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SECTION FOUR - SUMMARY OF THE TIBETAN’S WORK (1919-1943)

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SECTION FOUR

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SUMMARY OF THE TIBETAN'S WORK

(1919-1943)

In 1919, during the month of November, I made a contact with Alice A. Bailey and asked her to do some writing for me and also to undertake the publishing of certain books which— under the sequential giving out of truth—were due to appear. She refused immediately, having no sympathy with the flood of so-called occult literature being passed out to the public by the various occult groups, having no experience in writing for the public, and having also a profound dislike of every form of psychic writing and of psychic work. Later, she changed her mind when I explained to her that telepathic rapport was a proven thing and a matter of scientific interest, that she was neither clairaudient or clairvoyant and never would be and that (above all) the test of truth was the truth itself. I told her that if she would write for a period of a month, the material transcribed would prove to her whether it contained truth, whether it evoked intuitive understanding and recognition and whether it had in it that which might be of value in the new spiritual era which was impending. She, therefore, overcame her disgust of this type of work and of the many occult presentations of truth which were prevalent; she only stipulated that the writing should go out with no claims whatsoever and that the teachings should stand or fall on their own merits.

The first book published was Initiation, Human and Solar. This was the result of her first effort to do this kind of work; it laid the foundation of all the succeeding books. Since then she has written for me for nearly twenty-five years. The books have gone out in line with a deep, underlying purpose which it may interest you to know about and they have received a worldwide recognition.

Initiation, Human and Solar was intended to bring the fact of the Hierarchy to public attention. This had been done by H.P.B. by inference and statement but not in any sequential form. The Theosophical Society had taught the fact of the [778] Masters, though H.P. Blavatsky (in a communication to the Esoteric Section) stated that she bitterly regretted so doing. This teaching was misinterpreted by later theosophical leaders and they made certain basic mistakes. The Masters Whom they portrayed were characterised by an impossible infallibility, because the Masters are Themselves evolving; the teaching given endorsed an engrossing interest in self-development and an intense focussing upon personal unfoldment and liberation; the people who were indicated as initiates and senior disciples were entirely mediocre with no influence outside the Theosophical Society itself; complete devotion to the Masters was also emphasised—devotion to Their personalities. These Masters were also shown as interfering with the organisation life of the various occult groups which claimed to be working under Their direction. They were made responsible for the mistakes of the leaders of the groups who took refuge under such statements as: The Master has instructed me to say, etc., the Master wants the following work to be done, or the Master wants the membership to do thus and so. Those who obeyed were regarded as good members; those who refused to be interested and obedient were looked upon as renegades. The freedom of the individual was constantly infringed and the weaknesses and ambitions of the leaders were provided with an alibi. Knowing all this well, A.A.B. refused to be a party to any such constantly recurring activity, for such is the history of practically all the known occult groups which attract the attention of the public. Even had I wanted to work in such a way (which no one affiliated with the Hierarchy ever does), I would have found no collaboration from her.

Letters on Occult Meditation followed next. These indicated a somewhat new approach to meditation, based not on devotion to the Masters but on a recognition of the soul in each person. This was succeeded by A Treatise on Cosmic Fire. This book was an expansion of the teaching given in The Secret Doctrine on the three fires—electric fire, solar fire and fire by friction—and it was an awaited sequence; it also presented the psychological key to The Secret Doctrine and is intended to offer study to disciples and initiates at the close of this century and the beginning of the next century, up until 2025 A.D.

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Later A.A.B. felt that it would be of value to me and to the work if she demonstrated that she could write books (useful to students) apart from transcribing my writings and taking down my notes, rendering them into the thought-provoking English which together we have developed as a medium for transmission of the ideas which it is my dharma to make public. The average psychic and medium is not usually of a high-grade intelligence and A.A.B. desired to prove (for the aiding of the work of the future) that one could do definitely psychic work and be of a real intelligence. She has, therefore, written four books which are entirely her own production:

The Consciousness of the Atom.

The Soul and Its Mechanism.

From Intellect to Intuition.

From Bethlehem to Calvary.

She has also written one book in collaboration with me, entitled The Light of the Soul; in it I give the translation of the Sanskrit Sutras of Patanjali and she contributes the commentary, referring to me occasionally for reassurance as to meaning.

Then followed A Treatise on White Magic. This was written years ago. As it was written it went out, chapter by chapter, to the senior students of the Arcane School as reading matter only. It is the first book ever given out upon the training and control of the astral or emotional body. Many occult books have been written upon the subject of the physical body and its purification and upon the etheric or vital body; most of them have been compilations of other books, both ancient or modern. This book of mine, however, is intended to train the modern aspirant in the control of his astral body, by the aid of the mind as that mind is, in its turn, illumined by the soul.

The next book undertaken was A Treatise on the Seven Rays. It is a long book, not yet completed. It is taking shape in four volumes, two of which are already published, one is ready for publication and the final volume is in process of writing. Volumes one and two deal with the seven rays and their seven psychological types and thus lay the foundation for the new psychology for which modern psychology, materialistic as it may be, has laid a sound basis. Volume three is entirely given over to the subject of esoteric astrology and forms a unit [780] in itself. It is intended to launch the new astrology which is founded on the soul and not on the personality. Orthodox astrology sets up a chart which gives the fate and destiny of the personality, and when that personality is little evolved or is only of an average development, it can be and often is amazingly correct. It is not so correct, however, in the case of highly developed people, aspirants, disciples and initiates who are beginning to control their stars and consequently their actions; the events and the happenings in their lives then become unpredictable. The new and future astrology endeavours to give the key to the horoscope of the soul, as it is conditioned by the soul ray and not by the personality ray; enough has been given by me to enable astrologers, who are interested and of the new inclination, to work out the future from the angle of this new approach. Astrology is a fundamental and most necessary science. A.A.B. is not well versed in astrology; she cannot set up a chart nor could she tell you the names of the planets with the houses which they rule. I am, therefore, entirely responsible for all that appears in this and all my books, except, as before explained, the one book, The Light of the Soul.

The fourth volume deals with the subject of healing, and with the bridging, by the antahkarana, of the gap which exists between the Monad and the personality; it also gives the Fourteen Rules which those in training for initiation have to master. Again, I would call your attention to this last theme, reminding you that the true initiate has never made the slightest claim, either privately or publicly, to be an initiate. It is against the occult law and too many people of no particular spiritual focus or intellectual capacity make these claims and consequent harm has ensued, thus lowering the idea of the Hierarchy and the nature of adeptship in the eyes of the watching public. I am, therefore, entirely responsible for the Fourteen Rules and their elucidation and application. A.A.B. has never claimed to be more than a working disciple, occupied with world work (which no one can deny) and has re-iterated again and again that the word "disciple" is the legitimate and non-controversial word (as well as the truthful word) to be used for all grades of workers in the Hierarchy from the probationary disciple, [781] loosely affiliated with certain disciples in that Hierarchy, up to and including the Christ Himself, the Master of all the Masters and the Teacher alike of Angels and of men. She has steadily set herself, with my full approval, against the unwholesome curiosity as to status and title which is a blight on so many occult groups, leading to the full tide of competition, jealousy, criticism and claim-making which distinguishes the majority of the occult groups, which renders futile so many of their publications and which hinders the general public from receiving the teaching in its purity and simplicity. Status and title, place and position count for nothing. It is the teaching that counts—its truth and its intuitive appeal. This you must constantly bear in mind. The accepted disciples of a Master who arrive at recognition of Him from within themselves—a recognition which can then be corroborated by their fellow disciples and used by the Master Himself as a factual condition—know their Master, accept teaching from Him and among themselves speak of Him as He is to them but not to the outside world. The papers lately printed in The Beacon and inadequately censored were given by me, as a Master, to the members of a group within my Ashram. This group has preserved my anonymity for more than a decade, which was their correct and obvious duty.

The books, therefore, have been going out steadily for years. When A Treatise on the Seven Rays is completed, a short book on glamour ready for the press and this book on DISCIPLESHIP IN THE NEW AGE is in the hands of the public, then the work of A.A.B. for me will be over, she can resume her work in the Ashram of her own Master—the work of His disciple.

The next phase of the work which I sought to see accomplished is now in working order. It was my wish (as it is the wish of many associated with the Hierarchy) to see an esoteric school started which would leave the membership free, which would bind them by no pledges or oaths and which would—whilst assigning meditation, study and giving esoteric teaching—leave people to make their own adjustments, to interpret the truth as best they could, to present to them the many points of view and at the same time communicate to them the deepest esoteric truths which they could recognise if there was that in [782] them which was awakened to the mysteries and which, even when read or heard, could do them no harm if they lacked the perception to recognise the truth for what it was. Such a school was started in 1923 by Alice A. Bailey with the aid of Foster Bailey and certain students of vision and spiritual understanding. She made it a condition that I should have nothing to do with the Arcane School, and that I should have no control over its policies and curriculum. Even my books were not used as textbooks and only during the past three years has one of them, A Treatise on White Magic, been adopted as a course of study and that at the very earnest request of many students. Also, some of the teaching upon the antahkarana (which will appear in the fifth volume of the Treatise on the Seven Rays) has been used for two years in one section of the fourth degree, entitled Weavers in the Light. The teaching on glamour has been given as some of the reading matter for another section.

