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SECTION TWO - THE GENERAL WORLD PICTURE - Part 2

In connection with the petals of the lotus, you will find a close connection with the forces of the five kingdoms in nature; therefore, to the tabulation which was earlier given I would add the following for your consideration:

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1. 5th Kingdom...................

Intuition...................

spiritual soul...................

head centre

2. 4th Kingdom...................

Intelligence.............

human soul....................

throat centre

3. 3rd Kingdom...................

Instinct....................

animal soul.....................

solar plexus

4. 2nd Kingdom..................

Sentiency...............

feeling consciousness....

heart centre

5. 1st Kingdom...................

Response...............

sub-consciousness........

base of spine

To this you may add the following:

1.

Shamballa...................

Head Lotus...................

Kingdom of God...................

1st Ray.............

Will

 

 

 

Quality of Will

 

 

2.

Hierarchy.....................

Heart Centre................

Kingdom of Souls.................

2nd Ray............

Love

 

 

 

Quality of Giving .. Love

 

 

3.

Humanity.....................

Throat Centre...............

Kingdom of man...................

4th Ray.............

Harmony through

 

 

 

Quality of Acquisitiveness

 

Conflict

4.

The Jews.....................

Solar Plexus Centre.....

Kingdom of man...................

3rd Ray.............

Active Intelligence

 

 

 

Quality of Separativeness

 

 

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These can be linked up with the kingdoms in nature, but in this particular cycle it is not possible to fit them in such a way that the correspondence will appear to you as accurate. The mineral kingdom and the Forces of Materialism do not really coincide today, for the one works through the sacral centre at this time, and the other through the centre at the base of the spine. Esoteric students must always remember that no correspondences are correct and entirely accurate in their parallelism in this solar system of changing forces, shifting cycles and constant mutation directed towards the inscrutable ends of Deity—inscrutable as far as the human consciousness is concerned. They remain inscrutable to humanity, because the three major ends or purposes which affect you, for instance, as members of the fourth kingdom in nature are:

   1. The direction in which the solar Logos is going upon the Cosmic Path.
       Esoterically . . . . . . The Way towards the Central Spiritual Sun.

   2. The plans of the planetary Logos upon the Systemic Path.
       Esoterically . . . . . . The Way towards the Heart of the Sun.

   3. The purpose ahead for the human family upon the Path of Light.
       Esoterically . . . . . . The Way of the Sun.

I put this in here only to show you how vague and uncertain are your very highest speculations. Be content with your duty and the immediate service which will lead you a step further upon the way to which you are ordained, and this way you can travel rapidly and with eager feet or slowly and with lagging steps.

The above enumerated forces are, however, part of the temporary interlocking of energies which is going on between the many expressions of the creative process at this time. They are likewise conditioned by the incoming Aquarian force and "measured" by the outgoing Piscean forces. I [94] would have you note here my use of the word "forces" and "force," for not idly have I made them singular and plural.

In this process of founding the kingdom of heaven upon earth, the same procedure is being followed as was used in the earlier stage of founding the fourth kingdom. The "seven men, each on his own lot," reach a moment of tension and of creative power wherein the seeds of life, which they contain within themselves, can come to fruition, and groups of such appearing seeds can appear in the world "on their own lot." Putting it more simply and in terms symbolic, and therefore more easy of understanding, we might state that the seven rays, expressing themselves in the human family through the seven ray types, are now at the stage of unfoldment where the process can be carried forward into the formation of the seven ray groups, and these in their totality will express the Kingdom of God. Groups will be formed which will be outstandingly of a particular ray type but which will work in all the nine major fields of human expression. These I outlined when indicating the work of the nine groups planned by me. However, let me here point out that the groups which I planned are not in themselves the coming groups nor are they the only evidences of the emergence of these ray groups in the world. There are several similar experiments going on at this time upon the various streams of ray energy and under the direction of various Masters of the Wisdom. The groups for which I have made myself responsible are second ray groups essentially and are in the nature of a tentative move to see if the time is really ripe for the distribution of such seed groups throughout the entire world. Will the response of humanity and the reaction of these groups be such that a network of them may be started on a large scale everywhere—groups which will be characterised by vision, cohesion, love, impersonality, sacrifice, persistency and creative ability? These are the questions which we, the teachers on the inner side, are today asking ourselves as we study the problem of the best way of helping the human family through this crisis.

