At the Sixth Initiation or Decision which occurs every 49 years, all the Masters meet together. The Fifth Initiation makes of a soul a Master or ‘Mahatma´ (Great Soul) so the Sixth Initiation is very high indeed. It gives Masters the ‘qualifications´ to be the ‘Chohans´ or custodians of the Seven Ray energies on Earth, or to journey upon other evolutions beyond this solar system altogether.

Bearing in mind that with any initiation a candidate ‘takes´, they have already achieved that point of spiritual unfoldment for which the Initiation per se, is something of a formality in one respect.

The Decision the Masters make usually is something that will drastically and permanently affect the Earth through a clear delineation of planetary problems. This will force Humanity to recognise existing conditions and then make a free choice (decision).

The most drastic recent decision was the conclave of 1903, where the Hierarchy were faced with the emerging forces of ‘cosmic evil´ (See Germany essay) which led eventually to the two World Wars. It was also the cycle of karma from the great Atlantean war, which itself was precipitated by the Masters of that day. There had to be delineated a clear line between that which was of the light and the materialistic forces.

Likewise at the start of the 20th century, Humanity had to recognise the ‘cleavage between right and wrong, between imprisonment and freedom´. The Decision of 1952 probably led to the great technological revolution of the past 50 years, as well as the reduction of world dictators, for which the World Wars had been a start.

So where will the Decision of 2001 lead Humanity? And particularly after the fifth major impact from Shamballa in 2000? It is interesting that these two great events are linked in that when the Masters take this Initiation, they are no longer under the jurisdiction of the Hierarchy: it is now transferred to Sanat Kumara or the Lord of the World at Shamballa.

It is said that the sign Libra admits the soul into the world centre Shamballa because it is sign where the perfect balance of spirit and matter is demonstrated. Libra´s polar opposite Aries is where that journey first symbolically starts – where spirit and matter first come together.

Furthermore, the ‘Buddhas of Activity´, advisors to Sanat Kumara, act as a link between the ‘informing life´ of the constellation of Libra, the soalr logos, and the logos of Earth. (RI267)

Therefore the Decision Initiation is intimately related to Libra, at a higher and lower level, as will be shown later. That the Masters make this Decision means that it creates a vacuum within the ranks of the Hierarchy, which is composed of aspirants, disciples and initiates. Therefore the momentous Decision taken by the Masters must also be taken to varying degrees by those who follow in their steps.

This is one of the tasks of the Council Chamber at Shamballa to see how many advanced disciples will be needed to fill the vacancies in the inner ashram. If the ashram is viewed as a many petalled lotus, with each petal representing initiates and disciples, from the centre to the periphery, then all move toward the centre, in positions of responsibility, and those on the ‘outer´ of the ashram are admitted into it. The Decision of each Master intimately affects his ashram and its particular work in the world.

The Masters can postpone their Decision, and do, if it will assist the externalisation of the Hierarchy and the Christ himself, through the various ashrams which they head.

The Masters have been treading the Path of Earth Service for many lives, but at the Decision they are confronted with a choice of seven paths which, for the most part will take them beyond the Earth sphere altogether

1. The Path of Earth Service.

2. The Path of Magnetic Work.

3. The Path of Training for Planetary Logoi.

4. The Path to Sirius.

5. The Ray Path.

6. The Path on which our Logos is found.

7. The Path of Absolute Sonship. (RI396)

Path I. The Path of Earth Service

Space does not permit a description of all paths, but suffice to say the “Path to Sirius” is the one that the majority of Humanity will take eventually, and that the Path of Earth Service is the first path trod, and the hence the most well known.

Only enough Masters are permitted to follow this Path so that planetary evolution may be carried on satisfactorily. There around 63 Masters upon the planet who work as such, their power and organising capacity being sufficient to the task.

Basically there are seven Chohans of the Seven Rays who preside over seven groups of human souls, these groups having seven other subdivisions, making 49 of the these ray groupings on the planet.

The outstanding quality of these Masters is wise-compassion, and this holds the clue to the Path of Earth Service. Esoterically they are known as the "beneficent dragons," because the energy with which they work comes from the constellation of the Dragon, Draco, through the sign Libra. This energy is “buddhi”, that consciousness possessed by a liberated human being, i.e. ‘Arhat´ or ‘Dragon of Wisdom´.

Buddhi is very much a quality of the second Ray of Love Wisdom, is the ‘profound faculty for identification´ exhibited by these Masters of Wise-Compassion.

This identification though is almost beyond our ken, as it has to do with the spiritual essence or Monadic consciousness at the heart of the “Jewel in the Lotus” within the heart chakra.

“Luminosity” is the key quality possessed by the “beneficient dragons” – the luminosity behind the injunction “Let your light shine forth”. This luminosity is understood to be obtained only upon a battleground through a ‘fight with the dragon”. This is reminiscent of a fight that all disciples have with the Hydra of the Lernean Swamp, in the labour of Scorpio.

All reptilian symbolism (dragons, snakes, hydras, monsters) in constellations and zodiac signs have a link to these themes of buddhi, beneficence and the Second Ray of Love-Wisdom, as will be shown later.

The following qualities apply to the First Path of Earth Service

Attributes.......Wise-compassion.

Source...........Constellation of the Dragon, via Libra.

Method...........Twelve cosmic Identifications.

Hierarchy........The sixth.

Symbol...........A green dragon issuing from the centre of a blazing sun. Behind the sun and over-topping it can be seen two pillars on either side of a closed door.

Quality gained...Luminosity. (TCF1244-1247)

Gethsemane

The spiritual crisis of the Sixth Initiation took place in Gethsemane, whilst the Christ overshadowed his disciple Jesus, enabling the latter to reach the Fourth Initiation, the Crucifixion or Great Renunciation.

This latter ‘lesser´ renunciation makes the higher renunciation possible and vice versa. Herein lies a hint of the future Science of Invocation and Evocation to be developed in the Aquarian Age. It also points to the inter-relationships which exist between the Hierarchy and Shamballa.

The Master Jesus upon the cross felt the agony of human need, renouncing his own life to meet that need. Likewise, the Christ, overshadowing Jesus experienced the agony of his yearning for revelation and increased enlightenment so that he may better serve Humanity.

The pain of Gethsemane was to do God´s will: "Not my will but Thine be done" the will of the One of whom the Monad is an expression. It was also the desertion of those nearest and dearest to him, “thrice denying” him before sunrise the next day. The agony in the Garden of Gethsemane was based upon the fact that He was not understood and that his suffering was based upon an unique vision.

It was also the will of soul/personality conflicting with the evocation of the fire of the divine will of the Monad. The Fourth Initiation (for Jesus) entailed standing "in isolated Unity,", where the forces of Vulcan make the candidate plumb the depths of aloneness and isolation:

“He stands detached from "that which is above and this which is below." There comes a dramatic moment when all desire is renounced; the will of God or the Plan is seen as the only desirable objective … There is revealed to him … some definite, active undertaking which embodies that aspect of the will of God which it is his peculiar function to appropriate and make possible of expression. This has been called in the Christian phraseology, "the Gethsemane experience." The Christ, kneeling beside the rock (symbolic of the depths of the mineral kingdom and of the activity of Vulcan, the fashioner), raises His eyes upward to where the light of revelation breaks forth and knows at that moment what it is He has to do.” (EA392-3)

The “Decision” of the Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane was to take over the work of construction in the Age of Aquarius. This was 2000 years yet further down the track but would enable the work that was started in Pisces to be finished.

Building and construction are much suited to the qualities of Saturn, ruler of the first decanate of Aquarius. The aspirants and disciples of the world are those builders wisely chosen by the Christ who will help usher His return.

Saturn is of course ruler of Capricorn, a sign which carries the forces of Ray 1 and Shamballa. Capricorn materialises the Plan on Earth for the workers in the ashrams of the Hierarchy. DK tells us that it was:

“… the "angel, born under Capricorn" which came to Christ in the garden of Gethsemane and fused His individual will into the divine Will and thus enabled Him to carry out His mission to completion.” (EA633)

His “mission” was the revelation of divine love to the world and also the first tentative thread linked between Shamballa and Hierarchy:

“A new type of energy became available—the energy of life itself, imbued with purpose and actuated by intention. For the first time, the relation of the Will, which had hitherto expressed itself in His life through love and the creative work of inaugurating the new dispensation and the launching for all time of the Kingdom of God, became clear to Him. At that point He passed through the Gethsemane of renunciation.” (RI290)

There is another interpretation also on ‘angels´:

