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SECTION TWO - THE GENERAL WORLD PICTURE - Part 4

The causes of the present war are ancient. This historical sequence of the predisposing factors can be clearly traced in the exoteric records of all nations as well as in the esoteric records of the Hierarchy. The inherent human [138] qualities which have led to the development of the present war are well known. All who are conscious of and observers of the war within their own natures, between personality selfishness and the selflessness of the soul, are aware of the implications and the correspondences. Where then lies the solution? What must be done to arrest the fires of hate and of aggression, of revenge and of fear? What also must be done to prepare for that time when the rebuilding of the world of men and the inauguration of the new and better civilisation arrives? With this we might now briefly deal.

As regards active participation in the work to be done in preparing the world for the expression of goodwill, there is little to be done of an active exoteric nature at this time; it is necessary to wait with patience and to see what is going to happen and along what lines the activity of the nations will run. But there is very much to be done of an esoteric and a preparatory nature and it is this which I seek to impress upon your minds.

Up to date and in spite of appearances, the Forces of Light are victorious and are definitely holding things steady. It is for this reason that nothing has yet quenched the spirit of goodwill and of sympathetic understanding which exists among the peoples of all nations, not excluding Germany; this has been the outstanding significant characteristic of the present conflict. There is little hate or vindictiveness to be found, and this fact constitutes the difference between this war and the last, in 1914. It indicates a triumph for the Forces of Light and in it lies the hope of the future. It is here, however, that the time factor must be considered, for a prolonged war may cause a change in this desirable attitude, and much drastic experience may produce deep psychological and unavoidable changes in human thought and action. This must be consciously offset. It has not yet occurred but it could happen and if it does much pain, terror, fearful anticipation, suffering and the agony entailed by the sight of suffering might eventually turn this goodwill into a [139] dynamic spirit of hate and revenge unless it is definitely and consciously offset. Groups who are adhering to the principles of the Forces of Light, who are bending every effort to end the spirit of aggression and to rid the world of the focal points for material influence and power, must yet carry forward the task of binding men and women of every nation together in a spirit of loving understanding; they must interpret nation to nation in terms of brotherhood and of the new order.

This is no easy thing to do at this time. The astral or emotional bodies of human beings (which constitute the astral body of humanity as a whole) are today in a state of chaos, and are swept by ancient desires, ancient and deep-seated selfish attitudes and by ancient hatreds. The task is also complicated by the activity of the mental processes of man which is characterised by pronounced and developed illusions, by separative attitudes and by specious arguments. But there are, at the same time, enough people in the world who are responsive to the spirit of goodwill, of tolerant understanding, and animated by a desire for permanent right human relations.

I have earlier suggested to you [vi]* that it should be possible to have—at a later date—a world-wide recognition of a Day of Forgetfulness, of Forgiveness and of Fulfilment of the Biblical injunction to "forget the things which lie behind and to press forward" into the New Age, the new relationships and the new civilisation. For that time we can all begin to plan, and to work for that psychological moment wherein this idea can be presented. It will come immediately after the cessation of hostilities. But today and in every land, where possible, the peoples must be educated in this expression of human synthesis and human interrelation.

It involves, however, an emphasising of the values to which I have referred earlier in this article. This is humanity's [140] joint responsibility because of humanity's general mistakes, and the ancient wrong attitudes and controls. It involves, consequently, a stepping down from the position of critics and assigners of responsibility to that of a joint shouldering of the stupendous task of changing present conditions and of instituting those reversals of policy which will make a united world order possible and beautiful. This is no easy task. It is one which calls all men and women of goodwill in the world today and challenges them to prepare whilst the conflict is on for what can be done when it is over.

I have given much in the past which can provide a platform of objectives and of methods. Nothing that I have outlined is now abrogated; only fulfilment is postponed. For seven critical years, it lay in the hands of the spiritually minded men of the world, in the hands of the Churches in all lands and of the men of goodwill and of the world aspirants so to work that the present conflict could have been avoided. But the spirit of Christ was lost in clerical organisation; emphasis has been laid upon technical theology; the spirit of goodwill was not expressed dynamically and practically, but theoretically and negatively; the aspirants of the world had no true sense of values but were content to give a little time to the spiritual life and to other people, but much time was lost in individual, personal aims. A spirit of inertia settled down upon the better inclined and upon the more understanding people; nothing that we could do served to arouse them to powerful action or to sacrifice personal temporary values to the lasting and universal values. The individual remained more important to himself than did the good of the whole.

Be not over-distressed, my brothers. You are not alone in this but part of a vast number, if that is to you any real satisfaction.

But a renewed opportunity lies in front of you and it is of a practical nature, falling into definite spheres of work and of planned activity. You are asked, first of all, to [141] prepare for the great opportunity which will come at the close of this conflict, and

1. To explain clearly to all people the cause which produces the opportunity and which is dedicated to the ending of the present state of affairs.