No obedience is expected in the Arcane School, no emphasis is laid on "obeying the Master," for no Master is running the school. Emphasis is laid upon the one Master in the heart, the soul, the true spiritual man within each human being; no theology is taught; the student is under no compulsion to accept any interpretation or presentation of truth; he can accept or reject the fact of the Masters, of the Hierarchy, of reincarnation, or of the soul and still remain a member of the school in good standing. No loyalty is expected or asked, either to the school or to A.A.B. Students can work in any of the occult, esoteric, metaphysical or orthodox groups and churches and still be members of the school. They are asked to look upon such activities as fields of service wherein they can express any spiritual help they may have gained through their work in the school. Leaders and senior workers in many occult groups are working in the Arcane School, but they feel perfectly free to give their time, loyalty and service to their own groups.

This school has been in existence for twenty years and is now entering into a new cycle of growth and usefulness—along with the whole of humanity—and for this due preparation is being made. The keynote of the school is service, based on love of humanity. The meditation work is balanced and paralleled by study and by the effort to teach the students to serve.

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Another phase of my work came into existence about ten years ago when I started to write certain pamphlets for the general public, calling attention to the world situation and to the New Group of World Servers. I thus endeavoured to anchor on earth (if I may use such a phrase) an externalisation or a symbol of the work of the Hierarchy. It was an effort to band together subjectively and (where possible) objectively all those people of spiritual purpose and deep love of humanity who were actively working in many countries, either in organisations or alone. Their name is legion. Some few are known to the workers in the school. Thousands are known to me but not to them; all are working under the inspiration of the Hierarchy and are, either consciously or unconsciously, fulfilling the duties of agents of the Masters. Together they form a band, closely knit on the inner side by spiritual intention and love. Some are occultists, working in the various occult groups; some are mystics, working with vision and love; others belong to the orthodox religions and some recognise no spiritual affiliations, so-called, at all. All are, however, animated by a sense of responsibility for human welfare and have interiorly pledged themselves to help their fellowmen. This great group constitutes the World Saviour at this time and will salvage the world and inaugurate the new era after the war. The pamphlets which I wrote (the first of which was called The Next Three Years) indicated their plans and purposes, and made suggestions as to modes and methods of cooperation with this group of World Servers, already in existence and active in many fields.

Those whom the New Group of World Servers influence and with whom they seek to work and who can act as their agents, we call the men and women of goodwill. I made an effort to reach these people in 1936 when there was a faint possibility that the war even at that late hour might be averted. Many will remember that campaign and its relative success. Millions were reached by means of the spoken and written word and by the radio but there were not enough people, spiritually interested, to take the needed steps to stem the tide of hate, evil and aggression which threatened to engulf the world. The war broke out in 1939 in spite of all the efforts of the Hierarchy [784] and Their workers, and the goodwill work fell naturally into abeyance. That part of the work in which members of the Arcane School had sought to serve and which had resulted in the forming of nineteen centres for service in as many countries had temporarily to be dropped—but only temporarily, my brothers, for goodwill is the "saving force" and an expression of the will-to-good which animates the New Group of World Servers.

I would emphasise that this work of anchoring the New Group of World Servers and organising the goodwill work has nothing whatsoever to do with the school except in so far that members in the school were given the opportunity to help in the movement. They were left entirely free to do so or not as they chose; a very large percentage ignored the effort altogether, thus demonstrating the freedom which they felt and had been taught.

When the war broke and the entire world was hurled into the consequent chaos, horror, disaster, death and agony, many spiritually minded people were anxious to stay aloof from the struggle. They were not the majority but a powerful and noisy minority. They regarded any attitude of partisanship as an infringement of the law of brotherhood and were willing to sacrifice the good of the whole of humanity to a sentimental urge to love all men in a manner which necessitated their taking no action or decision of any kind. Instead of "my country right or wrong," it was "humanity, right or wrong." When I wrote the pamphlet called The Present World Crisis and the succeeding papers on the world situation, I stated that the Hierarchy endorsed the attitude and aims of the United Nations, fighting for the freedom of the whole of humanity and for the release of the suffering people. This necessarily placed the Hierarchy in the position of not endorsing the Axis position in any way. Many in the goodwill work and some few in the school interpreted this as political in import, presumably believing that a position of complete neutrality, where both good and evil are concerned, was demanded of spiritually inclined people. Such people fail to think clearly and confuse an unwillingness to take sides with brotherly love, forgetting the words of the Christ that "he who is not with me is against me." [785] Let me repeat what I have oft said before. The Hierarchy and all its members, including myself, love humanity but they will not endorse evil, aggression, cruelty and the imprisoning of the human soul. They stand for liberty, for opportunity for all to move forward along the way of light, for human welfare without discrimination, for kindness and the right of every man to think for himself, to speak and to work. Necessarily they cannot, therefore, endorse the nations or the people in any nation who are against human freedom and happiness. In Their love and Their grasp of circumstance, They know that in a later life or lives the majority of those who are now the enemies of human freedom will themselves be free and tread the Lighted Way. In the meantime, the entire force of the Hierarchy is thrown on the side of the nations struggling to free humanity, and on the side of those in any nation who thus work. If being on the side of goodness and freedom is deemed detrimental to the spiritual issues, then the Hierarchy will work to change the attitude of people as to what is spiritual.

