The Science of Impression

 Source: https://blog-en.theplanetarysystem.org/2024/10/02/the-science-of-impression/

In this new moon of Libra, which looks to Aries, the sign of beginnings, the New Group of World Servers, the mediator between Humanity and the Hierarchy, preparing for the next hierarchical impact of 2025, directs the mind to contact the greater Lights, the great Sources of impression that the Tibetan Master’s Teaching so contextualises:

“Three great sciences […] form the three modes of expression of what we might term the Supreme Science of Contact. These three sciences are all equally interdependent and all related to the art of responsiveness. They are:

1. The Science of Impression . . . The will-to-be.
   Relation to the Spiritual Triad.
   Source of emanation . . . Shamballa.
   Connected with the abstract mind.
2. The Science of Invocation and Evocation . . . Love or attraction.
   Relation to the soul in all forms.
   Source of emanation (at this time) . . . The Hierarchy.
   Connected with the lower mind, as the agent of the soul.
3. The Science of Telepathy . . . Mind. Human intelligence.
   Relation to the personality.
   Source of emanation . . . Humanity itself.
   Connected with the head centre.

You will see how all these pairs of opposites play their part, exemplifying the dualistic nature of our planetary Life:

1. The abstract mind and the lower mind.
2. The soul and the lower mind.
3. The lower mind and the head centre.

Each of them acts as an invocative agent and produces evocation. All act as recipients and as transmitters, and all of them together establish the group inter-relation and the circulation of the energies which are the distinctive characteristic of the entire world of force.

One point you all need to grasp is that the progressing disciple does not move into new fields or areas of awareness, like a steady marching forward from one plane to another (as the visual symbols of the theosophical literature would indicate). What must be grasped is that all that IS is ever present. What we are concerned with is the constant awakening to that which eternally IS, and to what is ever present in the environment but of which the subject is unaware, owing to short-sightedness. The aim must be to overcome the undue concentration upon the foreground of daily life which characterises most people, the intense preoccupation with the interior states or moods of the lower self which characterises the spiritually minded people and the aspirants, and the imperviousness or lack of sensitivity which characterises the mass of men. The Kingdom of God is present on Earth today and forever has been, but only a few, relatively speaking, are aware of its signs and manifestations. The world of subtle phenomena (called formless, because unlike the physical phenomena with which we are so familiar) is ever with us and can be seen and contacted and proved as a field for experiment and experience and activity if the mechanism of perception is developed as it surely can be.” (A. A. Bailey, Telepathy and the Etheric Vehicle, pp. 52-53)

“The entire subject of telepathic communication can be approached under a more subjective designation or name, but one which is interpretive of the more universal and prior stage than that of direct telepathic reception. The occultist ever approaches the subject connected with the evolutionary process from the angle of the whole and then the part, from the periphery to the centre, from the universal to the particular. Among Themselves, the Masters do not deal with telepathy as a science warranting consideration, endeavour and impartation; They are concerned primarily with the Science of Impression. The term most often employed by Them is the esoteric equivalent of what the average person means when he says, “I have an impression”. Impression is the subtlest reaction (more or less accurate) to the vibratory mental activity of some other mind or group of minds, of some whole, as its radiatory influence affects the unit or aggregate of units.

The first stage of correct telepathic reception is ever the registering of an impression; it is generally vague at the beginning, but as a thought, idea, purpose or intention of the sending agent concretises, it slips into the second stage which appears as a definite thoughtform; finally, that thoughtform makes its impact upon the consciousness of the brain in the location lying just behind the ajna centre and consequently in the area of the pituitary body. It can appear also in the region of the solar plexus centre. But for those Lives Who have surmounted life in the three worlds and Who are not conditioned by the triple mechanism of the personality, the impression is the factor of importance; Their consciousness is impressed, and so sensitive is Their response to the higher impression, that They absorb or appropriate the impression so that it becomes a part of Their own “impulsive energy”.

This is by no means an easy subject for me to elucidate, and the reasons are two:

1. The members of the Hierarchy (among Whom I have the status of Master) are Themselves in process of learning this Science of Impression. This They do on the levels of the abstract mind, of the intuition, or of manas and buddhi.
2. The science is as yet without a vocabulary. It is not limited at any stage by thoughtforms but it is limited by word forms; and it is therefore a difficult problem for me to pass on any information anent this subtle mode of communication of which telepathy is in fact but an exoteric externalisation.

Impression, as an art to be mastered both from the angle of the impressing agent and of the impressed recipient, is definitely related to the world of ideas. As far as our planetary Life is concerned, there are certain great sources of impression and one or two of them might here be noted; you will thus gain some idea of the subtlety of the whole subject, of its close relation to energy impacts and of its group reception as differentiated from individual reception, as is the case in any telepathic rapport.

1. The impression of Shamballa by:
a. Members of the Great White Lodge on Sirius. The recipients of this impression are the highest Members of the Great Council, presided over by the Lord of the World. So subtle is this impression that these Great Lives can only receive it with accuracy when in full joint conference of the entire Council, and also after due preparation.
b. From one or other of the constellations which are at any particular time astrologically en rapport with our planet. This impression can only be received by the Great Council when sitting in conclave with a majority of its Members present. This, I would have you note, does not entail the attendance of the entire Council.
c. From a triangle of circulating energy, emanating from the two planets which—with our planet, the Earth—form a triangle in any particular cycle. This impression is received by the three Buddhas of Activity for distribution to the Hierarchy.
d. From the planet Venus, the Earth’s alter ego. This makes its entrance via the Lord of the World and three of His Council Who are chosen by Him at any specific time to act as recipients.