2. To engineer some dramatic and universal event which will serve as the inspiration and the inauguration of the new era of goodwill and of right human relations.

Secondly, to keep up a steady process of right thought, right interpretation of current events and a right preparation whilst the war lasts, so that any weakening of the gained spirit of goodwill can be immediately offset, and so that understanding can grow in potency and not suffer obscuration. In order to bring this about, the following activities are suggested beginning with those which concern the individual worker.

1. A close personal watch over every word said or written, so that nothing said or written by any of you will have in it hate or bias of the wrong kind and your minds and hearts will be kept clear of all undesirable reactions. This is the personal and practical thing to do and the difficult task set before each of you who read my words.

2. Study and apprehend clearly the issues which lie behind this conflict, so that there is no inner wavering as to the rightness of the side on which your interests lie—the side of the Forces of Light. Parallel this with an understanding appreciation of the problem of those who are bewildered by the emphasis and the dynamic activities of those through whom the Forces of materialism are working. At the same time, also, kill out all hateful criticism in your minds.

3. Endeavour to use the following formula or mantram every day. It is a modernised and mystically worded version [142] of the one which was used widely in Atlantean days during the period of the ancient conflict of which the present is an effect. For many of you this mantram will be in the nature of a recovery of an old and well-known form of words:

"The sons of men are one and I am one with them. I seek to love not hate: I seek to serve and not exact due service. I seek to heal, not hurt.

"Let pain bring due reward of light and love. Let the soul control the outer form and life and all events, and bring to light the love which underlies the happenings of the time. Let vision come and insight; let the future stand revealed. Let inner union demonstrate and outer cleavages be gone. Let love prevail. Let all men love."

These words may seem inadequate, but said with power and an understanding of their significance and with the potency of the mind and heart behind them, they can prove unbelievably potent in the life of the one who says them. They will produce also an effect in his environment, and the accumulated effects in the world, as you spread the knowledge of the formula, will be great and effective. It will change attitudes, enlighten the vision and lead the aspirant to fuller service and to a wider cooperation based upon sacrifice. My brothers, you cannot evade the sacrifice in the long run, even if you have evaded it until now.

4. Then apply yourselves to the spreading of the use of the Great Invocation and help to carry forward the plan for distribution. The Great Invocation, as you will see in the next article which I am writing for your information, is a potent solar instrument designed to bring about changes and needed readjustments. It is so powerful that when it was suggested for general use in the world of men some opposition was evoked among the members of the Hierarchy because They feared its potent effects upon the unready, and undeveloped people. Its use has, however, been justified [143] and it is desired that its usefulness should be very greatly increased and its use far more widely spread.

5. I would have you in your own way prepare for a major spiritual effort which is to take place when this conflict has worn itself out and some measure of peace and calm has come about. Each of you has your own sphere of influence and of contacts and each of you is in touch with similarly minded or enquiring people, with groups and churches, clubs, organisations and societies which are pledged to some form of effort towards human betterment, of goodwill effort, and of endeavour of some kind towards human welfare. Now is the time for much work to be done with the leaders and senior workers in such groups and with people who can be prepared by each of you for active effort when the right time comes. To this task I call each of you. Later you can swing these people into active goodwill work and to effort which will tend to world understanding and fusion. You can with them bring about the healing of the wounds of humanity which will be greatly needed and for which you can now prepare. You can get in touch with such people, keep records of names and addresses and capacity to serve and help, establish group contacts and so systematise your work that when the call goes out (as it did in 1936) there will be found available to the organisers a wealth of ready contacts and of interested and prepared people who will then work intelligently to establish the new order.

6. The instructions in my earlier pamphlets remain as before and should be carefully followed in preparation for a campaign at the close of hostilities. Mailing lists can be gradually brought alive by judicious correspondence and new lists can be compiled; the Great Invocation can be increasingly used if the method outlined by me is studied and rightly organised by each of you, and so the goodwill already present in the world can be brought to a point of dynamic livingness, ready for later use. But, my brothers, nothing can be done unless you do it.

[144]

THE GREAT INVOCATION - Stanza One

Let the Forces of Light bring illumination to mankind.

Let the Spirit of Peace be spread abroad.

May men of goodwill everywhere meet in a spirit of cooperation.

May forgiveness on the part of all men be the keynote at this time.

Let power attend the efforts of the Great Ones.

So let it be and help us to do our part.

October 1939

In my last article, I suggested giving you some facts anent the Great Invocation and some explanation of its significance and meanings. These may enable the occult students in the world today to use it with greater fervour and with greater understanding and, consequently, with greater success.

There are several such mantric formulas and Words of Power in use by such students but they fail to accomplish very much because the person using them has no real understanding of their import and purpose and is usually so focussed in his emotional, aspirational, astral nature that all that he says and does (in connection with such Words of Power) is entirely innocuous and futile. Words of Power, ancient mantrams (such as the Lord's Prayer) and the Great Invocation are only effective if used upon the mental plane and with the power of a controlled mind—focussed on their intent and meaning—behind the spoken effort. They then become potent. When said with the power of the soul as well as with the directed attention of the mind, they automatically become dynamically effective.

Students all the world over have for years used the Sacred Word, and have sounded the O.M. with great diligence. I would like here to ask: With what results? I myself will reply. With practically no results except a slight stimulation of the aspiration and a small awakening of the creative imagination. This means that the results achieved have had effect only within the aura of the person concerned and have not penetrated into his environment or produced any recognisable effects. The O.M. is potent and [145] dynamically effective when rightly used and will produce changes, destroy that which must be eliminated or ended, and will build in, by attraction and consolidation that which is desired into the fabric of the group life, producing incidentally (though none the less certainly) needed changes and the wise reconstruction of the individual life. Ponder upon this.

If the above is true of the O.M. and of its group effects, it is infinitely more true of the Great Invocation. Words of Power (and this is true also of the O.M.) are all of second ray origin. This is the ray of the manifestation of consciousness. They are, therefore, intended for soul use because the soul is the expression of the second aspect of divinity, and only the soul can really employ these Words and sounds and thus produce the desired results which are always in line with the divine Plan. It is frequently forgotten that they must be used by the soul in a dynamic manner, involving the serious recognition of the will aspect. The Great Invocation, the O.M. and all such Words of Power must go forth from the soul (whose nature is love and whose purpose is solely group good), backed by or "occultly propelled forth" (to use a translation of an almost untranslatable occult idea) by the dynamic will aspect, and carried outwards as an integrated thoughtform upon a stream of living, illumined mental substance. This process therefore brings into activity the will, the love and the intelligence of the man who is using these words and formulas. Frequently, however, an hiatus occurs even when a man has integrated these three controlling factors within himself as far as he is able to do so at his particular point in evolution. All that he has succeeded in doing is the retaining of the created thoughtform upon the mental plane; he fails to make its presence felt upon the physical plane and to achieve the desired results because his brain (the lower receiving and distributing centre within the head) is incapable of the needed dual activity—retaining awareness of the intent, meaning and purpose of the formula being used and, at the same time, carrying on the task of sending forth the potency, [146] hidden yet conveyed by the Words or sounds. These two activities must be carried on simultaneously by the soul on its own plane through the medium of the mind and the brain. Here again is one of the objectives of all meditation work but one which is not emphasised as it is a sequential happening and not an objective. Effectiveness is, therefore, dependent upon a grasp of the above facts and a developed and trained integration between soul, mind, desire, brain and the spoken Word or sound.

What I am here telling you refers not only to the use of the Great Invocation but also to the daily and constant use of the Sacred Word by occult students and aspirants in their daily meditation. They could change their lives, reorient their life purpose and focus, and achieve spiritual unfoldment and expansion if they could use the OM as it should be used. The Great Invocation, rightly used by the many hundred thousand people who have already attempted to use it, could reorient the consciousness of humanity, stabilise men in spiritual being, disrupt and rebuild the planetary thoughtform which men have created in the past and which has had (and is having) such disastrous and cataclysmic results, and open the door into the New Age, thus ushering in the new and better civilisation. This could be done so rapidly, that the needed changes would come about almost overnight; the present reign of horror would end and the race of men could settle down to a life of group goodwill, individual harmlessness and right human relations.

Nevertheless, for your encouragement, I would state that the use of it has materially hastened world events, even though it has definitely stirred up a great deal of the trouble and brought it into manifestation upon the physical plane. The basically selfish purpose (even if unrecognised) of those who have used the Great Invocation has served to stimulate the selfish purposes of the forces of materialism. I would ask you: How many used the Great Invocation in a purely detached, spiritually potent and fully understanding manner? The merest handful. How many sent forth the Great Invocation in a spirit of pure love and with a completely [147] [147] unbiased attitude? Very few indeed. How many sounded it out through the medium of a controlled mind, with a recognition and deep belief that it embodied the will of the planetary Logos and must, therefore, become dynamically effective upon the physical plane? Hardly more than a tiny handful. Most of those who used it were intrigued by its novelty, or felt it to be comprehensive though in an unrealisable manner, or considered it must be occultly effective because they heard that it emanated from a member of the Hierarchy, was used by the occult Hierarchy of the planet, and was endorsed by those they trusted, or because—foremost reason of all—anything that could make the world nicer, more comfortable, happier and provide eventually easier living conditions must be at least tried; it did not take long to say and was probably well worth doing. But the dynamic power behind the effort in individual cases has often been personal self-interest, distress at the existing terrible and unhappy world conditions and an emotional reaction at pain and horror and fear. In many ways, this has been a normal reaction to world tension and was to be expected. The standard that I have indicated above is, I well know, too high and too impossible for the average aspirant, and most people are average. But the world need is such that they must now swing out of the normal and, for the sake of service, heighten their consciousness and work more definitely from a higher plane of awareness.

