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chapter one
A Time of Transition

There has never been a period in our planetary history in which opportunity has loomed so large or when so much spiritual light and force could be contacted and utilised by humanity.

Alice Bailey, Discipleship in the New Age, Vol. II

The Aquarian Age

 A recent post in an online chat room by physicist Stephen Hawking asked, “In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally, how can the human race survive the next hundred years?” In a matter of days twenty-five thousand responses poured in—stirring up an internet storm—offering all kinds of suggestions as to how to resolve our planetary problems. Some people (including Hawking himself) suggested we move to another planet while others called upon God or technology to save us. Some questioned if there was ever a time when the world was not in chaos politically, socially and environmentally. Hawking’s favorite response came from “Semi-Mad Scientist” who wrote, “Without the belief that we will continue to grow and overcome the pains of social chaos as we mature as a species, we might as well not have any faith at all. I’m not talking religion…but simply the…belief that we will survive just as much as the sun will rise the next day.”

As we witness the events unfolding on our planet, we know that our future hangs in the balance. It is a time of crisis and change, when everything is being brought to the surface, and the result is at once appalling and fantastic. According to the Ageless Wisdom teaching the stage is being set for us to move into the most important period in the entire history of life on Earth. What is unfolding is, in fact, a spiritual revolution that is broader than any ideology or religious movement. It is not fueled by dogma, but rather by deep changes that are occurring within the very fabric of consciousness itself. But, as with all revolutions, the present one is being born out of the pain, anguish and destruction of the times—for these are the birth pangs of a new world. 

The death of old and outmoded ways of living and being ever precedes the incoming of something new. On some level people understand and sense that we are entering the time long foretold in the Scriptures and prophetic writings of the world, when great and momentous events are due to unfold and hidden mysteries will be revealed. But humanity has failed repeatedly to learn the lessons of the past and has succumbed to selfishness and materialism, which has caused delays in the process. We have not heeded the warnings of the scientists, futurists, historians, economists and spiritual leaders who have been attempting to call for a change in direction.  It is probable, therefore, that the present crises will only increase in the years ahead but so will the light of the new day that is so close at hand. The Ageless Wisdom teachings provide us with information and spiritual tools that can help us stand steady amidst the difficulties and harness our spiritual power to help turn this situation around.

 

CHAPTER two
a brief historical perspective

The Founding of the Hierarchy on Earth

When we consider these things in light of the situation in the world today, many questions will naturally arise. We might wonder, for example, “If these teachers exist, why is there so much suffering in the world? Why were conditions allowed to become so dire; why don’t these teachers step forward and set things right? Why would they allow such conditions to exist?” These are good questions. They can perhaps partially be answered by briefly considering the situation in the light of the Ageless Wisdom teachings. This perspective recedes far back into the annals of time—to a period that antedates all recorded history but has been carried down to us in myth, legend, and ancient spiritual texts that have, in some cases, been preserved in the protected places of the world. What follows is an extremely fragmentary and rudimentary presentation of teachings that are developed in considerable detail and depth in the writings of Helena Blavatsky (particularly Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine), which can be studied to great benefit by anyone who is interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the history of our planetary life from the perspective of the Ageless Wisdom teachings. This material is adapted from the chapter titled “The Founding of the Hierarchy,” taken from Initiation, Human and Solar.

According to those teachings the spiritual Hierarchy first established itself upon our planet some eighteen and a half million years ago when the infinitely great Being, Sanat Kumara, came here to undertake a great work of sacrifice and redemption. He is said to be a being of such incredible purity (relatively sinless) that he was unable to take a physical body and was only able to function in an etheric or energy body. Everything within the world is said to be held within His aura or magnetic sphere of influence.

Sanat Kumara came to our planet with a group of other highly evolved entities in order to carry out a great plan that has been unfolding all these millions of years. Only now (within the coming centuries), with the developments that are coming into play, will these entities begin to see the realization and fruition of the work they came to do so very long ago.

 

CHAPTER three
a brief historical perspective

…each life is not only a recapitulation of life experience, but an assuming of ancient obligations, a recovery of old relations, an opportunity for the paying of old indebtedness, a chance to make restitution and progress, an awakening of deep-seated qualities, the recognition of old friends and enemies, the solution of revolting injustices, and the explanation of that which conditions the man and makes him what he is.

