Freedom Through Community
Dear Co-worker,
We find ourselves in the most organized and interconnected period of human history by far, and yet there is a sense of collective loneliness in the heart of humanity. The new service networks and communication tools of this digital era are having a huge impact on patterns of behaviour, relationships and concepts of identity; and while they have the potential to facilitate new freedoms and further human integration, they also harbour the danger of new addictions and compulsions. The ‘online world’ is a wonderful medium for promoting social evolution, but it can also erode the traditional sense of community relationships and social values.
As a consequence of all this, the core human need of a sense of ‘belonging’ and social identity is on shifting ground; and this is compounded by another feature of the digital era – the trend towards technocratic forms of government reliant on the highly educated.
This type of meritocracy has its downside, as the political philosopher, Michael J. Sandel, points out in his book, The Tyranny of Merit:
Having well-educated people run the government is generally desirable, provided they possess sound judgment and a sympathetic understanding of working people’s lives – what Aristotle called practical wisdom and civic virtue. But history shows little connection between prestigious academic credentials and either practical wisdom or an instinct for the common good in the here and now…1
Elsewhere in the same book he writes:
Our technocratic version of meritocracy severs the link between merit and moral judgment. In the domain of the economy, it simply assumes that the common good is defined by GDP [gross domestic product] and that the value of people’s contributions consists in the market value of the goods or services they sell. In the domain of government, it assumes that merit means technocratic expertise. This can be seen in the growing role of economists as policy advisors, the increasing reliance on market mechanisms to define and achieve the public good, and the failure of public discourse to address the large moral and civic questions that should be at the center of political debate: What should we do about rising inequality? What is the moral significance of national borders? What makes for the dignity of work? What do we owe one another as citizens? This morally blinkered way of conceiving merit and the public good has weakened democratic societies. 2
As new, diverse branches of sociology emerge to study all these changes in political behaviour, social relationships and concepts of the self, it is of value to note that Sociology literally means ‘the study of companionship’. It is derived from the Latin word socius, meaning ‘companion’, and the Greek word Logos, meaning ‘word’ or ‘knowledge’.3 We might, then, call the esoteric dimension of sociology The WORD of Companionship – a study of the divine, creative sound as it is unfolding in social groups around the world. Letting our imaginations soar, what would it be like to experience The Word of Companionship sounding throughout the entire field of human relationships, infusing it with meaning? What might the social structure of planet Earth be like if people everywhere were simply open to the idea of a Divine Plan – the sense that evolution is being driven forward by a majestic purpose, and that the unfolding qualities of every single unit of life, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant, are needed in order to fulfill it?
To this end, unfolding a sense of divine plan and purpose in the social consciousness is surely one of the most pressing needs of our time. Such an injection of meaning could revolutionize human thinking and interactions, strengthening the united bridge of consciousness that humanity is building towards the subtle worlds. The Alice Bailey writings refer to this bridge-building process as the ‘Science of Social Evolution’, predicting that, in the future, it will become part of a great Science of Invocation and Evocation that will be based on the magnetic, arranging power of sound. The beginnings of this science can be practiced by anyone who uses the Great Invocation on a regular basis. The conscious, purposeful enunciation of this mantram in connection with the meditation outline, Strengthening the Hands of the New Group of World Servers, sends potencies thrilling through the planetary ethers to amplify and magnetize the spiritual sound that is rising from all individuals and groups whose activities are in musical resonance with the Divine Plan.
The ‘magnetic power of sound’ can be sensed behind the work of many intuitive servers today. As students of the esoteric sciences know well however, human consciousness cannot suddenly leap into a sublime state of “identification with the whole”. It has to be steadily nurtured through education and an active participation in the interlacing social spheres that make up that greater whole. This spirit of approach is termed “inclusive localism” by Raghuram Rajan, a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund as well as a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. 3
In his book, The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind, he writes:
Deep down, the vast majority of us recognize the human in one another. Yet we need to come close enough to do that, and all too often, we label at a distance. Understanding and tolerance of other cultures is not a weakness, not a sign of inadequate patriotism, not an indication that we are rootless ‘citizens of nowhere’. In reality, it reflects our preparation for the world of tomorrow, where we will become ever more mixed as peoples, even as we study, value, and preserve our collective cultural heritage. The world is not there yet. Therefore, we need to take smaller, easier steps, where there is room for all as we develop a better understanding of one another. The strengthening of proximate communities [neighbourhoods] will not just allow a diversity of views, including the most tribal and the most cosmopolitan, to exist. It will also allow us to preserve direct social interaction, which may well be where more of the jobs of the future lie, as automation depletes jobs in sectors that produce commercial goods and services.4
There is a growing understanding that humanity has to rediscover the spirit of community in this rapidly changing world, populated by ever smarter machines and technocratic forms of government; and we will be deliberating this further in our online World Goodwill seminar: Imagination and Social Regeneration, on 6 November, in Geneva, London and New York. Humanity has to reimagine the principle of freedom and rediscover it collectively in the spirit of community at all levels of human endeavour and intercourse. This is needed to bring humanity into alignment with a great cosmic principle that lies behind the whole evolutionary process on Earth. It operates in every kingdom in nature and “substands or lies under or behind all progress”.
The Alice Bailey writings refer to this energy as the Law or Principle of Freedom. It is variously described as “a leavening energy which can permeate substance in a unique manner”, and a “mysteriously exerted influence” that results in a “pulling away from form”. Paradoxically, while this great law brings about freedom, it also imposes certain restrictions, and these have apparently led to the informing Life of our planet – the Lord of the World – being known as the ‘Great Sacrifice’. Under the control of this law, “He created our planetary life and all that is within and upon it, in order to learn to wield this law with full understanding, in full consciousness, and yet at the same time to bring release to the myriad forms of His creation”. 5
At the human level, the path to freedom in a social context involves a steady sacrifice of the individualistic mindset to that of group consciousness. This reflects the spirit of the great law under which the informing Life of our planet functions, and the creative sacrifice he made to “bring release to the myriad forms of His creation”. Humanity’s understanding of freedom is evolving slowly but surely, and the solidarity that has been evidenced in large swathes of the world’s population throughout the pandemic has been encouraging. Insular concepts of freedom have been challenged, and their sacrifice for the greater good of society has been one of the lessons of this period.
The esoteric workers of the world add further to this evolving group understanding with minds and hearts on fire with light and love. Through our skilful endeavours in service meditations and enunciation of the Great Invocation, we can help the Word of Companionship to ring throughout the sphere of human activity, dissipating the veils of glamour and illusion with the inspirational message of freedom through community.
In the companionship of the One Work,
Christine Morgan
President
LUCIS TRUST
1. Michael J. Sandel, The Tyranny of Merit, p.90
2. Ibid, p.28
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociology#Etymology
4. Raghuram Rajan, The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State leave the Community Behind, p.391
5. Alice A. Bailey, The Rays and the Initiations, p.417
The Right Direction of the Human Kingdom
by
Alice A. Bailey
The form of humanity is completed. Its right placement within the womb of matter is the objective of the Hierarchy, with all the consequent implications. Note these words. The need at this time is terrific, and the soul is at the birthing in humanity as a whole. Cosmically speaking, if right direction of the forces of the human kingdom is now achieved, there will be manifested on the earth a humanity which will manifest a purpose, a beauty and a form which will be full expressions of an inner spiritual reality and in line with egoic [soul] purpose. Other eventualities can be sensed as sadly possible but these we will not consider for it is the hope and the belief of the watching… [Spiritual Hierarchy]… that men and women will transcend all undesirable eventualities and make the goal. One word here, and one hint. The Hierarchy of the planet constitutes symbolically the head centre of humanity and their forces constitute the brain forces. On the physical plane are a large band of aspirants, probationary disciples and accepted disciples who are seeking to be responsive to the “head centre”, some consciously, others unconsciously. They are
gathered from all fields of expression but are all creative in some way or other. They in their turn constitute what might be symbolically called the “pineal gland” of humanity. As in individuals this is usually dormant and asleep, so, in humanity, this group of cells within the brain of the body corporate is dormant, but thrilling to the vibrations of the head centre – the Hierarchy. Some of the cells are awake. Let them
intensify their endeavour and so awaken others.
The pioneers of the human family, the scientists, thinkers and artists constitute the pituitary body. They express the concrete mind but lack that intuitive perception and idealism which would place them (symbolically speaking) in the pineal gland; they are nevertheless brilliant, expressive and investigating. The objective of the Hierarchy (again symbolically speaking) is to make the pineal gland so potent and, therefore, so attractive that the pituitary body of cell lives may be stimulated and thus a close interplay be brought about. This will lead to such potent action that there will be a streaming forth of new cells to the pineal gland and at the same time such a strong reaction set up that the entire body will be affected, resulting in the streaming upward of many stimulated lives to take the places of those who are finding their way into the centre of hierarchical endeavour.
The “waters of space”, in which this re-orientation and reversal of tendencies is progressing, are in a state of violent turmoil. The vortex of conflicting desire in which people find themselves is now chaotic and so potent that these waters are stirred to the very depths. Students of modern history and of social order are faced with an unprecedented condition, corresponding in the corporate body of humanity to that upheaval in the life of an individual aspirant which always precedes the passing onto the Path of Discipleship. Hence there is no cause for depression or undue anxiety, but only ardent desire that the transition may be made in due time and order and be neither too rapid – hence destructive to all right ties and affiliations – nor too prolonged and so strain beyond endurance the sorely tried fabric of humanity. All new manifestations in all kingdoms in all ages must come slowly, and therefore safely, to the birthing. All new forms, if they are ultimately to carry weight and gather adequate momentum to carry them through their life cycle, must be built in silent subjectivity, in order that the building may be strong and sure and the inner contact with the creator (human or divine) and true conformity to the pattern may be substantial and unbreakable. This is true of a universe, a kingdom in nature, or a thought-form created by a human thinker.
Adapted from Alice A. Bailey, A Treatise on White Magic, pp.276–8. These extracts that were written in the years 1928–1933, before the Second World War, seem particularly appropriate to the themes of freedom and community in our time. They include references to the perennial philosophy’s tradition of the Spiritual Hierarchy as a major link in the Great Chain of Being: the group of spiritual beings on the inner planes who, as the intelligent forces of nature, are actively involved in the spiritual evolution of humanity. A free booklet by Alice Bailey, introducing the Spiritual Hierarchy can be ordered or downloaded at: www.lucistrust.org/hierarchy.
