[cover: 24 Books of Esoteric Philosophy by Alice Bailey.]

[The content of this article was extracted from Alice Bailey's books after atomatically searching the texts: “Lipika", "Lords of Karma", "Karmic Lords", and "Maharajahs".]

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<01> (Initiation, Human and Solar, pp. 39-41.)

"... Standing around the Lord of the World, but withdrawn and esoteric, are three more Kumaras, Who make the seven of planetary manifestation. Their work is to us necessarily obscure. The three exoteric Buddhas, or Kumaras, are the sumtotal of activity or planetary energy, and the three esoteric Kumaras embody types of energy which as yet are not in full demonstration upon our planet. Each of these six Kumaras is a reflection of, and the distributing agent for, the energy and force of one of the six other Planetary Logoi, the remaining six spirits before the Throne. Sanat Kumara alone, in this scheme, is self-sustaining and self-sufficient, being the physical incarnation of one of the Planetary Logoi, which one it is not permissible to state, as this fact is one of the secrets of initiation. Through each of Them passes the life force of one of the six rays, and in considering Them one might sum up Their work and position as follows:—

1. They each embody one of the six types of energy, with the Lord of the World as the synthesiser and the embodier of the perfect seventh type, our planetary type.

2. They are each distinguished by one of the six colours, with the Lord of the World showing forth the full planetary colour, these six being subsidiary.

3. Their work is therefore concerned, not only with force distribution, but with the passing into our scheme from other planetary schemes, of Egos seeking earth experience.

4. Each of Them is in direct communication with one or another of the sacred planets.

5. According to astrological conditions, and according to the turning of the planetary wheel of life, so one or another of these Kumaras will be active. The three Buddhas of Activity change from time to time, and become in turn exoteric or esoteric as the case may be. Only the King persists steadily and watchfully in active physical incarnation.

Besides these main presiding Personalities in the Council Chamber at Shamballa, there is a group of four Beings Who are the representatives upon the planet of the four Maharajahs, or the four Lords of Karma in the solar system, who are specifically concerned with the evolution at the present time of the human kingdom. These four are connected with:—

1. The distribution of karma, or human destiny, as it affects individuals, and through the individuals, the groups.

2. The care and tabulation of the akashic records. They are concerned with the Halls of Records, or with the "keeping of the book," as it is called in the Christian Bible; They are known in the Christian world as the recording angels.

3. The participation in solar councils. They alone have the right during the world cycle to pass beyond the periphery of the planetary scheme, and participate in the councils of the Solar Logos. Thus They are literally planetary mediators, representing our Planetary Logos and all that concerns Him in the greater scheme of which He is but a part.

Co-operating with these karmic Lords are the large groups of initiates and devas who occupy themselves with the right adjustment of:—

a. World karma,
b. Racial karma,
c. National karma,
d. Group karma,
e. Individual karma,

and who are responsible to the Planetary Logos for the correct manipulation of those forces and building agencies which bring in the right Egos on the different rays at the correct times and seasons. ..."

♦

<02> (Initiation, Human and Solar, pp. 68-69.)

"... Secondly, we must remember that each of us is recognised by the brilliance of his light. This is an occult fact. The finer the grade of matter built into our bodies, the more brilliantly will shine forth the indwelling light. Light is vibration, and through the measurement of vibration is fixed the grading of the scholars. Hence nothing can prevent a man's progress forward if he but attends to the purification of his vehicles. The light within will shine forth with ever greater clarity, as the refining process goes on, until—when atomic matter predominates—great will be the glory of that inner man. We are all graded, therefore, if it may be so expressed, according to the magnitude of the light, according to the rate of vibration, according to the purity of the tone and the clarity of the colour. Who our Teacher is depends therefore upon our grading. Similarity of vibration holds the secret. We are frequently told that when the demand is forceful enough the Teacher will appear. When we build in the right vibrations and attune ourselves to the right key, nothing can prevent our finding the Master.

Groups of Egos are formed:—

1. According to their ray.
2. According to their sub-ray.
3. According to their rate of vibration.

They are also grouped for purposes of classification:

1. As Egos, according to the egoic ray.
2. As personalities, according to the sub-ray which is governing the personality.

