Initiation (Theosophy)
Encyclopedia
Initiation is a concept in Theosophy
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...

 that there are nine levels of spiritual development that beings who live on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

 can progress upward through. Within these levels, there are four basic levels of spiritual development that human beings on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

 progress through as they reincarnate
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...

, although evil
Evil
Evil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...

 acts may cause bad karma
Karma
Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....

 which may cause one to temporarily regress. It is believed that when soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...

s have advanced to the fourth level of initiation, they have reached enlightenment
Enlightenment (spiritual)
Enlightenment in a secular context often means the "full comprehension of a situation", but in spiritual terms the word alludes to a spiritual revelation or deep insight into the meaning and purpose of all things, communication with or understanding of the mind of God, profound spiritual...

 and have no further need to reincarnate. At the fifth level of initiation and beyond, souls have the opportunity to become members of the Spiritual Hierarchy
Spiritual Hierarchy
Spiritual Hierarchy is a term often used in Neo-Theosophy, and the Ascended Master Teachings, a group of religions based on Theosophy. It represents the concept of a group of self-realised Masters of the Ancient Wisdom, referred to by those adherent to the Ascended Master Teachings as Ascended...

. This concept was developed by both C.W. Leadbeater and Alice A. Bailey beginning in the 1920s.

According to C.W. Leadbeater, Initiation is a process by which "we try to develop ourselves not that we may become great and wise, but that we may have the power and knowledge to work for humanity to the best effect." According to Alice A. Bailey, Initiation is the "process of undergoing an expansion [toward higher levels] of consciousness
Higher consciousness
Higher consciousness, also called super consciousness , objective consciousness , Buddhic consciousness , cosmic consciousness, God-consciousness and Christ consciousness , are expressions used in various spiritual traditions to denote the consciousness of a human being who has reached a...

" It is believed by Theosophists that all soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...

s that have reached the fourth level of initiation and evolved beyond the necessity to reincarnate that do not elect to become pratyeka buddhas and go directly into Nirvana gradually evolve upward through all of these six higher levels of consciousness over thousands or millions of years, and later over billions or trillions of years, other higher levels yet beyond.

The concept of Initiation is also recognized in the Ascended Master Teachings
Ascended Master Teachings
The students of "Ascended Master Teachings" organizations believe that the Presence of Life/God - Individualizes as the "I AM", and incarnates throughout the created universes until it achieves The Ascension . The "Teachings" as all Religious Teachings.....

, a group of religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

s based on Theosophy. In the Ascended Master Teachings, it is referred to as Ascension.

The first six initiations were named by C.W. Leadbeater and Alice A. Bailey after the six most important events in the life of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

.

According to Martin Euser, “Theosophy closes the gap between science and religion by positing reincarnation as a dynamic process [ unlike the concept of the eternal return
Eternal return
Eternal return is a concept which posits that the universe has been recurring, and will continue to recur, in a self-similar form an infinite number of times across infinite time or space. The concept initially inherent in Indian philosophy was later found in ancient Egypt, and was subsequently...

 ]. The first jewel concerns the doctrine of reincarnation or reimbodiment. It's all a dynamic process and it's the way nature works.”

Initiation zero

The vast majority of ordinary human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...

ity lies on the probationary path (below the first initiation).

First initiation ("birth" to the spiritual life)

According to Alice A. Bailey, at the first initiation one gains full control of the physical body
Physical body
In physics, a physical body or physical object is a collection of masses, taken to be one...

. According to Benjamin Creme
Benjamin Creme
Benjamin Creme is a Scottish artist, author, esotericist, and editor of Share International magazine, a monthly non-profit magazine and website....

, there are 800,000 people at this level of initiation.

In the Ascended Master Teachings, a soul that reaches this level is referred to as having attained their Individualized "I AM" Presence, the prerequisite for further spiritual advancement.

Second initiation ("baptism")

Alice A. Bailey states that at the second initiation, one gains full control of the astral body
Astral body
The astral body is a subtle body posited by many religious philosophers, intermediate between the intelligent soul and the physical body, composed of a subtle material. The concept ultimately derives from the philosophy of Plato: it is related to an astral plane, which consists of the planetary...

. According to Benjamin Creme, there are 240,000 people at this level of initiation.