These are the major entering impressions, recorded by what is glibly called “the Universal Mind”, the mind of God, our planetary Logos. There are other entering impressions, but to them I do not refer, as any reference would be meaningless to you.

2. The impression of the Hierarchy by:
a. Shamballa itself through the medium of groups within the Great Council; these step down the impression which they register so that the Hierarchy—as a whole—may cooperate with the purposes intended by those who are forming the needed Plan.
b. Certain great Lives Who, at specific times and according to cyclic rhythm, or in times of emergency, are swung into this type of activity. For instance, one such time would be the Full Moon period, which is a time of reception by the Hierarchy as well as by Humanity; an instance of the second type of activity would be the Wesak Festival, or those acute crises when intervention is required from sources far higher than those with which the recipient is usually en rapport. Such a crisis is fast approaching. The first type of impression is rhythmic, recurrent and therefore cumulative in its intended effects. The second type of impression is the result of invocation and evocation and is dependent upon both the recipient and the agent.
c. That great group of divine Contemplatives who are trained to act as an intermediate receptive group between Shamballa and the Hierarchy. They receive impression from Shamballa and transmit it to the Hierarchy, thus enabling the Members of the Hierarchy to receive it as “a sharpened impression” and to register it accurately because the emanating impression has passed through an area within the divine Mind where it is enhanced by the trained perception and the determined receptivity of this group. They are called, in the East, the divine Nirmanakayas. I only mention Their occult name so that you may learn to recognise Them when you meet reference to Them.
d. The Buddha at the time when the Wesak Festival is celebrated. He then acts as a focal point or as the “distributor of the impression”; He then has behind Him (little as you may realise it) the entire impressing force of the Buddhas of Activity Who are to Shamballa what the Nirmanakayas are to the Hierarchy.

Let me here interpolate a remark which may prove helpful and illuminating. We are dealing (as you will undoubtedly have noted) with the reception of impression by groups or by aggregations of groups composed of living Beings Who have Their own agents of distribution or impression. The entire evolutionary history of our planet is one of reception and of distribution, of a taking in and of a giving out. The key to humanity’s trouble (focussing, as it has, in the economic troubles of the past two hundred years, and in the theological impasse of the orthodox churches) has been to take and not to give, to accept and not to share, to grasp and not to distribute. This is the breaking of the Law which has placed humanity in the position of guilt. The war is the dire penalty which humanity has had to pay for this great sin of separateness. Impressions from the Hierarchy have been received, distorted, misapplied and misinterpreted, and the task of the New Group of World Servers is to offset this evil. These Servers are to humanity what the Buddhas of Activity are to Shamballa, and the group of divine Contemplatives (the Nirmanakayas) are to the Hierarchy. It might be stated therefore that:

1. The Buddhas of Activity are Themselves impressed by the WILL of God as it energises the entire planetary life.
2. The Nirmanakayas are impressed by the LOVE of God as it demonstrates itself as the attractive force which impulses the Plan inspired by the Purpose. In other words, it is the Hierarchy, impelled to action by Shamballa, or the Will-to-Good, externalising itself as goodwill.
3. The New Group of World Servers are impressed by the active INTELLIGENCE of God; they translate this divine impression and step it down in two great stages, therefore, bringing it into concrete manifestation.

We now carry this conception of divine impression down to the level of the human consciousness.

3. The impression of Humanity by:
a. The Hierarchy, through the stimulating of ideas. These demonstrate through a steadily growing and enlightened public opinion.
b. The influence of the Ashrams of the Masters as they affect the aspirants of the world, the humanitarians and the idealists. These impressing agencies, being seven in number, constitute seven different streams of impressing energy which affect the seven ray types. The united Ashrams, forming the great Ashram of the Christ, affect humanity as a whole; this great united Ashram works solely through the New Group of World Servers whose members are on all rays, of all grades of development, and who work in all the various departments of human living and enterprise.
c. The activity of the New Group of World Servers about which I have already written in my various pamphlets; therefore repetition is not necessary.

It will be obvious to you that I have only touched upon a few, a very few, of the impressing forces of the planet, and have enumerated only a few of the major groups which are—in their intrinsic nature—both recipients of impression and agents later of the impressing agent. When we arrive at the human family, this reciprocal activity is blocked by human selfishness; it is this “interruption of impression” and this “interference with the divine circulatory flow” which (as I have said above) is responsible for sin, for disease, and for all the various factors which make humanity today what it is. When the free flow of divine energy, of divine interplay and of spiritual purpose is re-established, then evil will disappear and the will-to-good will become factual goodwill upon the outer physical plane.