I am seeking today all over the world for a group of aspirants and disciples who can and will use the Great Invocation in the right way and who will be willing, consequently, to be trained to do so. In this way there will be a group upon the physical plane and in everyday life who will be able to combine their efforts with those of the Hierarchy and thus produce an effective use of the Great Invocation with its stupendous results.

I would remind you that for the purpose of developing human will and human freedom of action, motivated by group consciousness, the Hierarchy chooses to produce the desired unfoldments and changes upon the physical plane [148] only through the medium of a conscious and awakening humanity. Such a humanity (and it is rapidly coming to this state of awareness through joint pain and suffering) will be impressed by and responsive to the directed thought of the guiding Elder Brothers of the race, but will be free at all times to reject that impression and to proceed as they personally may choose. There is no authoritative control over the minds of men assumed or cultivated by the Hierarchy; all aspirants and disciples are free to choose a different way to the one suggested if they so prefer, or if they are unconvinced of the advisability of the indicated method of work, or fear the arduous task of carrying forward the stage of the plan which has been indicated to them, or if they shirk the discipline implied and required by those who seek to make man correctly responsive to spiritual contact and teaching and so able rightly to interpret the intent of the Hierarchy.

Ability to use the Great Invocation so that it may be effective can be developed if those who are working along the lines of true meditation can make a beginning by the right use of the Sacred Word, which does not require such a sustained effort in occult concentration. They must learn to breathe it forth in the manner I have indicated above when speaking of the Great Invocation, and must also learn to gauge its results in their individual lives, thus viewing those lives from the angle of the trained spiritual Observer.

I would like to touch briefly and for a few minutes upon the significance of the entire process and method of invocation.

Much has been said and written in the past by the curious investigator and by those engaged in magical work of any kind anent the use of invocation as it applies to elemental forces and subhuman agents, with the consequent evocation of active agents and responsible energies of some kind or another upon the physical plane. What is oft forgotten is that this process consists entirely of the production of contact and subsequent control of the forces of earth, water, fire and air. This is one of the aims of the magical [149] workers but it concerns material nature and the control of substance and, in the realm of the lower occultism, is allied to the invocation and evocation of money, good health and the tangible material results as practised in the realm of mysticism by many schools of thought. Note this, for it holds a clue to the relation of occultism and mysticism upon the lower levels of consciousness and indicates the need of both groups to shift their focus of interest and their emphasis on to the higher and more spiritual values. The control of the natural forces and the evocation of the desired material rewards will arrive normally and inevitably but as secondary effects; they will depend also upon the karma or destiny of man recognised and considered, and the man will escape the danger of being himself controlled and motivated by the forces of materialism, letting in—as this condition must—much that is evil and dangerous.

The invocation, evocation and resultant activity of the Hierarchy and of those Forces, Energies and Beings Who are not controlled by matter in any way, or by substance (the lower pole of manifestation) but Who are related to the positive spiritual pole is a new activity, and as yet relatively an untried experiment on the part of humanity and the formulas unknown. Of what use was it to impart the formulas to humanity when it was as yet controlled by the lower values and unable to lay hold upon the soul aspect and to function on that level of consciousness whereon the soul is found. Only those can use the formulas effectively who live, work, think and feel as souls, which means ever in group terms.

Today, however, there are those in every land who are rapidly becoming aware of the soul as a controlling factor in consciousness, who respond to world affairs and conditions increasingly as souls, and who can, therefore, be trained to work upon the physical plane. When this is so, it becomes possible to impart certain of these Words of Power and mantrams and to institute that new and potent activity which will bring the Hierarchy and Humanity into conscious and direct cooperation, as well as Shamballa and certain great [150] Forces which are interplanetary or solar, and also great cosmic Energies. It is now possible to discover those who—being free within themselves and who are learning rapidly to be detached and selfless—can institute and carry forward the task of invoking these higher spiritual forces, thus reinforcing the efforts of the Great White Lodge. It is this process of spiritual invocation which will motivate the new and coming world religion. This is not magical invocation, as man understands it, and which is concerned with the invocation and control of the substantial and elemental forces of the manifested world, but the invocation which will evoke contact with the spiritual Lives and the divine embodied Energies as well as with the Hierarchy (which is Their intermediary) in order to bring about the manifestation on earth of the soul of humanity and the qualities of the subjective and inner divine life which all outer forms veil. This is now for the first time possible in the life of the planet.

