Course XXVI - Teaching 4: The Temple of Initiation

They studied the Books of the Eternal Mother in this Temple, and in it as well the power and wisdom of Amon’s Priests by means of the Esoteric Schools of Amon as polytheism reached the summit.
The Temple of Amon, whose priests had a world-wide influence in spite of remaining permanently in it, may be placed about one hundred kilometers from Thebes, close to the Nile River. It was vast, square, and of white marble.
Men and women lived there in chambers entirely separated by high and wide walls. And as much men as women were completely detached from the world, actually dead to the external world. For many years they lived in chambers with no windows.
To enter the Temple, in spite of his vocation, the candidate rather had to be chosen. Certain candidates even were psychically attracted. They entered at the age of twelve.
Usually, the candidate took a quite solemn step by truly dying to the ordinary life; he was accompanied by his relatives in funeral procession and led to an external chamber of the Temple; in it just there was a hollow coffin and they deposited him therein.
Usually these candidates were of royal blood. This was important since Pharaohs, in the times of splendor, were initiated by priests who also were “royal” for their knowledge, power and blood. There were seven chambers.
The coffin, with the candidate in it, was carried to the first chamber.
The aspirant, in case of culminating his career, had to pass through seven grades, whose particular duration was variable, and just some few reached the summit.
Teachings dealt as much with the physical aspect as with the intellectual aspect; never with one of them.
Each grade was successively achieved in the above quoted walled chambers.
The first grade –which may be called of “physical recovery and oblivion”– was in charge of very skilled priests.
There they deprived the neophyte of every worldly possession. Of course, of his clothes and every personal object. He underwent trials related to his sight and writing, and they extracted his finger-nails to liberate him from animal instincts.
Like in the case of novices of Christian Orders, they did not study. On the contrary, they were led to forget all their knowledge by means of potions not only to remove impurities from their bodies, but also to forget all that they had learnt.
These potions produced high fevers and loss of weight. Then the duration of this grade, between one week and several years, depended on the physical constitution of every one.
As soon as the candidate was purified and had forgotten all his knowledge: reading, writing, et cetera, and even his name, his family and every event of his life until that moment, he fell sound asleep again and they carried him to the second chamber.
The second grade can be described like “development of the intelligence”.
Bear in mind that a chosen and purified adolescent, without any notion of his former life, was able to enter.
It was a beautiful place, beyond imagination. Any contribution of science and power from a wealthy empire was there: palaces of incomparable marbles of the ancient Egypt, white, blue and green; they were so wonderful that the priests made use of them to study reflections of the sunlight. These palaces contained the most beautiful paintings, sculptures and works of art. Their gardens were beyond any description and their plants so well-cared that in certain cases a man was exclusively in charge of one plant. The spring flood of the Nile was used for cultivation. Except religion, they studied science and arts in this grade, and tended to develop intelligence and mind suppleness.
Be aware against any possible confusion between intelligence and spirituality: a spiritual being perhaps is in need of mind suppleness and, on the contrary, an intellectual being may be in need of spirituality.
In this grade, they taught the candidate how to discern. Later, of course the period of time was variable, the students possessed a surer judgment as much in the scientific aspect as in the aesthetic aspect.
When it was time to pass to the third grade –which may be termed of “memory and choice”– they hypnotized the student and he passed to the following chamber.
Of course, not all were able to take this step, because many aspirants would find that this step was extremely difficult.
Once the neophyte entered the Temple, he never went out; these beings remained like “priests-servants”; the embalmers belonged to this group. Those who did not go beyond the third grade were in charge of supplies and other aspects related to the material management of the Temple.
Now, in the third grade, they read the Books of the Divine Mother, study what we may term “psychology”, and again remember their former life.
But a seventy per cent would fail in this chamber.
By the study of the Teachings, many know that if the One is the only real, “the rest” was useless: for what to eat, or to sleep, or whatever except “It”?
Most of them give up and die.
Very few fail after the fourth grade. Devoted to the study of magic, they acquire psychic powers (clairvoyance, astral projection, et cetera) and intend to grant to others a chance to progress.
They start Contemplation in the fifth grade.
They study Theology in the sixth grade, and recognize that any union that one achieves is momentary because the personality is so linked with its environment.
When the priests apply a punishment, however severe it may be, they act with no fear because if the person punished is guilty, necessarily he shall expiate his fault through Karma, in such a way that a punishment just anticipated this Karma.
Now, the Temple is hidden under sands, and inaccessible by decision of the Moslems.
One of the powers of Amon’s priests was to die of ecstasy.
They did not fear anything because of their exceptional knowledge of the Hereafter; but there were misuses, and a severe regulation became necessary.
So, seven priests have to swear a self-inflicted death at certain moment; and the decision of one priest in this sense, meant also the death of the other six. This pact could be made for life or for certain period of time.
Ultimately, those priests on oath went to an isolated place and generally fasted for forty days, and sometimes, for twenty seven or eighteen days. By this practice they tried to weaken their physical bodies, managing it more easily. Meanwhile they remained concentrated on the highest conceivable entity. Just after this fast, they concentrated on their centers, beginning by the lower.
The concentrated on every part of a center and reflected about its uselessness. These centers, void of any raison d’être, did not operate any more.
They acted this way successively with the other centers. But at the highest center they found that they were tightly tied to life. Then they made the backward survey, and after it they were able to take the great step.