In the statements given above in connection with the three great planetary centres you have the basis for the new and coming Approach to Divinity which will be known under the expression: Invocative and Evocative religion. It is this new Science of Impression which forms the subjective basis and the uniting element which binds together the entire realm of knowledge, of science and of religion. The fundamental ideas which underlie these great areas of human thought all emanate from intuitional levels; they finally condition the human consciousness, evoking man’s aspiration to penetrate deeper into the arcana of all wisdom, for which knowledge is the preparatory stage. This Science of Impression is the mode of life of the subjective world which lies between the world of external happenings (the world of appearances and of exoteric manifestation) and the inner world of reality. This is a point which should be most carefully taken into the calculations of the occult investigators. Impressions are received and registered; they form the basis of reflection for those aspirants who are sensitive enough to their impact and wise enough to record carefully in consciousness their emanating source. After due practice, this period of brooding upon the registered impression is followed by another period wherein the impression begins to take form as an idea; from that point it follows the familiar course of translation from an idea into a presented ideal; it then comes under the invocative appeal of the more concrete-minded until it finally precipitates itself into outer manifestation and takes form. You will see, therefore, that what I am doing is to take the student a step further into the world of reception and perception and point him to the more subtle contacts which lie behind those concepts which are regarded as definitely nebulous and to which we give the name of intuitions.

The Science of Impression—if studied by the disciples in the world and by the New Group of World Servers—will greatly facilitate the presentation of those ideals which must and will condition the thinking of the New Age and will eventually produce the new culture and the new civilised expression which lies ahead of humanity, superseding the present civilisation and providing the next field of expression for mankind. This science is, in fact, the basis of the theory of relationships and will lead to the expansion of the idea of right human relations which has hitherto—as a phrase—been confined to an ideal desire for correct interplay between man and man, group and group, and nation and nation; it has also hitherto been restricted to the human society and interplay, and remains as yet a hope and a wish. When, however, the Science of Impression has been correctly apprehended and has been brought down to the level of an educational objective, it will be found to be closely linked to the emerging teaching anent invocation and evocation and will be expanded to include not only right human relations to the superhuman kingdoms, but right human relations with the subhuman kingdoms also. It will, therefore, be concerned with the sensitive response of the entire natural and supernatural world to the “One in Whom we live and move and have our being”; it will put mankind into a right relationship with all aspects and expressions of the divine nature, deepening subjective contact and bringing about a diviner objective manifestation and one more in line with divine purpose. It will lead to a great shift of the human consciousness off the levels of emotional and physical life (where the bulk of humanity is focussed) on to the levels of mental perception.

You will understand, consequently, the reason why the Knowers of the world have ever referred to the dual action of the mind as it is sensitive to the higher impressions and active in the mental creation of the needed thoughtforms. The mind, rightly trained, will seize upon the fugitive impression, subject it to the concretising effect of mental activity, produce the required form, and this, when correctly created and oriented, will finally lead to the externalising of the registered impression, as it took form in an intuition and eventually found its place upon the mental plane. You will see also why disciples and world workers have to function as MINDS, as receptive and perceptive intelligences and as creators in mental matter. It is all related to this Science of Impression with which we have been dealing. You will note also that this whole process is capable of expansion in the processes of meditation, so that the aspirant can be sensitive to impression and (because he is oriented to the world of ideas and is aware of the subtlety and delicacy of the apparatus required to register the “overshadowing cloud of knowable things”) is safeguarded from the sensitivity required to register impacts from other minds, good or bad in their orientation, and from the thought currents of that which is in process of taking form as well as from the powerful pull or urge of the emotional and desire reactions of the astral plane and of the emotionally polarised world in which he lives physically.

More understanding will come also if you grasp the fact that this Science of Impression is concerned with the activity of the head centre as an anchoring centre for the antahkarana, and that the ajna centre is concerned with the process of translating the recorded intuition into a form (through recognition of and reaction to a mental thoughtform) and its subsequent direction, as an ideal objective, into the world of men. In the early stages and until the third initiation, the Science of Impression is concerned with the establishing of a sensitivity (an invocative sensitivity) between the Spiritual Triad (temporarily expressing itself through the abstract mind and the soul or the Son of Mind) and the concrete mind. This mental triangle is a reflection, in time and space, of the Monad and of the two higher aspects of the Triad, and is reflected (after the process of invocation and a succeeding process of evocation) in another triad—that of the lower mind, the soul and the vital body. When the relation between the lower and the higher mind is correctly and stably established, you have the swinging into activity of the lowest triad connected with the Science of Impression—the head centre, the ajna centre and the throat centre.

In the above I have given you an interesting and brief elucidation of the technique to be applied to the energising of the centres in the human body. I would remind you that what is true of the individual disciple must be and is true of that great disciple—Humanity, the entire human family. It is also true, as an outgrowth of this idea, of all the three planetary centres: Shamballa, the Hierarchy and Humanity. The name Science of Impression is that given to the process whereby the establishment of the required relationship in all these units of life takes place. The Technique of Invocation and Evocation is the name given to the mode or method whereby the desired relationship is brought about. The Creative Work is the name given to the manifestation of the results of the two above processes. The three aspects of the Technique of Invocation and Evocation with which the average disciple should concern himself are those of the building of the antahkarana, the correct use of the lower mind in its two higher functions (the holding of the mind steady in the light and the creation of the desired thoughtforms), and the process of precipitation whereby the impression is enabled eventually to take tangible form.” (Ibid., pp. 41/51)

Fiery World III § 61
“Great is the labor of the subtle energies of the centers, and it can never stop. One may only replace one process by another. When the high Agni Yogi devotes his energies to the task of great cosmic construction, in this giving is contained a great fiery transmutation. In such instances manifestations on a physical plane cannot be clearly expressed, and the high Agni Yogi can listen to his own thoughts because his consciousness will carry impressions of the Subtle World and his work in it. These thoughts are, as it were, remembrances of the creative work of the centers and of the spirit. It is said, “a thought suddenly flashed”—but We say, “the spirit has recalled.” Thus one may affirm the work of a high Agni Yogi. On the path to the Fiery World it must be remembered that synthesis is like a river’s mouth and each specialization is like one channel.”