The objective of these processes of invocation is threefold:

1. To invoke the soul of humanity and so bring about its freer expression upon the physical plane. This can be brought about in two ways:

a. The stimulation of the souls of men everywhere by the increased inflow of the Christ principle of love, which will express itself in world understanding, goodwill, cooperation, and peace.

b. The setting up of a vibration within humanity itself of such potency that it will magnetically attract a response from the waiting, watching Hierarchy and bring about a much closer and likewise conscious rapport between the two planetary centres, the Hierarchy and Humanity.

This is called the invocation of the Great White Lodge. Much of this invocation of the Christ principle is carried forward by true believers in all lands (Christian and non-Christian) who address themselves to the Christ, no matter under what name they recognise Him and then, with love in their hearts to Him and their fellowmen, seek to ameliorate [151] world conditions, end hatred and misery and demonstrate goodwill everywhere. This refers to the first stage of evoking the response to love and understanding in human hearts and minds as the result of the invocation of the Christ and of the Christ principle. Ponder on these words and see on every hand the process going forward. Esoteric students are apt to overestimate the effectiveness of the work that they are doing. The focussed aspiration and the unselfish struggle to serve which characterises millions of people in the world who do pray to, follow and seek to invoke the great spiritual head of the Hierarchy, the Master of all Masters, the Christ, has now reached a point of true and real effectiveness. It may be, and usually is, untinged by much mental activity or intellectual perception of the implications or the scientific nature of their procedure but is, for that very reason, potent. Esoteric and occult students demonstrate almost unavoidably a divided focus, owing to the activity of the mind and their failure as yet to blend perfectly both soul and personality. This leads to the dissipation of energy and oft renders their good intent futile. But, out of these groups are rapidly emerging those who can work in the right way and the results will be increasingly effective.

The evocation of the Hierarchy through right invocation is proceeding also rapidly, producing much activity and response from the Hierarchy of Light.

2. To set up a closer relation with the third, major divine centre on our planet, Shamballa. From that centre, the will of God goes forth and the power of God becomes the messenger of His will. Hitherto that highest form of spiritual energy has only reached humanity (as I have before told you) via the Hierarchy. Today, it is deemed desirable that it should be ascertained whether there are enough selfless and group-conscious people upon the planet to warrant a direct inflow of that higher energy to humanity, thus producing upon the physical plane a hastening of the divine plan and a more rapid working out of that which is to be. This direct contact can be produced if the Great Invocation [152] is used by the world aspirants and disciples in collaboration with the Hierarchy. Hence the emphasis I have laid upon all of you using this Great Invocation as souls and as those who are in touch in some small measure with the Hierarchy. When the note of humanity and the note of the Hierarchy are synchronised by the use of the Great Invocation, there will come a dynamic and immediate response from Shamballa, and that will rapidly take place which the Hierarchy and the world disciples desire to see.

The primary result of the correct use of the Great Invocation (as far as humanity is concerned) is acceleration. As I have also earlier pointed out, such an acceleration carries with it its own risks, and consequently we have the appearance of the truly terrific problems and the dire happenings which have for many years overtaken the aspirants and the disciples in the world. They are by this process learning the work of world salvage and becoming gradually fitted for the post of world saviour and to be absorbers of evil karma. You might here quite correctly point out that all the world is now suffering and that the past twenty-five years have been those of a general and most unhappy world karma. Wherein then lies the distinction between the pain and suffering of the world in general and that of aspirants and disciples in particular? I would reply that aspirants and disciples are conscious of this karma and its results in all three vehicles simultaneously—in the mind as well as in the emotional body with resultant physical reactions. This produces an intensification, retrospection and anticipation which the larger group does not register, involving as it does the entire personality. To this, in the case of the disciple in particular, must be added sensitivity and the ability to tune in and to absorb world pain, world reactions, and world conditions, thereby greatly increasing that which they may have individually to bear. The capacity to shoulder and register group pain as well as to bear his own personal karma greatly aggravates the disciple's task.

When, therefore, I call the world aspirants and disciples to the use of the Great Invocation, I call them also to the [153] "fellowship of Christ's sufferings"; this is ever preliminary to the resurrection or to the release of the human consciousness into higher realms of spiritual awareness. The Forces which are contacted by the use of this Great Invocation, in conjunction with trained hierarchical effort, are thereby attracted or magnetically impelled to respond and then potent energies can be sent direct to the waiting planetary centre, Humanity. Two effects of an immediate nature are consequently induced over a specific period of time:

a. The energy of the Will of God serves to awaken the illumined but latent will-to-good in men and this, once dynamically awakened, will flower forth as goodwill. There is so much of this which remains latent and unexpressed because the will to demonstrate goodwill activity has not been aroused; it will be automatically aroused in the general public once the world disciples have invoked and evoked the inflow of this higher dynamic energy. Humanity awaits this and its arrival is dependent upon the efforts of those who know what should be done and who should now make their spiritual theories facts in outer expression. Nothing can arrest the eventual progress of this will-to-good and its planned activity any more than a bud which has started to unfold its petals in the light of the sun and subject to the proper stimulation can revert again to the condition of a tightly closed bud, potential but unexpressed. The expression of what has been potential will be the result of the impact of first ray force, of the will-to-good at this time, induced by the efforts of the world disciples.

