Theosophical Study Paper No 04

Author(s): Theosophical Society in Australia
Publisher: Theosophical Society in Australia

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has turned towards the spiritual heights, there is only one direction; not many, and therefore no choice. The word 'initiation' is another much misunderstood and, indeed, degraded word. A Guru puts his finger on someone's forehead and this is said to be initiation. It is, in fact, superstition. Initiation is not an outer event at all. The factors lie within; when preparation has taken place, there is an inward transformation. The consciousness undergoes a dimensional change, and this cannot be brought about by someone else any more than someone else can see on behalf of a blind man. Without the required six points of conduct and detachment, and the shedding of at least some of the attachments of the personality, initiation cannot take place. The Sanskrit word for disciple--shishya, denotes one 'who is capable and worthy of being taught'. One of the Masters of the Wisdom wrote that most of their secrets are incommunicable. If this were not so, wisdom could be passed on by publishing a textbook and distributing it to the world. A great deal of what needs to be said about the spiritual life has already been said many times over, but, since words do not achieve anything, people have not thereby become more spiritual. Somebody else's thought does not bring change; one can make use of it, but the real work must be done by oneself. Initiation means entering a new world and beginning to live at a different level. There are various grades of consciousness. A dog, watching a philosopher working on a book, sees the physical actions of its master - the hand moving, the man going to a bookshelf or turning pages. But the dog does not know what is going on within its master's consciousness because its own consciousness is not at the same level. The final change of dimension for the human being is that of liberation - the freedom that is the utter abolition of ego. On the way to that stage, selfcentredness and self-importance have to diminish. There are socalled spiritual experiences which make a person deceive himself into thinking that he has become enlightened; if he talks about it, there is something wrong, for no enlightened man claims to be so. A true inner change is self-evident in the sense that there is less of the feeling of selfhood, a widening sense of unity and a deepening harmony. The one thing that any seeker must watch
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