 

Alice Bailey, Esoteric Psychology, Vol. I

 

The Law of Rebirth

Considerable debate often arises when the subject of reincarnation is addressed. Generally it is rejected vehemently by those with a materialistic mindset who ridicule anything outside the bounds of their individual experience. And the fundamentalists reject out-of-hand any worldview that fails to correspond to their dogma. But the open-minded and searching individual will generally reserve judgment. 

One of the primary teachings that the new age will usher in will be a clarification of the Law of Rebirth.  This teaching will do so much to elevate human consciousness. We’ll come to understand that all action generates karma—either positive or negative, depending upon the qualifying motive that underlies it. This recognition will help us to tread more carefully the path of life. We’ll understand that whatever we sow, so shall we reap, and we “will reap it here and now, and not in some mystical and mythical heaven or hell.”

As we come to understand the cyclic nature of all life, we realize that nothing within the universe is static—all forms are constantly mutating, recapitulating and evolving to ever higher states of being through a ceaseless process of life, death and rebirth. Evolution is the one constant— there is no ending point, no final goal, no ultimate destination that we eventually achieve and then rest on our laurels.

Instead, each of us is a work in progress. Over the course of many lifetimes filled with joys and sorrows, we each have the opportunity to weave an intricate and beautiful tapestry out of the materials that are given to us, a tapestry that is ever a reflection of who or what we essentially are. Lifetime to lifetime we round out our essential nature by adding new colors and deepening the existing hues. In each life the soul picks up the thread of past activities and associations. And in this journey, there are always forks upon the way and detours that may slow us down and take us in a different direction. Sometimes these lead to crisis points and consequent periods of indecision and loss of clarity that can cause us to lose our way for a time. These experiences should give us pause and an interlude for reflection from which we will eventually take our next step. 

 

CHAPTER FOUR
the seven ray energies

The Rays Defined

The teaching on the seven rays is one of the “new truths” that will come to characterize the incoming age, providing a deepened understanding of many aspects of life. The seven ray streams of vibrantly colored cosmic energy are the very vibrations within matter, space and form that define and infuse all objects, all beings and all events in manifestation. Emanating from great and distant stars within the Great Bear, they pour into and filter through the different constellations, into our sun and the planets within our solar system, and finally into all life forms. The influence of the rays conditions planets, nations and individuals, as well as the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms. They give to all things their particular colorings and vibratory notes, their unique qualities as well as their similarities. The ray teaching gives us an energy picture of creation and of life at all levels of being. It provides a means of explaining the intricate interrelationships of all things, spiritual and material; and it proclaims their oneness and interconnectedness.

Broadly speaking, the following is a brief listing of the rays:

Ray One: The energy of Will, Purpose or Power. It is the essence of power, energy and direction. It is characterized by intensity, dynamism and quickness.

Ray Two: The energy of Love-Wisdom, called frequently the Love of God. It is the ray of sensitivity and intuition. This is the great teaching ray.

Ray Three: The energy of Active Intelligence, called the Mind of God. This is the ray of the pursuit of truth, with the intent of manifestation.

Ray Four: The energy of Harmony through Conflict. It is the ray of extremes, of the hill-and-valley experience. This ray stimulates creativity, discrimination and rapid mental perceptions.

Ray Five: The energy of Concrete Knowledge or Science, so potent at this time.

Ray Six: The energy of Devotion or Idealism, producing the current ideologies.

Ray Seven: The energy of Ceremonial Order, producing the new forms of civilization. This ray energy expresses the blending between spirit and matter

 

CHAPTER Five
glamour and the seven rays

No glamour, no illusion can long hold the man who has set himself the task of treading the razor-edged Path which leads through the wilderness, through the thick-set forest, through the deep waters of sorrow and distress, through the valley of sacrifice and over the mountains of vision to the gate of Deliverance. He may travel sometimes in the dark (and the illusion of darkness is very real); he may travel sometimes in a light so dazzling and bewildering that he can scarcely see the way ahead; he may know what it is to falter on the Path, and to drop under the fatigue of service and of strife; he may be temporarily sidetracked and wander down the by-paths of ambition, of self-interest and of material enchantment, but the lapse will be but brief. Nothing in heaven or hell, on earth or elsewhere can prevent the progress of the man who has awakened to the illusion, who has glimpsed the reality beyond the glamour of the astral plane, and who has heard, even if only once, the clarion call of his own soul.