All are graded and charted. The Masters have Their Halls of Records, with a system of tabulation incomprehensible to us owing to its magnitude and its necessary intricacies, wherein these charts are kept. They are under the care of a Chohan of a Ray, each ray having its own collection of charts. These charts, being in many sections (dealing with incarnate, discarnate, and perfected Egos), are again all under the care of subordinate guardians. The Lipika Lords, with Their vast band of helpers are the most frequent users of these charts. Many discarnate egos awaiting incarnation or having just left the earth, sacrifice their time in heaven to assist in this work. These Halls of Records are mostly on the lowest levels of the mental plane and the highest of the astral, as they can be there most fully utilised and are most easily accessible. ..."

♦

<03> (Initiation, Human and Solar, pp. 126-127.)

"... The Rods of Initiation are of four kinds:

1. Cosmic, used by a cosmic Logos in the initiations of a solar Logos and of the three major Planetary Logoi.

2. Systemic, used by a solar Logos in the initiations of a Planetary Logos. With cosmic initiation we have naught to do; it concerns expansions of realisation beyond even the ken of the highest initiate in our solar system. With systemic initiations we are concerned only in trifling measure, for they are on so vast a scale that the average human mind cannot as yet envisage them. Man appreciates these initiations only in so far as they produce effects in the planetary scheme with which he may be concerned. Particularly is this so should the scheme in which he plays his microscopic part be the centre in the Logoic body receiving stimulation. When that is the case, the initiation of his own Planetary Logos takes place, and consequently he (as a cellular body) receives an added stimulation along with the other sons of men.

3. Planetary, used by a Planetary Logos for initiatorypurposes, and for the third, fourth, and fifth major initiations, with the two higher. At the planetary initiation the Rod of Power, wielded by the solar Logos, is charged with pure electrical force from Sirius, and was received by our Logos during the secondary period of creation, from the hands of that great Entity Who is the presiding Lord of the Lords of Karma. He is the repository of the law during manifestation, and He it is Who is the representative in the solar system of that greater Brotherhood on Sirius Whose Lodges are found functioning as the occult Hierarchies in the different planets. Again, it is He Who, with the solar Logos to assist Him, invests the various Initiators with power, gives to Them that word in secret which enables Them to draw down the pure electric force with which Their rods of office must be charged, and commits to Their keeping the peculiar secret of Their particular planetary scheme.

4. Hierarchical, used by an occult Hierarchy for minor initiations, and for the first two initiations of manas by the Bodhisattva.

When man individualised in Lemurian days, it was through the application of the Rod of Initiation to the Logos of our earth chain, which touched into activity certain centres in His body, with their corresponding groups. This application produced literally the awakening of the life to intelligent work on the mental plane. Animal man was conscious on the physical and on the astral planes. By the stimulation effected by the electric rod this animal man awoke to consciousness on the mental. Thus the three bodies were co-ordinated, and the Thinker enabled to function in them. ..."

♦

<04> (Initiation, Human and Solar, pp. 169-170.)

"... At the second initiation "the secret of the sea" is unfolded to him, and through this revelation two subjects of profound interest become clarified to his inner vision. They are:—

a. The mystery of the astral light.
b. The law of karma.

He is, after this, in a position to do two things, without which he cannot work off that which hinders, and thus achieve liberation; he can read the akashic records and ascertain the past, thereby enabling himself to work intelligently in the present, and he can begin to balance his karma, to work off his obligations, and to understand how karma in the three worlds can be negated. The relation of that hierarchy of spiritual beings who are connected with the law of karma as it affects man is demonstrated to him, and he knows with first-hand knowledge that the lords of Karma are no myth, or symbolical units, but are highly intelligent entities who wield the law for the benefit of humanity, and thus enable men to become fully self-conscious and self -reliant in the occult sense, and to become creators through perfected knowledge. ..."

♦

<05> (Initiation, Human and Solar, pp. 190-191.)

"... 7. The Path of Absolute Sonship.

