Creative Use of the Great Invocation

I hope that my talk today makes a useful contribution to the series of sharings of reflections and research on the Great Invocation that we’ve had in these webinars, most recently from Starling and Gloria.

I’d like to offer three thoughts today, all related to what we might call the vibrational aspect of the Great Invocation. Firstly, I simply want to encourage an attitude of research and investigation into the Great Invocation. Secondly, I’ll suggest that one effect of the vibration of the Invocation has been to stimulate a musical response in various creative people, and I’ll ask us to listen to two examples of musical interpretations of the Great Invocation itself. And the third thought, relates to the Great Invocation as a resonant tool for setting the keynote of human evolutionary development.

Firstly, Alice Bailey’s book Discipleship in the New Age, volume 2, tells us that with regards to the Great Invocation “the true inner implications and significances are of very deep import and are not superficially apparent” (p.156). The book says that the words of the Invocation embody in modern language a very ancient formula, and it suggests that the stanzas are ‘mantric’ in nature. We know that a mantram is a sound or a set of sounds selected and arranged in such a way that they produce deep and powerful effects. The effects are not restricted to the surface meaning of the words, but rather, result from the fact that the sounds can set up particular vibrations in different levels of matter and consciousness. To my mind this could suggest a line of research based on listening to the effects of sounding the Great Invocation in ourselves. For example, we could experiment with listening inwardly to the difference between sounding the Invocation whilst concentrating in our hearts, as contrasted say, with an attitudinal approach, where we attempt to sound the Invocation from a sense of identity as “I, the triangle divine…” working out the will to good ‘within the square’. Such research could lead us to experiment with sounding the Invocation in different physical locations or environments, or at different times in the day, or at different speeds and rhythms. The scope for experimentation is vast, and I think the need for it is in these times of world crisis is vital.

I hope that more and more people who use the Invocation will pursue their own reflective investigations into it, with the principal aim of deepening our appreciation of its tremendous depth, and of helping ourselves to learn to sound it with fuller Soul awareness.

Since it is said that the Great Invocation “belongs to all humanity” it seems this is justification enough for adapting it, applying it, working with it, in any way that seems to fit our circumstances and helps us express our own measure of light, creativity, and will-to-good in the world.

My second point arises out of the first in that personal and group research and investigation into the Great Invocation has led quite naturally to various adaptations of its words and to many artistic interpretations and depictions aimed at spreading it into society at large. So there are now many versions of the Great Invocation, reflected also in modifications and translations into many languages. The version we use in this webinar group for example is a slight adaptation of the original modern wording as given in English in 1945. If we compare the original wording with our adapted version we can see that the adapted version uses terms that might resonate with a wider range of people, including those who do not particularly affiliate with the Christian religion. I think that in general all of these versions and translations can be valid in as far as they are the result of adaptation to meet the need of individuals and groups who value the spirit of the Invocation as an instrument for supporting the growth of humanity into greater light and love, and who use these adaptations to help create the pathway by which the Coming One can manifest in humanity.

Whatever our own point of view, I think it’s important to perceive that at its core the Great Invocation is a vibrational form – or a specific form of vibration – capable of appealing to the deeper soul of people across widely differing cultures.

In this regard, I thought it might be interesting for us to listen to two musical renditions of the Great Invocation which illustrate this point. I should make it clear that there are many musical renditions of the Great Invocation now freely available on the internet, and I think this is testimony to the fact that the deeper vibrations of this mantram can be carried outwards through many vocal and instrumental forms without losing their innate potency. The two pieces I’ve selected were created by people from two very different cultures. The first piece you’ll hear is by Dr Michael Robbins, co-founder and president of the University of the Seven Rays.

[PLAY ROBBINS VIDEO TRACK – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg2Sa8SRePg 6mins 38 secs]

The second rendition contrasts in many ways from the one we’ve just heard. The author has adjusted the vocabulary, using terms such as “Jah” (God), “I-n-I” (referring to the higher I or Self), “I-manity” (humanity), etc. This track is produced and played by Ras Kawintseb Selassie, a professional musician based in Ethiopia.

[PLAY RAS KAWINTSEB TRACK – click on the broadcast player above and navigate to 37 min 14 sec for the beginning of the track]

As I finished drafting this presentation I found myself thinking that the Great Invocation is perhaps a far more incredible device than we might ever know. What we do know is that it is described as the most powerful mantram in human possession, which brings me to my final thought, which is that in making of ourselves constant users of this vibrational formula of words which we know as the Great Invocation, we are participating in setting up a vibration that resonates not only in humanity but in fact throughout our planet, the Earth. As this vibration becomes stronger within humanity, one of the important effects may well be to bring about the evolutionary emergence of the higher qualities of the human soul, resulting in the Earth giving birth to a humanity that shines with Light and Love and the radiant power of the Will-to-Good. The sounding of the Great Invocation therefore seems to be an activity that sets a clear keynote for human development in the Aquarian age.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Clarence Harvey

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Notes:

Discipleship in the New Age, Vol II, pp 156-158

Dr Michael Robbins, The Great Invocation – 1945, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg2Sa8SRePg

Ras Kawintseb Sellassie, Restore Jah Plan, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Touch-Tsion-Ras-Kawintseb/dp/B074543VRJ, from the album Touch of Tsion.

Other musical interpretations available on Youtube.