The DK Foundation

Ascension and matters relating to the building of the light body are, far and away, the subjects upon which The D.K. Foundation receives most correspondence, whether this takes the form of e-mails from overseas visitors to the web site or letters to the school from within the UK.  Frequently, the assumption is that we ourselves are directly involved in Ascensionism, which is not the case. Let us explain our position.

The Antahkarana is the name used in the Theosophical tradition to describe the thread of consciousness which links the personality to the spiritual triad. It is perhaps more widely known these days as the Rainbow Bridge. The Antahkarana evolves and as it does so, it links the lower to the higher.

The Antahkarana is built in two stages. The first links the higher mind to the soul (on the fifth, fourth and third planes of consciousness) and is built by mental substance; the second links the soul to the spiritual triad (on the third, second and first planes of consciousness) and is built from light substance. The latter cannot be built until the personality has achieved integration and is aligned with the soul.

The concern of The D.K. Foundation is the strengthening of the mental body, and the alignment of the soul and the personality. Our focus, therefore, is the Third Initiation, which is the first of the higher Initiations, and the completion of the building of the first stage of the Antahkarana. This involves the development of mental substance which is achieved by engaging and dealing with everyday life in a purposeful, disciplined and decisive way.

The concern of Ascensionism is the higher Initiations and the second stage of the Antahkarana.  At the Sixth Initiation, ascension in the light body is achievable. The Sixth Initiation creates a Master.

As far back as the middle of the last century, through the medium of Alice Bailey, D.K. was encouraging disciples to “shift their eyes off transfiguration” (the Third Initiation) and to anticipate the steps beyond. Subsequently, he has explained that from the point of view of the Hierarchy, negativity - negative emotion and negative thinking - is seen as the biggest threat hanging over humanity. To encourage disciples to anticipate the future was perceived as an antidote to a gathering sense of helplessness.  Anticipating the higher Initiations,  imagining the route that, one day,  humanity will walk, clothing the process with thought-form, admits the possibility to human consciousness. As D.K. has said, “whatever man has desired, ever he has had”. To that extent, Ascensionism is an act of service. 

At no time, however, has D.K. ever encouraged disciples to identify with the higher Initiations and to assume that they themselves are ready or nearly ready to ascend. A disciple, by definition, is one who is between the First and Third Initiations. He is struggling to raise energy from the solar plexus to the heart centre. A disciple is on the look-out for teachings and teachers. A disciple who thinks he is ready to ascend and assume the responsibilities of a Master is, quite simply, deluded.

So lacking in perspective and understanding is so much of the present talk about Ascension that we feel compelled to stand apart from it. In the hands of certain writers, the higher Initiations are being presented much as consumer products: readily available to whomsoever fancies them. The danger in assuming that one is already building the second stage of the Antahkarana or the light body  (which cannot be built until the mental body has assumed control over the emotional body)  is that one will not be working to complete the first stage. This is a travesty of the original purpose of alerting humanity to future possibilities, and it is wasting valuable time and unrepeatable opportunities. This is not an either/or situation: the first stage cannot be swapped up for the second.

In order to provide a point of reference, let us consider the Fourth Initiation and what that, historically, has demanded. (Four is the number of mediation and synthesis. At the Fourth Initiation, the integrated, soul-aligned personality becomes an agent of spiritual will). Jesus was crucified; Gandhi was assassinated; Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for years and his marital problems publicly aired. Third degree Initiates, they all took up missions which provided a channel for spiritual will, and they gave their lives for those missions. This is the reality of the Fourth Initiation. It requires dedication, sacrifice and redemption. This is how the second thread of the Antahkarana gets built, friends. It is built by the will and a dedication to humanity, not by attending workshops, listening to channellings, or reading glossy New Age books out of a concern for personal salvation.