Bear in mind that the objective before these groups is [95] to relate the Hierarchy, and that for which it stands, to humanity; to bring into a close rapport the two centres whose energy must eventually be fused and blended into one whole. Perhaps you will grasp the underlying idea with greater clarity if you will remember the personal work which you should be endeavouring to do with yourself. This is, is it not, the effort to fuse and blend the personality and the soul, or the higher Self and the lower selves. To do this you have to realise that the illumination of the mind is a vital and essential factor. There are, therefore, three points to consider: the Soul, the illumined Mind and the Personality. To these three you have to add a consecrated and awakened heart, full of love to all, vibrant with compassion and with understanding. Bear, therefore, these four factors in mind:

   1. The dedicated oriented man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .the personality
   2. The overshadowing, spiritual man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .the soul
   3. The illumined mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the medium of relation
   4. The consecrated, loving heart . . . . . . the expression of these three.

This is the personality and individual correspondence to the broader picture and the world factors and the wider undertakings with which humanity is at this time faced. Just as in the life of the individual a man is confronted with the opportunity to function as a disciple in training with a view to initiation, so today humanity is faced in the same way with a similar situation and possibilities. The higher correspondence with which the Hierarchy is occupied at this time, and of which the outline just given is an inadequate analogy, is as follows:

1. The intellectual centre, Humanity, receptive, ready and expectant.

2. The spiritual centre, the Hierarchy, positive, deliberate and munificent—ready and waiting to bestow that which is desired, reached for and claimed.

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3. The New Group of World Servers. They are the more advanced members of the human family, sensitive to hierarchical inspiration and to human need and to spiritual unfoldment as a determining factor in world affairs.

4. Small groups which correspond to the illumined minds of the individuals—intuitional and acting as a cohesive element and a fusing factor between humanity and the Hierarchy. They are gathered out of the New Group of World Servers.

Let me now present you with another vital consideration. Looking back over your individual lives, you will be conscious that it was the points of crisis and the cycles of tension which constituted for you the major opportunities and the moments of "moving forward." Of these opportunities you either profited or—by neglecting them—you temporarily failed. This same critical factor (if I might call it so) acts also in the world of men and in groups and masses; today the point of tension for humanity in such a situation, similar to that to be found in the individual life, can be noted. The Hierarchy stands also at a point of extreme and scientific tension—scientific because induced and directed; you can, if you so choose, picture these two great groups as facing each other. The Hierarchy is aware of the need, of the purpose of the dual tension, and desirous of bringing this tension to such a "crisis of precipitation" that the fusion of the two groups will be inevitable, whilst the other group, humanity, unaware generally of the implications of the situation, is suffering, bewildered and full of fear. Between these two groups stands the New Group of World Servers, constituted today of two bodies of people:

1. Those who are aware of the Plan, are subject to and sensitive to hierarchical impression and dedicated to the task of bringing about the desired fusion or group at-one-ment. These are the consecrated servers of the world who are free from all taint of separativeness, full of love to all men and eager for the [97] spread of understanding goodwill. They correspond to the "consecrated loving heart," mentioned above.

2. A small minority who have emerged out of the New Group of World Servers and who can (in every country) function in group formation if they choose, and so bring about the fusion for which the New Group of World Servers is working and for which the point of tension in humanity and in the Hierarchy predisposes and has prepared the hearts of men. Their opportunity and responsibility is great, because they know the Plan, they are in touch with the guiding teachers on the inner side—and are sensitive to the higher impression. They correspond to the points of illumination, and so to the "illumined minds," referred to above.

