[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".]
<31> (The Light of the Soul, pp. 377-378.)
"... ILLUMINATION
1. The higher and lower siddhis (or powers) are gained by incarnation, or by drugs, words of power, intense desire or by meditation.
We have now come to the fourth book in which the powers and the results gained by the practice of Raja Yoga are carried forward into group realization and it is seen that they produce universal consciousness and not simply self-consciousness. It seems the part of wisdom to protest here against the use of the words "cosmic consciousness" as untrue and misleading, for even the highest adept (note this term with care) is only gifted with solar consciousness and has no contact with that which is outside our solar system. The planetary Logoi (the seven Spirits before the Throne), and the Lords of Karma (the "four wheels" of Ezekiel) have a realization beyond that of our solar system. Lesser existences may sense it as a possibility but it is not yet part of their experience.
The powers gained fall into two main groups called:
a. Lower psychic powers, the lower siddhis.
b. Spiritual powers or the higher siddhis.
The lower powers are the result of the consciousness of the animal soul in man being en rapport with the anima mundi or the soul of the world, the subjective side of all forms in the three worlds, of all bodies in the four kingdoms of nature. The higher powers are the result of the development of group consciousness, of the second aspect of divinity. They not only include the lesser powers but put a man en rapport with those existences and forms of life which are to be found in the spiritual realms, or, as the occultist would say, on those two planes which are beyond the three worlds, and which cover the entire scale of man's evolution, human and superhuman.
The goal of the true aspirant is the unfoldment of these higher powers which can be covered by the terms direct knowledge, intuitive perception, spiritual insight, pure vision, the attainment of the wisdom. They are different from the lower powers, for they abrogate them. These latter are accurately described for us in Book III, Sutra 37:
"These powers are obstacles to the highest spiritual realization, but serve as magical powers in the objective worlds." ..."
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<32> (Esoteric Astrology, p. 105.)
"... 3. Saturn "falls" in Aries. This has two meanings, for this is a dual sign. First: Saturn is the Lord of Karma, the imposer of retribution and the one who demands full payment of all debts and who therefore condemns us to the struggle for existence, both from the form side and from the soul side. Saturn, therefore, "fell" when man fell into generation. He "followed the sons of men down into their low place." Second: Saturn's power is completely ended and his work accomplished when man (the spiritual man) has freed himself from Karma and from the power of the two Crosses—the Common and the Fixed. Esoterically, Saturn cannot follow man on to the Cardinal Cross. ..."
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<33> (Esoteric Astrology, pp. 163-165.)
"... The exoteric and the esoteric planetary rulers of Capricorn are the same, and Saturn rules the career of the man in this sign, no matter whether he is on the ordinary or the reversed wheel, or whether he is on the Mutable or the Fixed Cross. When he has taken the third initiation and can consciously mount the Cardinal Cross, he is then released from the ruling of Saturn and comes under the influence of Venus, who is governor or ruler of the Hierarchy which is that of the Crocodiles. A reference to the tabulation heretofore given will show this. It is only when a man is upon the Cardinal Cross that the significance, purpose and potencies of the Creative Hierarchies become clear to him and the "doors of entrance" into all of them stand wide open. On the Mutable Cross and on the Fixed Cross we have the so-called green ray, controlling not only the daily life of karmic liability upon the path of evolution, but also controlling the experiences and processes of evolution. The reason for this is that Capricorn is an earth sign and because the third and fifth rays work pre-eminently through this sign, embodying the third major aspect of divinity, active intelligence plus that of its subsidiary power, the fifth Ray of Mind. These pour through Capricorn to Saturn and to Venus and so reach our planet, the Earth. Saturn is one of the most potent of the four Lords of Karma and forces man to face up to the past, and in the present to prepare for the future. Such is the intention and purpose of karmic opportunity. From certain angles, Saturn can be regarded as the planetary Dweller on the Threshold, for humanity as a whole has to face that Dweller as well as the Angel of the Presence, and in so doing discover that both the Dweller and the Angel are that complex duality which is the human family. Saturn, in a peculiar relation to the sign Gemini, makes this possible. Individual man makes this discovery and faces the two extremes whilst in the sign Capricorn; the fourth and fifth Creative Hierarchies do the same thing in Libra.
Through Saturn and Venus, therefore, Capricorn is connected with Libra and also with Gemini and Taurus, and these four constellations—Taurus, Gemini, Libra and Capricorn—constitute a potent quaternary of energies and between them produce those conditions and situations which will enable the initiate to demonstrate his readiness and capacity for initiation. They are called the "Guardians of the Four Secrets."
Taurus—Guards the secret of light and confers illumination upon the initiate.
Gemini—Guards the mystery or secret of duality and presents the initiate with a word which leads to the fusion of the greater pairs of opposite.
Libra—Guards the secret of balance, of equilibrium and finally speaks the word which releases the initiate from the power of the Lords of Karma.
Capricorn—Guards the secret of the soul itself and this it reveals to the initiate at the time of the third initiation. This is sometimes called the "secret of the hidden glory." ..."
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<34> (Esoteric Astrology, pp. 310-311.)
"... I would also call your attention to another interesting fact in connection with this sign. No planet falls in Leo and no planet is exalted in this sign, whilst the power of both Uranus and Saturn is somewhat lessened, except in the case of the initiate who responds powerfully to the esoteric influence of Uranus. The same basic teaching is here conveyed as was taught by the Sun ruling exoterically, esoterically and hierarchically. Leo in its consciousness is the dominant self-aware agent and has therefore the control and can—because of this—remain uninfluenced. This fact will be increasingly understood as the advanced Leo subject makes his appearance. He will be distinguished by his personal freedom from outside control. He knows innately that he is king of himself, the ruler of his own life and, therefore, no planet is exalted and likewise no planet falls. The power of the mind, as symbolised by Uranus, is lessened, for it is not the mind which in reality controls but the Self, or Soul, using and controlling the mind. The man is not then conditioned by his surroundings or life events but rules them with deliberation, bringing out of circumstances and environment that which he requires. Saturn, therefore, the Lord of Karma, has his power lessened in this sign. It is for this reason that Sepharial is incorrect when he gives Saturn as the ruler of the first decanate. The three decanates are given by him as being ruled by Saturn, Jupiter and Mars. Alan Leo is, however, nearer the truth when he gives us the Sun, Jupiter and Mars. ..."
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<35> (Esoteric Astrology, pp. 645-646.)
"... 23. "Certain of the planets are to the Logos what the permanent atoms are to man. They embody principles. Certain planets afford only temporary homes to these principles. This is one of the distinctions between a sacred and a non-sacred planet." (C.F. 299.)
24. "Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Vulcan are still developing the mind principle." (C.F. 403.)
25. "Those who are working in the Uranus, the Neptune and the Saturn scheme work somewhat differently to those functioning in the Venus, the Vulcan, the Mars, the Mercury, the Jupiter, the Earth and the exoteric Saturn scheme, and so do the Manasadevas (the solar Angels) of the inner round. We should note here that we again have a triplicity of groups, representing a triplicity of forces and herein lies a hint. In the others, the higher group and the middle group hold sway as these planets are the most occult and sacred in manifestation, and are concerned with egos who are on the Path, and who are therefore group-active. In connection with Uranus, Neptune and Saturn, this might be expected as they are the synthesising planetary schemes, and provide conditions suitable only for the very advanced stages. They are called the `reaping' planets." (C.F. 777.)
26. "Mercury and Venus, the Sun and the Moon constitute the `Guardian angels of the four corners of the Earth'."
NOTE:
a. (The sun and moon veil hidden planets).
b. These are the four Maharajahs, connected with karma, humanity, cosmos and man.
c. They are the Sun or its substitute—Michael.
They are the Moon or its substitute—Gabriel.
They are Mercury or its substitute—Raphael.
They are Venus or its substitute—Uriel.
(S.D. III. 459.)
27. "Saturn—governs the devotional faculties.
Mercury—governs the intellectual faculties.
Jupiter—governs the sympathetic faculties.
The Sun—governs the governing faculties.
Mars—governs the selfish faculties. Venus—governs the tenacious faculties.
Moon—governs the instinctual faculties." (S.D. III. 463.)
28. "The seven Angels Who preside over the seven planets are the Builders of the Universe. They are the natural Guardians of the seven regions of our planetary system." (S.D. III. 115.)
29. "The seven Builders graft the divine and the beneficent forces on to the gross material nature of the vegetable and mineral kingdoms every Second Round." (S.D. III. 162; Note, I.) ..."
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<36> (Esoteric Astrology, pp. 659-660.)
"... SIRIUS
References from The Secret Doctrine and A Treatise on Cosmic Fire.
1. "Sirius was called the `Dog Star.' It was the star of Mercury, or Buddha, called the `Great Instructor of mankind.'" (S.D. II. 391.)
2. "The sun, Sirius, is the source of the Logoic mind (manas) in the same sense as the Pleiades are connected with the evolution of mind in the Seven Heavenly Men and Venus is responsible for the
coming in of mind in the Earth chain." (T. on C.F. 347.)
3. "Sirius, the Pleiades and our Sun form a cosmic triangle." (375.)
4. "Our solar system is negatively polarised as regards the sun Sirius, which influences our entire system psychically, via the three synthesising schemes: Uranus, Neptune and Saturn." (378.)
5. "Vibrations reach us from Sirius, via the cosmic mental plane." (553.)
