parlance "the outer
round" or outer circle of initiates. Of these our earth is one, but being aligned in
a peculiar fashion with certain spheres on the inner round, a dual opportunity exists for
mankind, which facilitates, whilst it complicates, the evolutionary process.
- The sacred planets, called sometimes (when this Law of the Schools is under
consideration) the "seven grades of psychic knowledge or the seven divisions of the
field of knowledge."
The inner
round, which carries with it vast opportunity for those who can surmount its problems
and withstand its temptations. This inner round has a peculiar appeal to units on certain
Rays, and has its own specific dangers. The inner round is the round that is followed by
those who have passed through the human stage and have consciously developed the
faculty of etheric living and can follow the etheric cycles, functioning consciously on
the three higher etheric planes in all parts of the system. They have - for certain occult
and specific purposes - broken the connection between the third etheric and the four lower
subplanes of the physical plane. This [1176] round is followed only by a prepared
percentage of humanity, and is closely associated with a group who pass with facility and
develop with equal facility on the three planets that make a triangle with the earth,
namely Mars, Mercury, and Earth. These three planets - in connection with this inner round
- are considered only as existing in etheric matter, and (in relation to one of the
Heavenly Men) hold a place analogous to the etheric triangle found in the human etheric
body. I have here conveyed more than has as yet been exoterically communicated anent this
inner round and by the study of the human etheric triangle, its function, and the type of
force which circulates around it, much may be deduced about the planetary inner round. We
must bear in mind in this connection that just as the human etheric triangle is but the
preparatory stage to a vast circulation within the sphere of the entire etheric body, so
the etheric planetary triangle - passing from the Earth to Mars and Mercury - is but the
preparatory circulatory system to a vaster round included within the sphere of influence
of one planetary Lord.
The
circle of the planetoids. Students of the Ageless Wisdom are apt to forget that the
Life of the Logos manifests itself through those circling spheres which (though not large
enough to be regarded as planets) pursue their orbital paths around the solar center and
have their own evolutionary problems and are functioning as part of the solar Body. They
are informed - as are the planets - by a cosmic Entity and are under the influence of the
Life impulses of the solar Logos as are the greater bodies. The evolutions upon them are
analogous to, though not identical with, those of our planet, and they swing through their
cycles in the Heavens under the same laws as do the greater planets.
The
absorbing Triangles. This term is applied to the evolutionary schools found located in
the three major [1177] planets of our system - Uranus, Neptune and Saturn - and to those
found in the three major chains, and three major globes in a planetary scheme. The Rulers
of these planets, chains and globes are called the "Divine Examiners," and Their
work concerns the human kingdom specifically and entirely. They are responsible for the
work of
- Transferring
men from one school to another, and from one grade to another.
- For the
expanding of the human consciousness under the law,
- For the
transmutation of the forms of the human unit in the three worlds and the consequent
negation of the form,
- For the
radioactivity of the fourth kingdom in nature.
We might
regard the presiding lives in these departmental schools as the custodians of the Path,
and responsible, therefore, for the divine Pilgrim during the final stages of the treading
of the Path of Evolution. They begin to work with men from the moment they first set foot
upon the Probationary Path and They continue Their work until the seventh initiation is
taken.
The Masters, therefore, Who take pupils for training, are numbered amongst them, whilst
the Masters Who do not concern Themselves with individuals and their development are not.
It is not possible to give fully the types of schools and teaching which is given on
the different planets. All that can be done is to give an occult phrase which will convey
to the intuitive student the necessary hint. |