Here is the picture of these esoteric interrelations, and here you can note the position which you could hold, for these groups have a definite opportunity to bring about this world fusion and so precipitate the "crisis of love" to which I have so oft referred. The Great Approach upon the side of humanity is now going on, with the tension induced thereby growing momentarily; this will increase with growing speed and tension until 1942 when either the first stage of fusion will have been made upon earth, resulting in widespread goodwill and world understanding or in postponement—with sad results to the human family and an inevitable break in the tension which will take a form that will cause much real suffering and widespread disaster. This disaster can take many forms, but upon them we will not speculate, except to realise the urgency and the need for immediate action which is demanded at this time.

There are two points to remember in connection with these seed groups, and these are in line with, but also expansions of, analogous conditions in the "seeds" which fructified—after implantation and development—in animal-man, producing the living self-conscious individual and, in [98] their totality, the fourth kingdom in nature. The first point has reference to the quality of the implanted seed, and the second to the method of its implantation.

The quality of the "seed of the sons of God" which was effectual in producing the human family was intellectual, and the self-conscious self-directed man was the result. The fruit of this quality, plus the livingness of the seed itself, can be seen today in the more advanced and cultured thinking people and in those who are in any sense of the word personalities.

The method employed was the gift of mind to the more advanced among the animal-men in a majority of cases, the stimulation of the instinctual faculty in others, whilst a third method was the leaving of a minority to the ordinary course of evolution. These latter today constitute the least developed and the most backward of the races upon the Earth. They are, in fact, a very small number indeed.

In connection with the "seed-groups" which are fusing and blending in humanity at this time, and which—in their totality—constitute the nucleus of the fifth kingdom, the distinguishing quality is the ability to respond intuitionally to higher impression and to present the mind (with which humanity was endowed in the earlier process) to the light of the intuition and hence to illumination. This intuition is a blend of the two divine qualities of buddhi-manas, or intuitive spiritual understanding (involving interpretation and identification) and the higher abstract mind, which is essentially the power to comprehend that which is not concrete or tangible but which is, in reality, an innate recognition of the lower aspects of the divine Plan as it must affect life in the three worlds. Humanity, being still primarily self-conscious and self-centred, regards this Plan as the divine Plan for man, but—as the seed groups grow and develop—the narrowness of this partial view will become increasingly apparent. God's Plan is all-embracing and His purposes are inclusive of all forms of life and their relationships. This quality of the seed groups is described in current esoteric literature as love-wisdom (the heart nature and the higher [99] mind), and this is descriptive of the future groups; it is not love, however, as usually understood, or wisdom as man generally defines it. This is free of emotion and of the astralism which is distinctive of the solar plexus life which most people live; love, esoterically and in reality, is perceptive understanding, the ability to recognise that which has produced an existing situation, and a consequent freedom from criticism; it involves that beneficent silence which carries healing in its wings and which is only expressive when the inhibition aspect of silence is absent and the man no longer has to still his lower nature and quiet the voices of his own ideas in order to understand and achieve identification with that which must be loved. Can you follow the beauty of this concept and comprehend the nature of this silent depth of true understanding?

Wisdom is the sublimation of the intellect, but this involves the sublimation of the higher as well as of the lower aspects of the mind. It is a blend of intuition, spiritual perception, cooperation with the plan and spontaneous intellectual appreciation of that which is contacted, and all this is fused and blended with and by the love which I have defined above, plus that esoteric sense which must be unfolded before the second initiation can be taken. I call this especially to your attention. Seek to understand and perceive the subtle evidences of the esoteric sense, and then define it and explain its processes and evidences, invoking as you do so the higher sensibilities.

And now, as to the methods to be employed in creating these groups. The primary method is the presentation of the more advanced ideas (which are stimulating in their effects upon the minds which are receptive) and the presentation of the vision, which is evocative in its influence and produces amazing results. Ponder on this.