6. "The Lords of Karma on our system are under the rule of a greater Lord of Karma on Sirius. We are governed by the Sirian Lord of Karma." (570.)
7. "The consciousness of the cosmic mental plane is the goal of attainment for our solar Logos and the Sirian Logos is to our solar Logos what the human Ego (or soul) is to the human personality." (592.)
8. "Three constellations are connected with the fifth logoic principle in its threefold manifestation: Sirius, two of the Pleiades and a small constellation whose name must be intuitively ascertained."
(699.)
9. Cosmic Avatars "... represent embodied forces from the following cosmic centres: Sirius, and that one of the seven stars of the Great Bear which is ensouled by the Prototype of the Lord of the third Ray, and our own cosmic centre." (723.)
a. Only one Being (from Sirius) has visited our system and that was at the time of individualisation.
b. They only appear usually and normally at the initiation of a solar Logos. (723.) ..."
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<37> (Esoteric Healing, pp. 316-317.)
"... 4. Those wherein certain hereditary forms of mental imbalance occur. These forms of imbalance are caused by happenings in other lives and are in the nature of punishment or retributive karma. To bring this about, the soul deliberately chooses for a physical vehicle that form which will have in it certain inherited taints, driven thereto by the Lords of Karma when the soul is unable to grip its vehicle—as is the case in the unevolved; or with purpose and intent, when the body can be under soul direction because highly evolved. I am not listing these different forms of insanity or imbalance under the various headings, as the theme is too complicated, and often there are several predisposing factors, and often only indications of trouble which may never come to anything serious. I am only giving the categories, leaving to the research scholar the task of eventually listing symptoms and assigning due cause, after much experimental work. That time is only just arriving. ..."
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<38> (Esoteric Healing, p. 624.)
"... I realise that much of the above is well known and in the nature of repetition. But I have felt it essential to repeat the story so that there may be a fresh clarity in your thinking.
It will be apparent to you also that the karmic process in any individual life must therefore work out through the medium of the glands, which condition the reaction of the person to circumstance and events. The results of all previous lives and of all activities carried on during those lives have been registered by the Lords of Karma; karmic law works in close cooperation with the lunar Lords, who build and construct the bodies which constitute the personality; later, the law works in an even closer cooperation with the soul purpose. The whole problem is necessarily most intricate and difficult. All I can do is to give certain indications.
It is with this system of centres and their externalised effects, the glands, that the healer has to work and which he has to take into most careful consideration; all stimulation which he may be able, for instance, to convey to a centre in the patient's body, or all abstraction of energy from a centre, will have a most definite effect upon the allied or related gland, and therefore upon the secretion which that gland is in the habit of pouring into the blood stream. ..."
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<39> (Discipleship in the New Age - Vol. II, p. 189.)
"... Meditation VII . . . The Cross . . . Spiritual Position
It is an occult truism to say that the disciple is crucified upon the Fixed Cross of the Heavens. This he is prepared always to accept, for he knows from bitter experience how true it is; he lives in the recognition that the life of the disciple is hard and its exigencies are inescapable. Curiously enough, a good deal of this recognition is based upon an unconscious and unrealised self-pity. To offset this unrecognised habit of thought, this meditation is intended to teach the disciple to create—with deliberate intention—his own cross, and in this manner do away with his idea (again unrealised) that the cross is the result of his point in evolution, that it is imposed upon him by astrological conditions, and that through it the Lords of Karma work, exacting from him the full price for all past misdeeds. This, in reality, is not so. ..."
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<40> (Discipleship in the New Age - Vol. II, pp. 305-306.)
"... This formula, if carefully considered and studied for a number of years, will become a key form by means of which aspects of the creative process will come to the attention of the student, plus revelation as to some of the divine objectives which are wider and of greater and richer implication than has yet been realised. I would here remind you that these formulas are not symbols of what already is, but are indicatory key forms of what may or shall be—a very different matter and one which you should bear in mind. They are symbols of the future and not of the past; they are predictive and not consummating; they reveal what is on the way as the result of the divine thought and are not pictorial presentations of what already is.
Therefore, they are not easy to grasp and interpret, because it is only the activity of the intuition which will enable you to understand and move forward into the new impulsive causal area. Difficult though this task may be (and, my brother, is), it is of major importance to disciples in training for initiation, because it will steadily tend to facilitate their entry into the world of causes and their emergence from the world of effects. You can see also from this that this formula is related to the Law of Karma; in fact, in the ancient records from which these formulas are taken, Formula IV has the symbol of one of the four Lords of Karma at the four corners of this square or oblong design. This formula is sometimes called that of "the Sun upon the Square." I have no more to say anent this theme at this time or about this formula in this Instruction. All that I am giving you is intended to be suggestive and to develop in you the power to use the interpretive sense—one of the new senses as far as experience and experiment are concerned, but which is latent in every man. ..."
