Guidance

Wisdom Teachings
The Basics

Creation is a compassionate impulse of the Divine to enable the souls to make experiences, develop, and reunite with the Divine. The entire creation moves through Maya, illusion. Without illusion, the drama of creation would not work. Through illusion, the souls do not see the underlying unity but a variety of forms that appear and pass away. In this multiplicity, the souls pursue ever more experiences and joy.

Due to the veil of illusion, we have forgotten our divine identity and have assumed a false identity. We are immortal by nature but we believe that we are mortal. We are units of light that have emerged from the divine light, but our connection with the material life has made the light weak. With the development of the mind, we began to consider ourselves as independent individuals. It is a great ignorance to believe that we could live independent of the divine origin. Through our free will, we have created consequences and have become more and more entangled in our karma. With the help of free will, we have to remove these consequences.

There is a group of teachers in creation guiding those seeking guidance. They did not fall into the illusion. They came before the humans came. These intelligences that guide evolution are called the Devas. They became the first group of teachers or Masters in nature. This is the beginning of the Spiritual Hierarchy on earth.

Today's Masters of Wisdom were once people like us. They have developed the subtle bodies with the help of wisdom and with their teachers. They decided to become guides for the mortal beings. This will also enable us, who are not so far advanced, to transform ourselves and walk the path that guides them.

Although it is written in the Indian scriptures, few know that the Hierarchy of Masters exists and that there are teachers in visible and invisible form. We only know them because H.P. Blavatsky has reintroduced this truth through her books.

There are many subtle planes. There are teachers up to the atmic plane who help us here on the physical plane. All thoughts and actions that occur on the physical plane manifest themselves from the higher planes. The invisible teachers respond to the call of those who ask for help. They also guide us in meditation. When we develop the subtle vision, we can see them, perceive their touch, feel their scent, etc. Just as the outward-looking mind and the senses collect impressions from the objective world, the inner mind collects impressions from the subjective worlds. We have to develop these internal instruments in order to be able to perceive the Devas and teachers around us.

When our mind is pure and we are focused on the buddhic plane, we will receive guidance. Much time is lost by leading a life without guidance, and we are more easily drawn into confusion. The guidance can come from the teachings and from a teacher; they give us inspiration and provide guidance. However, the teacher does not relieve us from our work. We should not think he washes away our sins.

As we regularly align in prayer and meditation, thoughts of goodwill and suggestions on how to better handle situations in our lives will come. We also get hints while reading certain books. Occult books are living things; we receive ideas on how we can interlink occult subjects and bring them to a synthesis. We may also receive instructions and encouragement at night. We should not be casual about these instructions. If we do not use them, no further wisdom is given to us. We should make note of the hints, e.g. in a notebook or a computer. By implementing these instructions, we are gradually lifted up to the buddhic plane. Master C.V.V. has promised to teach us from inside; no matter what kind of knowledge we need, it will come to us: “My method is a direct method that I relate to you directly and instruct you from within and guide you, mould you, and transform you insofar as you follow the instructions.”

Because of the guidance of the Masters, the ancient wisdom of Sanatana Dharma is manifested in different parts of the planet and in accordance with time and space, the truth reappears. The language for the communication of wisdom has also been suitably modified so that it can more easily be comprehended by people. A Master synthesizes all the grand knowledge, simplifies it and gives us simple instructions to follow.

The Masters of Wisdom are always available among humanity and stand in the midst of people. Those who seek transformation and truth gather around these Masters and work with them on the hierarchical plan. They train us in discipleship and recruit us into their ashrams, which exist everywhere in the world. They will make us understand that our home is our ashram, and our people - husband, wife, brother, sister, mother, father, friends, the environment - are the forms of God with whom we undergo our discipleship training. When the time comes, they will come to us and appear before us. Even before this happens, they will be guiding us through many births though we do not know it. Today's training does not require a regular physical presence of the Master or teacher; he can guide remotely. When the technique is given, the students can work with it on their own. The presence of a teacher also serves as an example: his way of life is a doctrine by itself and is an expression of the experience of the light that he carries within himself. He allows the students to transform more easily.

If we wish to be disciples, after awakening, we should first relate to the awareness and be thankful that it has entered into us and awakened us. We should seek its plan and ask for guidance - our plan is no different from its plan. The plan is to fill the whole surrounding, all beings. By doing what we have to do, we also know who we are; otherwise we will never know ourselves.

In prayer we should ask what we have to do and not ask for something mundane.We should also not expect an immediate solution to our problems; it will manifest itself over time. However, we are directed more than we are aware of. Answers to prayers for guidance are often unnoticed, misinterpreted or rejected because the answers are different from what we expected. Guidance can come from any direction, from inside as well as from outside.

The teacher must be invoked inside. We should align ourselves with his presence and start working without waiting for further help. This is called “the lonely journey,” and thus begins work after the first initiation. Unless we are able to live with the wisdom ourselves, the teacher's support is inevitable. When we are able to understand and move forward independently and steadily, the teacher slowly withdraws because he wants us to go forward ourselves. This is called the second initiation. Modern training requires that we think, understand, and follow what has been realised. However, the mind is not yet fully able of understanding everything it is informed about. Some complain at times about what the teacher says, and sometimes there is independent thinking. In the East, there is a wrong understanding that students can heavily lean upon the teacher and shed their personal loads on to him. The West suffers from the pride of self-pursuit. Pride and selfishness keep us away from the teacher. The golden midway is to know the purpose of a teacher and to know how to interact with him.

In order to enable us to follow a discipline, the teacher must provide us with some energy. We have to work out the second and third initiation all alone. We go through doubts, storms and struggles. It is a process of self-transformation with the help of the strength and wisdom given by the teacher. It is a very long journey from the second to the third initiation, which can be very frustrating. But knowing this, we also know what we have to do during this time. Everyone also starts their journey at different points; some start on the emotional plane, others start on the mental plane. We only know which step has to be taken next when we go through the occult path. It is better to understand each step correctly and to be aware, because only then we can give others this information and perhaps also give guidance.

After the third initiation we meet again the teacher. However, we are left to ourselves so that we work with others in a new way. We then have acquired skills and qualities, and thus, we carry out the work that is approaching us.

Teachers are our guides, but they do not require sheep for their following. They look for intelligent students who implement the teachings to grow. Their program is to make each student self-dependent and to ensure that the wisdom is further transmitted through action. At the same time they guide from behind; they assess the state of our evolution and gradually replace our nature with the higher nature until the nature of the earth works through us. Then we will be already be co-workers in the planetary kingdom of this earth. This is how the Masters work through us.

Sources used: K.P. Kumar: Nutrients for Discipleship. Notes from seminars. The World Teacher Trust - Dhanishta, Visakhapatnam, India