The basic method employed, which lay behind the three methods outlined in The Secret Doctrine and referred to above, was the presentation (very dimly and vaguely) of the concept of the self, of the lower integrated self and its correlated inner implications of self-centredness and self-direction. [100] The presentation made today to self-conscious man and to this self-directed individual is the revelation of the larger Whole of which the individual is a part. To this Whole the self must dedicate its life, love and light. Those are the three gifts which the fourth kingdom in nature has finally and consciously to make to the planet—gifts of definitely directed energies producing peculiar and equally definite relations of forces; they are not the gift of strength, kindness and knowledge, which is man's feeble interpretation of the divine energies with which he will some day salvage the planetary life.

The presentation of this vision to the aspirants and disciples of the world has had a dual effect; first of all, it has produced an immediate responsive cohesion among them which resulted in the appearance of the New Group of World Servers, and secondly, it led to the formation along the line of the seven rays throughout the world of small groups (within the New Group of World Servers) who were dedicated to the production of this innate synthesis and subjective fusion and to the expression of this blended dedicated consciousness. These latter groups, a small minority, correspond to the earlier and first method of mind-implantation in animal man, whilst the New Group of World Servers corresponds to the second method of general stimulation.

In both of these embryonic activities, which will eventually be responsible for producing the manifestation of the Kingdom of God on earth, the two great necessities are vision, plus living organisation. The vision has to be sensed, sought and discovered individually by each group member, and it is this personal knowledge and this personal dedication to the revelation which leads next to the organisation of the group life and relation, or to a determined process of correlation with the life and purpose of the Whole. The individual who has for himself seen the vision relates himself to the group which is conscious of this vision along with him, and then follows the relating of this "visioning group" to the kingdom of God as it exists on the subtler planes, in the effort to exteriorise it and make the vision a fact upon the [101] plane of manifestation. It is a process of vision, activity and precipitation.

It is in connection with vision that much of the group difficulty lies. Let me be specific and illustrate. I, your Tibetan brother, friend and teacher, have a vision of the Plan; I am aware (because of my status as an initiate of a certain degree) of the nature of the purpose for this particular cycle and what its conditioning activities should be and to what end they are directed, for there is an esoteric distinction between the Plan as it exists for humanity and for the planet, and the purpose of the present world situation. Upon this, reflection would be profitable. Through the cooperation of A.A.B. I put this plan—as far as was possible—before you, calling your attention to the New Group of World Servers. As far as I could and dared I put it before the world aspirants and called attention to the general trend of world events from the spiritual and subjective angles. This evoked from all of you an immediate and gratifying response; but it is possible, is it not, that this response has remained subjective, intellectually perceived and aspirationally desired, but that the Plan and the purposes of the kingdom of God are not yet truly a part of your life pattern and do not yet thoroughly condition your brain and your life activity.

Perhaps, therefore, the vision is not a part of your life and so integrated into your consciousness that you attach yourself to it as you have, in the past, attached yourself to individuals; the vision is a vision of group work, of group relationships, of group objectives, and of the group fusion to the larger Whole. When this is realised, then the vision determines your life incentives, tendencies and work, and when it is thus truly a part of your mental equipment, your emotional aspiration and your activities, and when there are sufficient groups thus actuated, then the Kingdom of God will function objectively upon the earth. This is not yet the case, because the needed conditions are not fulfilled.

The early seeds sown among animal-men were imbued with, or qualified by, separateness—a necessary quality for [102] the unfoldment of self-consciousness, but one which must now be superseded.

The seed groups now in process of forming will be distinguished by the quality of fusion, and this should be as inevitable a development as is the separative and protective nature of the ordinary human consciousness. It is this sense of union and of at-one-ment which is the protective and essential characteristic of the fifth kingdom, and it is this latent, yet actively present, factor which leads unerringly and inevitably to the organisation—interior and subjective—of the seed groups, to their radiatory activity, and to the magnetic pull they evidence when duly organised. Thus they produce fusion and blending.

I am here putting new ideals and possibilities into as simple language as possible; I seek not to veil and obscure their simplicity and truth by many explanatory paragraphs. What I have here said must be read with the eye of vision and the understanding of the heart. Disciples must have these two faculties as part of their usable equipment. Have you got them, or are you trying to cultivate and unfold them, my brothers?

Another of the aspects of this group work is that its influence is pervasive, and not at the beginning dynamic. The force which it later exerts will be due to constant pervasive pressures and the steady spreading of the group influence and ideals. It is therefore ultimately very far-reaching in its effectiveness, providing the work is done as indicated. This will be due eventually to two factors: one, the power of the groups upon the subtler planes of thought and desire, and finally upon egoic levels; this will become steadily more potent; secondly, to the activity of those who form part of the key groups; they will themselves form corresponding groups of nine, or seven or five, and thus there will be a gradual spreading throughout the world of an esoteric network. For this the majority are not yet ready, but I would have you bear it in mind. True interest and acceptance of that which is indicated as essential to the disciple and to the work must first of all be patiently evidenced.

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I have used the word "subjective" a great deal in my writings; I have done this in an effort to shift the focus of attention to that which lies below the surface. This refers, in the case of aspirants, to the subjective synthesis in the three worlds and not to the astral and mental planes per se, or specifically to egoic levels. If the inner kingdom of divine realities is to demonstrate upon earth, it will come through the emergence of the inner synthesis on to the physical plane, and this is brought about by vital recognition and an expression of the realities and laws governing that kingdom. The organisation which follows the Vision is entirely subjective in nature and pervasive in quality. It is a process of germination, but if that which germinates does not eventually appear in objective manifestation the activity is then abortive.

The influence of these new groups is due to the close inner relation demonstrated through uniform thinking and a recognised unity of purpose. It is for this reason (a truly scientific one in its nature) that I have emphasised so strongly the ordinary characteristics of the trained disciple, which are non-criticism, sensitivity and love. Where these are lacking, this simultaneous oneness and directed thought and this "group aroma" (as it is esoterically called, though the word I am attempting to translate is more adequate than the above) become impossible. I have not been interested in the elimination of hindering faults for the individual's sake, but for the carrying forward of the desired group purposes. The need is for group thinking of a powerful nature along the indicated lines; for visualisation of the Vision of such a clear nature that it becomes a fact for the individual; for the development and functioning of the imagination, applied to the lines of outcome and results, and functioning so creatively that the results are seen with clarity and must inevitably materialise. It involves also the holding of the inner subjective link with each other with such firmness that potent centres of force and of creative energy—working under inspiration from the Hierarchy, via the focussed minds of group members who are definitely en rapport with their [104] souls and with each other—may function so successfully that the new civilisation and the new culture can be rapidly established. As this has to be founded on a basis of loving goodwill and upon nondestruction, and as its methods lead to right relations between men and nations, it is essential that the establishing groups should themselves express the subtler aspects of these desired virtues.

The emphasis upon the work which serving groups must seek to develop is that of an organised, scientific activity. Esoterically, this involves an understanding of the basic science of occultism, which is that of energy. The qualities, characteristics and activity upon which you should be engaged are definitely the expression and understanding of energy along some line; hitherto, for the majority, force has been used and its impact on other forces has been noted and recorded as force impacting force, leading thus to forceful results. But I seek to have you, as esotericists, deal with energy and the result of its impact upon forces. This is the scientific aspect of the occult life.

The world is today full of forces in conflict and in wrong relation with each other, and this produces the present chaos. The new order will be brought into expression by the play of the spiritual energy upon the forces in the three worlds, and this will be the task of the New Groups when organised and functioning correctly. In these words, I have summed up one of the first and most important objectives of the group work with which I and others of the workers upon the spiritual side of life are at this time occupied. Some small understanding of the significance of these words can be gained if you will watch the effect that you produce in your environment during those times when you do succeed in living as souls, and are therefore expressing soul energy, and are thus counteracting the personality forces in yourselves and in those around you.

The desire of the Hierarchy at this time is to fill the world of striving forces with points of spiritual energy, and to distribute everywhere those who are affiliated with spiritual groups and are therefore linked subjectively to [105] their group brothers in all lands, so that a pervasive, intelligent influence can ceaselessly make its impact felt upon the minds of men and produce finally the needed good feeling, good will and good lives.

THE WORLD CRISIS

September 1939

Humanity is passing through an acute crisis and its karma or fate is heavy upon it. Being so close to events, it is not easy for humanity to see them in their true perspective and it is in order that you may see more clearly that I write today. A broader vision and a wider horizon may help you to understand, and it may be of profit to you if you can be helped to see the picture as it appears to us, the teachers on the inner side, and also in relation to its background.

There are two outstanding and important points which are present in the consciousness of the Hierarchy as it looks on at mankind going through the present stupendous struggle. The first is that humanity is today and on a large scale aware that what is happening is entirely its own doing and the result of humanity's own mistakes. Men either feel responsible for what is occurring or they are shifting the responsibility openly and deliberately on to shoulders other than their own. Of these endless and age-old mistakes, the Versailles Treaty is only the symbol and the practical focal point.

The second fact is that in spite of war and separation, of cruelty and of passions and selfishness running wild, there is nevertheless, today, more true understanding, more goodwill and more outgoing love than at any previous time in the history of the race. I say this with deliberation and because I have the hierarchical knowledge available to my hand. Be not deceived, therefore, by the outer clamour of war. I tell you that men's hearts everywhere are full of compassion both for themselves and for all other men; the wide scope and the vast extent of the conflict is indicative of an [106] inner unity and a subjective interrelation of which all are somewhat conscious and which the conflict itself does not negate. Is this a hard saying? I seek to indicate to you its basic truth if you will but ponder upon what I say with an open mind. The task of all aspirants and of all men of goodwill everywhere is to see that prolonged suffering does not undermine the present right and essential attitudes and that the chaos and clamour does not shut out response to the voice of the soul which has been speaking with increasing clarity for the past fourteen years. The stimulation which was set up and the light which was permitted to creep through after the last hierarchical conclave in 1925 has been real and effective. That meeting of the Masters of the Wisdom upon spiritual levels led to three results or happenings, and these we are today experiencing.

The first was a fresh inflow of the Christ principle of spiritual or true love which is ever free from emotionalism and selfish intent. This inflow resulted in the immediate and rapid growth of all movements towards peace, world understanding, goodwill, philanthropic effort and the awakening of the masses of men to the issues of brotherhood.

The second was the stimulation of the principle of relationship and this led to the growth and the perfecting of all sources of inter-communication such as the press, the radio and travel. The inner objective of all this was to bring human beings closer together upon the outer plane of existence and thus parallel objectively the developing inner, spiritual unity.

The third was the inflow of the force of will or power from the Shamballa centre. This, as previously explained, is the most powerful force in the world today, and only twice before in the history of mankind has this Shamballa energy made its appearance and caused its presence to be felt through the tremendous changes which were brought about. Let us recapitulate briefly.

The first time was during the great human crisis which occurred at the time of the individualisation of men in ancient Lemuria.

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The second time was at the time of the struggle in Atlantean days between the "Lords of Light and the Lords of Material Expression."

This little known divine energy now streams out from Shamballa. It embodies in itself the energy which lies behind the world crisis of the moment. It is the Will of God to produce certain racial and momentous changes in the consciousness of the race which will completely alter man's attitude to life and his grasp of the spiritual, esoteric and subjective essentials of living. It is this force which will bring about (in conjunction with the energy of love) that tremendous crisis—imminent in the human consciousness—which we call the second crisis, the initiation of the race into the Mystery of the Ages, into that which has been hid from the beginning.

It might be of value here if we considered the three great planetary centres and their relationships in tabular form and thus get the general idea more clearly in mind.

