Lesson 153- SPECIAL- THE NEXT THREE YEARS PAMPHLET FROM THE TREATISE OF WHITE MAGIC - ADDENDUM TO PART 5

 

The New Group of World Servers

Recognized as the Pamphlet

THE NEXT THREE YEARS

From A Treatise on White Magic

Pages 398-433

We have spoken often of the integrating group of knowers who are beginning to function upon the earth, gathered together in loose formation and held by the inner spiritual tie and not by any outer organization. The planetary Hierarchy has always existed and from time immemorial and right down the ages those sons of men who have fitted themselves for work and who have measured up to the requirements, have found their way into the ranks of those who stand behind the world evolution and guide the destinies of the little ones. Their grades and works are theoretically known, and names of some have been given out to the masses,-at what cost and personal sacrifice those masses will never know. With the Hierarchy of adepts I do not propose to deal. The books upon the subject are easily available and should be read with the needed reservations as to symbolical interpretations and the limiting effects of words.

An event is however transpiring upon earth which is, in its way, as momentous and as important as that crisis in Atlantean times when the physical, vital and astral bodies were coordinated and formed a functioning unit. Then the `yoga of devotion’ or bhakti yoga was initiated for the training of the aspirants at that time. A physical plane replica (as far as such a replica was then possible) was organized of those who could work devotedly and who could learn, through the use of ceremonial and pictures, some mode of activity which would carry on the hierarchical work on earth and thus constitute a training [399] school for those who later would be admitted into the ranks of the Hierarchy. The remnants of this Atlantean group remain with us in the modern Masonic movements, and the work of the Hierarchy was thus perpetuated in sign and symbol. There has thus been preserved in the consciousness of the race a pictorial presentation of a momentous planetary condition which worked out in the human family in this threefold coordination. But it was primarily objective. Form and symbol, tool and furniture, temple and tone, office and externalities were the prominent factors; they veiled the truth and therefore preserved the ‘outer and visible form of an inner and spiritual’ reality. Only those were, in those days, allowed to participate in these mysteries and work who felt within themselves the longing and desire for the mystical vision, and who loved deeply and were devoted to the spiritual ideal. They were not required to possess active mentalities, and their intellectual powers were practically nil. They liked and needed authority: they learnt through ceremonial; they were devoted to the Great Ones Whose names and forms stood behind the office holders in the esoteric lodges. Mind entered not in. This must be remembered. There were no personalities. Today, in the world, another great moment of crisis has arrived. I refer not to the present world condition, but to the state of the human consciousness. Mind has arrived at a functioning power, personalities are coordinated. The three aspects of man are being blended; another formation or precipitation from the Hierarchy of adepts has become possible. On the physical plane, without any exoteric organization, ceremonials, or outer form, there is integrating—silently, steadily and powerfully—a group of men and women who will supersede eventually the previous hierarchical effort. They will supersede all churches, all groups, and all organizations and will [400] eventually constitute that oligarchy of elect souls who will govern and guide the world. They are being gathered out of every nation, but are gathered and chosen, not by the watching Hierarchy or by any Master, but by the power of their response to the spiritual opportunity, tide and note. They are emerging out of every group and church and party, and will therefore be truly representative. This they do, not from the pull of their own ambition and prideful schemes, but through the very selflessness of their service. They are finding their way to the top in every department of human knowledge, not because of the clamor they make about their own ideas, discoveries and theories, but because they are so inclusive in their outlook and so wide in their interpretation of truth that they see the hand of God in all happenings, His imprint upon all forms and His note sounding forth through every channel of communication between the subjective reality and the objective outer form. They are of all races; they speak all languages; they embrace all religions, all sciences and all philosophies. Their characteristics are synthesis, inclusiveness, intellectuality and fine mental development. They own to no creed, save the creed of Brotherhood, based on the one Life. They recognize no authority, save that of their own souls, and no Master save the group they seek to serve, and humanity whom they deeply love. They have no barriers set up around themselves, but are governed by a wide tolerance, and a sane mentality and sense of proportion. They look with open eyes upon the world of men and recognize those whom they can lift and to whom they can stand as the Great Ones stand,—lifting, teaching and helping. They recognize their peers and equals, and know each other when they meet and stand shoulder to shoulder with their fellow workers in the work of salvaging humanity. It does not matter if their terminologies differ, their interpretations of symbols [401] and scriptures vary, or their words are few or many. They see their group members in all fields—political, scientific, religious, and economic—and give to them the sign of recognition and the hand of a brother. They recognize likewise Those who have passed ahead of them upon the ladder of evolution and hail Them Teacher, and seek to learn from Them that which They are so eager to impart. This group is a product of the past and upon that past I will touch; I will also indicate the present situation and forecast somewhat the general lines along which their association and future work will run. That such a group is forming is true and holds a good augury for the coming decades. In quiet and subtle ways they are already making their presence felt but theirs is as yet primarily a subjective influence. Let us begin with the past. About the year 1400, the Hierarchy of Masters was faced with a difficult situation. As far as the work of the second ray was concerned (which had to do with the impartation of spiritual truth) there had come to be what I might call a complete exteriorization of that truth. The activity of the first ray had also brought about an intense differentiation and crystallization among the nations and governments of the world. These two conditions of concrete orthodoxy and political differences persisted for many generations and are still manifesting. Today we have a similar condition both in the world of religion and in that of politics. This is true whether one is considering India or America, China or Germany, or whether one is studying the history of Buddhism with its many sects, Protestantism with its myriads of warring groups, or the many schools of philosophy in the orient or the occident. The condition is widespread, and the public consciousness tremendously diversified, but this state- of- affairs marks the summation [402] of the period of separativeness and the end, before so many centuries, of this intense distinctiveness of thought. After noting and watching this trend of affairs for another one hundred years, the Elder Brothers of the race called a conclave of all departments about the year 1500 A.D. Their object was to determine how the urge to integration, which is essentially the keynote of our universal order, could be hastened, and what steps could be taken to produce that synthesis and unification in the world of thought which would make possible the manifestation of the purpose of the divine life which had brought all into being. When the world of thought is unified, then the outer world will fall into a synthetic order. It should be remembered here that the Masters think in large terms and work in the wider cycles of evolutionary endeavor. The tiny and temporary cycles, the small ebb and flow of the cosmic processes do not engage Their attention in the first instance. At this conclave They had three things to do: 1. To view the divine plan on as large a scale as possible, and refresh Their minds with the vision. 2. To note what influences or energies were available for use in the large endeavor to which They were pledged. 3. To train the men and women who were then probationers, chelas* and initiates so that in due time They could have a satisfactory band of assistants on whom They could in future centuries rely.