Third initiation ("the transfiguration")

An individual who is at the level of the third initiation has acquired fully developed clairvoyance
Clairvoyance
The term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...

 and clairaudience. According to Benjamin Creme, there are somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 people at this level of initiation.

Fourth initiation ("the crucifixion")

An individual reaching the fourth initiation is known as the perfected one, or an Arhat (Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...

) or a Paramahansa (Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

).

At this level, it is believed in Buddhism, one has the ability to remember all of one's past lives
Past Lives
- Music :* Past Lives , a live album by Black Sabbath* Past Lives , an American post-punk band* Past Lives - The Best of the RCA Years, a compilation by the British musical group Level 42....

, and one also has various minor siddhi
Siddhi
is a Sanskrit noun that can be translated as "perfection", "accomplishment", "attainment", or "success". The term is first attested in the Mahabharata. In the Pancatantra, a siddhi may be any unusual skill or faculty or capability...

s capable of affecting one's immediate environment.

Symbolically the fourth initiation is denoted as the crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...

initiation. An Arhat is supposed to be one who does not need to be incarnated again to develop spiritually. According to Benjamin Creme, there are 450 people at this level of initiation.

"The seven choices before the perfect [hu]man"

Having reached the threshold of the fifth initiation, a soul does not necessarily have to enter Earth's spiritual hierarchy proper as one of the "Masters of the Ancient Wisdom". One has seven paths forward to higher levels that they can choose to go forward on, only one of which is to become a "Master of the Ancient Wisdom". These seven choices, called in Theosophical literature "the seven choices before the perfect [hu]man" are:
1. "Remain with humanity as on official of the Hierarchy", i.e., become one of the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom
Masters of the Ancient Wisdom
The Masters of the Ancient Wisdom are reputed to be enlightened beings originally identified by the Theosophists Helena Blavatsky, Henry S. Olcott, Alfred P. Sinnett, and others. These Theosophists claimed to have met some of the so-called Masters during their lifetimes in different parts of the...

.
2. "Remain with humanity as a "Nirmanakaya", i.e., become a bodhisattva
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...

.
3. "Join the Devas
Deva (New Age)
A deva in the New Age movement refers to any of the spiritual forces or beings behind nature. According to Theosophists Charles Webster Leadbeater and Alice A. Bailey, devas represent a separate evolution to that of humanity. The concept of devas as nature-spirits derives from the writings of...

".
4. "Join the Staff Corps of the Solar Logos", i.e., join the Masters living in etheric cities inside the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...

 who supervise the activities of the Solar Angels
Deva (New Age)
A deva in the New Age movement refers to any of the spiritual forces or beings behind nature. According to Theosophists Charles Webster Leadbeater and Alice A. Bailey, devas represent a separate evolution to that of humanity. The concept of devas as nature-spirits derives from the writings of...

 that direct the process of evolution of the life waves (process of reincarnation) of the beings on all the planets of the solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...

 (all of whom live except those on Earth live on the etheric plane
Etheric plane
The etheric plane is a term introduced into Theosophy by Charles Webster Leadbeater and Annie Besant to represent one of the planes of existence in neo-Theosophical and Rosicrucian cosmology. It represents the fourth[higher] subplane of the physical plane , the lower three being the states of...

s of their planets).
5. "Prepare the work of the next Chain
Round (Theosophy)
A round in the esoteric cosmology of Theosophy, Anthroposophy and Rosicrucianism is a cosmic cycle or sequence by which an evolving reincarnating being passes through the various stages of existence as the Earth, the Solar System or the Cosmos comes into and passes out of manifestation.-The...

", i.e. join that subsection of the Staff Corps of the Solar Logos who are the solar planners who plan the future development of planetary civilizations in this solar system.
6.&7. "Enter Nirvana", i.e., become a Pratyekabuddha
Pratyekabuddha
A Pratyekabuddha or Paccekabuddha , literally "a lone buddha" , "a buddha on their own" or "a private buddha", is one of three types of enlightened beings according to some schools of Buddhism. The other two types are the Śrāvakabuddhas and Samyaksambuddhas...

.

Fifth initiation ("the resurrection")

The fifth initiation, called the resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...

, comprises the first rung of beings designated in Theosophy as Masters of the Ancient Wisdom
Masters of the Ancient Wisdom
The Masters of the Ancient Wisdom are reputed to be enlightened beings originally identified by the Theosophists Helena Blavatsky, Henry S. Olcott, Alfred P. Sinnett, and others. These Theosophists claimed to have met some of the so-called Masters during their lifetimes in different parts of the...

 and in the Ascended Master Teachings as Ascended master
Ascended master
Ascended Masters, in the Ascended Master Teachings is derived from the Theosophical concept of Masters of the Ancient Wisdom or "Mahatmas", though they differ in important aspects...

s.

Siddhis at this level include the ability to teleport
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...

 and bilocate
Bilocation
Bilocation, or sometimes multilocation, is a term used to describe the ability/instances in which an individual or object is said to be, or appears to be, located in two distinct places at the same instant in time...

 moderate
distances and levitate within a localized area.

According to C.W. Leadbeater, Alice A. Bailey and Benjamin Creme, there are a total of 43 beings at this level of initiation; this figure is arrived at because all three have stated there are a total of 60 Masters in all—subtracting from the 60 the 17 Masters at level six and above identified by C.W. Leadbeater, leaves a total of 43 Masters of the Ancient Wisdom at the fifth level of initiation.

Of these 43 Masters, a total of 12 have been identified by name, one by C.W. Leadbeater, nine by Alice A. Bailey, and two by Benjamin Creme.

C.W. Leadbeater named a Master called Master Jupiter who lives in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 that is involved with overseeing the people, government, and development of India that is at this level.

Alice A. Bailey identified as Masters the Master P., who is said to help St. Germain bring about the Age of Aquarius
Age of Aquarius
The Age of Aquarius is either the current or new age in the cycle of astrological ages. Each astrological age is approximately 2,150 years long, on average, but there are various methods of calculating this length that may yield longer or shorter time spans depending upon the technique used...

 in the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

, and two different English Masters (English Master #1 and English Master #2), one of which is said to have inspired the labor movement. In addition to these three, she identified the three Lords of Liberation--(Lord of Liberation #1, Lord of Liberation #2, and Lord of Liberation #3). According to Alice A. Bailey, the three Lords of Liberation formulated the slogan Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. Finally, Alice A. Bailey also identified the three Lords of Karma (Lord of Karma #1, Lord of Karma #2, and Lord of Karma #3). These three beings are said to live in Shamballah and help Sanat Kumara decide where and when soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...

s are going to incarnate
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...

 in their next life.

Benjamin Creme identified two previously unidentified Masters at this level in 2001—he stated that there is a Master in Moscow and a Master in Tokyo, but did not give their personal names.

Forty-three minus 12 equals 31 Masters of the Ancient Wisdom at this level that are still unidentified by name.

Guy Ballard
Guy Ballard
Guy Warren Ballard was an American mining engineer who became, with his wife, Edna Anne Wheeler Ballard, the founder of the "I AM" Activity....

 and Elizabeth Clare Prophet
Elizabeth Clare Prophet
Elizabeth Clare Prophet was an American spiritual author and lecturer who was the leader of The Summit Lighthouse and Church Universal and Triumphant, a New Age religious movement which gained media attention in the late 1980s and early 1990s while preparing for potential nuclear disaster.During...

 have identified, named, and received dictations from at least 200 new "Ascended Master
Ascended master
Ascended Masters, in the Ascended Master Teachings is derived from the Theosophical concept of Masters of the Ancient Wisdom or "Mahatmas", though they differ in important aspects...

s" at this level; however, these Masters are not recognized as Masters of the Ancient Wisdom by traditional Theosophists. Ascended Masters named by Guy Ballard and Elizabeth Clare Prophet at this level include such Masters as Confucius
Confucius
Confucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....

, Lord Ling
Lord Ling
In the Ascended Master Teachings, a group of religions based on Theosophy, Lord Ling is regarded as one of the Ascended Masters.-Incarnations:It is believed that Lord Ling’s incarnations were as:* Moses, Hebrew Prophet...

, Lady Master Magda, Pallas Athena
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...

, Lanello, Kwan Yin, the Great Divine Director, Padre Pio, Godfre and his "twin flame" (celestial wife) Lady Master Lotus, and many dozens more.

In the Ascended Master Teachings, the Master Jupiter is referred to as Chananda.

According to the Ascended Master Teachings, Sanat Kumara has a grandson named Master Cha Ara who is half mortal and who just recently became a Master, therefore meaning he is functioning at the fifth level.