1. SHAMBALLA................. Will or Power.............. Planetary Head Centre

The Holy City.................... Purpose..Plan.............. spiritual pineal gland

                                              Life Aspect

                                   Ruler: Sanat Kumara, the Lord of the World

                                              The Ancient of Days

                                               Melchizedek

2. THE HIERARCHY ......... Love-Wisdom............. Planetary Heart Centre

The New Jerusalem........... Unity........................... At-one-ment

                                              Group Consciousness

                                    Ruler: The Christ

                                               The World Saviour

3. HUMANITY.................... Active Intelligence........ Planetary Throat Centre

The City, standing
    foursquare..................... Creativity

                                              Self-consciousness

                                    Ruler: Lucifer

                                               Son of the Morning

                                                The Prodigal Son

This Shamballa energy now for the first time is making its impact upon humanity directly and is not stepped down, as [108] has hitherto been the case, through transmission via the Hierarchy of Masters. This change of direction constituted a somewhat dangerous experiment as it necessarily stimulated the personalities of men, particularly those whose personalities were along the line of will or power and in whom the love aspect of divinity was not sufficiently expressing itself; it was, however, permitted because it was realised that it would not affect the man in the street or the masses who would remain unresponsive to it, though it might greatly stimulate and intensify the mental and more potent type of man.

The effects of this widespread stimulation have been all that was anticipated and the so-called "evil results" of the Shamballa force upon ambitious and powerful personalities in all countries and all schools of thought have, nevertheless, been offset to some extent by the growth of the sense of relationship everywhere and by the spread of the Christ energy which generates at-one-ment, loving understanding and goodwill.

You might here rightly enquire how this can be so when humanity is overwhelmed by a ghastly world war at this time. I would remind you that the Hierarchy is guided in its conclusions by the mass light and by the inner subjective oft unexpressed reactions of the multitude and never by the outer happenings upon the physical plane. The fate of the form life and of outer organisations is deemed of small importance compared with the sensed inner spiritual development. That development must necessarily outrun the outer manifestation. Humanity is today further advanced spiritually and mentally than might appear from external happenings. The first result of such development is eventually the destruction of the outer form because it is proving inadequate to the pulsing, inner, spiritual life; then, secondly, comes the building of the new and more adequate outer expression. This accounts for the world crisis at this time. The cause is based upon four major factors upon which I would like somewhat to enlarge:

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1. Upon the point achieved in racial evolution. This today warrants the building of a better vehicle for human and racial expression.

2. Upon the karmic causes which—as far as present humanity is concerned—can be traced back to an ancient conflict upon old Atlantis.

3. Upon the coming into incarnation of certain potent personalities whose dharma or destiny it is to bring about great evolutionary changes.

4. Upon certain planetary happenings, connected with the life of the One "in Whom we live and move and have our being." These involve the impact upon our planet of Forces and Energies which will be instrumental in altering the existing civilisation and culture, in climaxing karmic necessity and in thus engineering release, presenting humanity with that stage in the experience of the disciple which we call "the meeting of the Dweller on the Threshold with the Angel of the Presence," and inducing as a consequence a certain planetary initiation.

These four stages of the Law of Cause and Effect (as it affects humanity at this time) might be called:

1. The perfecting of form expression............... Law of Evolution

2. The precipitation of karma......................... Law of Cause and Effect

3. The achievement of personality................... Law of Polar Opposites

(The Dweller on the Threshold)

4. The attainment of planetary initiation............ Law of Initiation

You may perhaps think at this point that I am being academic and that the world stress at this time is such that love, sympathy and kind words are needed far more than [110] learned, historical retrospection and suggested hypotheses. I seek, however, to foster in you the spirit of understanding. Such true comprehension necessitates head knowledge as well as heart reaction. The disciples of the world today must endeavour to see why and to what end the present terrible happenings have occurred. A clear expression and statement of causes is needed—free from emotional bias and partisan emphasis. What is happening today is not the result of immediate occurrences. When I say "immediate," I refer to all happenings which have occurred within the Christian era. I want you to attempt to regard the present crisis as being caused or initiated by events which are of so ancient an origin that modern, orthodox historians have no record of them.

Only two points of view will serve truly to clarify what is happening at this time.

First of all, a recognition that modern academic history constitutes only one page in a vast historical record and that the initiating events of which we are in search and which are working out as effects in the planetary life at this time belong to an age so distant that no modern historian recognises its episodes. Information anent this ancient period must be sought in the many world Scriptures, in ancient monuments, in the science of symbols, in the racial myths, and in inherited and transmitted legends.