I have, therefore, been interested in three phases of the work: the books, the Arcane School, and the New Group of World Servers. The impact made upon the world by these three aspects of the work has been definitely effective and useful. The sum total of the useful work accomplished is what counts and not the criticisms and the misunderstanding of those who, basically, belong to the old order, and to the Piscean Age. They are, therefore, unable to see the emergence of the new ways of life and the new approaches to truth.

I have stood all this time behind the scenes. The books and pamphlets have been my responsibility and carry the authority of truth—if truth is there—and not the authority of my name or of any status which I might claim, or which might be claimed for me by the curious, the inquisitive and the devotee. I have dictated none of the policies of the school or interfered in its curriculum; for them A.A.B. is responsible. My books and pamphlets have been made available to school students along with the rest of the general public.

I have sought to aid the goodwill work (for which Foster Bailey is responsible) by suggestion and by indicating what is the work that the New Group of World Servers are seeking to [786] do, but no authoritative requests have been made in my name, nor will they ever be made. The sum total of all these activities has been good; the misunderstandings have been few and have been inherent in the personal equipment and attitude of the critical. Criticism is wholesome so long as it is not permitted to become destructive.

Paralleling these major activities, I have, since the year 1931, been training a group of men and women, scattered all over the world, in the techniques of accepted discipleship, academically understood. Out of the many possible neophytes, I indicated a group of approximately 45 people—some known personally to A.A.B. and some quite unknown—who had demonstrated a willingness to be trained and who could be tried out for fitness for the group work of the new discipleship. These people received direct personal instructions from me and certain general instructions which embodied the newer approach to the Hierarchy and to the spiritual life, though based, of course, on the ancient rules. Some of these instructions are made available to the general public in this book, but no indication is given of the persons thus trained and no information will be made available; names, dates and locations are changed, though the instructions remain as given.

Necessarily these people have, from their contact with me, ascertained my identity. They have known for years who I am. But they have preserved my anonymity with great care and under real difficulty, owing to the fact that hundreds of people in nearly every country in the world have speculated upon my identity and many of them have guessed it accurately. Therefore, today, in spite of all that A.A.B. and my disciples have been able to do, it is generally conceded that I am a Master and a name has been given to me. To my own group of specially picked aspirants I have acknowledged my name when they themselves had interiorly arrived at it. It was both foolish and false to do otherwise; in communicating with them or in writing instructions on the new discipleship, I necessarily took my rightful position and name. Some of these instructions have been deemed by me as useful and appropriate for more general use and were embodied in the series of papers upon the Stages of Discipleship issued under my name in The Beacon. They [787] were carefully edited, prior to publication, except in one paper when, some months ago under the pressure of very heavy work, A.A.B. omitted to delete one paragraph in which I do speak as a Master. This paragraph, much to her distress, appeared in the July 1943 Beacon. After many years of protecting my identity, she made this slip and it has, therefore, been publicly stated that I am a Master.

In this connection, there are three points to which I would like to call your attention.

Earlier—many years earlier—I stated in A Treatise on White Magic that I was an initiate of a certain standing but that my anonymity would be preserved. Years later, owing to this mistake, I am apparently in the position of contradicting or reversing myself, and so changing my policy. Actually I am not doing so. The spread of the teaching alters circumstances and the need of humanity demands at times a changed approach. There is nothing static in the evolution of truth. It has long been my intention to do all that was necessary to bring the fact of the Hierarchy and its membership more definitely before the public and in a more arresting way.