This Sonship is a correspondence on the highest plane to that grade of discipleship which we call "Son of the Master." It is the Sonship to a Being higher than our Logos, of whom we may not speak. It is the great controlling Path of Karma. The Lipika Lords are on this Path, and all who are fitted for that line of work, and who are close to the Logos in a personal intimate sense, pass to the Path of absolute Sonship. It is the Path of the special intimates of the Logos, and into Their hands He has put the working out of karma in the solar system. They know His wishes, His will and His aim, and to Them He entrusts the carrying out of His behests. This group, associated with the Logos, forms a special group linked to a still higher Logos. ..."

♦

<06> (Letters on Occult Meditation, pp. 170-171.)

"... 1. The line of the Manu.

We might here somewhat indicate the approximate method, and lay down certain rules which will serve to elucidate when the time comes.

This first line is specially the line of government, of racial, development, of working in and with the matter of all forms on all the planes of human evolution. It is, as I have said before, the line of occultism. It emphasises the hierarchical method, it embodies the divine autocracy, and it is the line whereby our solar Logos imposes His Will on men. It is closely linked to the Lords of Karma, and it is through the Manu's department that the Law of Cause and Effect is wielded. The four Lords of Karma work closely with the Manu, for They impose the Law, and He manipulates the forms of men, of continents, of races, and of nations so that that law may be duly worked out.

The man therefore who attempts through meditation to contact these powers, to rise to union by these means, and to attain the consciousness of the Will aspect, works under set rules, rises from point to point under due forms, and broods ever on the Law and its workings. He seeks to understand, he discriminates and studies; he is occupied with the concrete and its place in the divine plan. He admits the fact of the indwelling life but concentrates primarily on its method and form of manifestation. The basic rules of expression and of government occupy his attention, and by studying the rules and laws, and by seeking to comprehend, he necessarily contacts the Ruler. From stage to stage he rises—from the ruler of the microcosm in the three worlds, to the group egoic and its focal point, a Master; from the ruler of the group he rises to the Manu, the Ruler of the department wherein he has his place, thence to the Ruler of the World, later to the Planetary Logos, and thence to the Solar Logos. ..."

♦

<07> (Letters on Occult Meditation, pp. 228-230.)

"... The basic correspondences.

It is in the study of these correspondences in the different departments of the manifested universe, and the application of these colours to their adjusted portion that the beauty of the synthetic whole and the illuminating of the microcosmic life ensues. Let us enumerate or tabulate in broad general fashion, leaving the detailed working out to the student of meditation. More at this juncture is not possible.

1. The threefold solar system.
The threefold evolving jiva.
The three aspects of the Logos.
The threefold Monad.
The spiritual Triad, the Ego.
The threefold Personality.
The three worlds of human evolution.
The three persons of the Deity.

2. The four Lipika Lords.
The four Maharajahs.
The fourfold lower man, the quaternary.

3. The five planes of human evolution.
The five senses.
The fivefold department of the Mahachohan.
The five kingdoms of nature.
   a. The mineral kingdom.
   b. The vegetable kingdom.
   c. The animal kingdom.
   d. The human kingdom.
   e. The spiritual or superhuman kingdom.
The fifth principle of manas.

4. The seven rays or hierarchies.
The seven colours.
The seven planes of manifestation.
The seven Kumaras.
The seven principles of man.
The seven centres.
The seven sacred planets.
The seven chains.
The seven globes.
The seven rounds.
The seven root-races and subraces.
The seven initiations.

What I seek to emphasise in the above table is that to the adept the correspondence of all these is perfectly known and exists in terms of consciousness, in terms of form, and in terms of intelligence. He knows it,—if I may so express it,—in terms of colour when dealing with form; in terms of sound when dealing with the life side, and in terms of vitality when dealing with intelligence, or the activity aspect. The above statement will repay much earnest thought; it contains a statement of occult fact. According to the three lines of approach as dealt with in our preceding letter, will be the use of the terms as above described. ..."

♦

<08> (Letters on Occult Meditation, pp. 323-324.)