b. The second effect will be the forming or constitution of a planetary triangle or recognisable triad which will be the correspondence between the three planetary centres to the spiritual triad of Monad, Soul and Personality (the atma-buddhi-manas of the theosophical literature). Hitherto the word alignment has best described the planetary situation; there has been a straight line along which energy has poured from Shamballa to the [154] Hierarchy and from the Hierarchy to Humanity, but this has meant no direct interplay between Humanity and Shamballa. If the Great Invocation can be rendered effective, humanity can then set up a direct relationship with Shamballa. The resultant triangle of force-relationship will promote the circulation of spiritual energies between the three centres from point to point so that there will be a triple relation. A planetary process of give and take between all three will then be established, and the emphasis upon giving will be far more pronounced.

You will now see a little of the occult objective which lay behind the words which I asked you all to repeat in connection with the Great Invocation:

We know, O Lord of Life and Love, about the need;

Touch our hearts anew with love, that we too may love and give.

It is this thought of the free circulation of energy between the three world centres which motivates this mantric sentence. A study of this will show you how the implication and significance of apparently simple words may be far deeper and far more wide-reaching in effect than you have been able to conceive. A recognition of this and a creative impassioned use of the imagination may serve to add greater potency to your thought and to your personal will-to-good as you use the Great Invocation and its subsidiary mantram. The keynote of the first aspect is Sacrifice, and of the second, Love. The words therefore "that we too may love and give" can produce a contact between the two.

A clue also to the significance of pain and of suffering will gradually emerge in the world consciousness as study is made of the above statements. Suffering is the most effective and most rapid way of evoking world understanding and of burning away the barriers which human beings have set up to the expression of the will-to-good. One of the most beneficent results of the inflow of the Shamballa force through [155] the focussed demand of the aspirants and world disciples will be the intelligent recognition of the uses of pain and suffering. It is this truth—distorted and selfishly misapplied and interpreted—which has led certain types of people and certain types of governing bodies among the nations to take the position that the greater the suffering inflicted (as, for instance, in war time) and the greater the process of terrorism, the quicker the end which is desirable and right; they hold often that the more dire the effects of planned conditions, the more rapidly will the correct consummation be achieved. It is not, however, the duty or right of man to turn first ray force to selfish ends or material objectives; responsibility cannot be veiled behind specious and distorted half truths and evil cannot be done in order that good may come. What is applied by the Lord of the World in Shamballa under the motivation of love, wisdom and selflessness with a sure touch and a judgment as to times and seasons cannot be so used by those motivated by personality objectives, either on an individual or a personality scale (for nations as well as individuals have personalities). Ponder on this and seek enlightenment from the soul.

3. When the Great Invocation is thus rightly used and the world centres are consequently consciously interrelated, then certain extra-planetary Energies can be called in by the Ruler of Shamballa to aid in the re-adjustments required for the New Age and its coming civilisation. These Forces—spiritual and potent in nature—exist in two categories: solar Forces which are inter-planetary and cosmic Forces which enter into our solar system via Jupiter as the transmitter of divine energies from Virgo and Aquarius which Jupiter esoterically governs. Virgo is esoterically the mother of the Christ child and is, therefore, the emanator of energies which nourish and aid the growth of the Christ consciousness; Aquarius is the coming expression of the group consciousness which is the first and immediate revelation of the ever present Christ consciousness on a large scale in humanity. Jupiter also, exoterically and from the angle of orthodox [156] astrology, rules Sagittarius, the sign of discipleship, and also Pisces, the sign of the world saviours. The implications will, therefore, be obvious to real students.

In considering these great Energies, there is little you can do beyond accepting—if you care to do so—my statements anent them, regarding them as interesting and simply explanatory hypotheses. There is little that you can do (or I either) to arrive at first hand knowledge of the facts along this line. Few even of the Members of the Hierarchy are conscious of the impact of force from extra-solar centres or reservoirs of spiritual force. Only the group of Contemplatives in the Hierarchy which are given the exoteric name of Nirmanakayas are responsive to Their influence in any conscious manner and then only when that influence has been stepped down by certain powerful agencies in Shamballa. It is not necessary for me or for you to say more anent Them though I shall touch upon Them again later in this article.

Prior to taking up the Great Invocation sentence by sentence, I would like briefly to touch upon the needed procedure as you attempt to say it correctly and effectively:

Forget not, first of all, the necessary process of alignment wherein you do two things:

1. Endeavour consciously (which for most of you at present means imaginatively) to align or link soul, mind and brain so that there is a direct and free inflow from the higher Self to the lower.

