Bliss

In today’s lively and stimulating celestial field, Jupiter, Lord of Love and Wisdom, and Mercury, the Magister Musicae, bearer of the Ray of Harmony, are both in Cancer, the former in trine with Venus, the Enlightened Mind, which transits through the centre of Scorpio, and the latter with Saturn and Neptune, in conjunction at the beginning of Aries, the sign of new beginnings. Mercury also opposes Pluto, the destroyer of obsolete forms, which is in the early degrees of Aquarius, the sign of the new age and is conjunct with the Muse Thalia, She who is festive, the bearer of joy and irony.

Today, in short, that loving joy that Christ called ‘a special wisdom’ resounds in the heavens, speaking to us of new beginnings, and our grateful hearts respond to that call by opening like flowers and emanating the scent of their beauty.

In this luminous context, let us reflect on that special state of consciousness we call Bliss.

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Let us begin by returning with the mind of the hearts to the time when the Great Master walked the roads of the Earth bringing the glad Tidings. One day He gave a speech, remembered as “the Sermon on the Mount”, in which, speaking to all those who had gathered to listen to Him and to those who would listen to Him in the future, He said:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. (…)” (from the Gospel according to Matthew, 5; 3–12)

At the powerful sound of those words, many of those present probably felt heartened, understood the value of their lives and realised that they were, in a certain sense, privileged, that is, that they were on the path to salvation and bliss, and likely decided to increase their commitment to living righteously, without allowing themselves to be distracted by the malice of the world. Bliss here, therefore, is the ‘reward of righteous men’, who can access glimpses of heaven to cling to in the midst of ordinary life.

Twelve centuries later, St Francis made a similar speech to his companions, speaking of perfect Joy, that state of authentic contentment and inner serenity that is found in accepting suffering and injustice with patience, love and gratitude.
As it always happens, some, even those close to him, did not understand His words, but others perceived their value and still today continue to follow Him on the path to bliss.

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In the first half of the last century, at the beginning of the transmission of His Teaching, the Master of Agni Yoga made seven statements that defined its intrinsic nature and established the quality of the relationship with the disciples to whom He was giving Himself:

I am—your Bliss
I am—your Smile
I am—your Joy
I am—your Rest
I am—your Strength
I am—your Valor
I am—your Wisdom

These are impactful phrases that can clearly be connected to the seven Rays, suggesting that they should be understood as different ways of describing that state of grace, that quiet and joyful fulfilment, that relative perfection independent of any external situation, which we recognise as Bliss.
Our Bliss, therefore, is the Smile of the Master, as we see it depicted in paintings or sculpted in statues on the faces of great Beings and which, when it blossoms within us, we perceive as a sense of loving, subtle, inclusive, profound saturation.
The third aspect of Bliss speaks to us of that light and crystalline Joy that emanates from the Master’s aura and that sometimes overwhelms us all of a sudden when we are faced with His Teaching or the beauty of creation.
The fourth is His Rest, that ‘place’ of peace where all opposites are resolved in harmony, that confident and serene tranquillity that comes from the awareness that He is in us now and forever.
And it is from His Strength that we feel that calm, yet determined, and confident certainty spring forth, allowing us to dare to say, looking at the shining stars: “Hail to you, Brothers!”
The sixth aspect of Bliss is the Valour of the Master who dwells within us and erases all remaining fear from our hearts; we experience this in that tense silence in which we are aware that nothing is impossible.
The last aspect is His Wisdom, which allows us to finally recognise ourselves, in turn, as masters.
Let us also remember that the Master affirms that upon each of us “a receptacle of Grace” [Bliss] has been bestowed: it is our treasure, which must be carefully guarded and nurtured in our shared heart.

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During the same period, so rich in teachings, the Tibetan Master, in the Treatise on Cosmic Fire, explains that Bliss is found on the atmic level of consciousness and is the sublimation of the sense of hearing: it is therefore related to the Sound that builds and maintains the Creation in existence.