"... The colour of this shrine will be dependent on the ray which it represents. The curtains which separate will be in the ray colour also and each individual shrine curtain will carry the sign of the pupil's nativity—his sign, rising sign, and controlling planets. These curtains will be the property of the pupil, as will the mat within the shrine which will carry the symbol of his ray, egoic and personality.

On the wall of the great circular passage will be found the signs of the zodiac, the four entrances standing for the four Maharajahs.

A square wall will surround the whole, enclosing a garden which will be the care of the pupils themselves. There will be but one entrance through this wall on the north side. Outside will lie small building's to house not more than three pupils, and a house wherein will reside the three instructors. The Initiate Head will likewise have his private residence distinguished by a domed tower at one side. This domed tower serves two purposes:—It is the place for astronomical and astrological instruction and will have the latest appliances of science for the study of the planets and of microcosmic life, and will also serve as a secure shelter for those pupils who can consciously leave their physical bodies and function elsewhere on the physical plane.

This is all I can give as yet. Record, watch and await the hour when the ideal will materialize. ..."

♦

<09> (A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, pp. 73-76.)

"... III. THE PERSONALITY RAY AND KARMA

It might be wise here to recapitulate a little so that in the refreshing of the memory may come the basis of further knowledge. We dealt first with the three fires of the system, macrocosmic and microcosmic, and having laid down certain hypotheses we passed to the consideration of the first of the fires, that which is inherent in matter. Having studied it somewhat in its threefold manifestation in the various parts of the system, including man, we took up the matter of the personality Ray and its relationship to this third fire. We must recall here that all that has been dealt with has been in relation to matter, and for the whole of this first section this thought must be borne carefully in mind.

In our second section we will consider all from the standpoint of mind, and in the final from the standpoint of the Divine Ray. Here we are dealing with what H. P. B. calls the primordial ray and its manifestations in matter.{28} All these Rays of Cosmic Mind, Primordial Activity, and Divine Love-Wisdom are but essential quality demonstrating through the agency of some one factor.

The Primordial Ray is the quality of motion, demonstrating through matter.

The Ray of Mind is the quality of intelligent organisation, demonstrating through forms, which are the product of motion and matter.

The Ray of Love-Wisdom is the quality of basic motive that utilises the intelligent organisation of matter in motion to demonstrate in one synthetic whole the great Love aspect of the Logos.{29}

This line of thought can be worked out also correspondingly in the Microcosm, and will show how individual man is engaged in the same type of work on a lesser scale as the solar Logos.

At this point in the treatise we are confining our attention to the Ray of Active Matter, or to that latent heat in substance which underlies its activity and is the cause of its motion. If we think with sincerity and with clarity we will see how closely therefore the Lipika Lords or the Lords of Karma are associated with this work. Three of Them are closely connected with Karma as it concerns one or other of the three great Rays, or the three FIRES, while the fourth Lipika Lord synthesizes the work of his three Brothers and attends to the uniform blending and merging of the three fires. On our planet, the Earth, They find Their points of contact through the three "Buddhas of Activity,{30} (the correspondence should be noted here) and the fourth Kumara, the Lord of the World. Therefore, we arrive at the realisation that the personality Ray, in its relation to the fire of matter, is directly influenced and adjusted in its working by one of the Buddhas of Activity.

The karma{31 32 33} of matter itself is an abstruse subject and has as yet scarcely been hinted at. It is nevertheless indissolubly mixed up with the karma of the individual. It involves a control of the evolution of the monadic essence, the elemental essence and of the atomic matter of the plane; it is concerned with the development of the four spirillae, with their activity, with their attachment to forms when atomic, and with the development of the inner latent heat and its gradual fiery increase until we have within the atom a repetition of what is seen within the causal body: the destruction of the periphery of the atom by the means of burning. It deals with the subject of the building of matter into form by the interaction of the two rays, the Divine and the Primordial, producing thereby that fire by friction which tends to life and fusing.