 

Alice Bailey, A Treatise on White Magic

 

The Planetary Condition of Glamour

We all face many challenges on the path of development, some within ourselves (conditioned by our particular ray combination) and others seemingly presented by our environment. It is helpful to remember that on the path nothing is hidden and at each turn we must face ourselves.  The wise individual, therefore, sees the world as in a mirror.

As we travel this path of self-realization, we are continually confronted with situations that appear to conspire to hold us back and trap us on the “wheel of rebirth.” These obstacles take many and varied forms and can serve as springboards for growth if we learn from them. In the Ageless Wisdom teachings our shortcomings, our blind spots, are called glamours, conditions that veil and hide the light.

The Tibetan defines glamour as “a bewildering, deceiving and illusory energy-form which seeks to sidetrack and mislead the neophyte and which is attracted to him by ancient habit and old controls.”  Each one of us is subject to many forms of glamour that are the result of different factors. These glamours impede our ability to see clearly. Until we overcome these ancient controls, we will live and work from a state of limited potential. The process of dissipating glamour is a progressive development; as its more overt forms are eradicated, we become subject to its increasingly subtle manifestations.

At this time our planet is suffering under the weight of the most negative condition of glamour of all time. It is a definite, substantial thing. The entire planet is covered with what could be described as a thick layer of astral mist and fog that is composed of all the unredeemed qualities of human nature—the separateness, selfishness and material desires that characterize the lower aspects of physical plane living. The nature of this fog is said to be of a nature so dense and thick that it practically impedes life itself. Yet within this negative condition humanity lives and moves—seeing all of life from a skewed and distorted perspective. 

 

CHAPTER six
the transfer of ray energies

The Rays and The World

he rays, as mentioned, condition all forms of life, not merely the human. Great and powerful ray influences ceaselessly cycle in and out of manifestation, conditioning our world for hundreds of years at a time. The Ageless Wisdom gives information about the rays controlling the different civilizations and we can learn much from this study of the esoteric history of our planet. But perhaps the most important thing we can attempt to understand about the rays is the powerful shift that is now occurring. At any given period there are always a number of different ray influences conditioning all forms of life, but generally there is one major ray energy controlling. Today we moving from a civilization ruled by the sixth ray into one conditioned by the seventh.

The Outgoing of the Sixth Ray of Devotion or Idealism

Under the influence of the outgoing Piscean age, the energy of the sixth ray, the ray of devotion or idealism, has been the predominant energy in manifestation. This ray began to pass out of manifestation in the year 1625, yet it still remains the most powerful conditioning factor in the world today, and many people are heavily under its influence.  The rays cycle in and out of manifestation over the course of hundreds of years.

Over the course of its manifestation the quality of a ray energy changes. As the energy begins to wane in influence and reaches the end of its long cycle of manifestation, its qualities begin to crystallize, causing the negative aspects within its manifested forms and conditioning attitudes to become more apparent. At the same time that one ray influence is crystallizing and passing out of manifestation, another, newer ray influence is coming in. This adds to the tension in the world, particularly when the ray energies are changing at the same time that the zodiacal ages are changing, as is the case today. This situation is creating a “polarization” as some people cleave to the influence of the past and others respond more readily to the new, incoming energies. This creates the basic “battleground” between the conservative and the progressive types that we see in the world today.

 

CHAPTER seven
Money: the crux of the problem

WHY WE ARE HERE
for the World Trade Organization Summit, Seattle 1999

 

Because the world we had imagined, the one

we had always counted on, is disappearing.

Because the sun has become cancerous

and the planet is getting hotter.

Because children are starving in the shadows

of yachts and economic summits.

Because there are already too many planes in the sky.

 

This is the manufactured world

you have come to codify and expedite.

We have come to tell you

there is something else we want to buy.