Sixth initiation ("the ascension" or "masterhood")

The Chohans (Lords) of the Seven Rays
Seven Rays
The seven rays is an occult concept that has appeared in several religions and esoteric philosophies, since at least the 6th century BCE, of the Aryan peoples in both Western culture and in India...

 - El Morya (1st Ray), Master Kuthumi
Kuthumi
The Master Kuthumi, sometimes spelled Koot Hoomi, Kut Humi, rarely Kut-Hu-Mi, Master K.H., or simply K.H. in Theosophy, is regarded as one of the "Masters of the Ancient Wisdom." According to Theosophy, Kuthumi is considered to be one of the members of the Spiritual Hierarchy called the Masters of...

(2nd Ray), Paul the Venetian
Paul the Venetian
Paul the Venetian is one of the "Masters of the Ancient Wisdom" in the teachings of Theosophy and is regarded as one of the ascended masters in the Ascended Master Teachings . He is regarded as the Master of the Third Ray...

(3rd Ray), Serapis Bey
Serapis Bey
Serapis Bey , sometimes written as Serapis, is regarded in Theosophy as being one of the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom; and in the Ascended Master Teachings is considered to be an Ascended Master and member of the Great White Brotherhood. He is regarded as the Chohan of the Fourth Ray . C.W...

(4th Ray), Master Hilarion
Master Hilarion
The Master Hilarion, in the teachings of Theosophy is one of the "Masters of the Ancient Wisdom" and in the Ascended Master Teachings is one of the Ascended Masters . He is considered to be the Chohan of the Fifth Ray...

(5th Ray), Master Jesus
Master Jesus
The Master Jesus in Theosophy and the Ascended Master Teachings, refers to the theosophical concept of Jesus as opposed to the Jesus Christ of the Christian religion.-Position in the Hierarchy of Masters of the Ancient Wisdom:...

(6th Ray), and the Master Rakoczi
St. Germain (Theosophy)
Also see Count of St. Germain for more information.The Count of St. Germain has been variously described in secular histories as a courtier, adventurer, charlatan, inventor, alchemist, pianist, violinist and amateur composer. Under the name "St...

(7th Ray) - are seven of the beings at the level of the sixth initiation, while their coordinator and communications director Djwal Khul
Djwal Khul
Djwal Khul , is believed by some Theosophists and others to be a Tibetan disciple in the tradition of ancient esoteric spirituality known as The Ageless Wisdom tradition...

is another, making a total of eight at this level.

All of these Masters are recognized by both traditional Theosophists and those adherent to the Ascended Master Teachings. In the Ascended Master Teachings, Master Rakoczi is referred to as St. Germain
St. Germain (Theosophy)
Also see Count of St. Germain for more information.The Count of St. Germain has been variously described in secular histories as a courtier, adventurer, charlatan, inventor, alchemist, pianist, violinist and amateur composer. Under the name "St...

.

Siddhis at this level include the ability to teleport, bilocate, or levitate to anyplace on Earth.

According to the Ascended Master Teachings, on January 1, 1956, the Master Jesus advanced from the sixth to the seventh level of initiation and the Lady Master Nada
Lady Master Nada
In the Ascended Master Teachings, a group of religions based on Theosophy, Lady Master Nada is the "Chohan of the Sixth Ray" , and is the Ascended Lady Master governing humanity's development of the Divine Qualities of Ministration, Service, and Peace. The colors of her Ray are purple and gold, and...

(a lady Master recognized in the Ascended Master Teachings but not in Theosophy) advanced from the fifth level to the sixth level and replaced the Master Jesus as the chohan of the sixth ray.

Seventh initiation ("bodhisattva" , "avatar", or "christhood")

The seventh initiation is known as the initiation of the Bodhisattava (Buddhism) or the Avatar
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....

 (Hinduism). The Maitreya
Maitreya (Theosophy)
Maitreya or Lord Maitreya is described in Theosophical literature of the late 19th-century and subsequent periods as an advanced spiritual entity and high-ranking member of a hidden Spiritual Hierarchy, the so-called Masters of the Ancient Wisdom...

or World Teacher (known as Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...

 by Hindus, the Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...

 by Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

s, Maitreya
Maitreya
Maitreya , Metteyya , or Jampa , is foretold as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he or she is referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva.Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on...

 by Buddhists, Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...