*      Chelas is the Sanskrit word for students and/or disciples

 

They had, in connection with these aspirants, two problems:

1. They had to deal with the failure on the part of even the most advanced disciples to preserve continuity of consciousness, a failure even now manifested by even initiates. [403]

 2. The Masters found the minds and brains of chelas curiously insensitive to the higher contacts, and this again is a condition which still prevails. The chelas, then as now, possessed aspiration, a desire to serve humanity, devotion and occasionally a fair mental equipment, but that telepathic sensitivity, that instinctive response to hierarchical vibration, and that freedom from the lower psychism which are the needed prerequisites to intensive intelligent work were singularly lacking. For that matter, they are still distressingly so. Telepathic sensitivity is decidedly on the increase as a result of world conditions and the evolutionary trend, and this is (for the workers on the inner plane) a most encouraging sign, but love of psychic phenomena and failure to differentiate between the vibrations of the various grades of hierarchical workers still greatly hinder the work. You might here ask and rightly so: What is this plan? When I speak of the plan I do not mean such a general one as the plan of evolution or the plan for humanity which we call by the somewhat unmeaning term of soul unfoldment. These two aspects of the scheme for our planet are taken for granted, and are but modes, processes and means to a specific end. The plan as at present sensed, and for which the Masters are steadily working, might be defined as follows:—It is the production of a subjective synthesis in humanity and of a telepathic interplay which will eventually annihilate time. It will make available to every man all past achievements and knowledge, it will reveal to man the true significance of his mind and brain and make him the master of that equipment and will make him therefore omnipresent and eventually open the door to omniscience. This next development of the plan will produce in man an understanding [404] —intelligent and cooperative—of the divine purpose for which the One in Whom we live and move and have our being has deemed it wise to submit to incarnation. Think not that I can tell of the plan as it truly is. It is not possible for any man, below the grade of initiate of the third degree, to glimpse it and far less understand it. The development of the mechanism whereby a disciple may be en rapport with Those responsible for the working out of the plans, and the capacity to know (and not just dimly sense) that tiny aspect of the whole which is the immediate step ahead and with which cooperation is possible, that can be achieved by all disciples and should be held as the goal before all aspirants. With the exception of probationary disciples who are not as yet sufficiently stable in their endeavor, all can therefore strive towards achieving continuity of consciousness and at awakening that inner light which, when seen and intelligently used, will serve to reveal other aspects of the Plan and specially that one to which the illumined knower can respond and usefully serve. To bring this about has been the objective of all training given during the past 400 years, and from this fact you can vision the utter patience of the Knowers of the race. They work slowly and with deliberation, free from any sense of speed, towards Their objective, but—and herein lies the immediate interest of what I have to communicate—They do have a time limit. This is based upon the Law of Cycles. It concerns the operation of certain periods of opportunity which necessarily have their term. During these times of opportunity, forces, influences, and energies are temporarily at work, and of these the Masters seek to make use. Looking ahead, during the conclave to which I have made reference, the assembled servers of race noted the future coming in of the Aquarian age, with its distinctive energies and its amazing opportunities. These [405] They noted and They sought to prepare man for that period which would approximate 2500 years, and which could if duly utilized, bring about the unification, consciously and intelligently, of mankind, and so produce the manifestation of what I prefer to call “scientific brotherhood” in contradistinction to the sentimental connotation of the term now so prevalent. It appeared to Them at that time that it would be necessary to do two things before the coming potencies of the Aquarian age could profitably be employed. First of all, humanity must have its consciousness elevated to the mental plane; it must be expanded so that it included not only the world of emotion and of feeling but also that of the intellect. The minds of men must be made widely and generally active, and the entire level of human intelligence must be raised. It was necessary, secondly, that something should be done to break down the barriers of separateness, of isolation and of prejudice which were keeping men apart from each other and which They foresaw would increasingly do so. Cycle by cycle, men were becoming more and more wrapped up in their own selves—satisfaction and exclusiveness, and racial pride. The result of this would lead inevitably to wide cleavages and the erection of world barriers between nation and nation, and between race and race. This determination of the members of the Hierarchy to train the minds of men more rapidly and to build towards a more synthetic unity brought them to a decision which involved the formation of group units, and brought about the emergence of those groups of workers and thinkers who, through their activities, have so largely governed and molded our world for the past three or four centuries. We have therefore, dating from this conclave, the inauguration of definite and specific group work along clearly defined lines, with each group standing [406] for some peculiar presentation of truth and for some aspect of the knowledge of reality. These groups fall generally into four major divisions; cultural, political, religious, and scientific. In more modern times three other groups have definitely emerged; they are the philosophical, the psychological, and the financial groups. Philosophers have, of course, always been with us, but they have been for the most part isolated units who have founded schools characterized by partisanship and separativeness. Now there are no outstanding figures as in the past, but groups who represent certain ideas. It is of profound importance that the work of these seven groups of thinkers be recognized as part of the hierarchical program, designed to produce a certain situation, to bring about certain preparatory conditions, and as playing a definite part in the work of world evolution as far as humanity is concerned.