 

What we want, money no longer recognizes

like the vitality of nature, the integrity of work.

We don’t want cheaper wood, we want living trees.

We don’t want engineered fruit, we want to see and smell

the food growing in our own neighborhoods.

 

We are here because a voice inside us,

a memory in our blood, tells us

you are not just a trade body, you are the blind tip

of a dark wave which has forgotten its source.

We are here to defend and honor

what is real, natural, human and basic

against this rising tide of greed.

 

We are here by the insistence of spirit and the authority of nature.

If you doubt for one minute the power of truth

or the primacy of nature

try not breathing for that length of time.

 

Now you know the pressure of our desire.

We are not here to tinker with your laws.

We are here to change you from the inside out.

This is not a political protest.

It is an uprising of the soul.

— Anonymous

 

Towards a Sustainable World

This anonymous plea, born of the anguish of a moment and the experience of a lifetime, reflects the concerns of many people who recognize the enormity of the challenge and opportunity that stands before us at this time. The success of our efforts to build a sustainable future will define not only the immediate years ahead but generations to come. Our failure will lead irrevocably to the continued dominance of those who work with shortsighted and selfish aims and to our eventual destruction. Now is the time to move beyond the endless debates over issues of relative unimportance (tactics used to delay and distort), and towards the implementation of those measures for which all men and women of goodwill long, and upon which our survival depends. We, the peoples of the world, have reached the point where we can no longer wait for our leaders and our governments to tip the scales of the present delicate balance. Too much time has already elapsed. It is time for the people of the world, through the collective strength of an enlightened public opinion, to hold leaders accountable and to realize our vision for a better world.

Because of the growing complexity of global events it is important that we stay informed and engaged, while continuing to cultivate the necessary detachment, harmlessness and essential simplicity that have been the defining qualities and contributions of seekers throughout time.  The Tibetan urged us to cultivate peace in turmoil, power in fatigue, and persistence in spite of bad health.  He said that often our progress will be made in spite of, and not because of, existing conditions. We are called to keep our fingers upon the planetary pulse in the recognition that only by this means can we become the arbiters of the change and redirection that we seek.

The most pressing problem at this time is the gross economic imbalance which lies at the root of all the others. The issue of economic sharing and redistribution—is the issue, as its impact extends to all other areas of life. The right distribution of the money energy of the world is essentially the crux of the problem in relationship to the change and reconstruction work that is needed in all areas of life upon our planet. In a certain sense, this would appear to be such a simple problem to resolve, yet in actuality it remains anything but. Recent economic trends have led to a widening of the gulf between rich and poor, both within and between countries.

We live in a world in which 2.5 billion people live on under $2/day; one billion have no access to clean water; one-third of the global population lives without electricity; 30,000 children die each day from poverty and another 30,000 from preventable diseases—totaling 22 million needless deaths each year. The positive result of this situation is that it has spawned the growing movement for sustainable development and many other initiatives. While progressive growth has been made in the developing world, large numbers of people still live in extreme poverty at the same time that the developed nations continue to spend one trillion annual for armaments production and half of the one hundred wealthiest entities in the world are corporations. 

 

CHAPTER Eight
towards a new manner of relationship

Love, for many people, for the majority indeed, is not really love but a mixture of the desire to love and the desire to be loved, plus a willingness to do anything to show and evoke this sentiment, and consequently to be more comfortable in one’s own interior life.  The selfishness of the people who are desirous of being unselfish is great.

 

Alice Bailey, Glamour, A World Problem

 

In the vale of illusion the symbol oft engrosses attention and that which it represents is forgotten.

 

Alice Bailey, A Treatise on White Magic

It is only natural that during this period of planetary energy transfer, all forms of life are being disrupted, including the forms of our relationships. Distortions in this area of living always occur when a civilization is crumbling and the old order is giving way to the new. So it is today as we pass through this period of the “withering of the Law.”

Because intimate relationships often stir up the physical and emotional bodies, they can easily pull us out of alignment with our higher self, thereby contributing to the overall condition of glamour in our world. As Aquarian energies pour into our planet, they are producing an opening of the heart and an urge towards universal love. But unfortunately these energies are often distorted and travestied as they pour into our largely material world, and they sometimes work out in a rampant and indiscriminate sexuality. As mentioned, humanity’s desire nature is also being stimulated by the incoming seventh ray energy, which works through the sacral center, the center most closely related to sexuality.

