Initiation

To be initiate

Initiatory is a word drawer, more still than initiation certainly because any test (an overcome long illness, a serious accident, the re-entry in nursery school or 6° of college) can be regarded as about one lived initiatory. That implies, in the majority of the cases, being introduced with something, educated being….

In their current meaning, the rites of passage mark, in all the people, the accession with maturity or independence.

Thus, the baccalaureat, the driving license, the Hazing S with the FAC of medicine, for example, are regarded as required passages indicating a social change of status.

One evokes also a “initiation with data processing”, the “first aid”, “deep-sea diving”, “the etc, gliding”

a Voyage obviously, can be initiatory, because it often takes along impétrant it towards something that this one did not know, a “revival”, sometimes lived like a “rebirth”.

However, in its old meaning, initiation has a deep sense, often marked by a rite, or symbols, supposed to cause an awakening of the conscience and very an other vision of the world.

In antiquity

In antiquity existed many worships called to “Mysteries” all around the Mediterranean.

There was, as the tale of of it the Metamorphoses attest usually named " the ass of or" of Apulée, or texts of Plutarque, him even, priest of Apollo in Delphes, the initiations devoted inter alia to Isis, or Osiris, Cybèle, Orphée or in Héraklès, etc

One celebrated there also Dionysos ( twice born the ) through a whole of often spectacular rites having for function to impregnate the personality of the future initiate and to prepare it at the time of initiation, or the revelation which it was going to receive. Which was the nature of this initiation and especially of this revelation? Few things today of it are known, because the disciple was required to maintain the secrecy, (and was supposed not to speak even under torture). However, some features of initiation bored through the works of the pre-socratiques philosophers like Héraclite or the myths developed by Plato.

Around these prestigious Masters, whose life seemed to be the practical application of their ideas, the young jet set of antiquity gathered, in search of knowledge.

Then, to perfect their “way”, it was not rare that they travel through the Mediterranean basin passing from an initiation to another, in search of improvement and tests. However, if the initation remains related to the Myths which worked antiquity, those do not build any less, still today, our personality.

the initiate lived in his body and its conscience, according to the traditions, the death of Osiris and its resurrection, the search of Isis, that of Orphée.

All these facts that the religion regards as established facts, to interpret literally, were considered, in the Schools of the Mysteries, like as many stages of the conscience, of interior discoveries and supposed transformations to lead the disciple or the pupil of his actual position to a state to be divine.

The neo-platonist writings allotted to Hermes Trismégiste, and considered as the Egyptian gnosis, reference as regards esotericism do not say: “the man is a mortal god… God is an immortal man” ?.

Initiatory rites and concept of Tradition

By Tradition one understands an unmemorable and absolute knowledge, to which the initiate seems connected. This treasure of the Tradition is thus the chain, the link which connects each initiate to his predecessors, with its initiators since the origin of times.

Of no says that the “Tradition” does not even exist in it, because the man changes and evolves/moves through the centuries, and there is the same of the culture, of civilizations. They reject the presumedly immutable character of the Tradition and thus challenge the idea of a transmission.
That would constitute an invention, the fruit of a desire of certainty and perenniality.

At best, in such a case, so-called initiation never exceeds it the context of a restricted human group or a micro company (of interest “moral” or different, tribal, gangster) etc

However, the terms of Initiation and Tradition can be connected if one defines them by the “awakening of purely spiritual faculties”, latent in each man.
In this case there, and only there, apparent separations between the men, the cultures, the religions would disappear.
One can then translate the term of “initiation” by the awakening of a capacity supramental , of (Sanskrit: Manas, root: “man”, to think.), which is very different from the intellect of the scientist for example, as described usually, by the evaluation (test of measurement of Q.I), or by the examination (of knowledge) for example.
One can also translate it by the successive awakenings of levels of conscience higher than mental human, but made available (with known as “mental”), by persevering interior work, (prayer, attention, concentration, meditation, contemplation, extase, etc).

This “intelligence” supramentale (the term is due to Shri Aurobindo) is “Us” (gr.: É´ÉÕ ‡ V), in the hermetic tradition. It also corresponds to the plans Bouddhique and Atmique (the plan of the “ Buddhist Nirvana ” and Hindouiste), of the Theosophists, in the plans known as spiritual or ciels of the Christians.

