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Discipleship in the New Age II - Teachings on Meditation - Part VIII |
This precipitation is to be brought about by the gradual
engendering of the divine idea in the human consciousness. Above everything else required
at this time is a recognition of the world of meaning, a recognition of those who
implement world affairs and who engineer those steps which lead mankind onward towards its
destined goal, plus a steadily increased recognition of the Plan on the part of the
masses. These three recognitions must be evidenced by humanity and affect human thinking
and action if the total destruction of mankind is to be averted. They must form
the theme of all the propaganda work to be done during the next few decades - until the
year 2025 - a brief space of time indeed to produce fundamental changes in human thought,
awareness, and direction, but - at the same time - a quite possible achievement, provided
the New Group of World Servers and the men and women of goodwill perform a conscientious
task. Evil is not yet sealed. The spread of the Christ consciousness and his recognized
Presence with us is not yet attained. The Plan is not yet so developed that its
structure is universally admitted. Evil has been driven back; there are enough people
aware of the possibility of divine enlightenment and of the interdependence (which is the
basis of love) to form a potent nucleus, provided again that the inertia so prevalent
among spiritual people is overcome. There is divine indication of coming events and a
planned progress towards them, and this is already arousing interest among thinkers in
many lands. However, the necessary responsive planning is still lacking. This new Invocation, if given widespread distribution, [165] can be to the new world religion what the Lord's Prayer has been to Christianity and the twenty-third Psalm has been to the spiritually minded Jew. I would like to indicate to you three approaches to the subject of this Invocation. I will do so briefly, as time lacks. It is for you to arrive - according to your evolutionary status and the depth of your reflection - at what I may leave unsaid. These three approaches are:
First, the general public will regard it as a prayer to God transcendent. They will not recognize him yet as immanent in his creation; they will send it forth on the wings of hope - hope for light and love and peace, for which they ceaselessly long. They will also regard it as a prayer for enlightenment of all rulers and leaders in all groups who are handling world matters; as a prayer for the inflow of love and understanding among men so that they may live in peace with one another; as a demand for the working out of the will of God - a will of which they can know nothing (this is, after all, quite true for all except initiates) and which ever seems to them so inscrutable and so all-inclusive that their normal reaction should be patience and a willingness to refrain from questioning; as a prayer for the strengthening of human responsibility, in order that the recognized evils of today which so distress and trouble mankind may be done away with and some vague source of evil may be harnessed; they will regard it finally as a prayer that some equally vague primeval condition of blissful happiness may be restored and all unhappiness and pain disappear from the Earth. This is, for them, entirely good and helpful and all that is immediately possible. I have so worded and rendered the Invocation that the Christian world, through its churches, may not find it impossible to use. [166] Second, esotericists and aspirants of the world will have a deeper and more understanding approach. To them it will convey the recognition of the world of causes and of those who stand subjectively behind world affairs, the spiritual Directors of our life. They stand ready to strengthen those with true vision, ready to indicate not only the reason for events in the various departments of human living, but also to make those revelations which will enable humanity to move forward out of darkness into light. With this fundamental attitude, the necessity for widespread expression of these underlying facts will be apparent and an era of hierarchical propaganda, engineered by disciples and carried forward by esotericists, will mature. This era began in 1875 when H.P.B.'s proclamation of the fact of the existence of the Masters of the Wisdom was made. It has been carried forward in spite of misrepresentation, attack upon the concept and scorn; recognition of the substantial nature of the available evidence, and an appearance of an intuitive response by occult students and many of the intelligentsia throughout the world have been present. A new type of mystic is coming to be recognized; he differs from the mystics of the past (except in a few outstanding instances) by his practical interest in current world affairs and not in religious and church matters only; he is distinguished by his lack of interest in his own personal development, by his ability to see God immanent in all faiths and not just in his own particular brand of religious belief, and also by his capacity to live his life in the light of the divine Presence. All mystics have been able to do this to a greater or less degree, but he differs from those in the past in that he is able clearly to indicate to others the techniques of the Path; he combines both head and heart, intelligence and feeling, plus an intuitive perception, hitherto lacking. The clear cold light of the Spiritual Triad now illumines the way of the modern mystic, and not simply the light of the soul, and this will be increasingly the case. Both of these groups - the general public and the world aspirants in their varying degrees - have among them those who stand out from the general average as possessing a [167] deeper insight and understanding; they occupy a no-man's land, intermediate in the one case between the masses and the esotericists, and on the other between the esotericists and the Members of the Hierarchy. Forget not that they also use this great Invocation and that not a day goes by that the Christ himself does not sound it forth. As you read the next few pages, you may find some clue to the attitudes and points of view of these spiritual Intelligences. |
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