Under the influence of the different rays as they cycled in and out of activity, little groups of men emerged, played their part in group formation, and disappeared, often unaware of their inherent synthesis and of their co-workers. As can be seen in any intelligent historical retrospect, the work that they did for the race and their contribution to the pageant of the progress of mankind stands out with clarity. I have not the time to take this procession of groups, each custodian of a special contribution, and trace for you the work they did or the subjective impulses under which they worked. I can but indicate the trend of their endeavor, and leave to some illumined student of history the delineation of the golden thread of their spiritual work as they raised the mental standard of the race and put man enrapport with the world in which he lived, opening his eyes not only to the nature of matter and of form but also to the hidden depths of his own being. Through their activities we [407] now have a humanity in close relation, though not at-one, and a humanity characterized by three things: 1. An amazing interrelation and intercommunication, of which the radio, the press, modern transportation, and the telephone and telegraph are the servants. 2. A wide-spread philanthropic enterprise, and the growth of the sense of responsibility for one’s brother, which was totally unknown in the year 1500. Movements such as the Red Cross, educational foundations, hospitals, and the present economic relief measures to be found in every country are its exoteric manifestations. 3. A division of the entire human family, consciously or unconsciously, into two basic groups: first, those who stand for the old order of things, who are reactionary, and separative. They represent separative nationalism, boundaries, servitude, and servile obedience; they exemplify religious sectarianism and dependence upon authority. They are against all modern innovations and progress. Secondly, those who vision a unified world wherein love of God means love of one’s neighbor, and where the motives underlying all religious, political and educational activities are characterized by a world consciousness and the welfare of the entire body and not of the part. The unification to which the forward looking people aspire does not involve the neglect of any part, but it does involve the care and nurture of each part in order that it may contribute to the well being of the entire organism. It involves, for instance, the right government and proper development of every national unit so that it can adequately perform its international duties, and thus form part of a world brotherhood of nations. [408] This concept does not even involve the formation of a world state, but it does involve the development of a universal public consciousness which realizes the unity of the whole, and thus produces the determination that each must be for all and all for each as it has been said. Only in this way can there be brought about an international synthesis which will be characterized by political and national unselfishness. This universal state of mind will not again inevitably involve the founding of a world or universal religion. It requires simply the recognition that all formulations of truth and of relief are only partial in time and space, and are temporarily suited to the temperaments and conditions of the age and race. Those who favor some particular approach to the truth will nevertheless achieve the realization that other approaches and other modes of expression and terminologies, and other ways of defining deity can be equally correct and in themselves constitute aspects of a truth which is greater and vaster than man’s present equipment can grasp and express. Even the Great Ones Themselves but dimly sense reality and though They are aware of deeper underlying purposes than are Their chelas, yet even They see not the ultimate goal.

They too are forced to use such unmeaning terms in Their teaching as Absolute Reality, and Ultimate Realization. Hence, during the past three centuries, group after group has appeared and played its part, and we today reap the benefit of their accomplishment. Under the cultural group for instance we find emerging the poets of the Elizabethan age, and the musicians of Germany and of the Victorian era. Groups of artists are likewise to be found, giving us the famous schools which are the glory of Europe. Two famous groups, one cultural and the other political, also played their parts, the one producing the Renaissance and the other bringing about the French Revolution. The effects of their work are still [409] to be felt, for the modern humanistic movement with its emphasis upon the past which is completed in the present, and its search for the roots of man’s equipment in the earlier trends, harks back to the Renaissance. Revolution and the determination to fight for the divine rights of man find their prime inaugurating influence and impetus in the revolution in France. Revolt, the formation of political parties, the class warfare which is so rampant today and the splitting of every country into warring political groups, though sporadic always, have become universal during the past two hundred years, and are all the results of the group activity started by the Masters. Men have grown thereby and have learnt how to think, and even though they may think wrongly and may initiate disastrous experiments, the ultimate good is inevitable and unavoidable. Temporary discomforts, passing depressions, war and bloodshed, penury and vice may lead the unthinking into the depths of pessimism. But those who know and who sense the inner guiding hand of the Hierarchy are aware that the heart of humanity is sound and that out of the present chaos and perhaps largely because of it, there will emerge those competent to deal with the situation and adequate to the task of unification and divine rights of man find their prime inaugurating influence and impetus in the revolution in France. Revolt, the formation of political parties, the class warfare which is so rampant today and the splitting of every country into warring political groups, though sporadic always, have become universal during the past two hundred years, and are all the results of the group activity started by the Masters. Men have grown thereby and have learnt how to think, and even though they may think wrongly and may initiate disastrous experiments, the ultimate good is inevitable and unavoidable. Temporary discomforts, passing depressions, war and bloodshed, penury and vice may lead the unthinking into the depths of pessimism. But those who know and who sense the inner guiding hand of the Hierarchy are aware that the heart of humanity is sound and that out of the present chaos and perhaps largely because of it, there will emerge those competent to deal with the situation and adequate to the task of unification and synthesis. This period has been occultly called the “age of restoration of what has been broken by the fall”. The time has come when the separate parts can be reunited and the whole stand together again in its earlier perfection. The religious groups have likewise been many,—so many that their enumeration is hopeless. We have the groups of Catholic mystics who are the glory of the Occident, there are also the protesting Lutherans, Calvinists and Methodists, the Pilgrim Fathers—those sour and earnest men—the Huguenot and Moravian martyrs, and the thousands of modern sects in every group. These have all served their purpose and have led man to the [410] point of revolt and away from acquiescence in authority. They have driven man to the stage of thinking for himself by the force of their unique example. They stood for freedom and the personal right to know. These latter groups have acted largely under the influence of the sixth and second rays. The cultural emerged under that of the fourth ray, whilst the first ray has impelled the political activities which have brought such changes in the nations. Under the fifth and third ray impulses, groups of scientific investigators have arisen, working with the forces and energies that constitute the divine Life, dealing with the outer garment of God, searching from without towards the within, and demonstrating to man his essential unity with all creation and his relationship, intrinsic and vital, with all forms of life. The names of the individuals in any group are legion and of relatively no importance. It is the group and its interrelated work that counts. It is interesting to note that in the scientific group the underlying unity is particularly noticeable, for its members are singularly free from sectarianism and selfish competition. This cannot be said of the religious and political groups. In relation to the many nations and the myriads of men on earth, these molding groups under the various divisions are few in number. Their personnel, their contribution to the growth of human expression, and their place in the plan can quite easily be traced. The point to be emphasized is that these have all been motivated from the inner subjective side of life; they have come forth under a divine urge and with a specific work to accomplish; they have all been composed in the primary stage of disciples and initiates of the lesser degrees; they have all been subjectively guided step by step by their own souls, which have, in their turn, been cooperating consciously with the Hierarchy of Knowers*. This has [411] been the case even when the individual man has been totally unaware himself or his place in the group and that group’s divine mission. Let it be remembered also that there has not been a single failure, though again and again the individual has not been cognizant of success. 