Various types of initiations

Initiation in Freemasonry

In Freemasonry, a Degré (or Rank ) is conferred on a brother or a sister by masons of her cabin having to them-even this degree. The degree maconnic held by a mason is a beacon which shows the way traversed in the initiatory progression, and not necessarily a human quality which would be allegedly “higher”: the masons always regard themselves as apprentices, i.e. like animated men of the desire of improvement and for which the way to traverse remainder without terminal. According to the maconnic rites, there exist various scales of degrees in the progression of the member elect.

Rosicrucian initiation

In an approach relatively more mystical than in Freemasonry, the rosicrucianism - in spite of the diversity of its regroupings - is based more on the idea of a progressive apprehension of a required state of illumination (that of Rosicrucian brotherhood ). According to the terminology rosicrucian, this ultimate degree of realization would consist of a state of consciousness, which would go beyond the membership to a grouping esoteric or a particular cabin, or ranks and degrees obtained in this (tte) even grouping (cabin). However, some of the groupings rosicrucians incorporate systems of degrees similar to the form of the degrees in Freemasonry (such as, as examples, AMORC or the Golden Dawn).

Other rosicrucians as those of the Rosicrucian brotherhood d' Or recommend initially the interior illumination. From this direct and universal experiment, named “Re-recollection” is born comprehension from the goal of the existence and a way which is traced thus, of ranks in ranks through time. ( more : to see the article “Rosicrucian brotherhood” )

Initiation in the Jewish Cabal

The mystical system of the Jewish Cabal, esoteric tradition and interpretation of the Torah, also comprises an initiatory dimension. Although this initiation can occur within the framework from a teaching received by pupils near a Rabbi kabbalist, this one does not consist of particular and well defined ranks as in Freemasonry or the rosicrucianism. Initiation in term of degrees consists more in the capacity that with the pupil to penetrate the secrecies which contain the Torah and of the divine light that it receives some, in a mystical experiment. Each veil which the mystic kabbalist raises consists of as many more subtle degrees of apprehension of the Torah in its interpretation. This is expressed, in the Cabal, by the principle of By Des. ( to see the article Pardès )

initiation in the Theosophy, according to Alice Bailey

According to the appreciation of the movement occultist of the modern Theosophy, initiation consists of a progression towards a graduated form of “holiness”. From the clearly mystical point of view - near to the idea of initiation in the Cabal which the modern Theosophy undoubtedly takes as a starting point partly. However, it would not be given so much within an institutional framework, as it is generally the case in Freemasonry for example, but would form a continuity with the human experiment in the daily life and of the efforts which would formulate the disciple in terms of meditation, service, and improvement of oneself. This progression would be done in term of degrees of apprehension of reality and the capacity to include/understand the fundamental laws, supposed of them metaphysics. The notion of initiatory Degrees which appeared to differ according to the authors from the theosophic galaxy, is now firmly established in 9 degrees of initiates since work of the Theosophist Alice Bailey. More: ( to see the article Initiation (Theosophy) )

In connection with the esoteric meaning

the term Initiation, in its esoteric meaning , takes a specialized definition of the traditional use of the principle of social initiation. The Initié will be that which will have learned how to progress in its personal and spiritual emancipation. The Apprentice or the Candidate, receives, by the means of sound Maître or instructor , the contact with a force during which it receives a specific knowledge depending on his level of comprehension defined by the doctrines that it studies. When it makes a success of its initiation, the apprentice can then be regarded as a initiated .

But, this progression is done by the means of a scale of advance which comprises various stages called generally degrees, (or ranks) initiatory . The apprentice, (or the Candidate) who will have passed successfully such or such initiation will be regarded as initiated of such or such degree. One finds this terminology of initiation in a great number of esoteric companies and groupings occultists like the Franc-Maçonnerie, the rosicrucianism or the theosophic doctrines . Thus, with the wire of his comprehension of the lesson esoteric of the doctrines to which it belongs, the apprentice (or the Candidate) walks on gradually of degree in degree until obtaining the equivalent of the degree of main sound or instructor , to even exceed it.

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