The karma of form is likewise a vast subject, too involved for average comprehension but a factor of real importance which should not be overlooked in connection with the evolution of a world, a synthesis of worlds, or of a system when viewed from higher levels. Everything is, in its totality, the result of action taken by cosmic Essences and Entities in earlier solar systems, which is working out through the individual atoms, and through those congeries of atoms which we call forms. The effect of the personality Ray upon the internal fires is therefore, in effect, the result of the influence of the planetary Logos of whatever ray is implicated, as He works out that portion of Karma which falls to His share in any one cycle, greater or lesser. He thus brings about and eventually transmutes, the effects of causes which He set in motion earlier in relation to His six Brothers, the other planetary Logoi. We get an illustrative parallel in the effect which one individual will have upon another in worldly contact, in moulding and influencing, in stimulating or retarding. We have to remember that all fundamental influence and effects are felt on the astral plane and work thence through the etheric to the dense physical thereby bringing matter under its sphere of influence, yet not itself originating on the physical plane. ..."

{28} See S. D., I, 108; II, 596.
{29} S. D., I, 99, 108; II, 596.
{30} "Buddhas of Activity." The 'Pratyeka Buddhas.' This is a degree which belongs exclusively to the Yogacharya School, yet it is only one of high intellectual development with no true spirituality....It is one of the three paths to Nirvana, and the lowest, in which a yogi—"without teacher and without saving others"—by the mere force of will and technical observances, attains to a kind of nominal Buddahood individually."— Theosophical Glossary.
{31} "From the view taken of Karma as I have done it, you will see that no plane of the highest spirituality, be that the plane of the nirvanees, is outside the karmic wheel and when it is said in the Sanskrit writings and even in the Bhagavat Gita that men cross the karmic ocean, it must be understood with some allowance. The entities that have now succeeded in going outside the karmic wheel, have done so, only if that wheel be taken as the one that turns now. The cosmos is not going in one groove all the days of Brahma, but it is going on a higher and higher status as it fulfils its mission. Those who have attained unto a rest in a state of spirituality not reachable now, will therefore in a future day come within the action of the wheel, with perhaps a punishment for the great duties neglected for long ages."— Some Thoughts on the Gita, p. 40.
{32} The Lipika are the Spirits of the Universe. They are connected with the Law of Cause and Effect (Karma) and its recorders. Lipika comes from "Lipi" writing. For information concerning the Lipika Lords see S. D., I, pp. 152, 153. The Buddhas of Activity, are the Triad Who stands closest to Sanat Kumara, The Lord of the World. They are the planetary correspondences to the three Aspects of the logoic third Aspect and are concerned with the force behind planetary manifestation. Monadic Essence, the matter of the atomic (or highest) subplane of each plane. Elemental Essence, the matter of the six subplanes which are non atomic. It is molecular matter.
{33} "Karma may be defined to be the force generated by a human centre to act on the exterior world, and the reactionary influence that is in turn generated from the exterior world to act on him may be called karmic influence and the visible result that is produced by this influence under proper conditions may be called karmic fruit."—Some Thoughts on the Gita, p. 53.

♦

<10> (A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, pp. 104-105.)

"... Viewed from the planetary standpoint the same conditions will be perceived, and the etheric planetary body (which is fundamentally the body in the case of the sacred planets, of which the Earth is not one) will have its functional disorders, which will affect its reception of prana, will suffer its organic troubles which may affect its distribution, and those disorders which permit of trouble in the etheric web, which forms the ring-pass-not for the involved planetary Spirit. Here I would point out that in the case of the planetary Spirits Who are on the divine evolutionary arc, the Heavenly Men Whose bodies are planets, the etheric web does not form a barrier, but (like the Karmic Lords on a higher plane) They have freedom of movement outside the bounds of the planetary web within the circumference of the solar ring-pass-not.{46}

Again from the systemic standpoint, these same effects may be observed, functionally, this time in connection with the cosmic centre; organically, in connection with the sum total of the planetary systems; and statically, in connection with the solar or logoic ring-pass-not. ..."

{46} The planetary Spirit is another term for the Logos of our planet, one of the "seven Spirits before the Throne," and therefore one of the seven Heavenly Men. He is on the evolutionary arc of the universe, and has passed many stages beyond the human. The planetary Entity is on the involutionary arc and is a very low grade Entity. He is the sum total of all the elemental lives of the planet.