 by the Jews, the Iman Mahdi
Mahdi
In Islamic eschatology, the Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on Earth for seven, nine or nineteen years- before the Day of Judgment and, alongside Jesus, will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice and tyranny.In Shia Islam, the belief in the Mahdi is a "central religious...

 by Muslims, and the Peshotan
Peshotan
Peshotanu is an eschatological figure of the 9th–12th century texts of Zoroastrian tradition, one of the Zoroastrian immortals and an assistant of the Saoshyant, the "future benefactor" who brings about the final renovation of the world.In the genealogy of the mythical Kayanians, Peshotanu is the...

 by the Zoroastrians) is at this level. At this level also are said to be the Chakshusha Manu
Manu (Theosophy)
In the teachings of Theosophy, the Manu is one of the most important beings at the highest levels of Initiation of the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom, along with Sanat Kumara, Gautama Buddha, Maitreya, the Maha Chohan, and Djwal Khul...

, the Vaivasvatu Manu
Manu (Theosophy)
In the teachings of Theosophy, the Manu is one of the most important beings at the highest levels of Initiation of the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom, along with Sanat Kumara, Gautama Buddha, Maitreya, the Maha Chohan, and Djwal Khul...

and the Maha Chohan, thus making a total of four beings at this level.

In the Ascended Master Teachings, the Chakshusha Manu is referred to as Lord Himalaya.

According to Benjamin Crème, a being at this level has the ability to teleport to anyplace in the solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...

. Creme admits, however, that unless one is in a hurry, it's simpler, easier, and uses less energy to just take a flying saucer
Flying saucer
A flying saucer is a type of unidentified flying object sometimes believed to be of alien origin with a disc or saucer-shaped body, usually described as silver or metallic, occasionally reported as covered with running lights or surrounded with a glowing light, hovering or moving rapidly either...

. Creme has also stated that beings at this level have a level of invulnerability such that they would not be affected by a bullet
Bullet
A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...

 fired at them, nor even by the detonation of a nuclear bomb.

In the Ascended Master Teachings, it is believed that on January 1, 1956, Maitreya advanced from the 7th level to the 8th level.

Eighth initiation ("buddhahood")

Level eight is the level of the Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

.

At this level also, according to C.W. Leadbeater, are The Three Pratyeka Buddhas (the task of these three Buddhas
Buddhahood
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...

 is to focus the Seven Rays from Sanat Kumara through Djwal Khul to the chohans of the Seven Rays). Unlike Buddha, the three Pratyeka Buddhas do not interact with the human race except for fulfilling their function of focusing the seven rays.

Alice A. Bailey stated that communication among beings at this level is entirely by telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...

. According to Theosophist Alfred Percy Sinnett
Alfred Percy Sinnett
Alfred Percy Sinnett was an English author and Theosophist.- Biography :Sinnett's father died while he was young, by 1851 Sinnett is listed as a "Scholar - London University", living with his widowed mother Jane whose occupation is listed as "Periodical Literature", and his older sister Sophia age...

, beings at this level can freely roam both in interplanetary space and in nearby interstellar space
Interstellar Space
Interstellar Space was one of the final studio albums recorded by the saxophonist John Coltrane before his death in 1967, originally-released posthumously by Impulse! Records on LP in 1974.-Composition:...

 in full consciousness while physically remaining in their celestialized bodies and carrying on normal activities such as communicating with other beings. In order for beings at this level to be able to do this, it would have been necessary for them to have activated their transpersonal chakras. Benjamin Creme and Elizabeth Clare Prophet have stated that beings at this level can teleport as far as the star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...

 Sirius
Sirius
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. With a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, it is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. The name "Sirius" is derived from the Ancient Greek: Seirios . The star has the Bayer designation Alpha Canis Majoris...

.

This makes four beings at this level, according to traditional Theosophy.

In the Ascended Master Teachings, it is believed that on January 1, 1956, Buddha advanced from the 8th level to the 9th level, becoming co-equal with Sanat Kumara.

The three Pratyeka Buddhas have not been mentioned so far in any of the Ascended Master Teachings.

Ninth initiation ("godhood")

Level nine is the "Lord of the World": Sanat Kumara
Sanat Kumara
According to the post-1900 publications of Theosophy, i.e. the writings of C. W. Leadbeater, Alice A. Bailey, and Benjamin Creme, as well as the Ascended Master Teachings of Guy Ballard, Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Geraldine Innocente, Joshua David Stone, and other Ascended Master Teachings teachers,...