Secondly, that a study of the microcosm, man, will be found to hold, as always, the key to the study of human affairs as a whole. Just as the aspirants and disciples are at this time being tested and tried and subjected to the working out of inexplicable conflicts and drastic changes in their lives, so the same is true of the world aspirant, Humanity.

To the above two reasons another might perhaps be added which will have significance and meaning to esotericists and to all who have in any way grasped the teaching I have attempted to give you in my books anent the three world centres—Humanity, the Hierarchy and Shamballa. This world crisis is related to the approach or the relation [111] of the Hierarchy to Humanity. That great spiritual centre of force, the Human Kingdom, has now reached a point of such potency and of such a high vibratory activity that it is shaken to its very depths; all its evolutionary grades and groups are responding to the stimulation, generated within the centre itself and also stimulated by Forces emanating from the hierarchical centre and from Shamballa.

This precipitates a crisis which has had no parallel in human history but which finds a faint reflection in the crisis which overtook the animal kingdom and which resulted in the formation of a new kingdom in nature—the human. As I have earlier told you, this present world crisis, if met correctly and rightly controlled, will result in the manifestation of the fifth or spiritual kingdom upon earth. This (as you know) will be brought about by the at-one-ing of the two centres—the human centre and the Hierarchy. One of the major planetary syntheses is taking place or, perhaps I should say, can take place. (I am wording this with care and would call your attention to my wording.)

It might serve a useful purpose if I enlarged somewhat upon the four stages of the early causes, mentioned above. In so doing, I can give you some idea of the underlying purpose of all the present happenings and some understanding of the predisposing conditions which are to be found, lying far back in the night of time. If I can do this adequately and if you can read and study with understanding and an open mind, some of your natural bewilderment may disappear and you may then be able to help others to live calmly through this crisis and to preserve an attitude of patience, goodwill, balance and compassion. Let us, therefore, consider these four points because, in so doing, we shall cover the field sufficiently—I believe—to bring at least some measure of light to you. Later I will try to explain the significance of the Great Invocation and to give you some idea of the nature of the Forces invoked and of the esoteric meaning which these words (used so frequently by you) are intended to convey.

[112]

The Cause of the Present Crisis

It is well known to you that the great Law of Rebirth is the controlling and major law in all the processes of manifestation. It governs the exoteric expression of a solar Logos or of a human being, and the object of this constantly recurring process is to bring an increasingly perfect form to the expanding service of the soul. For the first time since its inception, the human family is in a position to note for itself the processes of the rebirth of a civilisation as an expression of spiritual culture at a particular point in evolution. Hence the magnitude of this crisis as it assumes its place in the human consciousness. Many lesser crises, initiating specific tribal, national and racial experiments in the renewal of form have gone on and have been registered by some group within a nation or by a nation itself (if advanced enough). Such a national registration took place for the first time in connection with the French Revolution. Such registrations of evolutionary intent have taken place with increasing clarity and understanding during the past two hundred years. Such crises have taken place in practically every nation in modern times and have been recognised to some degree, and upon them historians have enlarged and philosophers speculated. But the crisis today is far vaster, embracing as it does the majority of nations in both hemispheres. No nation remains at this time unaffected and the results are and must be registered in some aspect of the national life.

Owing to the factual interrelation between nations everywhere and to the rapidity of intercommunication, the present crisis is the first major international crisis in human affairs and covers a period of twenty-eight years (from 1914 till 1942). These are interesting numbers, for 28 is 4 x 7, which are the years of a complete personality cycle. I do not wish you to infer from the above that the period of active combat and conflict must necessarily be prolonged until 1942. Such is not the case. The early termination of the conflict or its indefinite extension lies in the keeping of [113] humanity itself; men must increasingly determine their own fate as they emerge from the stage of adolescence into that of maturity, responsibility and achievement. This period of twenty-eight years is, however, of paramount importance and upon the next three years much depends.