I must make plain at the beginning that various male "initiations" into gangs, the military,etc. are a far cry from true initiation.They are pathetic parodies of true initiation, involving acts of humiliation and cruelty.Initiation does involve trials, but these are in the context of developing the person's true humanity.
Trapped in a cave
Plato, and William Blake, have said that most people live their lives
as though trapped inside a cave.Blake wrote
"For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow
chinks of his cavern." (Marriage of Heaven and Hell)
The cave referred to is the ego personality.The conventional wisdom has it that a person is no more than a separate, ego personality.This is an extremely narrow view of what a human being is.It limits a person to being a bundle of drives and personal desires, which can never be really satisfied.
It suits the ruling classes and the consumer society to define people as separate ego selves.Real community and connections to the land have gone.People have become very vulnerable.We are cut off from those things which nourish our soul.It's not natural for people to live in the ego personality, hence they are always trying to escape from self.The consumer society supplies many escapes: entertainments, drugs, sports, products, etc.The ego personality is a very insecure state of being which needs constant illusion and distraction to maintain its existence.
Ways out of the cave
True human development means growth out of the ego personality into the higher self.(See The Wheel of the Law by Patrick Mulcahy where the soul body controls the human personality at this stage.)It is growth from a state of isolation into a state of relatedness to all life forms, from ignorance to knowledge.
Psychology talks about "self development" and "self actualization", but it sees the person as a separate ego personality.Even Jung's individuated person is a separate personality or individuality. Eastern teachings don't suit our purposes here.Buddhism holds that there is no self of any sort.Hinduism wants to empty the self of the self to let God enter, like mysticism.
There is another path available, which is in accord with human growth and real human needs.This is the first initiation.It is a vital stage in the growth of a human being, though barely recognised in society today.
Real human development means connecting to wider and deeper levels of existence.It's the opposite of what our society does now.The personal realm is severely limited and limiting.Human growth means becoming more aware of some of the vast energies of the universe, beyond the mere individual ego.The ego self has to be outgrown, just as the plant outgrows the seed to develop.
Eastern and occult teachings refer to higher initiations where the self is absorbed into the divine.This is for a very few.You have to walk before you can run.To grow out of the ego into the real self is the pressing issue.Because our society doesn't understand these matters, people have to do what they can.
The mind/body split
Some teachings hold that matter is evil and the goal is to leave matter behind and ascend to a realm of pure spirit.This is a patriarchal viewpoint and it sees human "evolution" as a process away from matter, which is equated with the feminine, towards spirit or the masculine.As a reaction to male bias there are teachings that glorify matter and the desire nature.The way forward is to have balance.I see no problem with the material realm per se.It is a problem to be a prisoner of this realm, that is, to be trapped inside the the desire nature.In order to grow a person needs to have self control and to be able to focus their energies on constructive outcomes.Growth means to change, not be stuck at the same level.
Alvin Boyd Kuhn has shown that exponents of the ancient wisdom such as Plato viewed man as having two natures: the animal nature and the divine nature.Also called the animal soul and the divine soul.The purpose of human development is to unite these two elements.The animal soul is to be refined and uplifted by the divine soul.Teachings which do not understand these concepts perpetuate the "mind/body" split, often resulting mortification of the flesh or gross hedonism. Christianity's confusion on this issue produces the saint or the sinner, neither a satisfactory role model for human beings.We can learn from the ancient wisdom about human nature and the need to "marry" the two souls.In alchemy this is the chymical wedding between the King (divine soul) and the Queen (animal soul).
Patriarchal initiations
Patriarchal initiations have certain limitations, due to the male centred viewpoint of patriarchy.One aspect is shown by the following quotations:
"In all forms of alchemy, this instant - the realization of the Great Work - appears as an instant of thunderous illumination in which both oneself and the world are transformed.But such a moment can only be realized after many years of intense and devoted study and practice." (Versluis,p.107)
"The inspiritional impulse of the Dakinis drives us from the protected, but narrowly fenced circle of our illusory personality and our habitual thought, until we burst the boundaries of this circle and of our egohood in the ecstatic thrust towards the realization of totality.In this ecstatic thrust, all bonds, all worldly fetters, all prejudices and illusions are destroyed, all conventional concepts are swept away, all craving and clinging is cut off, at the root, past and future are extinguished, the power of karma is broken, and the Great Void is experienced as the eternal present and ultimate Reality and Suchness."(Govinda,p.201)
In the above, initiation is seen as a one-off event, projecting the man into a state of timelessness, escaping from the cycles of earthly life. Note the sexual imagery, the thrust and explosion, like a male orgasm.Some occult writings are in a similar vein, equating initiation with ecstatic experience only.Music, dance, sex or drugs are sometimes advocated to promote ecstatic experience, but this is not true initiation.In such cases there is only a temporary breaking out of the ego for the duration of the ecstatic experience.A traditional Australian Aboriginal man has a number of initiations over many years, and full initiation is achieved at about age sixty (Lawlor).A man has to be fully initiated before he can be initiated into female laws!(Lambert,p.3).
Patriarchal initiations are individualistic.The person, usually male, spends years on meditation and /or yoga-type practices, for his own "development" and "illumination".The social dimension is ignored.This is an elitist viewpoint.In contrast, primal initiation is spiritual and social.Each person has social responsibilities which are conferred by initiation.Every one is allowed to develop to their potential, within a social setting.True human development must be within a social setting.This necessitates a society that wants to promote the welfare of all, not the benefit of a few at the expense of the rest.
Interview with Malidoma Patrice Some on initiation
Some references
Eliade, Mircea Rites and Symbols of Initiation: the mysteries
of birth and rebirth (Spring Publications,1994 reprint)
Govinda, Lama Anagarika Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism (York
Beach:Samuel Weiser, 1969)
Lambert, Johanna ed. Wise Women of the Dreamtime (Rochester:Inner
Traditions,1993)
Lawlor, Robert Voices of the First Day (Rochester:Inner
Traditions,1991)
Some, Malidoma Patrice Of Water and the Spirit:ritual, magic
and initiation in the life of an African shaman (NY:Putnam,1994)
--------- Ritual: power, healing and community (Portland:Swan/Raven,
1993)
Versluis, Arthur The Philosophy of Magic (London:Arkana,1986)