Course XXVI - Teaching 9: Initiatic Trials

In the ancient Mysteries of Eleusis, their rites were related to this astral Initiation. Also the Egyptian priests represented this Realization leading the aspirant through four trials. The Christians imitate the ancients and repeat these ceremonies in connection with raiment and taking of vows.
The Esoteric Orders deemed useless to repeat visibly these entirely superfluous ceremonies, because just a Being who is prepared for them can participate, but just in the astral worlds. Also, many times these rites accidentally appear in the ordinary life of the disciple.
The first Golden Ceremonial refers to the four trials that a candidate must overcome to arrive at the gates of the Temple, where he shall be consecrated as Knight of the Eternity.
The symbol of these four trials is four Knights watching over the entry to the higher planes. They are like the riders of the Apocalypse, like Zanoni’s specter at the threshold and like the terrible wild beasts watching over the entry to the Scandinavian Edda; in short, they are those elemental principles that maintain, drive, rule and destroy the physical life: passion, uncertainty, fear and separateness. Seemingly passion is asleep in those who are seeking the Path; like domestic pets, instincts escaped before the rays of the first knowledge, of the first glimpses and of the first victories. The aspirant almost forgot all of them. Sometimes, after years and years, they do not show sign of life; but one day, suddenly, they come out, this time transformed into terrible wild beasts. This return of passions of being –the unavoidable Law of Consequences determined by the material deposit that formed the flesh– is symbolized by the earth, and its name is trial of Earth.
If the searcher becomes conversant with astral planes, he shall cross over the large marsh. How horrible astral marsh! The hesitant foot continuously sinks; but if the Masters let him to get to there it is because they know that he shall be able to cross it safe and sound. His disgust for worldliness, in its astral form, shall kill passions one by one. And as soon as he reaches the other shore, the instinct shall never rule over him.
The second trial is that of air. He must climb invisible stairs to reach the Temple. His astral body must become conversant with the fourth dimension. Suddenly, frightfully, his body assumes immense proportions and at once becomes smaller and seemingly disappears.
Also this mystical stairs appear before him in form of hanging ropes, without any support. Uncertainty is frightful: continuously he believes that he shall fall in the abyss, and remains suspended until he understand that there is not void there. As he climbs there is a hurricane. This hurricane is image of the passage from one astral state to other higher state.
The third trial is that of water: the trial of fear. Before he arrives at the Holy Mount, he must cross over the surrounding lake; there it is impossible to swim (courage is equivalent to the exercise of swimming). As soon as the imposing Mount overwhelms the soul, fear triumphs and the astral body sinks in a water that does not drown, but freezes and paralyses any perception. Invisible Masters and Protectors ever are with the candidates in these trials; otherwise the most advanced hardly could surpass them. Fear is the lethal enemy of man, and he cannot think of arriving very far if he does not overcome totally this fear.
The fourth trial in this first part of the Golden Ceremonial is that of fire. Think for a moment of a person who all his life dreamt of achieving an ideal and is about to reach it when he understands that finally he shall achieve it after he dies.
The Temple is surrounded by inextinguishable flames. The Knights shall not cross over these flames safe and sound; just “The Knight” can do. He sought his realization in vain. Realization is beyond personality. Any concept of separateness must be deleted if he wishes to cross over this fire that destroys and consumes everything, except the Spirit, except the Unity.
The second part of the Golden Ceremonial represents the three indispensable mental temptations to recognize the Divine Mother and to become one with Her.
These temptations are not for ordinary beings, but just for great souls.
Before His Divine mission on earth, Jesus must undergo these trials and overcome them; because the adept rules over passion of the flesh, over thirst of domination and over eagerness for wealth.
After incalculable fights, the adept has crossed over the circle of fire; now his image is the image of all beings, and his seamless robe is a reflection of all manifested powers.
It is the hour for the mystical wedding. The Divine Mother shall raise her veil to show her Face to the desired friend.