2. Endeavour to realise or register your relation to the Hierarchy, via your own group of disciples (if you know which it is) or in relation to whichever one of the Great Ones or Masters appeals the most to your heart and mind. If neither makes any appeal to your consciousness, the same results will be achieved if you seek to link up with the Christ.

I might here point out that the difference between the linking up that you can effectively do and that which is done by a Member of the Hierarchy itself is that you link up [157] via the Hierarchy and then through the medium of the Great Invocation reach forth to Shamballa whereas the initiates and the Masters link Themselves directly with Shamballa and use the Great Invocation in a manner totally different to that in which you use it. There is for you and the average aspirant no direct contact, and that is definitely fortunate for you. I may not further elucidate.

The second thing which you do is then to focus yourself in as high a consciousness as you are capable of achieving. Then you aim at complete self-forgetfulness and when that has been gained you direct your attention to the dual activity of the true disciple to which I earlier referred, i.e., the task of emphasising a significant understanding of the implications and meanings of the words said and of the results to be achieved. There comes next the sending forth of the words with their hidden potency and this must be done by you as a soul, using the mind and the brain as agents.

Integration, conscious activity, and the expression of the work to be done upon the physical plane will cover the entire story. These rightly carried forward will prove effective. Would it clarify matters for you if I state that:

1. Integration is a correspondence in consciousness to the Inhalation of the breath. This is the withdrawing of the consciousness to as high a point as possible.

2. Conscious activity corresponds to the right use of the Interlude between inhalation and exhalation. It involves the recognition of the forces contacted and their purpose.

3. Right expression corresponds to the period of Exhalation. This is the sending forth of the forces contacted by an act of the will in order that they may produce the desired ends.

Forget not that this has to be a group endeavour and must be carried forward in cooperation with the Hierarchy. It involves also the recognition that the soul is one and that there is no such thing as my soul—only our soul.

In considering the five sentences which form what might [158] be called the mandate of the Great Invocation (see page 144), I would like, first of all, to point out a few underlying and basic ideas.

This Great Invocation has been used by the Hierarchy ever since the year 1425 A.D. though it is thousands of years older than that. Owing, however, to the unreadiness of humanity to cooperate in its use, the results have been delayed and are regarded as "hovering." I know not how else to express the results already achieved. Today, they can precipitate, if right cooperation can be extended by humanity, and such cooperation now seems immediately possible.

The first phase, Let the Forces of Light bring illumination to mankind, definitely invokes potencies which are to be found upon monadic levels of consciousness and upon what is occultly called the second plane of divine manifestation. These Forces include the Lord of the World and the Representatives of the seven sacred planets Who are spoken of in the Christian Bible as the "seven Spirits before the Throne of God." They include also the three Agents of the Divine Triplicity Who are known, esoterically and in the East as the three Kumaras, or the three Buddhas of Activity.

What do these names and these great Individualities mean to you and to average humanity? Nothing at all and this is necessarily so. They remain but names and possible hypothetical expressions of divinity until after the third initiation when the conscious recognition of the Monad becomes possible; then Forces and Energies, personified for us in these great and stupendous Lives, can be demonstrated as having true existence. On the way to these fundamental recognitions, Their three Representatives within the limits of the Hierarchy must be accepted and known to be correspondingly functioning Activities. These Three are, the Manu, the focal point of the first Ray of Will or Power; the Christ, the head of the Hierarchy and the representative of the second Ray of Love-Wisdom; and the Lord of Civilisation, the expression of the third Ray of Active Intelligence. [159] This knowledge is achieved during the process of training for the first three initiations. Therefore, all that I here tell you must be regarded as possible of verification, and as being testified to by all the world Scriptures and by the initiates of all lands, but it must necessarily remain personally unverified by you until a much later date in your unfoldment.

The Spirit of Peace Who is invoked in the second phrase, Let the Spirit of Peace be spread abroad, is that mysterious and divine Entity with Whom the Christ came into touch and Whose influence played through Him at the time that He earned the right to be called the "Prince of Peace." As I have elsewhere told you in my earlier writings, the Christ embodied in Himself the cosmic principle of love, the expression of which in manifestation will work out as "glory to God, peace on earth and goodwill towards men." To this the angels testified at His birth. When He expressed this principle of love in His life and world service, He definitely linked up our planet and humanity (in particular) with the Source of the light, love and life to which we refer in this second phrase. This was the world salvation which He brought—a fact which is as yet little realised and which will not be widely recognised until this powerful Invocation has taken due effect.