 

The Light of Revelation

 Source: https://blog-en.theplanetarysystem.org/2023/07/11/the-light-of-revelation/

Today we celebrate the majestic entrance of Jupiter into Taurus, at the heliocentric level: all of space in the solar System is stirring, and vibrating with new, dazzling light.
Jupiter is the sacred Luminary of living Space, transmitting solar Love-Wisdom, of the 2nd Ray, the Divine Builder, Father of Gods and Men: even his name expresses the idea of light.
In fact, the name derives from the Latin language, from the genitive case, Iovis, of the term that in the nominative case designated him as Iuppiter, contraction of the more ancient (D)ju-piter, literally “Father – piter – luminous – dju”. This second element is actually derived from the Indo-European root *DIV-/*DJU-, which expresses the concept of light, of shining sky, associated with that of father.
It is nice to think that in the Proto-Indo-European religion, the bright Sky was called the “father” of all creatures, a “father” whose initial sound p (piter) expresses the primary idea of the Fire of Purification. (1)

As the Light Lambdoma (only available in Italian) suggests, Light branches out in a myriad of fiery sparks expressing dynamism, intelligence, radiance, joy and glory, accompanied by the power of consciousness, that golden bond uniting the earth and the heavens, all his children with the one Father.
And it is Taurus that holds the secret of light, as its evolutionary motto attests: “I see and when the eye is opened, all is Light”.
The Tibetan Master writes: “[…] the “eye of the Bull” is the eye of revelation. The underlying goal of the evolutionary process—“the onward rush of the Bull of God”, as it is esoterically called—reveals steadily and without cessation the stupendous and sublime plan of Deity. This is the subject which light reveals.” (2)
A passage from Agni Yoga adds a further suggestion related to light, thus defining the mystery that lives at the heart of every atom in all of creation: Urusvati knows the Ineffable Essence. The divisibility of all that exists is unlimited, yet in each separate part can be found the smallest “something” of the Ineffable Essence. The ancient thinkers, the alchemists, called this “something” “The Treasure of the Mother”, “Eye of Jupiter”, “The Stronghold of Victory.” (3)

Light is therefore the key element in this entry of Jupiter into Taurus, a light that goes hand in hand with the constructiveness that pertains to it and which is inherent in the magnetic force of Love.
Light is not only what allows us to see the outward forms but it ‘sees’ us itself, illuminating our soul that can thus look beyond and see what the outer eye cannot grasp: “The higher one ascends the broader and more powerful is the vision; and the more powerful the vision the stronger the fusion into oneness.” (4)
It is in this ‘contemplative’ gaze that our vision takes shape, enlightens our consciousnesses and finally reveals the Good, the centre and source of Life.
“Use every means to spread the Good. It is a shame to see how at times a speck of something brings a whole wheel to a halt. A great heart has a great capacity, while a petty heart mainly fills itself with petty things. (…) Thus, let the heart be the judge of where the Good begins!” (5)

Light and Love are also the creative powers of this Universe and as such they have the task of ‘revealing’ what their essence has manifested through forms; and what is revealed by the radiance of the embrace between Light and Love if not the One?
As the words of Plotinus remind us: “We must strive to escape from down here and no longer tolerate any connection with the sensible, caught up in the desire to embrace god with all of ourselves, with no part of us that is not in contact with him. And here, as far as it is permissible for a man, one can see both the One and oneself: see oneself shining, brimming with the light of the intellect, or rather become that same light, pure, buoyant, unburdened, because one has attained godhood, because one is god. Then it is like catching fire, but, if we become heavy again, the flame once more goes out.” (6)

“The vision of the One is beyond knowledge: knowledge of Him is obtained neither through science nor through thought, but through a presence that is worth more than science… He is ineffable and indescribable and yet we speak and write in order to initiate towards Him, to awaken from the sleep of words to the wakefulness of vision, like those who point the path to those desiring to see.” (7)
Through Light and Love, firmly held in the heart, Humanity can thus connect with the glory of creation and, in consonance with the heavenly powers, can, and must, participate in that creation.