* Knowers - those who have wisdom and understanding

The mark of these workers is that they build for posterity. That those who have followed them have failed, and that those who have responded to this work have not been true to the ideal is disastrously true, but the initial group has uniformly achieved. This surely negates pessimism and demonstrates the exceeding potency of the subjective activity. The three groups to which I earlier referred require a word of comment. Their work is curiously different to that of the other groups and their ranks are recruited from all the ray groups, though the members of the third group (that of the financiers) are found primarily upon the seventh ray, that of ceremonial organization. In the order of their emergence, they are the groups of philosophers, psychologists and business men. The group of philosophers of more modern date are already powerfully molding thought, whilst the ancient schools of Asiatic philosophers are just beginning to influence western ideas. Through analysis, correlation and synthesis, the thought power of man is developed and the abstract mind can be unified with the concrete.

Through their work therefore that interesting sensitivity of man, with its three outstanding characteristics of instinct, intellect and intuition is brought to a condition of intelligent coordination. Instinct relates man to the animal world, intellect unites him to his fellow men, whilst the intuition reveals to him the life of divinity. All these three are the subject matter of philosophical investigation, for the theme of the philosophers is the nature of reality and the means of knowledge. The two most modern groups are the psychologists [412] who work under the Delphic injunction “Man, know thyself”, and the financiers who are the custodians of the means whereby man can live upon the physical plane. These two groups necessarily, and in spite of apparent divergences and differences are more synthetic in their foundational aspects, than any of the others. One group concerns itself with mankind, with the varying types of humanity the mechanism employed, and man’s urges, characteristics, and with the purpose—apparent or hidden—of his being. The other group controls and orders the means whereby he exists, controlling all that can be converted into energy and constituting a dictatorship over all modes of intercourse, commerce and exchange. They control the multiplicity of form—objects which modern man regards as essential to his mode of life. Money, as I have before said, is only crystallized energy or vitality,—what the oriental student calls pranic energy. It is a concretization of etheric *force. It is therefore vital energy externalized, and this form of energy is under the direction of the financial group. They are the latest group in point of date, and their work (it should be borne in mind) is most definitely planned by the Hierarchy. They are bringing about effects upon the earth which are most far reaching. Now that centuries have elapsed since the conclave in the sixteenth century, these external groups have played their part and performed most notable service. The results achieved have reached a stage where they are internationally effective, and their influence is not confined to one nation or race. The Hierarchy is now faced with another situation which requires careful handling. They must gather up and weld together the various threads of influencing energy and the differing trends of thought power which the work of the groups since the year 1500 has produced. 

They have also now to offset some of the effects which are tending towards a further differentiation. [413] This must inevitably be so when force is brought into contact with the material world. Initial impulses have in them potency both for good and for evil. As long as the form remains of secondary importance and relatively negligible, we call it good. Then the idea and not its expression controls. As time elapses and the energy of the thought makes its impact upon matter and lesser minds seize upon the particular type of energy or are vitalized by it, then evil begins to make its presence felt. This finally demonstrates as selfishness, separateness, pride and those characteristics which have produced so much harm in the world. About seventeen years ago the Masters met and came to a momentous decision. Just as it had been decided at the earlier conclave to gather out of the inchoate masses of men, groups of workers along various lines, and set them the task of elevating humanity and expanding the human consciousness, so now it was felt wise to gather out of the many groups, a group which should contain (as does the Hierarchy itself) men of all races, of all types and tendencies. This group has a specific mission, and some of the facts about it might be stated as follows: It is first of all an attempt at an externalization of the Hierarchy upon the physical plane, or a small working replica of this essentially subjective body. Its members are all in physical bodies but must work entirely subjectively, thus utilizing the inner subjective apparatus and the intuition. It is to be composed of men and women of all nations and ages, but each one must be spiritually oriented, all must be conscious servers, all must be mentally polarized and alert, and all must be inclusive. One of the essential conditions imposed upon the personnel of the group is that they must be willing to work without recognition, on the subjective levels. They must work behind the scenes as do the Great Ones. Its members [414] therefore must be free from all taint of ambition, and from all pride of race and of accomplishment. They must be also sensitively aware of their fellowmen and of their thoughts and conditioning environment. It is a group that has no esoteric organization of any kind, no headquarters, no publicity, no group name. It is a band of obedient workers and servers of the WORD—obedient to their own souls and to group need. All true servers everywhere therefore belong to this group, whether their line of service is cultural, political, scientific, religious, philosophical, psychological or financial. They constitute part of the inner group of workers for humanity, and of the world mystics, whether they know it or not. They will be thus recognized by their fellow group members when contacted in the casual ways of world intercourse. This group gives to the word “spiritual” a wide significance; they believe it to mean an inclusive endeavor towards human betterment, uplift and understanding; they give it the connotation of tolerance, international synthetic communion, religious inclusiveness, and all trends of thought which concern the esoteric development of the human being. It is a group therefore without a terminology or Bible of any kind; it has no creed nor any dogmatic formulations of truth. The motivating impulse of each and all is love of God as it works out in love for one’s fellow man. They know the true meaning of brotherhood, without distinction of race. Their lives are lives of willing service, rendered with utter selflessness and without any reservations. The personnel of the group is known only to the Elder Brothers of the race, and no register of names is kept, and there are only three main requirements: 1. A certain amount of at-one-ment between the soul and its mechanism is essential, and that inner triplicity, [415] usually dormant in the majority, of soul-mind-brain must be in alignment and active. 2. The brain has to be telepathically sensitive in two directions and at will. It must be aware of the world of souls and also of the world of men. 3. There must also exist a capacity for abstract or synthetic thought. This will enable a man to leap over racial and religious barriers. When this is present also there is an assured belief in the continuity of life and its correlation to the life after death. To sum up the situation, it must be noted that the groups in the past have stood for certain aspects of truth and have demonstrated certain ray characteristics. The new group will express all the aspects and have in it members on all the rays. The majority of the workers in the many groups have carried forward certain details of the plan, and added their quota of energy to the forward urge of humanity, but they have for the most part done this without any true understanding of what they were accomplishing, and without any real comprehension of that body-soul relationship which leads to really intelligent work, unless we except a few prominent mystics such as Meister Eckhart. They have been primarily groups of personalities, with that added touch of genius which indicates a certain contact with the soul. The group that is now in process of formation is composed of those who are aware of the fact of the soul, and have established a soul intercourse that is real and lasting; they look upon the mind, emotions and body nature as simply an equipment whereby human The true exponent of this new group type will of course not appear for many decades. He will be a true Aquarian with a universal touch, an intense sensitivity, a highly organized mental apparatus, an astral equipment which is primarily responsive to the higher spiritual vibrations, a powerful and controlled energy body, and a sound physical body, though not robust in the ordinary use of the term. What then is the present situation in connection with the integrating group of mystics? Let me be somewhat explicit. In every European country, in the United States of America, and in parts of Asia and South Africa are to be found certain disciples, usually unrecognized in the world at large, who are thinking truth. Let me call your attention to that phrase. The most important workers in this new group and those who are closest to the Great Ones are those whose daily thought life is oriented by the new ideal. true exponent of this new group type will of course not appear for many decades. He will be a true Aquarian with a universal touch, an intense sensitivity, a highly organized mental apparatus, an astral equipment which is primarily responsive to the higher spiritual vibrations, a powerful and controlled energy body, and a sound physical body, though not robust in the ordinary use of the term. What then is the present situation in connection with the integrating group of mystics? Let me be somewhat explicit. In every European country, in the United States of America, and in parts of Asia and South Africa are to be found certain disciples, usually unrecognized in the world at large, who are thinking truth. Let me call your attention to that phrase. The most important workers in this new group and those who are closest to the Great Ones are those whose daily thought life is oriented by the new ideal. That this thought life of theirs may work out in definite esoteric activities may be true, but they are first of all and always those who live in and work from the “high and secret place”. Their influence is wielded silently and quietly and they lay no emphasis upon their personalities, upon their own views and ideas, [417] or upon their methods of carrying forward the work. These possess a full realization of their own limitations, but are not handicapped thereby, but proceed to think through into objective manifestation that aspect of the vision which it is their mission to vivify into form. They are necessarily cultured and widely read, for in these difficult transitional times they have to cultivate a world grasp of conditions and possess a general idea of what is going on in the different countries. They possess in truth no nationality in the sense that they regard their country and their political affiliations as of paramount importance. They are equipped to organize, slowly and steadily, that public opinion of a powerful subjective body of thinking Souls can speak the needed words, and outline those concepts which will hasten the work of integration, and put the units in this group in touch with one another. Do your utmost to see that this is done and [418] make this the message and keynote of the work you all do wherever you are. What should therefore be the work of the immediate present? Let me outline the program as far as I can. The first thing to be done is to strengthen the ties and establish firmly the link between yourselves and all those whom you recognize as possible working disciples in the new group. To do this, acquaint yourselves with the work of the leaders of groups in the various countries of the world—such as Switzerland, the United States, Holland, Germany and Great Britain. From their reaction to the vision of this new age type of work you can then make a temporary decision. Watch them at their work. Note the emphasis laid by them upon personalities. If personal ambition seems to govern their activities, if their position is one of a determination to work in the group of mystics because of its novelty or because it gives them a certain standing or because it intrigues their imagination or gives them scope for gathering people around them, then proceed no further, but—preserving silence—leave time and the law to correct their attitude. Secondly, be receptive towards those who seek you out and seem to vibrate to the same note. When I say you, I mean the group to which you all subjectively belong. They will come if you work with decision and sound out the note of unity so clearly that they are in no doubt as to your motives and your disinterested activity. Some of the 156 who form the present nucleus will be known to you and will work in unison with you, though maybe not in your peculiar field of action. The picture to be held before your eyes is that of a vast network of groups, working along the many possible lines, but having at their heart or behind them—working silently and persistently influencing through soul contact—one or more members of the new slowly emerging [419] group. 

