The Reappearance of The Christ

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The following talk was given in the Triangles webinar on June 11, 2018:

As we leave behind the three spiritual Festivals for another year we recognise that their note, potency and rhythm will reverberate throughout the spheres for some time to come. Perhaps the outstanding image we have in our minds during these Festivals is the active, living, and ever present role and presence of the Christ, the World Teacher Who plays such a pivotal role in these planetary events and in the life of humanity.

Many of you will be familiar with the Alice Bailey teaching, the 24 books of esoteric philosophy, which were written over a thirty year period, between 1919 and 1949. Out of the presented ideas, in the 1930s, emerged the planetary service projects of Triangles and World Goodwill, two distinct yet complementary programmes of service work, to bring about the radiance of light and goodwill in all aspects of human living. Other profound and enduring themes were also anchored in human consciousness as a result of Their collaborative work, such as the release of the Great Invocation, which has been described as the supreme achievement of Alice Bailey and the Tibetan, during their 30 years work together, in “the rendering of ‘seven ancient word forms’ into modern language”. Foster Bailey once wrote that Alice Bailey “often spoke of her amazement at the glimpses she obtained through contact with the Tibetan's mind, of limitless vistas of spiritual truths which she could not possibly have otherwise contacted, and often of a quality she could not possibly express.”

To date, the Invocation has been translated into over 70 languages and dialects, and for nearly 75 years it has been sounded throughout the planet. As a result of its worldwide use the energies invoked can be said to be deeply anchored in human consciousness. It is an enduring tool to relate “the will of the Father, the love of the spiritual Hierarchy and the service of Humanity into one great Triangle of Energies”.

Other streams of pioneering and greatly influential strands of spiritual thought woven into a cohesive and integrated approach to the inner realities that underlie the phenomenal, the manifested worlds includes the dissemination of information regarding the work of the new group of world servers, of Shamballa, of the spiritual Hierarchy of the planet, of the monthly festival meditation work, of esoteric astrology, psychology and healing, and of the “the psychological key to the Cosmic Creation” as outlined in the book ‘A Treatise on Cosmic Fire’. Through this tapestry of ideas, suggestions and wealth of information, we begin to wonder at the pattern of the heavens and its gradual reflection on Earth.

But, we are informed, behind all these strands of deep interrelated ideas, hierarchical initiatives, and programmes of work, loomed large the focus of preparing human consciousness for the reappearance of the Christ, the World Teacher, Who is all inclusive in His outlook to religions, races, creeds and backgrounds, and who has not the slightest sense of separateness in His consciousness. This theme runs like a golden thread throughout the teachings, and all our work to date, now, and into the foreseeable future revolves around this inner purpose. Central to this work is the use and distribution of the Great Invocation which quite simply voices the destiny and Plan for humanity. So, perhaps, we can briefly look at the role of the Christ from a slightly different perspective.

I wonder if we ever stop to think about the awesome responsibility of the Christ in His work today and at the time of His return to the outer world of human affairs in the not too distant future? The magnitude of the task, the responsibilities of His High Office, the working out of the great Law, His role as the head of the spiritual Hierarchy of the planet, and of His relationship to Shamballa and to the Lord of the World who stands at Its centre, to the Buddha and to other great beneficent planetary and inter-planetary Lives who work and stand with Him, and of course His eternal and abiding relationship to the human family, as ‘the Eldest in a great family of brothers’. For nearly three thousand years, in His capacity as the World Teacher two millennia ago, now and into the foreseeable future, and in an earlier incarnation as Shri Krishna and also as “one other who was little known but who did a great work in still earlier centuries”, He has been preparing for the seventh initiation that of ‘The Resurrection’. At the conclusion of this initiatory process, it is said, the Buddha and the Christ will stand before the Lord of the World, our planetary Logos, and “together see the glory of the Lord and, together pass to higher service of a nature and calibre unknown to us.” And, like the Buddha, His great Brother, the Christ has emerged out of the human family, and today He stands as the ‘God-man’, the divine representative on Earth, and the supreme spiritual executive. To these and other great exalted Individualities, the keynote of their lives is to eternally serve.

That these considerations are not widely known within the human family is understandable. But those who have reflected on these matters over the years and therefore have an understanding, albeit incomplete (at least from a theoretical perspective) recognise in their own small way the sacrifice, love, dedication to duty and response to the divine Will that characterises the great Hierarchy of Lives that guide our planetary evolution, and the responsibilities and challenges they face in helping to release consciousness from form, and the liberation of the inner spiritual life from the imprisoning walls of matter,.

Signs of His approach are clearly evident: the coming together in consciousness of all those who love and care for their fellow human beings which can be seen from one perspective as the organising of the army of the Lord. There is also the work of the group of world servers who can be considered as the general staff of the Christ and who have been described as “potent a body of forerunners as has ever preceded a great world Figure into the arena of humankinds living” (adapted – EOH 598). So, there is cause for optimism and hope, but not complacency, and the work of preparation goes forward with clarity, potency, and commitment.

Like Mary Magdalene in the New Testament, who spoke to the Christ and not recognising Him said: “They have taken away my Lord and I know not where they have laid Him”, so, humanity aspiring, yet materialistic, and fraught with challenges, too must search for the spiritual, that which the living and risen Christ represents and embodies. The outer symbols of religion, the stone buildings and narrow minded theological dogmas, must give way to “the Temple of God, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens”. Spiritual reality must overshadow symbols and their pale reflections, and the practical application of spiritual truth for the benefit of all must take precedence over separative theological interpretations and platitudes.

We might ask ourselves how can we help to prepare human consciousness for the return of the Christ? Through Triangles, we can contribute to enriching and uplifting the mental atmosphere of the planet, so that the seeds of co-operation, sharing, and goodwill, can breathe and blossom in the human family. The Great invocation is an indispensable tool in our daily work and is described as providing “a spiritual inflow right to the very heart of humanity and from the highest sources”.

So, perhaps, we can conclude from a short extract from the Alice Bailey teaching regarding the Christ:

"This descent into our unhappy world can present Him with no alluring picture. From the quiet mountain retreat where He has waited, guided and watched over humanity, and where He has trained His disciples, initiates and the New Group of World Servers, He must come forth and take His place prominently on the world stage, and take His part in the great drama which is there being played. This time, He will play His part, not in obscurity as He previously did, but before the eyes of the entire world. Because of the smallness of our little planet, and because of the prevalence of the radio, television and the rapidity of communication, His part will be watched by all, and the prospect must surely, for Him, hold certain horror, must present its tests and major adjustments, plus painful and unavoidable experience. He does not come as the omnipotent God of humanity’s ignorant creation, but as the Christ, the Founder of the Kingdom of God on Earth, to complete the work He started, and again to demonstrate divinity in far more difficult circumstances.” (The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, p.607 adapted)

Every evening, somewhere in the Himalayas, it is said, that under the great pine in His garden and at just before sunset, the Christ raises His arms in blessing to all those who “truly and earnestly seek to aspire”. His love embraces all of humanity and we can be assured that His return is imminent.