- "The Eternal Youth" and "The Ancient of Days", the Nordic alien that is believed by Theosophists to be the "Lord of the World", i.e., the governing deity
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....

 of Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

.

C.W. Leadbeater discussed the abilities of beings at this level. He stated that Sanat Kumara's "consciousness is of so extended a nature that it comprehends at once all the life on our globe. In his hands are the powers of cyclic destruction, for he wields Fohat [i.e. beams composed of "bubbles in space
Micro black hole
Micro black holes are tiny black holes, also called quantum mechanical black holes or mini black holes, for which quantum mechanical effects play an important role....

" used by Theosophical deities to materialize or dematerialize material objects] in its higher forms and can deal directly with cosmic forces outside our chain [i.e., outside our solar system]." Thus according to Leadbeater powers of beings at this level include omniscience
Omniscience
Omniscience omniscient point-of-view in writing) is the capacity to know everything infinitely, or at least everything that can be known about a character including thoughts, feelings, life and the universe, etc. In Latin, omnis means "all" and sciens means "knowing"...

 regarding the events occurring on a single inhabited planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...

, materialization of large objects, and the ability to affect at a distance to some degree happenings in other nearby planetary system
Planetary system
A planetary system consists of the various non-stellar objects orbiting a star such as planets, dwarf planets , asteroids, meteoroids, comets, and cosmic dust...

s.

According to the Ascended Master Teachings, Sanat Kumara has a "twin flame" (celestial wife) named Lady Master Venus who he brought with him from Venus, as well as a daughter named Lady Master Meta born to them on Venus who they brought with them to Earth, both of them presumably also functioning at the ninth level of initiation.

Tenth initiation ("planetary logos")

The tenth initiation is considered to symbolize perfection and is used to describe the Planetary Logos, also called the Spirit of the Earth, and specifically denoted as the Planetary Logos of Earth. In order to reach the status of a Planetary Logos, this being would have had to have been a high level Planetary Deva
Deva (New Age)
A deva in the New Age movement refers to any of the spiritual forces or beings behind nature. According to Theosophists Charles Webster Leadbeater and Alice A. Bailey, devas represent a separate evolution to that of humanity. The concept of devas as nature-spirits derives from the writings of...

in some other solar system before it incarnated inside our planet at the time of the creation of the world. According to C.W. Leadbeater, the "Planetary Logos" is functioning at the tenth level of initiation and Sanat Kumara
Sanat Kumara
According to the post-1900 publications of Theosophy, i.e. the writings of C. W. Leadbeater, Alice A. Bailey, and Benjamin Creme, as well as the Ascended Master Teachings of Guy Ballard, Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Geraldine Innocente, Joshua David Stone, and other Ascended Master Teachings teachers,...

, in continuous telepathic rapport with the Planetary Logos, functions as its spokes-deity. Since the formulation in the early 1970s by James Lovelock
James Lovelock
James Lovelock, CH, CBE, FRS is an independent scientist, environmentalist and futurologist who lives in Devon, England. He is best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, which postulates that the biosphere is a self-regulating entity with the capacity to keep our planet healthy by controlling...

 of the Gaia hypothesis, many Theosophists and those adherent to the Ascended Master Teachings, adopting the Gaia philosophy
Gaia philosophy
Gaia philosophy is a broadly inclusive term for related concepts that living organisms on a planet will affect the nature of their environment in order to make the environment more suitable for life. This set of theories holds that all organisms on an extraterrestrial life-giving planet regulate...

, nowadays simply refer to the "Planetary Logos of Earth" as Gaia, the New Age version of what in many religions is called the Earth mother..

Levels of initiation beyond the tenth level

In the theosophical teachings of Alice A. Bailey, there is a powerful being living inside the sun serving the Solar Logos called the Avatar of Synthesis. Its job is to transmit the seven rays from the heart of the sun through the seven spirits before the [solar] throne to all the life waves of the solar system. According to Benjamin Creme, the Avatar of Synthesis is functioning at the 17th level of initiation. In the Ascended Master Teachings, this being is called Ray-O-Light.