*concretization of etheric force means that that which comes from "spirit and/or etheric plane will become solidified in the earthly plane - mf

These focal points through which the Hierarchy is now seeking to work stand together telepathically and exoterically* they must work in the completest understanding, preserving always an attitude of non-interference, and leaving each worker free to teach his own group as he sees fit. The terms used, the methods employed, the types reached, the truths taught, the discipline of life demonstrated concern no one but the working disciple. The members of this group of new age workers will, however, possess certain general characteristics. They will impose no enforced dogmas of any kind, and will lay no emphasis upon any doctrine or authorities. They are not interested in having any personal authority nor do they rest back upon traditional authority, whether religious, scientific, cultural or any other form of imposed truth.

*  What does esoteric and exoteric mean? The opposite of esoteric is exoteric, which means "suitable to be imparted to the public." According to one account, those who were deemed worthy to attend the Greek philosopher Aristotle's learned discussions were known as his "esoterics," his confidants, while those who merely attended his popular evening lectures 

 

Modes of approach to reality will be recognized and each will be free to choose his own. No discipline will be imposed by these workers upon those who seek to cooperate with them. The ideas of any one person or leader as to how the units in his particular sphere of activity should live and work, should meditate and eat, will be regarded as of no special value. The members of this new group work esoterically with souls, and deal not with the details of the personality lives of the aspirants they seek to inspire. This is a basic rule and will serve to eliminate many worthy aspirants from this group of world servers now in process of forming. The tendency to impose one’s own point of view indicates a lack of understanding and it will rule many out. Again, the young and promising aspirants must be sought out and carefully inculcated with the trend of the new ideals. They must be taught to look for the divine and the good in all—both people and circumstances. Breadth of vision must be developed and that [420] wide horizon pointed out which will enable the aspirant to live through this transitional period which is now with us, so that when they reach middle life they will stand as pillars of strength in the new world. Do not narrow them down to the ancient disciplines and teach them not to lay emphasis upon diet, celibacy, times and seasons, and so distract their attention away from the newer and sacred art of being and the wonder of living as a soul. Forget not that when a man is living as a soul and his entire personality is therefore subordinated to that soul, unselfish purpose, purity of life, conformity to law and the setting of a true example of spiritual living will normally and automatically follow. Food, for instance, is frequently a matter of climatic expediency and of taste, and that food is desirable which keeps the physical body in condition to serve the race. Again, a divine son of God can surely function as freely and as effectively when in the married state as in the celibate; he will however brook no prostitution of the powers of the body to the grosser satisfactions, nor will he offend against established custom, nor lower the standards which the world has set for its highest and best. The issues have been confused and the emphasis has been too often laid upon the physical acts and not upon the life of the actor when the attention is fixed upon the soul, the physical plane life will be rightly handled. It will be realized that there is greater hindrance to the growth of the man in spiritual being through a critical attitude or a state of self satisfaction than by the eating of meat. Two rules of life activity must be taught the young aspirant: He must be taught to focus on constructive activity and to refrain from pulling down the old order of living. He must be set to building for the future, and to thinking along the new lines. He must be warned not to waste time in attacking that which is undesirable, but must instead [421] bend all his energies to creating the new temple of the Lord through which the glory may be manifested. In this way public attention will gradually be focused upon the new and beautiful, and the old established creations will fall into decay for lack of attention and so disappear. He must be taught also that partisanship is in no way a sign of spiritual development. He will not therefore use the words anti this or pro that. Such terms automatically breed hatred and attack, and effort to resist change. They put the user on the defensive. Every class of human beings is a group of brothers. Catholics, Jews, Gentiles, Ocidentals and Orientals are all the sons of God. As regards the future of this world group of which we have been speaking much depends upon two things. First, it is necessary for all those isolated disciples working in every country in the world, to become aware of one another and then to enter into a wonderful but impractical vision. I assure you that this is not so. The work of establishing this rapport may indeed be slow, but it is an inevitable effect of the growing sensitivity of all the souls who are working in the field of the world. The first indication of it is that instinctive recognition of those who constitute part of this group when they meet and contact each other in the ways of world intercourse. There comes to them an immediate flashing forth of the light, an instantaneous electrical interplay, a sudden sensing of a similarity of vision and of objective, or a vital opportunity to aid in and to cooperate with each other in the work in which it is realized that all are interested. Working disciples everywhere when they meet each other will know at once that their work is identical, and will advise with each other as to where cooperation and [422] supplementary endeavor may be possible. In about thirty years the interrelation between the units in this group (scattered as they may be all over the world) will be so close that daily they will meet each other at a set time and in the secret place. This only becomes possible when the triplicity of soul-mind-brain are all aligned in the individual and when each aspect of it can be simultaneously in touch with members of the group. At present all the souls of the group of mystics do work in unison; a number have succeeded in bringing the soul and the mind also into a close and established relation, but as yet the lowest aspect of this aligned and linking triangle, the physical brain, remains totally unresponsive to the waves of force emanating from the higher aspects of the disciples engaged thus in laying the foundations of the new age civilization. It is therefore largely a matter of perfecting the mechanism of the brain so that it can rightly register and correctly transmit the soul impressions and the group purposes and recognitions. This involves: 1. The awakening into conscious activity of the center between the eyebrows, called by the oriental student, the ajna center. 