Years ago, I definitely told A.A.B. (as did her own Master) that her major duty as a disciple was to familiarise the public with the true nature of the Masters of the Wisdom, and thus offset the erroneous impression which the public had received. This she has done to a certain degree but not to the full extent that was intended. She has shrunk from the task, owing to the disrepute into which the whole subject has fallen because of the false presentations given out by the various teachers and occult groups, plus the ridiculous claims put out by the ignorant about us. H.P.B., her predecessor, stated in certain instructions sent out to the Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society that she bitterly regretted ever mentioning the Masters, Their names and functions. A.A.B. has been of the same opinion. The Masters, as portrayed in the Theosophical Society faintly resemble the reality; much good has been done by this testimony to Their existence, and much harm by the foolish detail at times imparted. They are not as pictured; They do not issue orders to Their followers (or rather devotees) to do thus and so, to form this or that organization, nor do They indicate [788] certain individuals as being of supreme importance and hierarchical status; They know full well that disciples, initiates and Masters are known by their works, their deeds and their words; they have to prove their status by the work they accomplish.

The Masters work through Their disciples in many organisations; They do not exact, through these disciples, the implicit obedience of the organisation members, nor do They exclude from the teaching those who disagree with the organisational policies or the interpretations of the leaders. They are not separative and antagonistic to the groups working under various disciples or other Masters, and any organisation in which the Masters are interested would be inclusive and not exclusive. They do not fight over personalities, endorsing this one or rejecting that one simply because the policies of an organisational leader are, or are not, upheld. They are not the spectacular and ill-bred people portrayed by the mediocre leaders of many groups, nor do They choose (for Their pledged disciples and prominent workers) men and women who, even from a worldly point of view, are of a pronounced inferiority or who deal in claim-making and in the art of attracting attention to themselves. To be a probationary disciple, one can be a devotee; the emphasis can then be laid on purification and the acquiring of an intelligent understanding of brotherhood and human need; to be an accepted disciple, working directly under the Masters and active in world work (with a growing influence) requires a mental polarisation, a heart development and a sense of real values.

Knowing all the above, and having watched the ill effects of the usual teaching given anent the Masters, A.A.B. has gone to extremes in order to present the true nature of the Hierarchy, its goals and personnel; she has sought to lay the emphasis—as does the Hierarchy itself—on humanity and on world service, and not on a group of Teachers who, even if They have transcended the usual personality problems and experience in the three worlds, are still in process of training and are preparing Themselves (under the tuition of the Christ) to tread "the Way of the Higher Evolution," as it is called. The name given to us by some disciples in Tibet gives the clue to our point of attainment. They call the Hierarchy the "society of organised [789] and illumined Minds"—illumined by love and understanding, by deep compassion and inclusiveness, illumined by a knowledge of the plan and aiming to comprehend the purpose, sacrificing Their own immediate progress in order to help humanity. That is a Master.

The second point I would make is in the form of a question. What harm does it do if some one points the finger towards a Master and recognises Him as such, provided His record substantiates the statement and His influence is worldwide? If by this inadvertent slip, A.A.B. has thus indicated me as a Master, has any harm been done? My books, the carriers of my influence, have gone to the far corners of the earth and convey aid and help; the goodwill work which I suggested, and which F.B. is carrying out voluntarily, has reached literally millions of people by pamphlet and radio, by the use of the great Invocations, by the work of the Triangles and by the words and example of the men and women of goodwill.

The third point I would bring to your attention is that in the new cycle which will come at the close of the war, the fact of the Hierarchy and the work of the Masters—through Their disciples—must and will be brought to public attention. Disciples everywhere will present increasingly the hierarchical plan of brotherhood, spiritual living and inclusiveness to the world; this will be done not in terms (so prevalent among the foolish) of "The Master has chosen me," or "the Master stands behind my effort" or "I am the representative of the Hierarchy" but by a life of service, by indicating that the Masters exist and are known to many men everywhere; that the plan is one of evolutionary development and educational progress towards an intelligent spiritual goal; that humanity is not alone but that the Hierarchy stands, that Christ is with His people, that the world is full of disciples unrecognised because silently working; that the New Group of World Servers exists; that the men and women of goodwill are everywhere; that the Masters are not the least interested in personalities but will use men and women of all attitudes, faiths, and nationalities, provided that love motivates them, that they are intelligent and have trained minds and that they have also magnetic and radiant influences which will attract people to truth and goodness but not to the individual—[790] be he a Master or a disciple. They care nothing for personal loyalties but are dedicated solely to the relief of distress and the promotion of the evolution of humanity and the indication of spiritual goals. They look not for recognition of Their work or the praise of Their contemporaries but only for the growth of the light within the world and the unfoldment of the human consciousness.

THE TIBETAN

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

That 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.