The entrance of Jupiter into Taurus, which proclaims and sustains this enlightened fusion with the One, is awaited by Uranus, the initiator into the Mysteries and Lord of Order, who is today in the fifth quality of the Sign, which he entered heliocentrically on September 3rd, 2018 and where he will be stationed until January 9th, 2026, marking that septennium of earthly years leading up to the fateful date of 2025 and offering the human Heart that scientific understanding of the Beauty of Being that will illuminate the world, teaching it to distinguish between what is of the ‘earth’ and what is of ‘heaven’.
For Uranus, from the Greek Ouranos, Heaven, Lord of the celestial Order, one is like seven, because it takes him seven years to transit through each Sign of the Zodiac, and transmits the septenary structure of the universal Hierarchy throughout Creation: through his seventh Ray he also acts on the densest levels of manifestation, imprinting the supernal order upon them.
The Luminary also watches over the cultures and civilisations of peoples on a human level, promoting the advent of a new world order, with an impulse in Taurus to unveil the spiritual essence of Creation and to recognise the divine Plan.
“It will also be shown that the soul itself is light, and that the entire Hierarchy is a great centre of light, causing the symbology of light to govern our thinking, our approach to God, and enabling us to understand somewhat the meaning of the words of Christ ‘I am the Light of the world’.” (8)

The synergic action of the two Luminaries of the beneficial fulfilment, destined to be in conjunction on March 14th, 2024, brings about a powerful impulse to develop the capacity for vision and to expand the consciousness of one’s role in the New Group of World Servers, which is ruled by Taurus itself.
The two Luminaries, when in conjunction in the germinating waters of Taurus, will fecundate consciousnesses, fostering and accelerating the communion with the Light of Life and the irradiation of the hierarchical order for the benefit of Humanity, also in anticipation of the two very powerful alignments of 2025, which will see Jupiter line up with Sirius and Uranus with Alcyone.

Finally, it is important to remember that the word “server” itself bears witness to light and sound: it derives from the late Latin servitor, which originates from the verb servire, to serve, to take care, to watch over.
The term originates from the Indo-European root *SWṚ -, consisting of the following sound elements: “the arrival [ṛ/ar] of the good [su] as light and sound”, “shining”, “turning one’s eyes to the light”, “sounding”. See the Sanskrit terms svṛ, “sounding”, svar, “shining” and “sun”; the Greek horao, “seeing”, Helios, “Sun”; the Latin servo, “looking”, “saving” and sol, “sun”. (9)

The New Group of World Servers is therefore by definition an Agent of Light, and we feel ever more deeply the responsibility and urgent need to close ranks, to fulfil with commitment and joy our luminous and salvific role as an outpost of the One hierarchical Humanity.

“Let everything be done for the Good.
Let every action lead to a new achievement.
Let thought of the general welfare accompany every deed.
Let the command of the Good influence everything,
just as the vivid image of the Teacher does.
Indivisible from the Good is the Teaching of the Heart.”

(Agni Yoga Series, Heart § 211)

 

____________________________________________________________________

1. F. Rendich, Comparative etymological dictionary of classical Indo-European languages: Indo-European – Sanskrit – Greek – Latin
2. A. A. Bailey, Esoteric Astrology, p. 376
3. Agni Yoga Series, Supermundane § 859
4. Agni Yoga Series, Fiery World III § 19
5. Agni Yoga Series, Heart § 133
6. Plotinus, Enneads, VI, 9, 9
7. Plotinus, Enneads, VI, 9, 4
8. Alice A. Bailey, Rays and the Initiations, p. 143
9. F. Rendich, Op. cit., pp. 498-99

 

The Religion of the Great Approaches

 Source: https://blog-en.theplanetarysystem.org/2021/09/14/the-religion-of-the-great-approaches/

Religion is the name given to the invocative appeal of humanity and the evocative response of the greater Life to that cry.

It is, in fact, the recognition by the part of its relationship to the Whole, plus a constantly growing demand for increased awareness of that relation; it draws forth the recognition of the Whole that the demand has been made. It is the impact of the vibration of humanity—oriented specifically to the Great Life of which it feels itself a part—upon that Life and the responsive impact of that “All-surrounding Love” upon the lesser vibration. It is only now that the impact of the human vibration can dimly be sensed in Shamballa; hitherto its most potent activity has only reached the Hierarchy. Religion, the science of invocation and evocation as far as humanity is concerned, is the approach (in the coming New Age) of a mentally polarised humanity. (A. A. Bailey, The Reappearance of the Christ, p. 157/8)

The new religion of Invocation and Evocation

All past divine revelations have brought humanity to the point where (spiritually speaking) man’s essential divinity is theologically recognised, where the brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood of God are recognised ideals and where science has demonstrated the fact of an unfolding purpose and the existence of a fundamental, intelligent Agent behind all phenomena. […]

Such is the religious background of the spiritual thinking in the world. Therefore, taking our stand on these truths, acknowledging the fact of our divinity and recognising the glory of all past revelations and the still more glorious promise of the future, we can begin to realise that the time has now come for the presentation of the new step in this unfolding revelation. We can realise that to our past programmes of prayer, worship and affirmation, the new religion of Invocation and Evocation can be added, in which man will begin to use his divine power and come into closer touch with the spiritual sources of all life.

This new form of the one religion will be in fact the Religion of the Great Approaches—approaches between mankind and the great spiritual Centres which operate behind the scenes, between groups of workers on the physical plane and in the three worlds of human evolution and spiritual groups upon the inner planes, such as the Ashrams of the Masters and the egoic groups with which all human beings are in subjective—though usually unknown—relation.

The new religion will be one of Invocation and Evocation, of bringing together great spiritual energies and then stepping them down for the benefiting and the stimulation of the masses. The work of the new religion will be the distribution of spiritual energy and the protecting of humanity from energies and forces which they are not, at the particular time, fitted to receive. (The Externalization of the Hierarchy, p. 400/1)

A new definition of God was given us when the Buddha taught that God was Light and showed us the way of illumination, and when Christ revealed to us that God was Love through His life and service on earth. Today the knowledge aspect of illumination is being comprehended, but the inner meaning of love is only now dimly sensed. Yet light and love have been revealed to the world by two great Sons of God in two Approaches. A new Approach is on the Way, bringing us the next needed truth. We ask ourselves: What will it be? For it, the knowers and lovers of God and of their fellowmen are prepared; for it, the masses of men wait. (Ibidem, p. 406)

Today, owing to the greatly increased power of the human mind and the growing sensitivity of the human soul to the spiritual values as they express themselves through major world ideologies, these Approaches of the divine to the human can become more frequent and are taking on a new form. Man’s inner realisation of his own innate spiritual potency and the unfoldment of his sense of relationship are bringing about an effort on his part—consciously undertaken—to make true progress towards the good, the true and the beautiful, and this in spite of the fact of the war and the misery and suffering present upon our Earth. It has therefore become possible to synchronise the Approach of the divine to the human and to instruct the masses of men in the technique of thus invoking the Approach. This attitude of humanity will lead to a new revelation, to the new world religion and to new attitudes in the relation of man to God (religion) and of man to man (government or social relationships). (Ibidem, p. 409)

The theme of the next religion will be that of the great approaches

What this third major Approach will bring to humanity we do not and cannot know. It will bring about as definite results as did the two earlier Approaches. For some years now the spiritual Hierarchy has been drawing nearer to mankind, and this is responsible for the great concepts of freedom which are so close to the hearts of men everywhere today and for which humanity is now fighting. As the Members of the Hierarchy approach closer to us, the dream of brotherhood, of fellowship, of world cooperation and of a peace (based upon right human relations) becomes clearer in our minds. As They draw nearer we vision a new and vital world religion, a universal faith, at-one in its basic idealism with the past but different in its mode of expression.

[…] I would suggest that the theme of the coming religion will be that of the great Approaches themselves; that it will emphasise anew God’s love for man as evidenced in these divine Approaches, and also man’s response to God as the word goes forth: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you”; that it will—in its rites and ceremonies—be concerned with the invocative and evocative side of spiritual appeal.

Man invokes the divine Approach in two ways: by means of the inchoate, voiceless appeal or invocative cry of the masses, and also by the planned, defined invocation of the spiritually oriented aspirants, the intelligently convinced worker, disciple and initiate—by all, in fact, who form the New Group of World Servers. The science of invocation and evocation will take the place of what we now call prayer and worship. Be not disturbed by the use of the word “science”. It is not the cold and heartless intellectual thing so oft depicted. It is in reality the intelligent organisation of spiritual energy and of the forces of love, and when effective, will evoke the response of spiritual Beings Who can again walk openly among men and thus establish a close relation and a  constant communication between humanity and the spiritual Hierarchy. (Ibidem, p. 414)

The doctrine of intermediaries

One of the interesting factors which students should note is the doctrine of intermediaries which is to be found in such rich abundance and is regarded as of such vital importance in all occult teaching. It has been emphasised (though erroneously interpreted) in the Christian teaching anent the Christ; Christianity has presented Him as acting as the intermediary between an angry God and a pitiful and ignorant humanity. Such was by no means the intent of His coming or of His work, but into the real meaning I need not enter here. I have dealt with this theme elsewhere in connection with the New World Religion. It has been taught also in the esoteric presentation (and this is closely allied with the Christian doctrines) that the soul is the intermediary between the monad and the personality; the same idea is also found in many other religious presentations, i.e., the Buddha is shown as the intermediary between Shamballa and the Hierarchy, acting in this capacity once a year; the Hierarchy itself is the intermediary between Shamballa and Humanity; the etheric plane (and by this I mean the cosmic, planetary and individual etheric vehicles) is the intermediary between the higher planes and the dense physical body.  The whole system of occult or esoteric revelation is based on this wonderful doctrine of interdependence, of a planned and arranged conscious linking, and of the transmission of energy from one aspect of divine manifestation to another; everywhere and through everything is circulation, transmission, and modes of passing energy from one form to another form, and always through an appropriate mechanism. This is true in the involutionary sense, in the evolutionary sense, and in a spiritual sense also; this latter is slightly different to the other two, as all initiates of the higher degrees know well. (Esoteric Healing, p. 615)

«Whence came the engulfing wave that obscured the consciousness? “Religare” was pronounced even in antiquity. The property of causativeness and resultantness—the law of concatenation of the Universe—applies to this same manifestation of a bond with Infinity. Humanity is bound to the Cosmos by inseverable bonds. It is not difficult to establish that immutable point where all things meet—where the earthly accumulations meet the strata of higher spheres. By the Will of Cosmos all things are attracted to each other. All strives toward mutual creation. “Religare” is bestowed on humanity in the form of a religion for unification, for the development of community, for the avowal of the Primary Source, which contains all principles of Being and which creates all substances for our good. The concatenation of the Universe with all higher spheres should be adopted by the consciousness as a saving anchor in the advancement of the higher foundations of the future.» (Agni Yoga Series – Infinity I § 23)

The future abode of the religious spirit of man

As we look ahead into the world of tomorrow and begin to question what structure the faith of humanity should assume and what building the skill of the knowers will erect to house the religious spirit of man, three more fundamental truths appear to be emerging as necessary adjuncts to the revealed body of truth:

1. The demonstrated existence of a Spiritual Hierarchy, the life-purpose of which is the good of humanity. The Members of the Hierarchy are seen to be the Custodians of the divine Plan and expressions of the Love of God.
2. The development of the Science of Invocation and Evocation as a means and method of approach to divinity. This will grow out of the ancient habits of prayer as used by the masses, and the practice of meditation as developed by the mystics and occultists. Prayer and meditation are the preliminary steps to this emerging science, and what is vaguely called “worship” is the group effort to establish some form of united approach to the spiritual Hierarchy, functioning under the guidance and control of the Christ and related to the highest spiritual centre, Shamballa, through its most advanced individuals, just as humanity is related to the Hierarchy by its spiritually minded people.
3. The realisation that the starry heavens, the solar system and the planetary spheres are all of them the manifestations of great spiritual Lives and that the interrelation between these embodied Lives is as real and effectual as is the relation between members of the human family.

The spiritual Hierarchy of the planet, the ability of mankind to contact its Members and to work in cooperation with Them, and the existence of the greater Hierarchy of spiritual energies of which our tiny planetary sphere is a part—these are the three truths upon which the coming world religion may be based. (The Externalization of the Hierarchy, p. 416)

Religion of the new age

The religion of the new age will be built around the periods of the Full Moon, wherein certain great Approaches will be made to the world of reality, also around two periods of massed Approaches to be made at the time of the major eclipse of the moon and of the sun during the year. The two major Full Moon Approaches will be those of the Wesak Full Moon and the Full Moon of June—one hitherto consecrated to the Buddha Who embodied the wisdom of God, and the other to the Bodhisattva (known to Christians as the Christ) Who embodied the love of God.

The platform of the new world religion will have in it three major presentations of truth, or three major doctrines, if such an undesirable word can be permitted. […] They are:

1. The fact of the Spirit of God, both transcendent and immanent, will be demonstrated, and also a similar fact in relation to man. The mode of their approach to each other, via the soul, will be indicated. This aspect of the emerging truth might be calledTranscendental Mysticism.
2. The fact of the divine quality of the Forces in nature and in man and the method of their utilisation for divine purposes by man. This might be called Transcendental Occultism.
3. The fact, implied in the first, that Humanity, as aWhole, is an expression of divinity, a complete expression, plus the allied fact of the divine nature and work of the planetary Hierarchy, and the mode of the Approach of these two groups, in group form, to each other. This might be called Transcendental Religion. (Ibidem, p. 55/56)

Rituality of the new religion and the new invocative work

Later I will elaborate for you the greater and the lesser festivals of the spiritual year as they will gradually supersede the festivals of the present world religions in the East and in the West. […] You will find that the spiritual year is divided into two periods (symbolic of spirit and matter); the period in which the Sun moves northward and the period when it travels on the southern way. You will find that the month divides itself into two periods likewise, that of the waxing and the waning moon and you will find the future emphasis laid throughout the world upon the Easter Festival, the Festival of the Risen Christ; upon the Wesak Festival, the Festival of the Buddha or of Illumination; and the June Full Moon, the Festival of Unification carried forward by the Christ, the Master of all the Masters and the Teacher alike of angels and of men. (Ibidem, p. 402)

In considering […] the Science of Invocation and Evocation, we are also moving forward into the area of mental understanding. The grasping nature of many of the prayers of men, based as they are upon desire for something, has long disturbed the intelligent; the vagueness of the meditation taught and practised in the East and in the West, and its emphatically selfish note (personal liberation and personal knowledge) are likewise causing a revolt.

The demand today is for group work, group good, group knowledge, group contact with the divine, group salvation, group understanding and group relationship to God and the Spiritual Hierarchy. All this indicates progress.

[…] This new invocative work will be the keynote of the coming world religion and will fall into two parts. There will be the invocative work of the masses of the people, trained by the spiritually minded people of the world (working in the churches, whenever possible, under an enlightened clergy) to accept the fact of the approaching spiritual energies, focussed through the spiritual Hierarchy, and to voice their spiritual demand for light, liberation and understanding. There will also be the trained, scientific work of appeal and invocation as practised by those who have trained their minds through right meditation, who know the uses of sound, of formulas and of invocation, and who can work consciously, focussing the invocative cry of the masses and at the same time using certain great formulas of words which will later be given to the race, as The Lord’s Prayer was given by the Christ and The Great Invocation has been given in this day and age.

This new religious science (for which prayer, meditation and ritual have laid the foundation) will train its students to present, at certain stated periods throughout the year, the voiced demand of the people of the world for relationship with God and with each other. This work, when rightly carried forward, will evoke response from the waiting Hierarchy; through this response, the belief of the masses will gradually be changed into the conviction of the knowers. In this way humanity will be transformed and spiritualised. Then will begin, as the ages pass away, the regeneration of material nature, with the two spiritual centres—the Hierarchy and Humanity—working together in full consciousness and understanding. The Kingdom of God will be functioning on Earth.