As with many aspects of life today, sexual expression has exploded to such an extent that it seems as if we are living in a world gone mad, caught up in the throes of desire and constantly seeking new and more exciting ways of satisfying that desire. Sex is not the way to enlightenment, even if our misguided culture seems to make it appear so. The present situation has led to disease, unwanted children, pain, sorrow, and much hardship for many people. But no one, it seems, knows how to turn things around and bring about a more measured response to this problem. 

In a certain sense, this powerful expression of human sexuality could be seen as a reaction against the repression and inhibitions of the past, when sex and the body were considered evil and sinful—attitudes that often colored perceptions of women as well. It’s understandable, therefore, that we are now moving in the opposite direction. Eventually we will find the middle way of balance governing this important aspect of our lives as conditions within the planet settle down, producing a greater measure of calm and stability.

 

CHAPTER nine
seeking the way

Rest not, above all, from your meditation work; keep the inner link; think truth at all times.  The need and the opportunity are great and all possible helpers are being called to the forefront of the battle.  All can be used in some way, if the true nature of sacrifice is grasped, if skill in action is developed and if work without attachment is the effort of each and all of you.

 

Alice Bailey, A Treatise on White Magic

 

The Path of Meditation

Meditation is perhaps our most powerful tool for both individual and planetary transformation. It leads to the coordination of our soul, mind and brain, and eventually unites us with our inner group and provides the means by which we can work together in service to humanity and the planet as a whole. Through meditation we “become the path” as we seek the way from within the very fabric of consciousness itself.  That path is the golden, gossamer thread that leads us irrevocably “from darkness to light, from the unreal to the real, from death to immortality” and eventually releases us from the endless round of birth and death and onto the path of the higher evolution, which is ever the way of fuller service. Over time, we come to realize that our “sitting for development” has a much larger, universal purpose than our individual development and is in fact part of a vast planetary process. As we meditate, we increasingly find ourselves becoming aligned within the rhythm of the planetary heartbeat.

Sometimes people disparage spiritual seekers, viewing them as self-absorbed, impractical idealists, remote and distant from the concerns and cares of the world and its affairs. And while this attitude clearly does characterize some people, increasing numbers of seekers today recognize the need for an engaged spirituality. For them, there are no distinctions or arbitrary barriers between the spiritual and the so-called material worlds. Their reality is centered in the firm recognition that the whole intent and purpose of a spiritual life is to use our thoughts and actions to align ourselves with the vast and ever-present supply of spiritual energy that can then be turned towards the uplifting of all lives that suffer under the weight of present planetary conditions. It’s said that “one disciple thinking truth can revolutionize his [or her] environment,” and a group so thinking can change the world. And because of the power wielded by trained spiritual workers, the group does not need to be large in order to be effective in its work.

There are many different kinds of meditation, many different types of yoga. The practice advocated in the wisdom teachings is known as raja yoga, the “kingly science of the mind.” Through the raja yoga technique the mind becomes “fixed in intention” and eventually all the lower vehicles are brought into alignment with it and the personality stands within the soul’s light. This technique has been preserved down the centuries in the East by the spiritual Hierarchy, within what is called the Trans-Himalayan school. Seekers who follow this path are asked to refrain from other meditative practices so as not to incur difficulties that can arise from the mixing of techniques. All true growth as the result of meditation is naturally slow and progressive, carried forward over the course of many years of quiet practice. Quite often we work in the dark and the inner process of transformation is not always apparent in our waking brain consciousness. But if we do the work our efforts will eventually bear fruit. Any apparent rapid growth in meditation is the result of disciplines established in previous incarnations. 

 

CHAPTER ten
meditation at the full moon

He who faces the light and stands within its radiance is blinded to the issues of the world of men; he passes on the Lighted Way to the great Centre of Absorption. But he who feels the urge to pass that way, yet loves his brother on the darkened path, revolves upon the pedestal of light and turns the other way.

