Necessarily, this work varies according to the status of the disciple and his place within the Ashram. I have given you (in various group instructions) the stages of discipleship. [632] These were stages within the consciousness of the disciple and concerned his relation to the Master. They detailed his progress from a rare contact to a position close to the Master. It is of value now to add to these individual steps those which concern a disciple's position within the Ashram, and this from the angle of his ashramic duty and service. This is a different matter, and though related to the interplay between him and his Master, these stages are concerned with action and with the results of his expanding consciousness within the hierarchical awareness; they are related to his perception of truth as response to the Master's radiation evokes in him certain developments, stimulates certain qualities and new characteristics, and brings to his mind enlightenment.

These stages in service and in recognition of duty and obligation are related to status more than to soul growth and control, though this growth is one of the determining factors as regards his position in the Ashram. Let me enumerate them, leaving you to place yourself in the category of servers to which you belong, and leaving you also to demonstrate to the world the nature of your ashramic position. I will give you the esoteric names and symbols of this differentiation: