Initiatic Centers

Des centres initiatiques, January 1933.

All regular initiations transmissions proceed more or less directly, as we have said, from spiritual centers which are themselves attached to the supreme center which preserves the repository of the Primordial Tradi- tion, from which all particular traditional forms are derived by adapta- tion to specific circumstances of time and place. We have indicated in our study on The King of the World, how these spiritual centers are con- stituted in the image of the supreme center, of which they are in a way like so many reflections; we will not return to this here, and we will only consider some points which are more immediately related to the ques- tions we have dealt with in our preceding articles. Firstly, it is easy to understand that the attachment to the supreme center is indispensable to ensure the continuity of transmissions of 'spir- itual influences' from the very origin of present humanity (we should even say beyond these origins, since what is involved is 'non-human') and throughout the duration of its cycle of existence; this is true of eve- rything that has a truly traditional character, even for exoteric, religious, or other such organizations, at least at their onset; this is even more so in the initiatic order. At the same time, it is in this connection which maintains the inner and essential unity existing under the diversity of formal appearances, and, therefore, is the guarantee of 'orthodoxy,' in the true meaning of the word. It must be understood that this attachment may not always remain conscious, and this is all too obvious in the exo- teric order; on the contrary, it seems that it should always be so in the case of initiatic organizations, one of whose fundamental reasons, by tak- ing a certain traditional form, is to go beyond this form and rise from diversity to unity. Naturally, this does not mean that such a conscious- ness must exist in all the members of an initiatic organization, which is obviously impossible and would make the existence of a hierarchy of de- grees useless, but it should exist at the peak of this hierarchy, if all those who have reached it were truly 'adepts,' that is, beings who have actually realized the fullness of initiation; such 'adepts' would constitute an initi- atic center which would constantly be in conscious communication with the supreme center. However, in reality, this may not always be so, if only because of a certain degeneration that makes the removal of origins possible, and which can reach the point, as we said earlier, where an or-ganization would come to only understand what we have called 'virtual initiates,' yet it still transmits, even if they do not realize it, the 'spiritual influence' of which this organization is the depository. In such a case, the attachment still remains, so that the transmission has not been inter-rupted, and it is sufficient for some who have received the ‘spiritual in-fluence' in these conditions to be able to regain consciousness if he has within him the required possibilities; even in this case, belonging to an initiatic organization is far from representing only a mere formality without real meaning, such as those who do not reach the essence of things.

Furthermore, it is important to note that an initiatic organization can proceed from the supreme center, not directly, but through secondary and subordinate centers, which is the most common case; as there is in each organization a hierarchy of degrees, there are also, among the or-ganizations themselves, what may be called degrees of 'interiority' and of relative 'externality;' it is clear that those which are the most external, which is to say the furthest from the supreme center, are also those where the consciousness of attachment can be lost most easily. Although the purpose of all initiatic organizations is essentially the same, there are some who are at different levels of participation within the Primordial Tradition (which, by the way, does not mean that among their members there cannot be those who have personally attained the same degree of effective knowledge); there is no reason to be astonished, if we observe that the different traditional forms themselves do not all immediately de-rive from the original source; the 'chain' can count a greater or lesser number of intermediate rings, without being any solution of continuity. The existence of this superposition is not one of the least reasons among all those that make up the complexity and difficulty of a somewhat in-depth study of the constitution of initiatic organizations; it must be added that such a superposition can also be found within the same traditional form, and we have had occasion to give a particularly clear example here with respect to the Far-Eastern tradition.^[302] This example is perhaps one of those which best allows us to understand how continuity is ensured through the multiple echelons constituted by so many superimposed or-ganizations, since those engaged in the field of action are only temporary formations destined to play a relatively external role, as opposed to those of the most profound order, which, while being a resident of the 'non-action' principal, by this very fact, they give all others their real direction. In this connection, we must draw special attention to the fact that, even if some of the most external organizations, find themselves in opposition to each other, this cannot in any way prevent the unity of direction from existing, because the direction in question is beyond any opposition, and not in the field where it asserts itself. In short, there is something comparable to the roles played by different actors in the same play, and which, even as they are opposed, do not contribute any less to the march of the whole; each organization plays the same role as it is intended, and this can even extend to the exoteric domain, where the elements that fight against each other adhere to a single direction of which they do not even suspect of existing, albeit quite unconsciously and involuntarily.^[303]