 

He faces towards the dark, and then the seven points of light within himself transmit the outward streaming light, and lo! the face of those upon the darkened way receives that light. For them the way is not so dark. Behind the warriors—twixt the light and dark—blazes the light of Hierarchy.

 

Alice Bailey, Discipleship in the New Age, Vol. II

 

An Open Door

Throughout time many religious festivals have been held in conjunction with the full moon. Humanity has intuitively sensed the beneficence of this time, and the beauty of the moon’s reflected light continues to be a source of fascination and wonder. And while it is true that spiritual inspiration is available to us at any time, during the full moon period it is more actively present because of the alignment that is set up between our planet and the sun.

The cycle of the full moon is the “power point” of the spiritual month, and many individuals and groups come together to work in meditation at this time. The importance of this period is related, ironically, to the fact that the influence of the moon is out of the way. According to the teachings of esoteric astrology the moon is basically a dead shell and symbolizes the past, a type of prison house that should be left behind.  When its influence is negated, the full energy of the sun, the symbol of the soul’s light, impacts freely and directly upon human consciousness, providing a vivid outer symbol of an inner spiritual experience.

The full moon approach is, in reality, a five-day period—the two preceding days, the day of the full moon itself and the two succeeding days. The two days preceding the day of the full moon are known as days of preparation, when we work to establish an inner alignment with the soul and our group. These are days of “renunciation and detachment” when we prepare spiritually for the actual day of the full moon, which is known as the “day of safeguarding.” On this day, and particularly at the exact moment when the moon is full, we simply attempt, as far as possible, to stand in spiritual being—acting as silent channels in alignment with hierarchical intent, focusing our thoughts upon the need of humanity and the planet. The two succeeding days are known as the days of distribution, when the energies contacted are “shed abroad in our hearts, through our group and throughout the world.”

At the time of the full moon each month a door stands open between the spiritual Hierarchy and humanity. It is through this open door that inspiration can flow outwardly into human consciousness, facilitating closer contact and a relationship between all those individuals who are receptive and sensitive to the vibration of the inner planes. We are asked to pause and turn our consciousness within, away from the outer concerns and activities of our daily lives and, in a collective group effort, work together in meditation and thought to create a channel (sometimes called the “rainbow bridge”) through which spiritual light can flow into human consciousness.

 

CHAPTER eleven
challenges on the path

A Necessary Caution

There are no hard and fast rules as to how any particular individual will be affected by his or her application to the spiritual path. We are all different, with varied life experiences that color our temperament and condition our responses.  Sometimes our entry onto the path can bring us into contact with energies and forces that result in increased difficulties and imbalances that we are often ill equipped to handle. So, while it is helpful to meet life’s challenges with a positive outlook, we should not create unrealistic expectations about what is in store for us as we take up this work. To do so could cause unnecessary self-judgment if we don’t experience the enlightenment we seek or the instant alleviation of all difficulties.

Sometimes, in their eagerness to progress spiritually, people engage in practices that prove overly stimulating—too much meditation, intense study, breathing exercises and abstract thinking. It is unfortunate, therefore, that many teachers and books on the market today encourage such things. Too often teachers advocate intensive periods of meditation and breathing exercises for neophytes, with the intent to consciously activate the spiritual centers and force a raising of the kundalini energy. The damage caused by such practices, both physical and psychological, contributes to the mass of people who have been psychically wrecked by opening themselves up to forces and energies that they are often unable to assimilate.  Such situations are particularly dangerous for young people, whose lower vehicles are not fully matured and who are consequently more susceptible to the negative effects.

Some of the symptoms of this condition of overstimulation are an intense mental activity, hyperactive and erratic behavior, sexual stimulation, insomnia, a burning sensation within the spinal area, and headache.  It is also possible for difficult conditions to result from an opposite type of problem. Sometimes people create trouble for themselves through faulty meditation practices that render the mind passive. This passivity, which results in a numbing of the mental faculties, can leave people susceptible to the entry of powerful negative energies that can play havoc with their lives. This lulling within the brain cells can sometimes work out in delusions, psychic visions and, in extreme cases, the cultivation of the “messiah complex,” in which the individual believes him- or herself to be a spokesperson for the Masters and even higher, extraterrestrial spiritual Beings.

 

CHAPTER twelve
discrimination and liberation

The Buddha encouraged each one of us to “be a lamp unto our own feet.” In other words, he asked us, as far as possible, to think for ourselves and to follow truth, not personalities. Discrimination is an essential quality to be cultivated in this process as it enables us to look beneath the surface of outer events, to become self-reliant and therefore learn to see life more clearly. 

Sometimes, however, in the effort to avoid the dangers of criticism, seekers fail to develop and exercise their discriminative powers, erroneously believing that to be truly spiritual demands a general openness and fluidity in regard to people and events. After all, the great teachers asked us to turn the other cheek and to be “meek.” But perhaps we suffer under the weight of faulty translations and the misinterpretation of ancient injunctions that lead in turn to an unduly passive and “negative” approach to life and its events. We forget that the greatest expression of love that ever walked on Earth demonstrated many instances of will and strong action in his life of service. He did, however, maintain an inclusive love for all humanity that remained the underlying quality behind all that he did.

Seekers who fail to develop their discriminative powers may find themselves entering into situations that would be best avoided. Caution is necessary in spiritual work. Christ told us that before his second coming the world would be awash with false prophets, and so it is today. It is a good idea, therefore, to be cautious and investigate any teaching or teacher with a discriminating eye before becoming involved; otherwise we might find ourselves walking down a slippery slope. In this day it is easy to be taken in by the slick and seemingly noble rhetoric put forward by many individuals and groups. It is best, therefore, to read widely and observe closely. Many spurious teachers and groups make claims that can dupe naïve and indiscriminate seekers, distorting the spiritual truths that are struggling to come to the light of day. These claims demonstrate the very real dangers of the astral plane with its propensity to delude.

 

CHAPTER thirteen
initiation

The work of initiation is to enable a man [or woman] to live ever at the centre, but to act as a distributor of divine energy in any direction and—after the later initiations—in all directions.

 

Alice Bailey, A Treatise on White Magic

 

Introductory Thoughts

When we consider the process of initiation we enter into a subject that is shrouded in mystery and considerable confusion. Due to the potency of the energies released during the initiation rites, down through the ages these teachings have remained secret—hidden and protected from the unready within ancient texts, symbolic writings and rituals. Today some of the veils surrounding this teaching are being lifted on account of the sheer number of people who are ready for the training.

Initiation relates to the ability to stand in the light, and from within that light to penetrate into increasingly deeper manifestations of it. Initiation has been defined simply as “to enter into”  a new state of consciousness. There are five primary initiations for humanity, yet there are no hard and fast lines of demarcation between them. The path is one of constant mutations and recapitulations as past, present and future blend and weave together in a never-ending mosaic of transformation. Sometimes we are moving forward into the light, while at other moments all appears futile and dark as we move through what has come to be known as the hill and valley experience of the path.

By the end of the age two-thirds of humanity will have taken one or another of the initiations.  According to the wisdom teachings, one of the primary reasons why the World Teacher is coming forward at this time is to help clarify initiation so that it will no longer be a mystery.

 

CHAPTER fourteen
group initiation

Let it be constantly remembered that the new discipleship is primarily an experiment in group work and that its main objective is not the perfecting of the individual disciple in the group….The individuals are intended to supplement each other and complement each other and in the aggregate of their qualities should eventually provide a group capable of useful, spiritual expression and one through which spiritual energy can flow for the helping of humanity.

 

Alice Bailey, Discipleship in the New Age, Vol. I

In earlier and simpler times, when there were not so many people who demonstrated fitness for initiation, the teachers were able to work individually with their students (primarily subjectively, but also at times upon the physical plane), giving them personal attention and suggestions. As the number of candidates for initiation swelled over the course of the last centuries, coupled with the intensity of the preparatory work that has been going on within the Hierarchy itself and the overwhelming reality of world need, the demands upon the teachers’ time became so great that they could no longer work individually with students and the process of group initiation was instituted.

This shift marked a dramatic departure from the past. We are living through the formative stages in this work, maneuvering through uncharted territory. Surely over time the whole process will become clearer, for Aquarius is a sign of group consciousness, group work and group initiation. Collectively the group acts as a chalice through which the energy flows.

