Alice Bailey & Djwhal Khul - A Treatise on White Magic - Rule V

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A Treatise on White Magic - Rule Five - The Soul and its Thought-Forms

There are three main factors to be considered separately and in their relation to each other.

First, are there such karmic obligations in a man's present life as would render it impossible for him to function as a disciple? In this connection it must be carefully borne in mind that a man can become a disciple and merit the attention of a Master only when his life counts for something in the world of men, when he is an influence in his sphere, and when he is molding and acting upon the minds and hearts of other men.

Until that is the case it is waste of a Master's time to [186] personally deal with him, for he can be adequately helped in other ways and has, for instance, much knowledge from books and teachers which is as yet theory and not practice, and much experience to pass through under the guidance of his own ego, the Master in his heart. When a man is a disciple he is one because he can be used for working out the plan of the Hierarchy, and can be influenced to materialize those endeavors which are planned to enable humanity to make the needed forward steps. This involves (in his physical plane life) time, and thought, right circumstance, and other considerations and it is quite possible for a man to have reached the stage from the character standpoint, where he merits the recognition of a Master, and yet have obligations and duties to work through which would handicap him for active service in some particular life. This the Master has to consider and this a man's own ego also considers.

The result quite frequently at this time is that (perhaps unconsciously to the physical brain) a man will shoulder a great amount of experience, and undertake the working out of an abnormal amount of responsibility in one particular life, in order to free himself for service and chelaship in a later life. He works then at the equipping of himself for the next life, and at the patient performance of duty in his home, his circle of friends, and his business. He realizes that from the egoic standpoint one life is but a short matter and soon gone and that by study, intelligent activity, loving service, and patient endurance, he is working out of those conditions which are preventing his prompt acceptance in a Master's group.

A Master also studies the condition of an aspirant's physical body and of the subtler bodies to see whether in them are to be found states of consciousness which would hinder usefulness and act as obstacles. These conditions are likewise karmic and must be adjusted before his admission among other chelas becomes possible. A sick [187] physical body, an astral body prone to moods, emotions and psychic delusions, and a mental body uncontrolled or ill-equipped are all dangerous to the student unless straightened out and perfected. A chela is subjected constantly to the play of force coming to him from three main sources:

His own ego,
His Master,
The group of co-disciples,

and unless he is strong, purified and controlled, these forces will serve but to stimulate undesirable conditions, to foster that which should be eliminated and to bring to the surface all the hidden weaknesses. That this has to be done inevitably is so, but much must be done along this line before admission into a group of disciples; otherwise much of the Master's valuable time will perforce be given to the elimination and nullifying of the effects of the chelas violent reactions on other chelas in the same group. It is better to wait and work gradually and intelligently oneself than force one's way unprepared into lines of forces before one can handle either them or their consequences.

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