These considerations also show, within the same organization, how there may be a kind of dual hierarchy, and this especially is the case where the apparent leaders are not themselves are aware of the attachment to a spiritual center; there may then be, outside of the visible hierarchy that they form, another invisible hierarchy whose members, without fulfilling any 'official' function, will be those who effectively ensure, by their very presence, an effective liaison with the center. These representatives of the spiritual centers, in the most relatively external organizations, obviously do not have to make themselves known as such, and they can take such a look as is best suited to the 'action of presence' that they fulfill, that is that of the simple members of the organizations if they must play a fixed and permanent role, or if it is a momentary influence before being transported to different points, that of the mysterious ‘travelers' whose history has guarded more than one example, and whose external attitude is often chosen in the best way to either baffle investigators, whether it is to get attention for special reasons or to otherwise go completely unnoticed.^[304] It is also possible to understand what role those who, without belonging to any known organization (and we mean an organization with external graspable forms), presided in some cases over the formation of such organizations, or, afterwards, inspired and directed them visibly; such was the role of the Rose-Cross in the Western world, and this is also the true meaning of what Masonry of the eighteenth cen- tury referred to as the 'Unknown Superiors.' All this makes it possible to foresee certain possibilities of actions of the spiritual centers, apart from the means which one can consider as normal, and that especially when the circumstances are abnormal, we mean in such conditions that do not allow the use of more direct routes and a manifest regularity. Therefore, without even mentioning the im- mediate intervention of the spiritual center, which is possible always and everywhere, a spiritual center, whatever it may be, can act outside of its normal zone of influence, either in favor of particularly 'qualified' indi- viduals, but who is isolated in an environment where the obscuration has reached such a point that nothing traditional remains in it and initiation can no longer be achieved, either in view of a more general purpose, and also something more exceptional, such as that which would consist in renewing an initiatic 'chain' which was broken accidently. Such an ac- tion occurs more specifically in a period or in a civilization where spirit- uality is completely lost, and where, therefore, things of the initiatic or- der are more hidden than in any other case, it should not be surprising that its modes are extremely difficult to define, especially since the ordi- nary conditions of place and sometimes even time become virtually non- existent. We will not insist on this anymore; what is essential to remem- ber is that, even if an apparently isolated individual happens to have a real initiation, this initiation can never be spontaneous in appearance, and that, in fact, it will always imply the attachment to an existing center by some means, apart from such an attachment, it can in no way be a question of initiation. If we return to the considerations of normal cases, we must say this again to avoid any ambiguity on what precedes: in alluding to certain oppositions, we are not considering the multiple paths that can be repre- sented by so many special initiatic organizations, either in correspond- ence with different traditional forms, or in the same traditional form. This multiplicity is made necessary by the very fact of the differences of nature which exist between individuals, so that each can find that which, being in conformity with it, will permit him to develop his own possibil- ities; if the goal is the same for all, the starting points are indefinitely diversified and comparable to the multitude of points of a circumference, from which departs so many rays which end in the single center, and which are thus the image of the very paths in question. There is no op-position in all this, but on the contrary a perfect harmony; in fact, there can be opposition only when certain organizations are, by reason of con-tingent circumstances, called upon to a sort of accidental role, which is external to the essential purpose of initiation and not affecting it in any-way. However, it may be supposed from certain appearances, and it is often believed in fact, that there are initiations which are, in themselves, opposed to each other; but this is a mistake and it is easy to understand why it cannot be so. Indeed, since there is in principle only one Unique Tradition, from which every orthodox traditional form is derived, there can be only one initiation that is equally unique in its essence, albeit in various forms and with multiple modalities; where 'regularity' is lacking, which is to say, where there is no attachment to a traditional orthodox center, we are no longer dealing with true initiation, and it is only abu-sively that this word can still be used in such a case. In this we do not mean to speak only of the pseudo-initiatic organizations which have al-ready been mentioned before, and which are really nought; but there is something else which presents a more serious character, and which is precisely what can give an appearance of reason to the illusions which we have just pointed out: if it seems that there are opposing initiations, it is because, apart from true initiation, there is what may be called, albeit with certain reservations, the ‘counter-initiation;' we will have to explain ourselves smore completely on this point, which is too often misunder-stood or misinterpreted, so that further developments will be necessary to dispel the confusions which give rise and makes things appear in their true form.