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washed in
the Laver of Consecration to the higher life where it may
approach the
Temple door. When "naked," "poor," and "blinded" by tears of
contrition it
gropes in darkness, seeking the Temple door, it shall find entrance
to the
Hall of Service, the East Room of the Tabernacle, which is ablaze
with light
from the Seven-branched Candlestick, emblematic of the luminosity
of the
full moon, the moon changing in cycles of seven days. In this Hall
of Ser-
vice the aspirant is taught to weave the luminour vesture of flame
which
Paul called "some psuchicon," or soul body (1st Cor., 15:44), from
the aroma
of the shewbread.
When we speak of the soul body we mean exactly what we say, and
this ve-
hicle is in nowise to be confused with the soul that
permeates it.
[PAGE 53] THE SACRED
SHEKINAH GLORY
The Invisible Helper who uses it on soul flights knows it to be as
real and
tangible as the dense body of flesh blood. But within that golden
"wedding
garment" there is an INTANGIBLE SOMETHING cognized by the spirit of
intro-
spection. It is unnameable and indescribable; it evades the most
persistent
efforts to fathom it, yet it is there just as certainly as the
vehicle which
it fills-yes, and more so. It is not life, love, beauty, wisdom,
nor can
any other human concept convey an idea of what it is, for it is the
sum of
all human faculties, attributes, and concepts of good, immeasurably
intensi-
fied. If everything else were taken from us, that prime reality
would still
remain, and we should be rich in its possession, for through it we
feel the
drawing power of our Father in Heaven, that inner urge which all
aspirants
know so well.
To this inner something Christ referred when He said: No man
cometh to me
except my Father draw him. Just as the true fire is hidden in the
flame
that encloses it, so that unnameable, intangible something hides
in the
sould body and burns up the frankincense extracted from the
shrewbread; thus
it lights the fire which makes the soul body luminous. And the
AROMA OF
LOVING SERVICE to others penetrates the veil as a sweet savor to
God, who
dwells in the Shekinah Glory similar created above the Ark in the
innermost
sanctuary, the Holy of Holies.
[PAGE 54] ANCIENT AND MODERN
INITIATION
CHAPTER SIX
THE NEW MOON AND INITIATION
When the candidate entered at the eastern gate of the Temple
looking for
light, he was confronted by the fire on he Altar of Burnt Offerings,
which
emitted a dim light enveloped in clouds of smoke. He was then
in the
spiritually darkened condition of the ordinary man; he lacked the
light
within and therefore it was necessary to give him the light
without. But
when he has arrived at the point when he is ready to have evolved the
lumi-
nous soul body in the service of humanity. Then he is thought to
have the
light within himself, "the light that lighteth every man." Unless
he has
that, he cannot enter the dark room of the Temple.
What takes place secretly in the Temple is shown openly in the
heavens.
As the moon gathers light from the sun during her passage from the
new to
the full, so the man who treads the path of holiness by use of his
golden
[PAGE 55] THE NEW MOON AND
INITIATION
opportunities in the East Room of selfless service gathers the
materials
wherewith to make his luminous "wedding garment," and that material
is best
amalgamated on the night of the full moon. But conversely, as
the moon
gradually dissipates the accumulated light and draws nearer the sun
in order
to make a fresh start upon a new cycle at the time of the new moon,
so also
according to the law of analogy those who have gathered their
treasures and
laid them up in heaven by service are at a certain time of the month
closer
to their Source and their Maker, their Father Fire in the higher
spheres,
than at any other time. As the great saviors of mankind are born
at the
winter solstice on the longest and darkest night of the year, so
also the
process of Initiation which brings to birth in the invisible world
one of
the lesser saviors, THE INVISIBLE HELPER, is most easily accomplished
on the
longest and darkest night of the month, that is to say, on the night
of the
new moon when the lunar orb is in the westernmost part of the
heavens.
All occult development begins with the vital body, and the
keynote of
that vehicle is "repetition." To get the best out of any subject
repetition
is necessary. In order to understand the final consummation to
which all
this has been leading up, let us take a final look from another angle
at the
three kinds of fire within the Temple.
Near the eastern gate was the Altar of Burnt Offering. On that
altar
smoke was continually generated by the bodies of the sacrifices,
and the
pillar of smoke was seen far and wide by the multitude who were
instructed
[PAGE 56] ANCIENT AND MODERN
INITIATION
in the inner mysteries of life. The flame, the light, hidden in
this cloud
of smoke was at best but dimly perceived. This showed that the great
major-
ity of mankind are taught principally by the immutable laws of
nature, which
exact from them a sacrifice whether they know it or not. As the
flame of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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