History

Since the Great Invocation was given out in April 1945, it has been translated into over 80 languages and dialects, and its distrib­ution is now worldwide.

What is the origin of the Great Invocation?

The Great Invocation was given to humanity by the spiritual Hier­archy, the aggregate of those members of humanity who have triumphed over matter, who have achieved the goal of self-mastery by the same path that individuals tread today. The spiritual Hierarchy is the result of human activity, aspiration and achievement; it has been created by and of humanity. The members of the Hierarchy have achieved a complete control of the personality or lower self. They are no longer centred in the individualised consciousness but have entered into the wider realisation of the planetary group life, which includes all stages, from that tiny sense of social responsibility of the man or woman taking the first steps upon the path of spiritual maturity, to the inclusive comprehension of the Christ Himself.

The Masters are known as the "Custodians of the Plan". The Plan is the blueprint of divine Purpose, and it is for all people everywhere in the world. Only through humanity can the divine Plan work out, but the Hierarchy works under spiritual law and never coerces or pressures humanity. Individual freedom, particularly mental freedom, is never infringed.

The Plan works out under the impelling power of evolution itself. To hasten humanity's evolutionary development, the Great Invocation was given out in three stages over a period of nine years which included the earthly event of the second phase of the World War. As a result of the col­laboration of Alice Bailey and a Tibetan Master of the Wisdom, "seven very ancient word-forms" were translated into "understandable and ade­quate" phrases in English.

These seven word-forms are said to constitute the complete, new utterance of the Christ for the coming 2000-year epoch, and thus the Great Invocation is spoken of as "the Christ's own mantram".

 

Why was the Great Invocation not given out until 1945?

The World War, which was drawing to a close in April 1945, had had a profound effect upon the entire planet. The greatest war in human his­tory had caused untold suffering but it had also quite literally blasted open human consciousness as a result of the destruction of old, outworn institutions, habits of living and crystallised thoughtforms that had held humanity in thrall to separatism and materialism, particularly since the time of the Industrial Revolution.

The agony of the war and the distress of the entire human family led the Christ, in 1945, to come to a great decision. He made the decision to emerge again into physical contact with humanity if human beings them­selves would bring about the initial stages of establishing right human relations; and He gave to the world one of the oldest prayers ever known, but one which hitherto had not been permitted to be used except by the most exalted spiritual Beings. The Christ Himself used the Great Invo­cation for the first time in June 1945.

 

For further information about the History of the Great Invocation see Alice A. Bailey, The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, pp. 144 - 171; 251 - 283; 488 - 491.