Three feminine images, of dazzling beauty, are introduced to the Initiate; they are in red, blue and yellow. The Divine Mother, in white and veiled, conspicuously emerges on the horizon of fire.
“What did you come to seek, oh Pilgrim, through so many dangers and trials?”
None else than You, oh Eternal Mother.
But… Who am I?”, the Mother says.
“You are the sum of life, beauty, charm and triumph in the eternity.”
But for the last time, the three women tempt him and again make use of the doubt to pierce his soul. They say, “You do not know who is behind those white veils. Why do you not ask her to reveal her presence such as she is? Look at us such as we are: realization, enchantment, life and variability.” “Do not ask of me so great trials…”, the veiled woman says.
But the doubt has entered the heart of the Knight, and he urges her to undress.
He says, “Even though you may have the most horrible forms, I shall recognize you because you are the dream of my multiple lives”.
“So be it”, the Mother says.
This is the trial of choice.
The white veils drop, and even the shroud does. And before the amazed eyes of the Knight the most frightening image appears, beyond any description. There is an old and decrepit body, of incalculable years, with a dry, wrinkled flesh; and a glance that has nothing to do with a human glance.
The three women laugh and say, “Here is your beloved woman!”.
Then the Mother says, “Choose, between them and me.”.
If the Knight is able to stand the trial of choice, he kneels down before the Mother and worships her in her form of destruction. And then this nightmare disappears and the Divine Mother recovers her aspect of eternal youth and beauty.
A High Entity leads this Ceremony in the Astral Table, the same Entity that has been organizing the Esoteric Orders for many generations and that now does not takes a physical body on the Earth. This Entity periodically rules over the Astral Table. Last time she incarnated like a woman, preserves a feminine aspect in the astral plane and represents to the Universal Mother.
Now the Temple is totally in the dark; this darkness is so thick and so impenetrable that is beyond any description.
The back stone of the Mother has been removed.
In the dark, you just can see the sleeping body of the Mother in her eternal coffin. Sighs, silent shadows and unknown steps fill the temple. And gradually, outlined images and shadows of those who were powerful, who ruled over the earth and who come to do homage to the Queen of every form and power. “I can grant the exact calculation. I can grant indispensable limitless pride to triumph. I can indicate the safest roads to destroy and transform man into master of the world. I am a shadow, but some day I was called king of kings, chief, dominator and usurper.”
“If you wish, we shall teach you all our secret arts, and we shall make you owner of everything in the world.”
“But, what shall I give in return for it?”, the aspirant asks. Apparently the Chief of these wandering specters replies, like Satan to Jesus, “All these things I will give thee, if you wilt fall down and worship me”.
He must reply like Christ, “Get thee thence, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve”.
Then you shall worship only the Divine Mother and the dark will fall away. Happily he overcame the trial of the thirst of domination.
But still he has to undergo the last mental trial: the thirst of wealth. Not only thirst of material wealth, but also of wealth of knowledge.
The Mother shall show all the gold hidden in the earth and all the gold of intelligence and knowledge, and will tell, “Take it; it is yours”.
He must reply, “You are my only aspiration and my only desire”.
Then the Astral Knights come close and dress him with an armor of engraved letters of gold that read as follows: “You have overcome”.
The Holy Assembly of Astral Knights, assembled in a mystical circle, on the desolate mountain of Kaor, celebrates the thirst and last part of the Golden Ceremonial for the sake of the new chosen soul. Here is the radiant Knight, going forward with his escort.
Now his cuirass does not protect his physical body, but an armor of wonderful and magnetic vibrations surrounds his astral body with dazzling gleam. Here all these material attributes and initiatic symbols became His new sources of power and magnificence.
Now His name is not written on the necklace, but engraved on astral matter for all the Eternity. The old Knight can rule over the Universe here at his feet.
His radiant sword is Foa at his disposal.
Look at the shining ring in his finger: it is a source of astral powers descending from heaven to the earth.