When the world aspirants and disciples use this Invocation, the first phrase takes the consciousness to the Hierarchy of Light, which is the intermediate centre between Humanity and Shamballa. It serves then to emphasise and establish a close rapport, blending and fusing the human and the hierarchical centres. When this has taken place, the Hierarchy can then use this Great Invocation with greater potency and can carry the relation to a higher state still and produce a blending with the Shamballa centre, where the Forces of Light are found as embodied Presences and where Their focussed energy serves to provide great reservoirs of light and love. These have hitherto not been made available for planetary distribution, owing to the lack of established relation between the three centres: Humanity, Hierarchy and [160] Shamballa. That relation is now becoming somewhat established; the inflow of light and love to humanity is now possible if the disciples and aspirants of the world can be led to make the needed effort to stand in spiritual being and, from that poised attentive attitude, to invoke these great Entities. It was to this possibility that the story in the New Testament refers where reference is made to the pool which was stirred at times by the Angel and thus a condition was produced which led to the healing of the sick. The Angel of the Presence, the soul of humanity, as embodied in the Hierarchy and those who are consciously endeavouring to function as souls can now stir these reservoirs of force and light upon etheric levels in Shamballa so that a definite "healing of the nations" can take place.

When the thought behind the Great Invocation can be carried high enough in the consciousness of those using it through a joint effort of the world disciples and the Hierarchy of Light—as well as being reinforced by the Forces of Light—then the Spirit of Peace can be invoked.

On a lower turn of the spiral, you will note that the Wesak Festival enacts a similar invocation and process. It is a re-enacting and training process. There and at that time, the three Representatives of Shamballa within the Hierarchy—the Manu, the Christ and the Mahachohan—invoke the Buddha, Who in His turn is the transmitter of still higher Forces. He is invoked by a special mantram and transmits the appeal to the One Whose agent He is. If this Great Invocation which we are studying can be rightly said, the three great planetary centres can be related in a similar manner. The Lord of Civilisation, the Master R., representing humanity, the Christ representing the Hierarchy and the Lord of the World, linked through the Manu and representing Shamballa can be brought into a close relation so that the result will be the setting up of such a potent vibration and note that the Spirit of Peace will be invoked and contacted. By the voiced appeal His attention will be forced to turn itself towards our planet. The consequences will be significant and potent but as to the form which they [161] will take it is impossible for me to say. Perhaps it will lead to some peculiar and powerful demonstration of the meaning of peace as the expression of universal and planetary love; perhaps it will produce the sending of an Avatar or Messenger of Peace to lead the nations to right action; perhaps some happening will take place of such significance that its import will be immediately recognised by humanity as a whole, leading them to take all the needed steps to restore right human relations. The nature of the activities which the Spirit of Peace will institute is not our responsibility. Our duty is to learn rightly to contact the Hierarchy, via our own souls; rightly to use the Great Invocation as souls, and rightly to render ourselves responsive to and sensitive to the resultant effects. Ponder on the above.

It might, therefore, be noted that the Forces of Light express Themselves through the Hierarchy of Light and Their major effect is the illumination of the minds of men with love and light. This precipitates upon the mental plane. The personality or the form aspect of humanity is thereby pervaded and illumined. Thus the third great planetary centre, Humanity, becomes creative and magnetic, and two divine aspects—intelligence and love—will reach fruition upon the physical plane, making it possible for the first aspect and the will of God (understood by humanity as the Plan) to be consciously carried forward on earth in conformity with the activity instituted at Shamballa. The will of God is purpose and this is, for the first time, to be recognised consciously by man.

The Spirit of Peace will, when the right time comes, vitalise the responsiveness of humanity, via the influence of the Hierarchy, to the will of God which has for basic intent the bringing of peace on earth. What is peace? It is essentially the establishing of right human relations, of synthetic rapport with its resultant cooperation, of correct interplay between the three planetary centres and an illumined, loving understanding of the will of God as it affects humanity and works out divine intent. It is for this reason that the Christ, Who established for the first time in planetary history a [162] contact between the Hierarchy, Humanity, Shamballa and the Spirit of Peace in His Own high place, in His first recorded utterance said that He must be about His Father's business and then at the end of His life, reiterated the same thought in the words: "Father, not my will but Thine be done," thus carrying the thought up to the highest plane for He addressed the Father, the first Aspect of Divinity. He then focussed in Himself the two major divine attributes and aspects—will and love (atma-buddhi)—and because of this, His consciousness became extra-planetary as is the consciousness of the Lord of the World, and He could then touch certain heights of awareness and contact certain solar Agencies which had never before been contacted by man. This achievement enabled Him to put Humanity in touch with the Spirit of Peace. He thus Himself became the Light of the World and the Prince of Peace.

In this manner, Shamballa and the Hierarchy were brought into a close relationship and two great streams of force were blended and a definite interplay set up between them. The Buddha, through His achievement of illumination, established the first major link with the Forces of Light. The Christ, through His ability to express the will of God in love and as world salvage, established the first major link with the Spirit of Peace.

If you will study the above information with care, you will find that the importance of the Wesak Festival at the time of the full moon of May will assume increasing importance in your minds. It is the festival at which three factors of importance to humanity are brought into relation: