The Sixth Initiation Al Christensen

Summer 2009

appreciated Master Djwal Khul’s explana- a better idea what is behind war. I am at a I tion that it was difficult for him to present point where I am seeing the causes behind these higher initiations given that he was be- events, and I feel I have the responsibility to tween the fifth and sixth initiations, and try- anticipate how my actions affect others. The ing to reach those who had probably only presentation of distant initiations is an en- taken the first or second initiation. However, couragement to perceive what lies ahead and he noted that early discussions of the subject start living the life needed to culminate in are useful to get us thinking about what lies initiation. Working toward initiation can also ahead and to prepare us improve our ability to deal for initiations far in Correct choices become with crises along the way, advance of crisis moments as well as increase our to come. more spiritually moti- sensitivity to new revela- tions. When I reflect on my past vated as one proceeds experiences, I see that along the initiation It makes sense that when early renunciations are taking an initiation one forced; then later, when Path. The higher one must be a free agent, able more independence is ascends, the more in- to freely aspire, choose, gained, renunciations can and change. The sixth be made with more inten- stinctual lower deci- initiation, as described by tion. I am at last making sions become; uncer- the Tibetan, is definitely to more intentional renuncia- be aspired to. One’s tions, and they are more tainty is left behind; de- decision is completely free difficult than those I was cisions are more cer- from all earthly forced to make. I have experiences, and there is a often noticed that the tain, and training in re- complete break with the choices and conditions nouncing with inten- past and freedom from forced on humankind are tional purpose makes karma. One is completely not always understood. liberated, with no desire to People wonder what God moving on easier. go back or be attached. is up to. Common expla- Ahead lie only choices of nations are that God is which service to render on punishing us or teaching us hard lessons or is the forward Path. I understand the need to uninterested in our small crises. The wiser start preparing, begin renouncing, and open among us see these situations as needed hard myself to higher revelation. I think of renun- lessons, necessary to teach the masses. ciations as repelling me, just as aspiration draws me forward. My experience is that the In a practical sense it is more efficient to deal moment an idea is in the mind one can start with situations as best one can, and then ana- to develop it. When an impediment is recog- lyze why they happened. The masses are not nized, renunciation can be implemented. aware of the energies and forces behind Looking ahead and starting to work toward events on Earth, let alone the forces playing an initiation that is still far down the Path can upon our planet, and so do not see how cer- always result in some gain. Any “ascension” tain events came to be through cause and ef- strengthens my service. fect. However, some people are now getting

The cycle of right choices, decisions, re- true ascension brought on by decision. Visu- nouncing, ascending and receiving revelation ally, for me, the spiraling ends and straight- is most clearly represented to me as an as- ens into a path. At the sixth, one can go cending spiral. The initiation is the end of a ahead into Shamballa or turn back as Christ cycle, or can be graphically represented as a did. From the sixth to the seventh initiations loop of the spiral. As one rises up the ascend- one understands life on Earth and the neces- ing spiral, the lower loops are left further be- sary quality of Love-Wisdom animating our hind, still in remembered experience, but planet and solar system and beyond. The free one’s “being” is no longer identified with the choice of ray service is the next big decision. lower cycle. After the sixth initiation and before choosing Correct choices become more spiritually mo- one of the seven Paths of Higher Evolution, tivated as one proceeds along the Path of Ini- the initiate participates in a conclave to de- tiation. The higher one ascends, the more cide what adjustments to make in the Plan, instinctual lower decisions become; uncer- adjustments that do not affect humanity’s tainty is left behind; decisions are more cer- free will. I would think that these Elder tain, and training in renouncing with inten- Brothers are in the right position to know tional purpose makes it easier to move on. what humanity needs. They have dealt with Forsaking the past becomes more definite all impediments of human life and mastered until it is completely renounced and has lost the techniques to hasten redemption. As a all possible appeal. group they decide what stimulation from Shamballa humanity needs. This conclave The past is carried with the climber in the happens every 50 years; the last one was in five lower initiations. The experiences are 2001. At first 50 years seems like a long there, but descend below the threshold of time, but then I imagine that these impacts consciousness. The disciple is more a creator take an extended period to work out through and less acted upon by Hierarchy. These are humanity. As a result of studying these en- all conditions that are aspired to at the lower ergy impacts, I am more alert to any evidence levels. The sixth initiation is a higher corre- of how they work out on Earth. spondence of the second initiation and is the

Book Review

Dion Fortune & the Inner Light, by Ga- Golden Dawn. Firth’s initiatory name was Deo reth Knight. Loughborough, Leicestershire, non fortuna (“[Trust in] God, not luck”), which U.K.: Thoth Publications, 2000. Paperback, evolved into the pseudonym, “Dion Fortune,” 344 pages. US$29.95. she used for the rest of her life. Her relationship with Moina Mathers deteriorated, and the ion Fortune was one of the most enig- latter allegedly mounted a violent occult attack D matic figures of 20th-century western on Firth/Fortune, leaving her with physical esotericism. Many of us studied The Mystical scars. Nevertheless, the training in the rituals Qabalah (1935) or were fascinated by the of the Golden Dawn laid the groundwork for vivid imagery of her occult novels. But who or Fortune’s Hermetic work in her own organiza- what she was, remained largely a mystery until tion, the Fraternity of the Inner Light. Gareth Knight published the biography, which is the subject of this review. The Fraternity provided Dion Fortune’s principal base of operation from 1927 until her death Fortune’s real name was Violet Mary Firth, in 1946. The greater part of its activities was and she was born in 1890 in Llandudno, ceremonial in nature, with a pre-Christian fo- Wales, the daughter of upper middle class par- cus. Fortune developed the Rite of Pan and the ents who embraced Christian Science. Violet Rite of Isis, both of which are described in her was an imaginative, headstrong child, given to novels. The Fraternity offered in-house train- daydreaming of far-away, magical places. ing with graded initiatory levels resembling When she was 20 her parents enrolled her in a those of the Golden Dawn. Although others women’s residential college that specialized in rose through the grades, Fortune retained the horticulture. In addition to caring for the col- leadership role, serving as magus in the most lege’s poultry, she began writing plays for the important rituals of the Greater Mysteries. Cor- students to perform. Firth left the college after respondence courses offered training in the an emotionally devastating encounter with the Lesser Mysteries. The Fraternity also had an domineering warden. In an attempt to under- esoteric Christian agenda, which was derived stand her trauma she briefly studied psycho- from the work of the Christian Mystic Lodge therapy, but the outbreak of World War I of the Theosophical Society. Eventually the brought those studies to an end. She was Christian practices, which included regular drafted into agricultural work before securing a Sunday services, were moved to a separate more congenial government job in London. organization, the Guild of the Master Jesus, There she discovered the library of the The- later renamed the Church of the Graal. Fortune osophical Society and the works of Annie Be- always viewed Jesus Christ as the master of sant. masters, but esoteric Christianity was not her Firth’s intuitive gifts were evident from a main interest. young age, but came to full bloom when she In addition to her ritual work Fortune was a was 26. Her first esoteric teacher was Dr. gifted medium, though she spurned popular Theodore Moriarty who became “Dr. Tav- spiritualism. Viewing herself as a “cosmic me- erner” in one of her most successful novels. In dium,” she focused on channeling teachers 1919 she was initiated into the Alpha et from the inner planes. The teachers sometimes Omega Lodge of the Hermetic Order of the identified themselves as masters: for example Golden Dawn. The lodge was headed by the “Master of Medicine.” More frequently Moina Mathers, widow of MacGregor Math- they gave their names, and we find “Socrates,” ers, autocratic co-founder of the original “Lord Thomas Erskine,” and “David Car-

Copyright © The Esoteric Quarterly, 2009. 65 The Esoteric Quarterly stairs.” At least the first two were well-known Dion Fortune’s life can be compared and con- historical figures, but Dion Fortune warned trasted with that of Alice Bailey. They were that one could never be totally sure who the born within 70 miles of each other. Bailey was contacts were. Her biographer comments: 10 years Fortune’s senior but outlived her by three years. Both had early contacts with the These are the principal agencies behind Theosophical Society, and both went on to Dion Fortune’s mediumship. Whether their form their own training organizations. Both identities be taken at face value, or regarded wrote books based on information from higher as convenient stage names for archetypal sources. Both married men who collaborated in models, or complexes from the medium’s their esoteric work. Dion Fortune married phy- subconscious, can only be speculative theo- sician Dr. Penry Evans, who worked for a time ries. [p. 88] with the Master of Medicine, though the mar- Israel Regardie, who also came from the riage eventually ended in divorce. Bailey mar- Golden Dawn tradition and who wrote influen- ried Foster Bailey who was her dedicated co- tial books on ritual, became scornful of the worker for more than 30 years and continued whole notion of channeling the masters. In the work of the Lucis Trust after her death. later life he treated all occult work as being Their ray influences evidently were not the confined to the individual’s own psyche. same. Bailey emphasized teaching and disci- No matter where the teachings came from, pleship, while Fortune emphasized teaching Dion Fortune used them as the basis for The and ceremonial ritual. The Golden Dawn tradi- Cosmic Doctrine, The Esoteric Orders and tion included some unsavory characters, and Their Work, The Training and Work of an Ini- some of its work strayed off the right-hand tiate, and other books. She also wrote numer- path. Dion Fortune was never accused of oc- ous articles, which appeared in her organiza- cult misconduct, and in personal and profes- tion’s journal, Inner Light Magazine. sional life she conducted herself with propri- Initially Fortune’s mediumistic work was con- ety. Nevertheless, critics might feel that For- ducted in conventional trance. Two or more tune was tainted by her associations. No doubt collaborators recorded the communications students of Alice Bailey would also see a dis- while she lay on a couch. But over time, she tinction between Bailey’s work as amanuensis gradually acquired powers of telepathy that for the Tibetan and Fortune’s mediumistic enabled her to receive information in waking work with the inner-plane teachers. The con- consciousness. That was how The Mystical tent of The Cosmic Doctrine is not incompati- Qabalah came to be written: ble with Bailey’s teachings, but the latter are much more extensive and on a higher spiritual I would be sitting in my accustomed chair, level. conscious of the sounds of the house, the touch of the clothes on my limbs, and all Be that as it may, Dion Fortune played a sig- that makes up the total impressions that nificant role in modern esotericism, and we are keep us in touch with the external world… indebted to Gareth Knight for this intriguing Then I would commence my mental re- biography. Knight was inducted into the Fra- hearsal of the sacred names, and would ternity in 1953, seven years after Fortune’s suddenly find that I was aware of mental death. Despite the fact that they never met, he pictures only, to the entire exclusion of is often regarded as her protégé. His Guide to physical sense impressions. Nevertheless I Practical Qabalistic Symbolism (1965) formed retained full co-ordination of conscious- a continuation of The Mystical Qabalah. In ness, for I knew that I was conscious of the 1998 he returned to the Fraternity, after many pictures and that the physical impressions years, to edit and republish several of her other would return unless I maintained my con- books and to conduct research in its archives. centration on the images … and did not al- The biography is an important product of that low [my consciousness] to wander. [p. 213] research.

Dion Fortune & the Inner Light is enthusiasti- Since the beginnings of Grameen Bank, Yunus cally recommended to anyone interested in the and his partners have been developing social western esoteric tradition and in the colorful businesses under the umbrella of “The individuals who contributed to it over the last Grameen Family of Companies.” By now this 100 years. includes more than 25 different businesses, all owned by the poor of Bangladesh; they include John Nash Grameen Telecom, Grameen Knitwear, Johnson City, Tennessee Grameen Healthcare, Grameen Star Education, and so on. By means of these and other busi- Creating a World Without Poverty: Social nesses, many thousands of poor people, most Business and the Future of Capitalism, by of whom are women (Grameen’s activities are Muhammad Yunus. Public Affairs paperback targeted at the most disenfranchised segment (second edition), 2007. 261 pages. of the population) have raised themselves and their families above the poverty line. Credit ost people know of Muhammad Yunus risk? More than 99% of the microloans are M as the founder of Grameen Bank in repaid on time. Bangladesh, the originator of the concept of microcredit as a means of fighting poverty, and Part of the book is devoted to the interesting as the winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize story of how the concept of social business (along with Grameen Bank) for this successful “went international.” In 2005, the CEO of the and innovative solution to one of the world’s French corporation Groupe Danone, which most devastating problems. What this book owns Dannon Yogurt, expressed an interest in reveals is that Grameen Bank is only the tip of co-founding a social business with Yunus. The the iceberg; Yunus shows how the same prin- result was the establishment of Grameen Da- ciples can eliminate all poverty worldwide if none in 2007, which supplies vitamin-fortified people have the will to implement his proven yogurt to the malnourished poor all over Bang- techniques. The practicality and common sense ladesh for pennies a cup. This business, like all behind his arguments make one want to slap social businesses, is designed to make a profit the forehead and exclaim, “Why didn’t I think and to be financially independent of the parent of that?!” corporation. The company’s concern with re- ducing waste and improving the product has Capitalism has often been blamed for creating led to the invention of “edible cups,” along the and promoting the poverty that plagues half the lines of ice cream cones. world’s population. Yunus gives a colorful account of his early struggles against “the sys- Yunus postulates that capitalism today is a tem” when he was trying, in the 1970s to es- “half-developed structure.” This is because the tablish a bank-sponsored credit union for the businessperson is, in the current model, a one- poor so that they could begin to lift themselves dimensional being, dedicated to one mission out of poverty. But no bank would participate, only—to maximize profit. All fulfillment, as they did not consider the poor a good credit growth, and the solution of the world’s prob- risk. Thus Grameen (meaning “Village”) Bank lems will naturally result from maximized was born in 1983 and became the world’s first profit. “social business.” Yunus defines the term so- But this is obviously not the case, as the richest cial business as a regular business in every entrepreneurs of the past and present have respect, except that the owners and investors demonstrated by turning away from the game do not receive dividends. Those go back into of profit and establishing foundations in order the business; that way prices can be kept low to make their greatest contributions. Certainly enough to be within reach of the very poor. foundations help in dealing with poverty is- Social business is opposed to “profit- sues, but the size and depth of the problem maximized business,” the only currently ac- dwarfs the amount of money available— cepted model in the view of the business money that needs to be renewed through in- world. vestment and donations.

Governments are also—in some cases—a the poor do not yet own their own businesses. source of help. But some governments are However, as he has proven over the last quar- helpless, some are unsympathetic, and all gov- ter-century, the poor make excellent entrepre- ernments are prone to red tape, delays, wastage neurs; and, once given the tools, they are capa- and favoritism. ble of raising themselves above the poverty line and toward the middle class. It is only a Non-profit organizations (including non- matter of time, he says, before poverty will be governmental organizations) attempt to fill the consigned to museums. The final chapter in the gap, and they provide many vital services. book, “Putting Poverty in Museums,” deals However, they are inadequate in times of dis- with the vision in considerable detail. aster or crisis, or in dealing with the intractable problems of extreme poverty and starvation. The book ends with a valuable Epilogue in the form of Yunus’ Nobel Prize address on De- Yunus argues eloquently that only through the cember 10, 2006, and an update from summer skills that humanity has developed over mil- 2008. The Nobel Prize address, entitled “Pov- lennia—those of successful business build- erty is a Threat to Peace,” presents a cogent ing—can world poverty be eliminated. What summary of the whole subject and explains makes this approach so promising is that busi- why there is no time to waste. It makes an ex- ness is something that can be counted on to cellent introduction to the book. grow, and therefore there will always be money available for everyone who has his or John Cobb her own small business. The only reason there Asheville, North Carolina is any poverty anywhere on Earth is because

News from the School Full-Moon Festivals

Festival of Easter 2009: will be seen and the secondary and unimpor- tant beliefs therefore rejected, for only the ba- Becoming Radiant Points sic and causative will be of value in the com- of Crisis ing age.”2 Fundamental to the process of managing dis- t the Aries full moon, we begin the period sonance is an awareness of the inconsistency – A of the three linked festivals – a time of and that is where we come in. In the passage great potential for change and growth. The first quoted above, the reactionaries serve an impor- festival – the Festival of Easter – symbolizes tant purpose but without necessarily knowing for us a time of renewal and rebirth, a time of that that is their function. Our job is to act con- hope and regeneration. sciously to heighten public awareness of the This year our united meditative focus is par- contrast between the status quo that has created ticularly important. We know that humanity, as the current global crisis and spiritual alterna- well as the individual, grows through its re- tives. In other words, we need to ask the ques- sponse to testing, to crises. At this point in tions that educate others on the fallacies of the time, given the global financial crisis, we are status quo and the benefits of the alternatives. certainly immersed in one of those testing In this process, we need to be extremely care- times. Our role, we are told, is to be “radiating ful that we “walk the talk,” rather than discred- points of crisis to produce the needed ten- iting what we wish to promote. 1 sion.” This may sound a bit odd. Isn’t there What Needs to Shift enough crisis in the world already without our contributing to it? As “radiating points of crisis,” we need to identify the key aspects of the status quo that To understand what it is that we are being need to change so that we can hold a clear fo- called to do, we can draw on the concept of cus and intent until the issues of this current cognitive dissonance from social psychology. crisis are brought into bold relief. Only when Dissonance results from the perceived incon- the options become crystal clear will others be sistency between one set of beliefs or actions able to see the contrast sharply enough to make and another. As humans, we have a natural the needed choices. So what are the paradigm tendency to reduce such dissonance, whether shifts that need to occur? by changing so that there is no longer any con- flict or by discrediting the source of the disso- The Shift from Greed and Entitlement nance. The Tibetan describes this process for There are a number of ways that we could us when he says, “To this…group [of reaction- view the issues involved. One is to focus on aries] is committed the work of crystallization the matter of greed and the climate of entitle- that will result in the complete destruction of ment that has developed, which equates happi- the old form; to them is given the task of defin- ness with material consumption. Urged on by ing the old truths so that the mind of the race “you deserve it” advertising, many have come will be clarified, that non-essentials and essen- to feel that, if they want something, they tials will be recognized for what they are, and should have it regardless of context or conse- fundamental ideas so contrasted with the for- quences… or even whether they actually need mulation of dogmas that that which is basic it. On the political and economic fronts, we see

Copyright © The Esoteric Quarterly, 2009. 69 The Esoteric Quarterly this dynamic playing out with U.S. financial clothes, toys, furnishings that we can give to institutions and other large corporations who charitable organizations helping the truly have been given financial bailouts in order to needy? By modeling such behavior, we chal- help their clients but who instead have squan- lenge the premise on which fear is based. dered the money on additional bonuses and The Shift from Piscean Values perks for their executives – and now resist any accountability. The extreme greed we have More fundamentally, we can view the current been witnessing, with predatory pricing and crisis as part of the shift from outmoded Pi- executive salaries in the millions while large scean values to the embracing of a more portions of the world’s population are starving, Aquarian perspective. What we have is a situa- has got to stop. But why would anyone who tion where old structures no longer support us feels entitled shift away from greed? and the new structures are not yet formed. The Tibetan reminds us that there are at least four The answer lies in seeing positive alternatives areas in which this shift needs to occur:3 modeled in a way that they become attractive to a growing number of people. We can do our The ideal of paternalism. Although we have part to provide this contrast by examining our been warned repeatedly by the Tibetan to mind own lives. Which of our purchases are actually our own business and respect the choices made necessary? How warm do we really need to by others, we continue to support structures keep our homes or offices (rather than put on where “authorities” dictate what is best for another layer of clothing)? Where can we re- others rather than engaging in dialog. We al- use items rather than purchasing replacements? ready have more than enough evidence that In short, how can we limit our consumption to collaborative models work better than authori- that which we truly need and demonstrate that tarian ones, that people need to be free to grow happiness comes from spiritual, rather than through experiencing the consequences of their material, fulfillment? choices rather than being protected “for their own good.” We can become skilled in group The Shift from Fear process techniques like appreciative enquiry, Another perspective is to focus on the issue of nonviolent communication, mediation, and fear and the multiplier effects of hoarding and consensus building in order to model alterna- other behaviors that go along with “looking out tives to paternalistic practices. for number one.” As long as we share and The ideal of growth through pain and suffer- work collaboratively, we can all survive a cri- ing. Many of us assume that we learn best sis. But once people retreat into themselves, through painful experiences and that we there is a domino constriction that accelerates change only when our current approach is too the problems. painful to continue. In other words, we assume Fear is an emotional response to a perceived or we change out of fear or to avoid discomfort. real threat or danger. In the present context, Pain does play an initial useful role in warning fear is being generated most frequently by a us of potential dangers so that we can avoid belief that there is not enough for everyone. Is them. But when we create mental and emo- that really true? It is true that the near term will tional suffering through the way we interpret be challenging, but in the end there is actually that signal of pain, we begin to immerse our- enough for us all. It is interesting to note that, selves in that suffering, which is counterpro- while large Wall Street banks are in trouble, ductive. While we can learn valuable lessons community banks across the U.S. are doing from pain, its most important function is actu- fine. ally to help us empathize with others … to be able to “walk in their shoes.” So we can provide a contrast by focusing on generosity instead. In how many ways can we We can be most helpful by reminding others be generous at this time? What about donating (and ourselves!) that the choices we make in money to community food banks rather than interpreting our experience create our emo- purchasing lattes? Are there extra blankets, tional state. Joy wells up as we reject the role

70 Copyright © The Esoteric Quarterly, 2009 Summer 2009 of victim and embrace the role of creator. fined by Lionel Robbins as “the science which While the energy of suffering is constrictive, studies human behaviour as a relationship the energy of curiosity and experimentation between ends and scarce means that have and appreciation is that of an open heart. alternative uses.”4 Actually we live within an abundant universe, supported by a Sun that The emphasis (particularly for women) on the daily transforms four million tons of its sub- ideal of self-sacrifice. While it is true that stance into light that we might exist. growth requires the ability to set limits and postpone individual desires for the good of the Making the Shift from Crisis to Tension group, the only true sacrifice is that which is We know that our growth trajectory is to move self-initiated. If the sacrifice is imposed by from points of crisis through points of tension requirement or expectation, then we have coer- to a point of emergence or resolution.5 We cion. For women as the expected caregivers, have the role of creating and holding the dis- the dynamic of putting others’ needs before sonance that precedes choice. In our present one’s own becomes ingrained in childhood, situation, what is the dynamic that will help us often to the point of exhaustion and ill health. along this change sequence? We are told that Many women are so absorbed in anticipating “the clear light of love must sweep away all others’ needs and responding to “shoulds” that this [agonizing and self-preoccupation] and joy they no longer have a sense of their own [shall] be the keynote of the coming new unique self. In order to sacrifice oneself, one age.”6 So what would it mean to live joyously? must first have a “self” to sacrifice. While this dynamic is not restricted to women, it is im- Joy is a quality of the Soul that produces a de- portant to keep in mind that many of the teach- light so extreme that we radiate and express it ings on sacrifice (as in placing the needs of the spontaneously. It is similar to happiness, but group ahead of one’s own) are actually aimed does not involve having achieved some result. at individuals who are self-absorbed, not those Our natural state, as Souls, is joyous. Shifting who are already behaving altruistically. We to a focus on joy involves a conscious experi- can be most helpful by questioning why the mental approach to life. We need to love ob- burden of physical or emotional support should stacles, to welcome making mistakes as part of fall on only certain individuals and not be growth. We need to encourage ourselves in shared equitably. risk-taking instead of aiming for a static state of perfection. Risk-taking, after all, is critical The idea of the immediate satisfaction of de- for learning to make appropriate choices. In- sire. One would think that the over-abundance stead of focusing on our mistakes or on what of material goods and sensations would have we are giving up – e.g., attachment to specific brought people to a point of satiation, but un- outcomes, criticism of others, a sense of sepa- fortunately that is not the case. We still have a rateness and superiority – we need to focus on cultural mandate of “more is better” or “bigger what we have learned from our mistakes and is better,” and an assumption that aggression in on strengthening our compassion for ourselves order to get what we want is acceptable. We and others. can help by refocusing on concepts like sim- plicity and sufficiency to offset the emphasis Holding the Tension on acquisition. Tension implies potential, a sense of anticipa- We can also identify a fifth area of needed tion. While others are bemoaning the terrible shift from Piscean to Aquarian values – i.e., saga unfolding, we need to hold fast to our un- from a belief in scarcity to a belief in abun- derstanding that there are still critical lessons dance. The mechanistic “either/or” model of for humanity to learn. The crisis is not yet Newtonian physics continues to dominate the ready for resolution, and this is perhaps our way that we conceptualize our universe and most challenging task. It is similar to not al- our choices even though physicists and cos- lowing a wound to close while there is still mologists have long since disproved that infection inside; otherwise, the wound will worldview. In fact, economics has been de- fester and not heal properly. Just as it is our

Copyright © The Esoteric Quarterly, 2009. 71 The Esoteric Quarterly responsibility to provide an educational con- open about how best to proceed, resisting pre- trast so that the issues become clear, so too is it mature closure. This position of poised tension our responsibility to stimulate dialogue and is captured beautifully by Vera Grace Frances experimentation until a true and sustainable in the following poem:7 paradigm shift has been reached. I stay my heart, Perhaps another analogy might be helpful re- I make delays garding our role with tension. Picture a violin For what awaits this eager pace? with a broken string – the global financial meltdown. Simply placing a new string on the I stand amidst the eternal ways violin will not help. It needs to be tuned to the And what is mine will know my face. correct pitch. That tuning involves repeated As we celebrate this Festival of Easter, may we tightening, almost to the point where it might each stand calmly and joyously at the cross- snap. But it is precisely at that point – just roads holding the tension of potential and op- enough tension, but not too much – where the portunity for humanity. sweetest sound can be produced … or, in our case, an informed choice can be made. Dorothy Riddle, Ph.D. So how can we help to “birth” the tension needed to produce the needed paradigm shift? 1 Alice A. Bailey, The Rays and the Initiations Living joyously focuses in the moment on (New York: Lucis Publishing, 1960), 589. what we gain from each experience. It involves 2 Alice A. Bailey, A Treatise on White Magic releasing regrets over paths not taken or op- (New York: Lucis Publishing, 1934), 328. tions not chosen. It requires an openness to 3 From Alice A. Bailey, Education in the New experimentation and growth. Choosing to live Age (New York: Lucis Publishing, 1954), 119- 121. joyously rather than fearfully allows us to ex- 4 perience the interconnectedness of the cosmos. Lionel Robbins, Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science (London: Learning to live joyously is not the only an- Macmillan, 1932). swer to the current crisis, but it is fundamental 5 Bailey, The Rays and the Initiations, 623. 6 to the changes that we are challenged to un- Bailey, Education in the New Age, 120. 7 dergo. From Vera Grace Frances, I Have Loved Beauty (Madras: Solar Printers, 1961). Another way of thinking about our role at this time is to frame it as holding the questions

Festival of Wesak 2009: Shamballa, where our planetary Logos lives and works, and where the Will of God is Shamballa Influx Redux known. The title is also intended to convey a subtle warm welcome to everyone at this spe- allusion to the tenth anniversary – coming up cial moment within the spiritual year. As A in the next cycle of spring Festivals – of the we gather together in our various physical Shamballa energy impact of 2000. Those who plane groups, or lend our support at a distance, were working esotericists at that time remem- let us recall that we are one, a single subjective ber how intense that occasion was. The regular group on the inner planes focusing our ener- annual influx of Shamballa energy is adminis- gies in service to humanity and the Hierarchy. tered via the Hierarchy, who absorb the ener- The title of this Wesak address was inspired by gies that are too powerful for human beings at the cyclic nature of the energies that are re- this stage in our evolution. But in 2000 the im- ceived by humanity each year at the time of the pact was direct and unmediated, part of a Wesak Festival, and which emanate from large-scale cyclic pattern that occurs at irregu-

72 Copyright © The Esoteric Quarterly, 2009 Summer 2009 lar intervals. The previous direct impact took larger one, has a distinct advantage during an place in 1975, and the one before that was re- important energy impact. The individuals that sponsible for the energy conflagration that is constitute the group can balance each other’s known as the two world wars, and which the energies, so that weak areas are strengthened Tibetan refers to simply as the World War. and individual strengths are broadened. And Educated disciples now know enough to pre- the united and simultaneous spiritual focus of a pare adequately for such a powerful energy group has many times the power of a lone in- inflow, in order to avail themselves of the en- dividual. Therefore the spiritual group, as long ergy and not just become the victims of it. as it is conscious of the energy picture, faces not a time of danger, but rather a time of op- Because the primary ray energy associated portunity. with Shamballa is the First Ray, this is risky business indeed! This energy of Will or Power, It is an opportunity to serve by enabling “un- when misused, is capable of causing wide- ready humanity” to absorb successfully the spread destruction and misery as has been Shamballa energies at this time. It is an oppor- proven many times in recent history. For a tunity to receive special training in group for- constructive and beneficial use of this power- mation, as we attempt to follow in the Hierar- ful energy, the energy of Love has to be pre- chy’s footsteps and perform the tasks that the sent as a balancing factor. This is true of an Masters undertake in other years. Those of us individual and it is true of a group. The largest who serve in this capacity can prepare our- group – humanity as a whole – still has a dis- selves for success in this undertaking by con- tance to evolve before there is sufficient Love trolling our personal and group focus, and thus energy to provide a proper balance. Unaided, controlling the energies we will work with. In humanity is still unready to deal with the con- the early twentieth century Shamballa impact, sequences of direct First Ray energy. people reacted according to the quality of their conditioning energies, so that “great and good As individuals, many spiritual workers may individuals appeared and enunciated the truths also be unready because each of us carries a needed for the New Age, but evil and perni- particular set of ray energies that condition our cious individuals also emerged.” However, in vehicles, and which are aimed at achieving a spite of the chaotic energies that this impact particular evolutionary purpose during this initiated and which characterized much of the incarnation. We are also at different stages on twentieth century, the Will-to-Good from the Path, and most of us are juggling issues Shamballa evoked the latent goodwill in hu- that tend to distract us from a steady spiritual manity, so that there has also been a notable focus. We are told, “this outpouring of directed increase in general consideration for others and energy means a great stimulation of all sensi- mass action to promote human welfare on a tive and responsive aspirants; the result is not global basis. We are told that since that impact an easy one. Everything in [aspirants] is raised “human thinking has been more concerned to the surface of consciousness, and while they with the production of unity and the attainment are faced with a vital and beneficent opportu- of synthesis in all human relations than ever nity, they are also faced with the problem of before, and one result of this energy has been absorbing more ‘punishment’ than they would the forming of the United Nations.” normally take. Will they break under the impact of self-discovery and the opportunity to Before proceeding further let’s take a moment eliminate personality? Or will they rise trium- to recall the distinction between energy contact phant from the ashes of their dead selves into and energy impact. living power and beauty?” In our discipleship work and meditation proc- Even groups such as SES are not exempt from ess we seek to expand our range of energy con- challenges and surprises, and in 2000 we had tact. We do this systematically, using recog- our share. But an intentionally constituted nized techniques, and gradually bring that group, whether it is small or large, and whether which we envision as possible into the realm it is a self-contained entity or a subgroup of a of actuality. Thus we reap the fruit of our past

Copyright @ The Esoteric Quarterly 2009 73 The Esoteric Quarterly efforts. On the other hand an energy impact is like an emergency! – and finding this group to sudden and extends forward into the future. As work with. Since then I have come to know a sudden influx of energy from the Greater how concerned the School staff was at the Life, it is revelatory in nature and opens up all time, facing the first Shamballa impact since kinds of possibilities for working disciples. the one that precipitated the World War. They took more than three years and guided the We can see how dealing with sudden impact- School group through four sequential and ing energies at this time is quite different from linked Subjective Group Conferences calcu- our usual work with energies and forces. We lated to produce an effective group energy normally seek to become aware of our person- field. It was a large effort, but definitely worth ality forces and of the energies we are im- it, as the Will-to-Good predominated in this mersed in. Our task is to align the energies of group and in others that were on the same our microcosm with those of the macrocosm wavelength. and gradually transform the human environ- ment in line with the purpose of the One in Next I want to say a few words about the na- Whom we live and move and have our being, ture of the Shamballa energy, and then suggest transforming our own consciousness in the how we might cooperate in its distribution dur- process. Our whole spiritual orientation – in ing and after the Wesak Festival. fact, humanity’s whole spiritual orientation – We are told that there are actually three great has been aligned with the goal-oriented proc- energies focused in Shamballa: the Energy of ess illustrated by the definition of energy con- Purification, the Energy of Destruction, and tact. The Path of discipleship is often viewed the Energy of Organization. (See The Rays and as an ascent and initiation is symbolized as a the Initiations, p. 84ff.) mountaintop. The Energy of Purification is the power to Before 2000, probationers and most disciples eliminate all that hinders Divinity from full didn’t consciously participate in “impacts.” expression. Although purification is commonly These have been experienced mainly as disas- associated with physical processes, it actually ters, or perhaps the “hand of God” working out originates in the subtle vehicles and then, if the inscrutable will of Deity. The Deluge and alignment is good, proceeds automatically the two World Wars of the twentieth century through to the etheric and physical bodies. It is are examples that D.K. offers. But as humanity amazing to think that there is actually an en- has grown in consciousness and the disciples ergy out there that automatically “substitutes of the world have made unexpected progress, good for evil.” The process, when it works the time was becoming ripe for group partici- upon us, can be disorienting, but if we expand pation in Shamballa impact. In 1944, when the our consciousness to participate and even Tibetan was writing of these matters during the guide it through our deeper understanding, we dark days of siege by the Forces of Evil, it was can mitigate some of the unpleasant effects. clear that there was inadequate Will-to-Good Attributes supported by this energy are emo- available to balance the first aspect of Sham- tional loveliness, mental clarity, and intuitional balla energy, the will-to-power. But the Sham- illumination. balla impact of 1975 showed that a change had taken place. Because of adequate preparation Closely related to this energy is the Energy of and the marshalling of the Will-to-Good by all Destruction. Actually, destruction is an aspect disciples, a global process of spiritualization – of the purificatory nature of the Divine Life. of acceleration of humanity’s evolution – was To simplify the relationship of these energies, the result. it could be thought of in the following way: purification is what the Greater Life experi- I know personally several people who experiences, and destruction is what we experience! enced that impact via circumstances in their This energy is wielded (1) by the Council at lives, resulting in definite growth in con- Shamballa, whose intent is to bring all forms sciousness. I responded to it myself by sud- into line with the evolving Purpose; and (2) by denly intensifying my spiritual search – it felt

74 Copyright @ The Esoteric Quarterly 2009 Summer 2009 humanity who, through initiating causes that foundation for a better world. are responsible for the cyclic events and con- 4. The will-to-cooperate, leading to right sequences in human affairs, becomes master of human relations. its own destiny. 5. The will-to-know, leading to an in- The Energy of Organization originally set in creasingly mental focus in the masses motion the great Ray Lives and impulsed “in- of humanity. This is needed before telligent manifestation” on the planet. Thus wisdom can prevail. was created an ideal arena in which Divine 6. The will-to-persist. This sublimation Purpose could be worked out through the me- of the basic instinct of self- dium of the Plan. preservation will be transformed into We are told that Shamballa energy is available the demonstration of immortality. for right use by humanity. We are also told that 7. The will-to-organize, enabling the con- the power to do so lies in understanding and tinuing and growing cooperation with group use. We all are members of a group that the Hierarchy. is seeking to understand the right use of energy and then to impulse that energy in service. If we can hold this spectrum of energies in Speaking for the group, I think I can say that mind as we visualize absorbing, receiving and our motives are clear and our capacities are directing the Will-to-Good from Shamballa growing. The group understanding and the during the Wesak Festival and beyond, we group use protect us individually and lend may be of real service. power to our efforts. And we learn by follow- Let us not forget that participating in the We- ing the teaching of the Hierarchy and seeking sak Festival – whether in an objective or sub- to pattern our group activity after Them. jective group – is an important service in itself. What exactly does the Hierarchy do when it Even in this crucial year, the Hierarchy is with serves as the intermediary between Shamballa us and always ready to help. This is the spiri- and humanity? tual high point of the year, a special moment of contact and impact. Then we must turn our There are three ways in which the Shamballa back on that “light supernal” and assist in the energy is normally managed as it is projected realization of the greater Purpose on Earth. forth at the time of the Wesak full moon. There is an “absorbing Agent” for the energy (the One of my favorite passages beautifully de- Buddha’s role), a “receiving Agent” (the scribes our task together and is worth keeping Christ), and “directing Agents” (the seven in mind throughout the Wesak Festival. groups of Masters). The task at Wesak is to What we are seeking to do is to carry for- place all this energy “on hold” for a month ward a group endeavor which is of such until at the time of the June full moon it can be moment that, at the right time, it could released to humanity in seven categories corre- produce, in its growing momentum, such a sponding to the seven subrays of the First Ray potent, magnetic impulse that it will reach of Will or Power. These are: those Lives Who brood over humanity and 1. Power, needed by the disciples and our civilization, and Who work through initiates of the world to direct effi- the Masters of the Wisdom and the assem- ciently and wisely the building of the bled Hierarchy. This group endeavor will new world. call forth from Them a responsive and 2. The will-to-love, which will stimulate magnetic impulse, which will bring to- the seeds of love already in the human gether, through the medium of all the as- heart, and help to overcome all separa- piring groups, the overshadowing benefi- tiveness. cent Forces. Through the concentrated effort of these groups in the world today 3. The will-to-action, impelling people to (who constitute subjectively One Group) inaugurate activities that will lay the light and inspiration and spiritual revela-

tion can be released in such a flood of hind the scenes, stand the grouped world power that it will work definite changes in aspirants, working silently, in unison with the human consciousness and help to ame- each other and the Hierarchy, and thus liorate conditions in this needy world. It keeping the channel open through which will open men's eyes to the basic realities, the needed wisdom, strength and love can which are, as yet, only dimly sensed by the flow. thinking public. Humanity itself must ap- (Esoteric Psychology, Vol. 2, pp. 113-114) ply the necessary correctives, believing it can do so in the strength of its own sensed John Cobb, Ph.D. wisdom and strength; yet all the time, be-

Festival of Goodwill 2009: in the Piscean Age, when it marked the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, 50 days after The New World Religion Christ’s Resurrection.3 According to the book of Acts, the apostles went forth with new vigor he Festival of the Christ – also referred to to preach the message of Christ. Reportedly Tas the Festival of Humanity, Festival of 3,000 people were baptized, an event custom- Goodwill, or World Invocation Day – is the arily taken to mark the birth of Christianity. third of the three major full moon festivals that The latest adaptation of Pentecost, the Festival highlight the season known as the Higher In- of the Christ, comes into being at the dawn of terlude. It was announced by the Tibetan Mas- Aquarian Age. ter Djwhal Khul after World War II and was Pentecost has long been an important religious first observed in 1952. Like the festivals of festival, commemorating what were perceived many ancient traditions, the timing of the new to be divine interventions in human affairs – festival is determined by the intersection of interventions that launched major religious lunar and solar cycles. The Festival of the initiatives. The Tibetan’s announcement of the Christ is observed at the full moon in Gemini, Festival of the Christ occurred in the context of which can occur on any day from the last week another intervention, anticipated in the rela- of May to the third week of June. This year it tively near future, which will include the reap- falls on Sunday, June 7. Observance of the pearance of the Christ and the externalization Festival extends over the five-day period June of the Hierarchy of Masters. Among the new 5–9. Special emphasis is placed on the actual initiatives for the Aquarian Age will be the day of the full moon, but the whole period is establishment of a New World Religion. regarded as “sacred time.”1 Christ’s new mission, building upon that of his The first of the three major festivals corre- previous appearance, will focus even more sponds to the Jewish Passover and the Chris- clearly on humanity: tian Easter. The second corresponds to the We- In the Aquarian Age, the Risen Christ sak Festival, which celebrates the annual de- is Himself the Water-Carrier; He will scent of the Buddha on his assembled disci- not this time demonstrate the perfected ples. The third, the Festival of the Christ, cor- life of a Son of God, which was His responds to Pentecost – whose name is derived main mission before; He will appear as from the Greek word Pentekoste, which means the supreme Head of the Spiritual Hi- “fiftieth day.”2 In the Age of Aries, Pentecost erarchy, meeting the need of the thirsty was a Jewish feast celebrating the first fruits of nations of the world – thirsty for truth, the harvest, traditionally collected 50 days af- for right human relations and for lov- ter planting. In due course it also came to ing understanding.4 commemorate God’s revelation of the Ten Commandments to Moses, 50 days after the The Festival of the Christ, we understand, is Exodus. Pentecost acquired new meaning early marked by heightened presence of the Second

76 Copyright @ The Esoteric Quarterly 2009 Summer 2009

Aspect of Deity, not in transcendent form, but tance it had in the ancient mystery schools. expressed through the immanent presence of Significantly the new religion will have “its Love-Wisdom in the world. The Tibetan de- new rituals and ceremonies.”8 scribed it as “the festival of the spirit of hu- The world religions we know today represent a manity … a day whereon the spiritual and di- rich cultural and spiritual heritage. Each has vine nature of mankind will be recognized.”5 something valuable to offer and has unique He added that the Festival will be one of “deep appeal – an appeal no longer constrained by invocation and appeal, of a basic aspiration geography, ethnicity or culture. To appreciate towards fellowship, of human and spiritual that appeal, one has only to look at the success unity, and will represent the effect in the hu- of Christian missionary activities throughout man consciousness of the work of the Buddha the world – and the corresponding success of and of the Christ.6 Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism as they make The Festival of the Christ is intended to be the inroads into traditionally Christian societies. high point in the liturgical calendar of the New Judaism continued to hold its own throughout World Religion. This year’s Festival provides the world as well as in Israel. The Tibetan em- an opportune time to reflect on the new relig- phasizes that the new religion will be built ion insofar as it represents a major step toward upon the best of what has gone before: “human and spiritual unity.” The New World The Christ and the spiritual Hierarchy Religion, we are told, will supplant the relig- will not come to destroy all that hu- ions of the Piscean Age. Rather than dividing manity has hitherto found “necessary people, as so often happened in the past, it will to salvation,” and all that has met its embrace people of every persuasion and from spiritual demand. When the Christ re- every nation. Under the leadership of the appears, the non-essentials will surely Christ, the great unifier, the new religion will disappear; the fundamentals of faith bring into harmony all that have been sepa- will remain, upon which He can build rated and discordant. According to the Tibetan, that new world religion for which all it will be based on six fundamental principles: wait. That new world religion must be 1. The Fact of God based upon those truths that have 2. Man’s Relationship to God stood the test of ages and that have 3. The Fact of Immortality and Eternal Per- brought assurance and comfort to peo- sistence ple everywhere. 4. The Continuity of Revelation and the Di- The New World Religion will not be estab- vine Approaches… lished in full until the Christ reappears. Never- 5. The fact of our relationship with each theless, it is timely to contemplate what the other…. new religion may look like and lay the 6. The fact of the Path to God.7 groundwork for implementation. We can identify the shared vision and the values and ideals The New World Religion will not be created held in common among major religious enti- by a committee of high-level representatives of ties. We can help clarify the vision and en- existing faiths. Nor will one of the existing courage universal affirmation of those values faith traditions be anointed to fill the role. Al- and ideals. The Tibetan commented that though the Christ will be the new religion’s Hierarch, Christianity is not guaranteed a privi- the study of Comparative Religion has leged position to influence what lies ahead. demonstrated that the foundational The Christ expresses the Second Aspect of truths in every faith are identical. Be- Deity to all religions and all people. The new cause of this universality, they evoke religion will draw upon multiple traditions, recognition and response from all peo- religious and otherwise. We are told, for in- ple everywhere. The only factor in re- stance, that it will embrace some aspects of ality that militates against the spiritual Masonic tradition, restoring ritual to the impor- unity of all people everywhere is the

existent clerical organizations and The archetypal spiritual paths capture the ways their militant attitude to religions and in which people express their Christianity. to faiths other than their own.9 They are: Devotion, Ceremony, Knowledge, Healing, Service, Activism and Renuncia- Fortunately, intolerance has become less stri- tion.11 The capitalized terms are convenient dent since the 1940s, when those words were labels for the paths, but the underlying con- written. Interfaith dialogue has increased sig- cepts are broader than everyday usage might nificantly through bodies like the World Coun- imply. For example, “Devotion” refers to the cil of Churches and United Religions Initiative. many ways in which the devotee enters into Ecumenical outreach has also increased, and dialog with the Divine, including conventional some Christian denominations have merged piety but also including mystical contempla- into larger corporate entities. Greater under- tion and the creation and response to sacred standing, the recognition of common concerns, art, architecture and music. The seven paths and a willingness to cooperate are all com- cannot be paired in a one-to-one correspon- mendable, but the New World Religion will dence with the seven rays, but connections are not be established by merger and acquisition. obvious to anyone familiar with the rays. For The New World Religion will not be a one- instance, the paths of Knowledge, Healing and size-fits-all structure of beliefs, observances, Service all express the Second Ray of Love- and attitudes. Cultural differences, as well as Wisdom. The path of Activism expresses the the very real differences among individuals in First Ray of Will and Power, mediated by every culture, are important elements in the Love-Wisdom. tapestry of human experience. Spiritual devel- The two-tiered archetypal model was formu- opment also varies enormously; some people lated as a basis for studying Christianity, but it are much farther along than others on their can apply with equal validity to a New World journeys. The new religion must allow for di- Religion. Indeed a frequent response to the versity as well as affirming an overarching original model was that it sounds like some- unity. A conceptual model formulated in a thing more inclusive than the Christianity we study of Christianity10 could provide a useful know. The upper-tier archetype would become roadmap. As applied to Christianity, the model the expanded and strengthened thoughtform sought to honor both the essential unity of that expresses the Hierarchy’s Plan for spiritu- Christianity and the obvious diversity that has ality in the Aquarian Age. The seven spiritual existed within Christianity throughout its paths of the lower tier can be found, to varying 2,000-year history. The result was a two-tiered degrees, in all major religions, just as they archetypal structure. could be found to varying degrees in all Chris- The model’s upper tier is an archetype, a Pla- tian denominations. They will capture the dif- tonic Form – a thoughtform – that expresses ferent ways in which people express the New the Christian ideal. It recognizes that Christ did World Religion. not found a religion during his sojourn in Pal- The paths fall into two broad categories – al- estine 2,000 years ago; rather he created a beit not without significant crossover in most thoughtform that would work out over time. of them. Devotion, Ceremony and Renuncia- All Christian traditions, denominations and tion express humanity’s relationship with God. sects represent partial, temporal expressions of Here we find the first, second and sixth of the that thoughtform. The lower tier, capturing the Tibetan’s fundamental principles. Healing, diversity within Christianity, consists of seven Service and Activism express our relationships archetypal spiritual paths that cut across sectar- with one another, embodying the fifth funda- ian boundaries. The focus on spiritual paths to mental principle. Knowledge – which embod- represent diversity enables us to stand aside ies the fourth principle or, from an alternative from the factionalism and divisiveness that, perspective, all of them – can be placed in ei- tragically, have plagued Christianity since its ther category according to whether the focus is inception. on study or teaching. We note that the Christ is

78 Copyright @ The Esoteric Quarterly 2009 Summer 2009 the World Teacher. The path of Service, with many groups, working under the inspi- its strong Second Ray associations, epitomizes ration of the Christ and the influence the spirit of the Aquarian Age. The path of of the Second Ray and these – in their Ceremony expresses the rich tradition of ritual, totality – will constitute this sixth the oldest of all religious practices. For a while group.12 ritual fell out of favor, but it is now being in- Much of the work will be carried out on the vigorated by the coming into manifestation of physical plane. But work on the mental plane the Seventh Ray of Ceremonial Order. The will be most important, including the use of path of Activism expresses the ideal of right creative imagination and thoughtform building. relations among people, while Renunciation In those ways we can contribute to the over- expresses right relations between us and the arching thoughtform that will define and unify planet. We do not have to be ascetics to recog- the new religion. Worldwide use of the Great nize the need, in a world of limited resources, Invocation will also play a crucial role – and it to aim at sufficiency rather than abundance. is no mere coincidence that the Festival of the Formulation of the model in terms of arche- Christ is also known as World Invocation types allows for considerable flexibility in the Day.13 The Invocation, which will become the way those archetypes are translated into beliefs liturgical centerpiece of the New World Relig- and practices by individuals and by religious ion, is at once a ritual, an act of devotion, and a entities. People with different aspirations and work of service and world healing. It spans at people at different levels of spiritual develop- least five of the archetypal spiritual paths. We ment can easily be accommodated. Impor- are told that the Christ himself uses the Invoca- tantly, it also allows for beliefs and practices to tion during the Higher Interlude, particularly at grow organically as circumstances change and the Festival of the Christ, when He – human consciousness evolves. as leader of the New Group of World Establishing the New World Religion will re- Servers – employs the new Invocation quire a commitment of global proportions. It on behalf of all people of goodwill in will require cooperation among people at all all lands; at the same time, He gathers levels in the major world religions. We can up the inchoate and unexpressed de- anticipate that all who have opened themselves mands of those masses who seek a up to Hierarchical impression can become ac- new and better way of life. They want tive participants. But leadership responsibili- love in daily living, right human rela- ties will fall heavily on those who have com- tions and an understanding of the un- mitted themselves to discipleship work. Writ- derlying Plan.14 ing in the 1930s the Tibetan described the ac- The Festival of the Christ acknowledges his tivities of seven groups of disciples charged role as World Teacher, Head of the Hierarchy with helping the Hierarchy implement the Plan of Masters, and Spiritual Head of the New on Earth. The work of the sixth group is par- World Religion. ticularly significant to our theme: The Festival we are celebrating is not only the The workers in the Field of Religion Festival of the Christ; it is also the Festival of form this group. Their work is to for- Humanity – which brings us back to the con- mulate the universal platform of the nection with Pentecost. We note that “Pente- new world religion. It is a work of lov- cost” is defined by the numbers five and ten. ing synthesis and it will emphasize the Numerologists associate ten, the decad, with unity and the fellowship of the spirit. completion – there were 10 “sayings” in Gene- This group is, in a pronounced sense, a sis 1, 10 plagues preceding the Exodus, and 10 channel for the activity of the Second Commandments in Judaic biblical history; Ray of Love-Wisdom, that of the there are 10 sefiroth, or divine manifestations, World Teacher – an office held at pre- in the Kabbalah. Five, the pentad, is associated sent by the Christ. The platform of the with humanity, which is still in the fifth root new world religion will be built by the

Copyright @ The Esoteric Quarterly 2009 79 The Esoteric Quarterly race but is entering a new phase in the evolution of consciousness. Significantly, the fifth 2 Alice A. Bailey, The Destiny of the Nations, plane of nature is the mental, or manasic plane Lucis, 1949, p. 151. – manas is the very word from which “man” is 3 Acts 2:1-4. derived. And the Fifth Ray is the ray of 4 Alice A. Bailey, The Destiny of the Nations, Knowledge. During the five days of the Festi- p.150. val, let us celebrate enlightened humanity’s 5 Alice A. Bailey, The Externalisation of the Hi- approach to the Fifth Kingdom, where our erarchy, Lucis, 1957, p. 421. 6 Ibid. mental natures will find full expression in love 7 and wisdom. Alice A. Bailey, The Externalisation of the Hi- erarchy, pp. 404-405. We honor the divinity in each of us as well as 8 Alice A. Bailey, Problems of Humanity, Lucis, in the whole human family. May we allow that 1964, p. 155. divinity to express itself through new com- 9 Ibid., p. 156, 10 mitment to put the six principles of the New John F. Nash, Christianity: the One, the Many, Xlibris, 2007. World Religion into practice. Through the col- 11 laborative effort of the Christ, the Hierarchy Ibid., vol. 2, pp. 310-343. 12 Alice A. Bailey, Discipleship in the New Age, I, and humanity, we can restore the Plan on Lucis, 1944, p. 38. Earth. 13 Alice A. Bailey, Discipleship in the New Age, John Nash, Ph.D. II, pp. 164-165. 14 Alice A. Bailey, The Reappearance of the Christ, Lucis, 1948, p. 46. 1 Alice A. Bailey, Discipleship in the New Age, II, Lucis, 1955, pp. 56-58.