Here are some excerpts from the text on this subject (see pages 190–192):

Hearing. This, very appropriately, is the first sense to be manifested; the first aspect of manifestation is that of sound, and necessarily therefore we would expect sound to be the first thing noticed by man on the physical plane, the plane of densest manifestation, and of the most marked effects of sound, regarding it as a creating factor. Pre-eminently the physical plane is the plane of hearing and hence the sense ascribed to the lowest plane of evolution, and of each of the five planes. On this seventh or lowest plane man has to come to full cognisance of the effect of the Sacred Word as it is in process of sounding forth. As it reverberates throughout the system, it drives matter into its appointed place, and on the physical plane finds its point of deepest materiality and of most concrete demonstration.

The key for man to discover and turn, concerns itself with the revealing of the mystery of:

a. His own sound.
b. His brother’s sound.
c. His group sound.
d. The sound of that one of the Heavenly Men with whom he is connected.
e. The sound of the Logos, or the sound of nature; of the solar system, of the Grand Man of the Heavens.

Therefore, we note that on the physical plane a man has to find his own note, finding it in spite of the density of the form.

a. On the physical plane he finds his own note.
b. On the astral plane he finds his brother’s note; through identity of emotion he comes to the recognition of his brother’s identity.
c. On the mental plane he begins to find his group note.
d. On the buddhic plane, or the plane of wisdom, he begins to find the note of his planetary Logos.
e. On the atmic, or spiritual, plane the note logoic begins to sound within his consciousness.

(…) Hearing on the astral plane is commonly called clairaudience, and means the ability to hear the sounds of the astral plane. It is a faculty that demonstrates throughout the entire astral body, and a man hears all over his vehicle and not only through the specialised organs, the ears, the product of physical plane action and reaction. 

(…) Hearing on the mental plane is simply an extension of the faculty of differentiating sound. The hearing dealt with on all these planes is the hearing that has to do with the form, that concerns the vibration of matter, and that is occupied with the not-self. It has not to do with the psyche, or the telepathic communication that proceeds from mind to mind, but with the sound of the form or that power whereby one separated unit of consciousness is aware of another unit who is not himself. Bear this carefully in mind. When the extension of hearing becomes such that it concerns the psyche, then we call it telepathy or that wordless communication that is the synthesis of hearing on all the three lower planes and which is known by the Ego in the causal body on the formless levels of the mental plane.

On the buddhic plane, hearing (now of the synthetic quality called telepathy) demonstrates as complete comprehension, for it has involved two things:

1. A knowledge and recognition of individual sound,
2. A similar knowledge of group sound,
and their complete unification. This causes the most perfect comprehension, and is the secret of the Master’s power.

On the atmic plane this perfected hearing is seen as beatitude. Sound, the basis of existence; sound, the method of being; sound, the final unifier; sound therefore realised as the raison d’être, as the method of evolution, and therefore as beatitude.

Based on these indications, our minds might initially lead us to believe that we are far removed from the atmic plane, where Bliss resides. But this is not the case: first of all, because, as we know, distance is an illusion; secondly, because, as a group, we are already firmly established on the telepathic level and are therefore close to the buddhic plane; furthermore, we know that the planes of consciousness are not impermeable and, when our awareness stabilises on a given level, sparks of consciousness are already projected onto the subsequent ones.
Finally, let us consider that, while hearing is transfigured into Bliss, the other senses also begin to transmute their nature and reinforce the process of elevation.
We can therefore affirm that we all know the soundless sound of Bliss, that infinite ocean of silence that the heart absorbs and contains, in which we can suddenly find ourselves immersed, in the midst of everyday noise, struck by the beauty of the earth, the silence of the sky, or the timeless power of a work of art, or when we are surrounded and penetrated by music composed and played with mastery by human minds and hands.

Let us therefore allow ourselves to be led by the aspiration of the spirit which, as the Master says, is the ‘sparkling of Bliss’ and enables us to walk decisively towards the majestic summit of Shamballa.

 

The universal Eye of Shambhala
brings Bliss to mankind.
The universal Eye of Shambhala
is a Light on the path of mankind.
The universal Eye of Shambhala
is that Star which has guided all seekers.

(Agni Yoga, Hierarchy § 5)