Group initiation means that each time we move forward upon the path or penetrate more deeply into the mysteries of life, we do so in the company of our group. We must be careful, therefore, not to interpret group initiation too concretely for this will cloud our understanding. Group initiation is primarily a subjective experience. Although the group itself exists within consciousness, group members often come together to work upon the physical plane. Initiation is taken by groups of individuals working along the same soul ray line who are taught, as a group, by a Master along that ray. Our spiritual group is generally a combination of people we know, apparent strangers, and people we may have met at one time or another. Sometimes a lack of outer physical plane affiliation can allow for a freer exchange of soul energy, without the complications that so often characterize physical plane relationships.

 

CHAPTER fifteen
the move outward

The Emergence of the Teachers

The emergence of the teachers onto the world stage will be a group effort carried out over a number of years. The preparatory work for this event has been underway for some time now as individuals who form part of the Masters’ groups have emerged and begun to institute changes in all fields of endeavor

Many questions will naturally arise when we consider the externalization process. How will the teachers appear? Will they go through the long and slow process of human birth and development? How will they explain themselves, their history and background, in our world full of security checks and passport regulations? Clearly we can’t know the answers to these and the many other questions that naturally arise when we seriously consider this subject. But it is safe to assume that before these events can begin to unfold, serious changes will have to be implemented in our world that will result in a general easing of outer conditions. While it may appear that events of this magnitude would be impossible to realize in a world such as ours, it is helpful to keep in mind that there are powerful subjective forces at play that will aid and facilitate this process—forces that we cannot know or understand. 

The wisdom teachings indicate that the timing for the actual emergence of the Masters will be decided in the year 2025. How rapidly or slowly the process unfolds after then is dependent upon humanity. We are told that three main requirements must be met before the World Teacher can appear. The first, and in many ways the most important requirement, is that the principle of sharing must begin to govern economic affairs. The second prerequisite is that the political and religious groups must begin to clean house. And finally, a measure of peace must be established in the world. None of these requirements is beyond humanity’s ability to achieve and much progress is being made along all three lines, but many hard decisions still remain to be ironed out. 

It must be reiterated that the teachers can only emerge as humanity prepares the way. The passivity inherent in the old paradigm of a returning savior who comes to end our suffering has no relationship to the facts and only contributes to the general condition of inertia that too often characterizes people who believe in these ideas. The new Aquarian perspective reverses the situation and posits the idea that the World Teacher can only appear after humanity has done its salvaging work.

 

spiritual practices

There are a number of simple practices, some of which have been mentioned in this book, which we can use to bring us into greater alignment with the worldwide group.

Group meditation at the time of the full and the new moons is particularly important. It serves to integrate us into the monthly cycle of the higher and lower interludes when the transformative energies are most potent. The keynotes for the different signs are as follows:

Aries: I come forth, and from the plane of mind I rule.

Taurus: I see, and when the eye is opened, all is illumined.

Gemini: I recognize my other self and in the waning of that self I grow and glow.

Cancer: I build a lighted house and therein dwell.

Leo: I am That and That am I.

Virgo: I am the Mother and the Child, I God, I matter am.

Libra: I choose the Way that leads between the two great lines of force.

Scorpio: Warrior I am, and from the battle I emerge triumphant.

Sagittarius: I see the goal.  I reach the goal and see another.

Capricorn: Lost am I in light supernal and on that light I turn my back.

Aquarius: Water of life am I, poured forth for thirsty men.

Pisces:  I leave the Father's home and turning back, I save.

We can begin to participate in the “power points” of the daily cycle by using the following mantrams:

NOONTIME RECOLLECTION

I know O Lord of Life and Love about the need.

Touch my heart anew with love, that I, too, may love and give.

We can join with others around the world at 5:00 p.m. and use the Mantram of the New Group of World Servers.

May the Power of the One Life

pour through the group of all true servers.

May the Love of the One Soul,

characterize the lives of all who seek to aid the Great Ones.

May I fulfill my part in the One Work,

through self-forgetfulness, harmlessness and right speech.