New Civilization, Organization, and Initiation

“This Ashram carries the responsibility of shifting the civilization from a Sixth to a Seventh Ray expression and of shifting the organized life of the form from a Third to a Seventh Ray expression. It carries the burden of Hierarchial responsibility for the shift of human identification from self to Soul. It is now moving into the responsibilities which it will assume fully at the turn of the century and carry over a 2500-year period. This Ashram is held in focus by the Master M., the Master D.K., and the Master R. with the aid of certain initiating disciples taken from the Ashram of each (that is, the First Ray Ashram, the Second Ray Ashram, and the Seventh Ray Ashram). At or around the turn of the century the new Synthetic Ashram will include all disciples within these three major ashrams.” [2]

This is restated and expanded somewhat in the following:

“During the past age, the Sixth Ray Ashram carried the emphasis of responsibility for bringing into incarnation (focusing) the ideal toward which humanity, its energy, force, and substance, could be attracted into aspiration and therefore into an alignment. But the Sixth Ray Ashram, while it carried the responsibility, carried the responsibility of this one act. The rest of the ashrams carried a greater responsibility in their cooperation with the Sixth Ray effort.

“But now we find that the new Synthetic Ashram must carry almost the total responsibility for the manifestation of the Divine Plan for humanity for the next 2500-year period. This period … within which much change must take place, within which the evolutionary development of humanity … must come into a sharp focus and a real apparent change … must, in this 2500-year period, be made obvious, be given an outer form.

“I refer now to the evolutionary development of the consciousness of humanity, a subjective evolution which must be given an objective form. And this is the responsibility which your Ashram takes, the burden of responsibility.

“Now first, aside from the responsibility for creating its own instrument, it is concerned with the building of a new civilization, the shifting of the present civilization (without its utter destruction) from one major expression to another major expression, from the expression of the Sixth Ray of Devotion to the expression of Divine Law and Order, or the Divine Order of Man.” [3]

Thus, the Ashram of Synthesis is also responsible for shifting civilization from Sixth Ray (aspiration to an overshadowing ideal) to Seventh Ray (precipitating idea into appearance), and for shifting the organized life of form from Third Ray (the intelligent activity of substance) to Seventh Ray (manifesting Divine Intelligence via Ceremonial Order. Third Ray expresses through sequential, mathematical unfoldment: observe purpose, build form, and then fit the purpose into the form. Seventh Ray expresses through non-sequential harmonic ratios: precipitate purpose into form without crystallizing the form via attachment to it. In the process of shifting, civilization will become a moving picture, and substance a reflecting surface, of Divine Will.

The shift of form from Third Ray organization into Seventh Ray Ceremonial Order includes the transformation of the center system. Throat centers will shift from Third Ray centers of organization into Seventh Ray centers of creativity. Then the Crown Ajna, and Throat will become First, Second, and Seventh Ray centers, while the point at the center of their triangle (the cave or “light in the head”) will become the center and instrument of synthesis. [4]

The Ashram’s responsibility for human evolution is expanded in the following:

“Now, as the Hierarchy, in its own united meditation effort endeavors to respond to the new impulse, various plans at the level, various agreements at that level, are made and entered into. The plan with which you are concerned, which has to do with the new Synthetic Ashram, is the major effort. It constitutes the major effort of the Hierarchy at this time. In response to the new realization of purpose achieved by the Planetary Logos Himself, the First, Second, and Seventh Ray Ashrams, in their entirety, have entered into an agreement to form (through an initiatory process carried out from Hierarchial and Ashramic levels), to synthesize their purpose, consciousness, and activity – their energy, force, and substance – in such a way as to formulate via this synthesis (and thus to create within consciousness and substance) the new path of initiation to be focused via humanity into the planetary life and affairs.

…

“Now, before I bring this instruction, or step it down to you, I would have you consider the new goal, the new initiatory goal being focused by your Synthetic Ashram into the body of humanity. The vision of mastery, which has always heretofore been focused into and through humanity by means of the etheric network, and the story of initiation created within that network, has been the vision of a single, perfect man overcoming death. This has been the symbol of mastery.

“The new goal, which is most difficult to convey to your understanding at this time in word (but which, nonetheless, we shall attempt to do), is that of a telepathic at-oned humanity having seen into, having in one moment of perception experienced and overcome the long drawn out process in the form world of evolution. Can you conceive of this new vision – humanity experiencing the synthesis of the evolutionary process in consciousness, thus mastering the form? Now, what are the stages of the new process which will culminate this final act of mastery? They are totally different and yet they are a synthesis of the old path of initiation as it has always been known. [5]

“To bring this down to specific form at this time is almost impossible. It cannot be defined as the First, the Second, the Third, the Fourth, the Fifth initiation, because it is one initiation. It is a synthesis of the old path. It is one initiation which is an experience in consciousness from its beginning to its completion, and which (at this stage of the initiatory effort being made by the new Synthetic Ashram) cannot be outpictured in symbolic form.

“Now consider the effort of the Ashram to focus the new initiatory process which alters evolution itself through a group endeavor into the body of humanity. Any disciple in the past seeking initiation could find the path within his own society, within his own etheric framework, and could then follow that path, whatever his particular doctrine or concept might be.

“The new path has not been created within the consciousness and the etheric network of humanity. This is your task. This is the effort of the new Synthetic Ashram on its own level, the creation of the new initiatory effort and (through this incarnate group) the outpicturing, the implanting, of that path for and within both the consciousness and instrumentality of the whole human family.” [6]

Thus, the Synthetic Ashram is responsible for synthesizing the old path of initiation into a new, much more rapid, initiatory process. This new process is part of an effort, for which the Ashram is also responsible, to prepare humanity to take initiation, as a kingdom, at the end of this age. That is, all human beings will, no matter where they are in their individual growth and development, become aware, from that point, that they are Soul. Humanity as a whole, throughout its spectrum of awareness, will be Soul Conscious. [7]

The method of preparation for that mass initiation of human consciousness is Group Initiation, and the necessary teaching for Group Initiation is contained in The New Thought-form Presentation of The Wisdom. [8]