2. The subordinating then of the activity of this center to that of the head center, so that the two vibrate in unison. This produces the establishment of three things: a. Direct conscious alignment between soul-mind-brain. b. The appearance of a magnetic field which embraces both the head centers and so definitely affects the pineal gland and the pituitary body. c. The recognition of this field of dual activity in two ways: as of a light in the head, an interior radiant sun, or as a dynamic center of energy [423] through which the will or purpose aspect of the soul can make itself felt. 3. The development of a facility which will enable a man to: a. Use the mind in any direction he chooses, turning it externally towards the world of phenomena, or internally towards the world of spiritual being. b. Produce consciously and at will a corresponding responsiveness in the physical brain, so that it can register accurately any information coming from the physical world, and the emotional or astral world. c. Discriminate intelligently between all these spheres of sentient activity. This will all be eventually covered by a new psychological approach which will emerge out of the old and be a blend of the mechanical schools, the introspective and the more purely oriental position, plus the conclusions of two new schools which will shortly arise but which are as yet too small to warrant a name. They are in the embryo stage. One school will deal with the energy aspects of the individual and his responsiveness to the energy of the universe in which he is immersed; the other will consider man as a unit of electricity. Both will be quite one-sided contributions of the various schools will some day be unified into one synthetic presentation. The second requirement which will establish relation between the working disciples in this group is the capacity to preserve a constant and sequential recollection of both the inner and the outer life. We call it continuity of consciousness, and by this we mean the power to be fully aware of all happenings in all spheres and departments of man’s being during the entire twenty-four hours of the day. As yet this is far from being the [424] case. There is no real awareness of existence during the hours of sleep. The dream life as related is as full of illusion as any of the more definitely lower psychic experiences. The slowly growing interest in dreams from the standpoint of psychology and the investigation of their probable source are the first weak attempts towards establishing the awareness on a really scientific basis. There is as yet no conscious registering of mental activity during such times, for instance, as when the emotional body holds the center of the stage. With what is the mind occupied during a long period of emotional upset? It has, we know, its own life and its laws. Again, what are the activities of the soul when the development of consciousness will have reached the stage where there will be a sentient reaction in all the departments of man’s nature and all of it recorded by the brain? Already men are aware both of physical plane activity and emotional aliveness simultaneously. That is for the majority a common and ordinary condition. Where two activities can be registered at once, why not three or even four? Such is the future ahead for the race, and the disciples, actively employed, will be the first to express and demonstrate this extended consciousness. Thus telepathic interplay and extended sentiency must be developed and are closely interlinked with each other. I have therefore pointed out the immediate future development of the individual disciple. What lies the emotional body holds the center of the stage. With what is the mind occupied during a long period of emotional upset? It has, we know, its own life and its laws. Again, what are the activities of the soul when the development of consciousness will have reached the stage where there will be a sentient reaction in all the departments of man’s nature and all of it recorded by the brain? Already men are aware both of physical plane activity and emotional aliveness simultaneously. That is for the majority a common and ordinary condition. Where two activities can be registered at once, why not three or even four? Such is the future ahead for the race, and the disciples, actively employed, will be the first to express and demonstrate this extended consciousness. Thus telepathic interplay and extended sentiency must be developed and are closely interlinked with each other. I have therefore pointed out the immediate future development of the individual disciple. What lies ahead in the immediate future for the group? First of all, a preliminary period of emergence into the public consciousness, and thus of making its presence felt. This will be done through the steady communication of the new ideals and the constant emphasis laid upon the essential oneness of all humanity. It will [425] be the result of the uniformity and inclusiveness of the note sounded by one here and another there. During this stage there must be no hurried work and no precipitate action of any kind. The growth of the group and of its ideas will be slow and sure. The group exists already. It has not to be formed and organized, and there is therefore for none of you the assuming of any sense of responsibility nor the organizing of any activity desired to lure these disciples, who have chosen thus to work subjectively, into publicity. Such are not the methods approved by the Elder Brothers of the race, nor is it the way that They Themselves work. Know each of you for yourselves whether you stand for the new position, the new attitude towards work, and for the subjective method. Decide once and for all whether you prefer to work in the old exoteric ambitious manner, building and vitalizing an organization, and so producing all the mechanism which goes with such a method of work. Remember that such groups are still greatly needed and are useful. It is not yet the new age and the little ones must not be left exposed to the new forces, nor turned out bereft of the nursery to which they naturally belong. Should the new mode of work appeal to you, see to it that the personality is subordinated, that the life of meditation is kept paramount in importance, that sensitivity to the subjective realm is cultivated, and any necessary outer activities are handled from within outwards. Avoid a purely mystical introspection or its opposite extreme, an over-emphasized organizing spirit, remembering that a life of truly occult meditation must inevitably produce outer happenings, but that these objective results are produced by an inner growth and not by an outer activity. An ancient Scripture teaches this truth in the following terms: [426] “When the sun progresses into the mansion of the serving man, the way of life takes the place of the way of work. Then the tree of life grows until its branches shelter all the sons of men. The building of the Temple and the carrying of the stones cease. The growing trees are seen; the buildings disappear. Let the sun pass into its appointed place, and in this day and generation attend ye to the roots of growth.” Little groups will spring up here and there whose members respond to the new note and whose growth into the world group will be watched over by one or more working disciples. But these latter do not organize the groups; they grow as a man in this place and another in that place awakens to the new vision or comes into incarnation in order to take his place in the work and bring in the new era. These groups will demonstrate no sense of separateness; they will be unaware of personal or of group ambition; they will recognize their unity with all that exists, and will stand before the world as examples of pure living, constructive building, creative activity subordinated to the general purpose, beauty and inclusiveness. Perhaps in the early stages of integration, the words friendliness and cooperativeness best describe them. They are not interested in dogmas or doctrines and have no shibboleths. Their outstanding characteristic will lie in individual and group freedom from a critical spirit. This non-criticism will not grow out of an inability to see error, or failure to measure up to an idea; falsity, impurity and weakness will be recognized for what they are, but when noted will only serve to evoke a loving helpfulness. Little by little these groups will come to know each other and to meet with one another at set times and places. They will come to these mutual conferences with no desire to impress one another and with no thought of relative numerical strength; they will demonstrate no ambition to increase their ranks. How should they when [427] they know themselves all to be members of the one world Group? They have no teaching to give of a doctrinal nature and will not seek to demonstrate learning. They will meet solely to discuss modes of world helpfulness, the formation of a platform so universal and composed of such basic truths that it can be presented under all the varying methods and utilize the many terminologies. They will endeavor to employ each other’s terms, and to familiarize themselves with each other’s approach to reality and symbology. Little by little also the special contribution and note of each group will be recognized and where a need exists for just that special approach and the particular note or method of interpretation in any part of the world, there will be an immediate and united impulse to facilitate the work that that special group could do in that place.