“…Christ in the garden of Gethsemane. There again—as in the fourth Initiation of Renunciation—the human element of suffering is emphasised, whereas in the true symbolical "garden" between the sixth and the seventh initiations there is no aspect of suffering. Suffering and pain enter not into the consciousness of the Master. Where it says in The New Testament that, "angels came and ministered unto" the Christ, the correct implication is that Those Who dwell and work in Shamballa use this period to instruct the initiate who has made his decision through an expression of his divine nature and in the significance of the divine purpose; this concerns the relation of our planetary Logos to the solar system, and decision is made through the development of that higher sensitivity which leads inevitably to cosmic perception.” (RI723)

These ideas are further borne out in the following

"Forget not that all rays have three aspects, and that all three can be contacted by the human consciousness of the spiritual man, thus placing at his disposal the energies of the seven rays and of the twenty-one forces. It is this synthesis which is revealed at the fifth initiation and—as I said above—the combination of these forces produces the Ascension [ Sixth Initiation]; this is an exceeding great mystery and one which cannot as yet be grasped by you. From the height of the Mount of Ascension light is thrown upon the hierarchical Plan in such a manner that the purpose in the mind of the planetary Logos is (for the first time) truly grasped." (RI645)

Draco the Dragon

The constellation of the Dragon which contains the star Draco (Alpha Draconis), is said to be the ‘base of the spine centre´ in the One About Whom Naught May Be Said (OAWNMBS). The OAWNMBS is an enormous cosmic entity that has seven energy centres, just as a human does so in the microcosm.

Our solar system is one of seven chakras that constitute this great cosmic entity, whose seven centres are said to orbit around the Central Spiritual Sun, Alcyone.

Our solar logos is said to represent the heart chakra of this great being, hence the connection between buddhi and love-wisdom mentioned earlier. As the planets within this solar system represent the chakras within this entity, Love will be the a major expression there too – including Earth particularly in this cycle.

In fact the logos of this planet is known as a Dragon of Wisdom- Love, and the transmuting quality of his energy creates in humanity eventually, “Lords of Love”.

Draco has been the pole star in various precession cycles, most recently around 2750BC where it was less than 10´ arc from the exact pole. It could be seen both during the day and night from the bottom of the central passage of the Great Pyramid of Cheops, as well as other temple structures. Its position can be used to accurately determine when the Great Pyramid was built:

“Now it is claimed that it is by means of the cycle of 25,868 years (the Sidereal year) that the approximate year of the erection of the Great Pyramid can be ascertained. Assuming that the long narrow downward passage was directed towards the pole star of the pyramid builders, astronomers have shown that . . .Alpha Draconis, the then pole-star, was in the required position about 3,350 B.C., as well as in 2,170 B.C. …But we are also told that “this relative position of Alpha Draconis and Alcyone being an extraordinary one . . . it could not occur again for a whole sidereal year” (ibid). This demonstrates that, since the Dendera Zodiac shows the passage of three sidereal years, the great Pyramid must have been built 78,000 years ago…” (SD3- 430-1) “the Egyptian Zodiac is between 75 and 80,000 years old…” (SD3-434)

Alpha Draconis had many names in different cultures, some of them very similar, such as “Favourable Judge”, “Judge of Heaven”, “Prospering Judge” and “Judge Directing”. All names reflect the judicial nature of Libra, and hence the link, particularly with Saturn´s exaltation in Libra. The “Dragon with Seven Heads” was also assigned to Saturn, “The Dragon of Life”.

However, the quality of judiciousness is also Ray 4 - the mediator, diplomat, arbitrator and negotiator. Ray 4 corresponds to the fourth plane of buddhi which ‘mediates´ between spirit and matter. The fourth plane of buddhi corresponds to the Fourth Initiation – the Arhat.

Therefore it is appropriate that buddhic force is transmitted from the Dragon to create Dragons of Wisdom. Buddhi is an expression of the Second Aspect or Love-Wisdom Ray:

“This is the system [our solar system] of the SON, whose name is Love. This is the divine incarnation of Vishnu. The Dragon of Wisdom is in manifestation, and He brings into incarnation those cosmic Entities who are in essence identical with Himself.” (TCF176)

Vishnu is depicted frequently with Ananta, the Serpent of Eternity which carries Vishnu through the cycle of the Manvantara. Many Buddhist deities are depicted with the hooded cobra (or multiple cobras) hovering over their heads and likewise in other traditions such as the Gnostic Ophites who revered the serpent as a symbol of divine wisdom. These ‘serpent worshippers´ regarded Ophis as identical with Christos, and the feminine Sophia was wisdom incarnate.

