THE CALL OF ISHWARA [CHRIST]



The Sounding of the Word and the finding of the Way

By Christine Morgan

Through the sounding of the word and through reflection upon its meaning, the Way is found. This is one of the Yoga sutras of Patanjali and such a beautiful and insightful injection. It is one of several sutras related to Ishvara, a term in Hindu philosophy for the Vishnu aspect, “the son of God, the cosmic Christ, resplendent in the heart of each of us”. The sutra instructs us to sound the Sacred Word of Ishvara, the OM, but at the same time not to interpret this too literally. The sounding of the Word is more concerned with developing sensitivity to the Law of Vibration. It involves heeding the Call of Ishvara. In other words, “the gradual tuning of the lower vibrations of the sheaths or vestures of consciousness so that they synchronise with the note or sound of the conscious indweller.”

The Soul is constantly transmitting the Word, the Call of Ishvara, from the abstract levels of the mental plane down the Sutratma to the disciple on the physical plane. [He can actually hear this Sound. - E] The disciple’s task is to develop the capacity of inner listening in order to emulate this sound and transmit it back up to the soul. When this occurs, harmony follows and the Word runs up and down the Sutratma between soul and personality causing it to vibrate with spiritual power. It becomes a living bridge from which the means to serve in the outer world can be drawn. At this stage, the disciple discovers his spiritual keynote and finds his place as a conscious part of the bridge of “souls and servers”. The Call of Ishvara has been heard and responded to, in turn, it can be sung out into the world to serve humanity.

The subjective ‘note’ of a person, a group, and even humanity itself, is constantly changing in response to the unfoldment of consciousness, an as it does, it affects the substance in which it resides, and the forms with which it shares the planet. This brings the importance of working ‘consciously in consciousness’ to mind, of discovering our individual “keynote” and how to work with it. We also have to discover the keynote of the group to which we belong – the group Ishvara and to use what Dane Rudhyar calls the “tonic power” of its sound. The word “tonic” is apt here for service is both an invigorating tonic in the medicinal sense – something that invigorates and restores spiritual health, and also tonic in the musical sense of tonal quality; for ultimately, service is the transmission of part of the orchestral sound of the Logos and the Symphony He is in process of composing.

As the Tibetan so inspiring puts it: “…sound permeates all forms; the planet itself has its own note or sound; each minute atom also has its sound; each form can be evoked into music and each human being has his peculiar chord and all chords contribute to the group symphony which the Hierarchy and Humanity are playing, and playing now. Every spiritual group has its own tune… and the groups which are in process of collaborating with the Hierarchy makes music ceaselessly.” This rhythm of sound and this myriad and notes blend with the music of the Hierarchy itself and this is a steadily enriching symphony… “the results of right breathing, of controlled and organised rhythm, of true pure thought and of the correct relation between all parts of the chorus.”

Coming right down to the dense physical plane, in the past there was a greater understanding of the purpose of the sound made by instruments, coupled with the infusing quality of the simple spiritual devotion of their creators. The church bell which called the faithful were therefore reflections of the artisans who made them and they were created with knowledge of the exact proportion of metals to be melted and shaped it would take for perfect resonance. Likewise, the gongs of Hindus for example would strive to harmonise with the archetypal form of the life of the deva who was to incarnate into the tones. It was a work of magnetisation of the metals with love and will, melded together with an understanding of the meaning of the messages which the bell or gong would bring to the devotees.

This is a point to bear in mind with our own use of sound through right speech. The tonal quality that we emit through speech objectifies our thoughts and feelings and directly transmits our state of consciousness into the world with corresponding effects. If we manage to build a sufficiently powerful thoughtform on the mental plane, a deva will incarnate into it and live there like a sea creature inside a shell, boosting its radiator power with its life. If we can imagine all of our thoughts being alive, for alive they are, then we will realise how important it is to allow their livingness to be translated into the right tonal quality when we use the vocal chords to transmit their energy onto the physical plane. The responsibility for the right use of the spoken word is an important aspect of the Arcane School training. The morning meditation is a means of tuning ourselves up to the call of Ishvara and then the challenge is to stay connected and in harmony with its sound throughout the day, letting it ring out through all of our thoughts and words to lift and serve others as opportunity comes our way.

By understanding our life and the service we give in terms of sound, we will find the key to bringing harmony out of conflict and building right relationships in the world. this is particularly so because “the fourth ray [of harmony through conflict] is the ray par excellence which governs humanity,” and this great Ray Lord holds the key to building bridges between spirit and matter, through the tonic power of sound. In Esoteric Psychology we read that the immediate task ahead for this fourth Ray Lord is a further “lowering of the thread” in the human kingdom—a symbolic phrase for the great path of return. The fourth ray-Lord is instrumental in lowering and revealing the path of return just as He was with the path of outgoing late in the period of planetary creation. At that time six divine instructions were given to Him by the Solar Logos, one of which is imaginatively captured in the musical injunction: Speak Low the Word. Speak low.