 

These groups, with the one subjective group of conscious living souls behind them, will be too busy with world service and interests to waste time on trifling nonessentials. They will not have the time to play around with group names and insignia and badges and the technicalities of fraternities when they meet together. World needs, world opportunities, and the rapid development of the consciousness of mankind and the initiation of humanity into the spiritual realities will so engross their attention that they will have no interest in purely physical plane arrangements, nor in laying the emphasis upon their own personal growth. They will be well aware that response to world need in service and the life of focused meditation will promote their growth. Their eyes are not upon themselves, upon their own good characters, or upon their individual accomplishments. Later as a result of their telepathic relationship and their united conferences, there may emerge certain esoteric groups and schools for development in order more rapidly to equip them for world service. In these schools [428] modes of meditation, the intensification of vibration and the laws of the universe will be taught, and the right use of color and of sound. But all will be subordinated to the idea of service and the uplift of humanity. Also the schools referred to in Letters on Occult Meditation will gradually come into being. But what use is it for me to forecast the future in more explicit terms and hold out a picture of an intriguing quality when at the present time the integration of the group of world mystics and its close welding is not an accomplished fact? World unity, brotherhood in its true sense, the growth of telepathic interplay, the elimination of the non-essentials which serve to separate the thoughts of men and bring about separateness on the physical plane, and the laying of a true emphasis upon the fundamentals of the Ageless Wisdom, the manifestation of a true understanding, the bringing about of at-one-ment with the soul, the recognition of those who belong to the group of world Saviors—this is the immediate work to be done and this must engross your attention. This and this alone warrants the expenditure of all that any of you have to give—love and life, time and money. This and this alone justifies your existence and calls forth from all of you who respond to the vision that utter self-sacrifice which is so rare and so far-reaching in its effects. The casting of all that one has at the feet of the Lord of Life in order that the work of world salvage may go forward, the elimination out of one’s life of all that can possibly hinder, the giving of all that one has until it hurts to give, the ruling of one’s life on the basis of surrender, asking oneself all the time: What can I relinquish in order that I may help more adequately? That and more than that lies ahead of all of you who hear the call and respond to the need and opportunity. [429] Let me tell you this—this group now in process of becoming, will in time develop its own “yoga” and school of training which will gradually supersede that of the raja yoga and bhakti yoga schools. The method of training will only be given to those who have trained the mind and learnt to control the emotions. Hence the key to what is now going on. The mode of training will be no easy short cut to the goal. Only the intelligent can attain it and only coordinated personalities will be eligible to the teaching. The keynote of the new yoga will be synthesis; its objective will be conscious development of the intuitive faculty. This development will fall into two categories: first, the development of the intuition and of true spiritual perception, and secondly, the trained utilization of the mind as an interpreting agent. In the book Agni Yoga, some of the teaching to be given has filtered through but only from the angle of the will aspect. No book has as yet made its appearance which gives in any form whatsoever the “yoga of synthesis”. We have had "Bhakti Yoga" or union through devotion. Raja Yoga is now receiving emphasis, which is union through the mind. It sounds like a redundancy to speak of union through synthesis, but it is not so. It is union through identification with the whole—not union through realization or through vision. Mark well this distinction, for it holds the secret of the next step for the personalities of the race. The Bhagavad Gita gives us primarily the key to the yoga of devotion. Patanjali teaches us the yoga of the mind. In the Gospel story we have the portrayal of realization, but the key or the secret of identification is still withheld. It lies in the custody of a few in this integrating group of mystics and knowers and will be brought out into manifestation in the furnace of their individual experience and thus given to the world. 