Tribes of the Old Testament such as the Midianites, Canaanites and the Hamites, were known as “wise men” or “sons of snakes. The Ophites also honoured the serpent because he was a symbol of teaching humanity the Mysteries.

It is the force of Buddhi which, which when fully appropriated, brings about Liberation for the human soul, who is then elevated to the status of Arhat or a Dragon of Wisdom. Buddhic force from Draco is transmitted via the Seven Sisters of the Pleaides.

The Pleiades represent the Third or Mother Aspect, and correspond to the Ray 3 of Libra, through which energy from Draco passes. Ruler of Ray 3, Saturn, is of course the Third Synthesising Scheme in this solar system. Both Ray 7 (which emanates from Draco) and Ray 3 are the ‘materialising´ qualities that bring spirit into matter.

The fifth creative hierarchy “Makara, The Crocodiles” (reptillian) has a mysterious link between our solar logos, Draco and the logos of this planet, and constitutes the true “secret of the Dragon”. It was this force which caused the entrance of mental or manasic energy into this solar system, and onto Earth at Individualisation in Lemuria. Apparently this is connected to the ancient serpent religion and the Serpents of Wisdom in those times.

Lemuria was the first civilisation to ‘anchor´ this mental energy, and hence the activation of the base of the spine centre on this planet, so that solar and planetary kundalini forces could align:

“The Grand Heavenly Man of Draco is the source of the seventh Ray and is the major transmitter of radiation from the Central Spiritual Sun and is the origin of Logoic Kundalini. The prime function of the Great Dragon beyond all else, is that of adaptation or the moulding of the form and making it suitable to the specific needs of His six Great Brothers. On Earth this relationship concerns stimulation, vitalisation and consequent co-ordination of the seven major Ashramic centres along with the developing 49 subsidary centres. Keep in mind, "7", is the Sacred Number of the seventh ray and the key number for its cycle of emanatory impulses.

At the penultimate moment of the 49 year cycle, the final "luminous door" of Initiation is opened leading to one or other of the seven cosmic Paths. On the basis of seen opportunity and through response to the seven phases of cosmic vision the Chohan faces, what is for him, the final great crisis of vision within the planetary ring-pass-not. We also learned that electrical stimulation - the "Light Supernal" of the Great Cosmic Seventh Ray - reaches us on Earth along the path of the planetary antahkarana from Draco once in every cycle of 49 years.” (Stephen Pugh - see essays at this website)

Libra expresses the forces of Ray 3 and Ray 7. The Lord of Civilisation, Master R, (previous Chohan of the Ray 7 ashram) in charge of the Third Department of planetary government, has his yearly conclaves at this time:

“Every October and every March, the Master R. gathers together His council of helpers, the Masters and the senior initiates in the Ashrams of the third, the fifth and the seventh rays.” (EOH669)

As Draco “moulds the forms for his six brothers”, so R “acts as the general manager for the carrying out of the plans of the executive council of the Lodge.” (IHS59)

Probabtioners, Disciples and Initiates

The 49 year cycle of Initiation creates vacancies and causes a huge influx of power. As Libra is connected to Shamballa and relationships, new relationships are formed within the changing structures of the Masters´ ashrams. Disciples start to work with new forces and energies, as well as new personnel within the ashram. Relationships are about being ‘engaged´ in communication with an energy or entity, and to do so correctly creates better transmitters of the Plan.

Therefore all these activities occurring within the lesser ashrams of the greater ashram of the Christ, constitute an extraordinary spiritual event. It has been called “one of the great compensations of discipleship” whereby “added light can be occultly endured”

“The perfected strength of the Ashram (symbolised by the number 10) becomes available to the disciple whose purity of heart has enabled him to penetrate into the Ashram; his knowledge becomes more rapidly transmuted into wisdom as his mind is subjected to the play of the higher understanding of Those with Whom he is associated; gradually he begins to contribute his own quota of light and of understanding to those just entering and to those who are his equals.” (DINA2- 330)