The Solar Logos itself must be at least several levels beyond the 17th level. The Solar Logos, the Sun God in Theosophy, is personified as the cosmic beings Helios
Helios
Helios was the personification of the Sun in Greek mythology. Homer often calls him simply Titan or Hyperion, while Hesiod and the Homeric Hymn separate him as a son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia or Euryphaessa and brother of the goddesses Selene, the moon, and Eos, the dawn...

and his twin flame (celestial wife) Vesta
Vesta (mythology)
Vesta was the virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and family in Roman religion. Vesta's presence was symbolized by the sacred fire that burned at her hearth and temples...

, the "God and Goddess of this solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...

", in the Ascended Master Teachings.

Perhaps several dozen or a couple of hundred of levels above the Solar Logos would be the Galactic Logos. In the Ascended Master Teachings, the Galactic Logos is personified as the cosmic being Averran.

C.W. Leadbeater stated, "The ladder of being [i.e., of initiation] extends upward into clouds of light, into which few of us can yet penetrate, and when we ask those who stand higher than we and know infinitely more than we do, all they can say is that it extends beyond their sight also. They know very many more steps of it than we do, but it goes still further, onwards and upward to unimaginable heights of glory, and no one knows its end."

The number of levels of initiation ultimately would depend on the physical size of the Cosmos
Cosmos
In the general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from the Greek term κόσμος , meaning "order" or "ornament" and is antithetical to the concept of chaos. Today, the word is generally used as a synonym of the word Universe . The word cosmos originates from the same root...

, because enough souls would have to climb the ladder to ensoul all the star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...

s with stellar logoi and all the galaxies
Galaxy
A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...

 with galactic logoi, plus provide staffing for their attendant cosmic bureaucracies of angels, archangels, etc., as souls beyond them on the scale of initiation move up the ladder. If Alan Guth
Alan Guth
Alan Harvey Guth is an American theoretical physicist and cosmologist. Guth has researched elementary particle theory...

's inflation theory, which states that the actual size of the Cosmos is at least fifteen orders of magnitude larger than the observable universe
Observable universe
In Big Bang cosmology, the observable universe consists of the galaxies and other matter that we can in principle observe from Earth in the present day, because light from those objects has had time to reach us since the beginning of the cosmological expansion...

 (itself 93,000,000,000 light years in diameter), is correct, then there could be several hundred or even thousands of levels of initiation necessary to staff the large scale structures of the cosmos before reaching the level of the Cosmic Logos. In the Ascended Master Teachings, the Cosmic Logos is personified as the cosmic beings Alpha and Omega.

If the concept of the Multiverse
Multiverse
The multiverse is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes that together comprise all of reality.Multiverse may also refer to:-In fiction:* Multiverse , the fictional multiverse used by DC Comics...

 is true, then other hierarchies exist in other Universes
Multiverse (religion)
According to some religious cosmologies, the universe , as understood by secular cosmologists, is not the only one that exists, and is thus only one part of what is today referred to as the multiverse.- Buddhism :...

. It is believed in Theosopy that the concept of the Multiverse is true because Theosophists have stated that the Universal Logos has created many other cosmos
Cosmos
In the general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from the Greek term κόσμος , meaning "order" or "ornament" and is antithetical to the concept of chaos. Today, the word is generally used as a synonym of the word Universe . The word cosmos originates from the same root...

es besides our own.

The tenth initiation is considered to symbolize perfection and is used to describe the Planetary Logos, also called the Spirit of the Earth, and specifically denoted as the Planetary Logos of Earth.

Initiation in popular culture

Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

  • In 1975, Todd Rundgren
    Todd Rundgren
    Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...

     released an album titled Initiation which has a song called "Initiation" on side one. The title of the album is apparently based on the Theosophical concept of Initiation as taught by Alice A. Bailey and C.W. Leadbeater. The entire second side of the album is taken up by a song called "A Treatise on Cosmic Fire"; the three parts of the song are listed as: "I. The Internal Fire, or Fire by Friction; II. The Fire of Spirit, or Electric Fire; The Fire of Mind, or Solar Fire." The second parts of these three phrases are taken directly from Alice A. Bailey's book A Treatise on Cosmic Fire.

Further reading

  • Leadbeater, C.W. The Masters and the Path Adyar, Madras, India: 1925—Theosophical Publishing House—Chart on page 249 (diagram 5), provides details about the Great Ones functioning on initiation levels five through nine.
  • Creme, Benjamin Maitreya's Mission Amsterdam: 1986—Share International Foundation—Chart on pages 373-393 gives the Level of Initiation of famous people of history (all the indicated levels are between one and five).

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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