*  Derived from the Sanskrit root, bhaj meaning "to serve God," Bhakti yoga is a practice of selfless devotion and recognition of the Divine

 

But the time is not yet. The group must grow in strength and You ask me: What keeps a man from becoming a member of such a group? I tell you with emphasis that four things only keep a man from affiliation. First: an uncoordinated personality. This involves necessarily an untrained mind and a feeble intellect. Second: a sense of separateness, of distinction, and of being set apart or different from one’s fellow men. Third: the possession of a creed. No matter how good a formula of beliefs it may be, it inevitably produces exclusiveness. It bars some out. Fourth: pride and ambition. You ask again: How shall one qualify? The rules are simple, and are three in number. First, learn to practice harmlessness; then desire nothing for the separated self, and thirdly look for the sign of divinity in all. Three simple rules, but very hard to accomplish. Behind this group of mystics, which includes thinkers in every department of human thought (let me reiterate the word thinkers and of human knowledge stands the Hierarchy of Masters and in between these two groups stand also a band of teachers, of whom I am one. These act as intermediaries and as transmitters of energy. May I repeat and beg you to attend, that this group which is slowly forming is gathered out of every imaginable group of thinking and intelligent men. As yet, and this may surprise a few, there are not very many occultists (so-called) among them. This is due to the fact that the occultists are numerically few in relation to the masses of humanity, and also to their tendency to be sectarian, exclusive and self-righteous. Selfless humanitarian workers are there; political leaders and economists and scientific workers in the world’s laboratories are also there; churchmen and religious adherents from all the [431] world religions are there and the practical mystics and a few occultists. The true occultist is rare.

The group is and will be kept entirely subjective. Its members are linked telepathically, or they recognize each other through the quality of the work they are doing in the outer world and the inclusiveness of the note they sound. It is inspired from above by the souls of its members and the Great Ones, and is energized into activity by the need of humanity itself. It is composed of living conscious souls, working through coordinated personalities. Its symbol is a golden triangle enclosing an even-armed cross with one diamond at the apex of the triangle. This symbol is never reproduced in form at all. It shines above the heads of all who are in the group and cannot be seen by anyone (not even a clairvoyant) except a group member, and then only if—for purposes of work—his recognition needs stimulation. The motto of the group is The Glory Of The One. More I may not tell you now, but this will give you some idea of the reality of the work that is going on. It may serve as an incentive to fresh effort on the part of all working to equip themselves for selfless service. We are to take up now a very brief consideration of two types of energy of a major kind, which are, in themselves, composed and blended of coordinating energies. The subject matter is therefore of so advanced a nature that it is useless for the aspirant to give much time to its study. Volumes would be necessitated likewise if all that could be said were written, and it will only be possible in this book to outline some broad generalizations, and to indicate certain facts of interest. The main reason that it profits us not to study these energies too closely is because the planetary Spirit or Logos and the planetary Entity are the two forms in active manifestation which respond most forcibly to the impact of these energies. The human being responds, and that only subconsciously, [432] because (in his form nature) he constitutes a part of the planetary expression. The planetary Spirit is a Being Who, ages ago, passed through the state of consciousness which we call the human state and has left it far behind. He (using the personal pronoun simple for the sake of terminological clarity) has an origin which lies outside the solar system altogether; his life is focused in the planet; his consciousness lies in realms beyond the concept of the highest adept in our planetary Hierarchy. The planetary Entity is the sum total of the forms which constitute the form through which the planetary spirit is manifesting, and therefore is the synthesis of the planetary physical, astral and mental elementals. For the purposes of our consideration, this Entity is the sum total of all physical, mental, astral and mental forms, which, blended and fused, constitute our planet. Each is the embodiment of energy, and these two major streams which produce the form and the consciousness aspects of our planetary existence make their impact on the human being. The life of the planetary spirit makes its impact via the soul; and the Life of the planetary Entity is registered through the medium of the personality mechanism. The duality of these energies is primarily astral-buddhic, and the bias of the life forces and the general trend of the impulses influencing humanity in this great cycle are the attractive energy of the intuitional nature of the planetary Logos, and the potent force of the astral (desire) body. In other words, the astral elemental, which embodies the desire nature of the planetary Logos is exceedingly potent, particularly in this present cycle, but the strength of the spiritual and intuitional nature of the One in Whom we live and move and have our being is steadily increasing. On the one hand, you have the devastating expression of the wild hunt for pleasure, of sex and of the crime incident to the satisfying of desire. [433] This characterizes our present civilization and is now at its height; it may be said that it is even on the decline, little as you may sense it. At the same time, there is found the open door of initiation. Both these opportunities (if I might so term them) are found simultaneously present, but the strength of the one is weakening, and the trend towards the other is growing. Thus the way out can be seen. In the above paragraph, the dominant planetary urges present in evolution are summed up and man’s reaction to them noted. Solar energies have also a dual effect. First, there is what we might call the pranic* effect, which is the result of the impact of solar force, emanating from the physical sun. This produces definite results upon the objective forms, and these are termed physical or vital. These enter the human body—via the spleen and also via a center found between the shoulder blades; this center is between the throat center and the heart center in the spinal column, but nearer the heart than the throat. Secondly, there are energies which emanate from what is esoterically called “the heart of the sun”; these sweep through one or other of the planets in seven great streams and power into the soul of man and produce that sensitivity which we call awareness. These seven types of energy produce the seven types of souls or rays, and in this thought you find the secret of soul unity. During manifestation, owing to the seven types of energy impacts, playing upon the matter of space, one finds the seven types of soul, the seven fields of expression, and the seven grades of consciousness and of ray characteristics. These differentiations as you well know are like the coloring that the prism takes when subjected to the rays of the sun, or to the tracery of pattern found in reflection upon a limpid pool.

 

* The word pranic stems from the Sanskrit word “prana” meaning “vital life force” which is an ancient science and art of healing which utilizes prana or Ki energy to heal the whole physical body.  It also involves the manipulation of Ki and bioplasmic matter of the patient’s body.

 

Bailey, Alice A.. A Treatise on White Magic . Lucis Publishing Companies. Kindle Edition