This lucidly describes the gathering momentum of sound penetrating the depths of matter and rolling out the path of involution for the descent of the sons of God into physical manifestation. Now, on the path of return, His keynote must be evoked and utilised by disciples and discipleship groups that they may each find their respective place of service on the planetary bridge and from that point, broadcast the Call of Ishvara deep into humanity’s subconscious. This is assisted by drawing upon the Fourth Ray Lord’s capacity to reveal the path through a quality summarised in another injunction given to him by the Solar Logos: Lower the thread. Unfold the way. Link man with God. Arise.

We should bear in mind that the call of Ishvara, transmitted through the tonal power of the fourth ray, doesn’t necessarily result in immediate peace and tranquillity to those who hear it and respond. [Some of us can actually hear this ringing sound in the head in the form of, humming, bells or flutes. - E] The Sacred Word can precipitate acute points of crisis and conflict in others, as they struggle to adjust to its vibration. The fourth Ray Lord is called among other things, The Trumpet of the Lord, and as serving groups proliferate around the world, the powerful sound that this Ray Lord emits through them is generating tremendous points of crisis and conflict in the collective consciousness of humanity, and pulling down old patterns of thought in order to establish a new polarisation towards the divine. As this alignment is taking place, confusion and even panic are widespread, prior to the settling of the esoteric dust and a new clarity of vision.

We are told that new vision comes through Mercury, a fourth ray planet that has the ability to draw harmony out of conflict through new vision. Mercury’s qualities are buddhic, intuitional and expressive of the Christ. “Mercury, the Messenger of the Gods [that is, of the Hierarchy of Souls], carries always the message of love and sets up an unbreakable inter-relation between the two great planetary centres, that of the Hierarchy and that of Humanity.” And this capacity is expressed in the final instruction given to the Fourth Ray Lord by the Solar Logos which runs: Sound forth the colour. Produce the notes and see them pass into the shades, which in their turn produce the sounds. Thus all are seen as one. the quality of this command is described as “the synthesis of true beauty.”

This is a truly glorious injunction and an esoteric group can augment this work of the Fourth Ray Lord simply by sounding forth the deep blue note of love that that transmits the Christ consciousness into the darkest pockets of human consciousness to evoke the goodness that is Ishvara, sitting in the cave of the heart of every man, woman and child. There he sits upon the twelve-petalled lotus of the heart, holding in his hand the “jewel in the lotus.” We are told that when the devotee becomes the raja yogin then Ishvara will reveal to him the secret of the jewel. When Christ is known as King upon the throne of the heart, then He will reveal the Father to his devotee. But the devotee has to tread the Path of Raja Yoga, and combine intellectual knowledge, mental control and discipline before the revelation can be truly made. The mystic must eventually become the occultist: the head qualities and the heart qualities must be equally developed, for both are equally divine.

When the disciple has blended the way of the mystic with the way of the occultist and found his keynote, the consequent purity of his nature enables him to use Words of Power with skill and understanding; and the disciple of the future will work in this way and build the new world with its culture and civilisation. Perhaps we will begin to understand from this, the beauty and power of the science of invocation and evocation and what it means to become a living instrument and sound forth into the world the Call of the Reappearing Christ. Sound therefore, is the key to evolution and the tone of our life clearly sounds throughout our aura and has its effect on others in either a constructive or destructive way.

In times to come humanity will work much more creatively with sound as a force of invocation and when the new energies of the fourth ray pour into humanity in 2025 we can start to look for healing tonic power of sound and a more constructive type of music that brings spiritual warmth and upliftment—that lifts the forces of the body upwards towards spirit. Sound will then become a creative tool for humanity to accelerate its spiritual evolution. As Dane Rudhyar wrote, “We recall the words of the Bhagavad-Gita, ‘Ishvara, the Master, whose magic power causeth all things and creatures to revolve, mounted upon the universal wheel of time’….. His magic power is what we called ‘tonic power’ in all things and in all types of music which are real. As we understand the revolutions of the ‘universal wheel of time,’ that is of the cycles of Life and lives…we shall know how to call down Ishvara into our songs…and how to kindle in others the flame of spiritual regeneration.”

One of the Christ’s new tasks as God the Preserver is to keep the “wheels in motion”, to act as the Word of God and enable the process of incarnation and opportunity to evolve to continue. For us today, our greatest service is to sound the Great Invocation and let the meaning behind its words ring throughout the entire world. The Great Invocation is the greatest sound we can participate in collectively at this time. as the Christ’s Own Mantram its “sound has gone forth” to the entire world through His enunciation of it and through its use by the Hierarchy. The Tibetan tells us that not only must its words go out throughout the entire world by means of its enunciation by men everywhere, but that its meaning must be expressed by the masses in due time. Then Christ can again “return to Earth” and “see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied.” Surely then, it is clear that purposeful use of the GI as an esoteric group is the best way to play our part in the bridge of souls and servers linking the subjective and objective worlds as one and aiding the Christ in His work. Let the group sound forth the Call of Ishvara.

Read more at: http://edgeba.webs.com/aumomtheword.htm