The seal of power is that marvelous serpentine current going up and down in his astral body and reflecting all colors.
If human voices could repeat the Chants of the expectant Knights, their translation would be as follows: “Blessed you, who has reached the Last Day and has been chosen for Eternal Husband of the Divine Mother. She married you. Therefore, be ready for the trial of the Spirit”.
On the earth, below this invisible meeting, there is amazement and admiration. The sunset says goodbye and reveres the Astral Knights with a blood-red covering the sky.
It is the last hour: hour of the spirit, hour to understand all, and rush later in the limitless darkness and join Him who cannot be named.
Frightened elementals of the air escape through a red horizon of thunderbolts and lightnings.
The Eternal Image of the Veiled Woman emerges from the old, dead crater.
Some few moments from now, She and He will be everlastingly united. United: where and how?
The Initiated Knight walks toward Her; the Saint Companions remain behind. The voice (if one may call it so), speaks, “You do not know how long I have expected this moment; of fleeting creature, you do not know that I am expecting you since the beginning of the universe. Neither the worlds nor the plan of the cosmos had been made or outlined when you were and I was too. But I was light and you were darkness. Since then I have loved you over all things, and because I loved you, I killed you. Perchance did you ever see the statue of Kali, dancing over the dead body of her husband, holding a bleeding knife? This is not only a symbol: it is a truth. I killed you. Still I remember with clarity the real legend of the Genesis, when for love I came to you with temptation, and I killed you with this temptation. Since I was the Divine, my union with mankind was impossible without destruction. For your sake I made the Universe, the planetary chains and millions of worlds crowning your head. And I have been looking for you through these worlds and these cycles. Meanwhile you wandered running after the illusion, seeking me in this illusion. For your love I have destroyed worlds that I made and I have put war and blood on the earth; to re-conquer you I have assumed every crime and every evil, and I have destroyed any impediment to our union by a movement of my hand. How many times I wept and called you, but you did not recognize me! How many times on purpose I assumed several forms and aspects, but in spite of it you did not remember me and even you rejected me! For you I left the Divinity and went down to the depth of human sorrow and misery, because I believed that by being like you I would conquer you again. I taught you legends and doctrines, and I wished to die like a God for your love. But even so you did not recognize me! For our re-union, the Divinity had to become human, but also it was indispensable to Deify mankind, oh my Redeemer!
A thick veil covers the intuition of the Initiated Knight: he does not understand. He speaks, “Why so much suffering and so much evil to become what we were? Why these ups-and-downs, this descent of Divinity to Humanity, to become the same? Why crime, horror and misery.
In fact, oh Knight, you never stopped being what you were and you never have been what you believe. Like a childish game, the Divine Being, Eternal Light, wants to be reflected on the darkness. There is neither ascent nor descent. Just there is illusion that produces light through its reflection on the darkness. Worlds are nothing more than shadows of God. Neither good nor evil exist; neither crime nor sorrow exists. Those who die, come again to being, and evil of today is good of tomorrow. A civilization is destroyed and falls because a new better civilization is being gestated. A criminal weapon pierces the body of a man because a new body, more beautiful, is ready for him. Also, the spirit is untouchable and free of any harm; here it suffer and wanders, and experiences changes and transformations because it believes so. But as soon as the spirit recognizes itself, at whatever point or stage of the way where he may state, “I am It”, illusion disappears and this spirit recovers its pristine Divinity and Essence”.
“Well, then I wish to destroy the illusion once for all: I want to be such as I am”.
Eternal symbol of the Circle and the Cross: the Holy Ank, shines on the sky, which now is covered by the cloak of the night.
The lips of the immortal wife are united with those of the immortalized Knight.
The echo of Chants of the Knights resounds on the Universe.
“I knew you from the beginning and I loved you from the beginning. The two were One.”
When the eyes try to perceive the peak to glimpse those Perfect Lovers, they have disappeared.
Just the flame emerges brilliantly on the summit of the Mount.