It will be apparent to you that I can indicate only the broad general outlines of the new world religion. The expansion of the human consciousness which will take place as a result of the coming great Approach will enable man to grasp not only his relation to the spiritual Life of our planet, the “One in Whom we live and move and have our being”, but will also give him a glimpse of the relation of our planet to the circle of planetary lives moving within the orbit of the Sun, and the still greater circle of spiritual Influences which contact our solar system as it pursues its orbit in the Heavens (the twelve constellations of the zodiac).

[…] Many church festivals are fixed by reference to the moon or a zodiacal constellation. Investigation will prove this to be increasingly the case, and when the ritual of the new world religion is universally established this will be one of the important factors considered. The establishing of certain major festivals in relation to the moon, and in a lesser degree to the zodiac, will bring a strengthening of the spirit of invocation and the resultant inflow of responsive influences.

The truth lying behind all invocation is based upon the power of thought, particularly in its telepathic nature, rapport and aspect. The unified invocative thought of the masses and the focussed, directed thought of the New Group of World Servers constitute an outgoing stream of energy. This will reach telepathically those spiritual Beings Who are sensitive and responsive to such impacts. Their evoked response, sent out as spiritual energy, will in turn reach humanity, after having been stepped down into thought energy, and in that form will make its due impact upon the minds of men, convincing them and carrying inspiration and revelation. Thus has it ever been in the history of the spiritual unfoldment of the world and in the procedure followed in writing the world Scriptures.

Secondly, the establishing of a certain uniformity in the world religious rituals will aid men everywhere to strengthen each other’s work and enhance powerfully the thought currents directed to the waiting Spiritual Lives. At present, the Christian religion has its great festivals, the Buddhist keeps his different set of spiritual events, and the Hindu has still another list of holy days. In the future world, when organised, all men of spiritual inclination and intention everywhere will keep the same holy days. This will bring about a pooling of spiritual resources and a united spiritual effort, plus a simultaneous spiritual invocation. The potency of this will be apparent.

Let me indicate the possibilities of such spiritual events, and prophesy the nature of the coming world-wide Festivals. There will be three such major Festivals each year, concentrated in three consecutive months, and leading therefore to a prolonged spiritual effort which will affect the remainder of the year. These will be:

1. The Festival of Easter. This is the festival of the risen, living Christ, the Teacher of all men and the Head of the Spiritual Hierarchy. He is the Expression of the Love of God. On this day the Spiritual Hierarchy which He guides and directs will be recognised, and the nature of God’s love will be emphasised. This festival is determined always by the date of the first Full Moon of spring, and is the great Western and Christian festival.
2. The Festival of Wesak. This is the festival of the Buddha, the spiritual Intermediary between the highest spiritual centre, Shamballa, and the Hierarchy. The Buddha is the Expression of the Wisdom of God, the Embodiment of Light, and the Indicator of the divine Purpose. This will be fixed annually in relation to the Full Moon of May, as is at present the case. It is the great Eastern festival.
3. The Festival of Goodwill. This will be the festival of the spirit of humanity—aspiring towards God, seeking conformity with the Will of God and dedicated to the expression of right human relation. This will be fixed annually in relation to the Full Moon of June. It will be a day whereon the spiritual and divine nature of mankind will be recognised. On this festival, for two thousand years, the Christ has represented humanity and has stood before the Hierarchy and in the sight of Shamballa as the God-Man, the Leader of His people and “the Eldest in a great family of brothers” (Romans VIII:29). Each year at that time He has preached the last sermon of the Buddha before the assembled Hierarchy. This will therefore be a festival of deep invocation and appeal, of a basic aspiration towards fellowship, of human and spiritual unity, and will represent the effect in the human consciousness of the work of the Buddha and of the Christ.

These three festivals are already being kept throughout the world, though they are not as yet related to each other, and as part of the unified spiritual Approach of humanity. The time is coming when all three festivals will be kept simultaneously throughout the world, and by their means a great spiritual unity will be achieved and the effects of the great Approach so close to us at this time will be stabilised by the united invocation of humanity throughout the planet.

The remaining full moons will constitute lesser festivals, but will be recognised to be also of vital importance. They will establish the divine attributes in the consciousness of man, just as the major festivals establish the three divine aspects. These aspects and qualities will be arrived at and determined by a close study of the nature of a particular constellation or constellations influencing those months. For instance, Capricorn (December) will call attention to the first initiation, the birth of the Christ in the cave of the heart, and indicate the training needed to bring about that great spiritual event in the life of the individual man. I give this one instance to you in order to indicate the possibilities for spiritual unfoldment that could be given through an understanding of these influences, and in order to revivify the ancient faiths by expanding them into their larger undying relationships.

We have, therefore, the following:

Shamballa     the Will aspect of God    Wesak      May Full Moon (Taurus)

Hierarchy      the Love aspect of God   Easter      April Full Moon (Aries)

Humanity      divine Intelligence           Goodwill  June Full Moon (Gemini)

The remaining nine Full Moons will be concerned with the divine characteristics and their development in mankind.

Thus the twelve festivals will constitute a revelation of divinity. They will present a means of bringing about relationship, first of all during three months with the three great spiritual centres, the three expressions of the divine Trinity. The minor festivals will emphasise the inter-relation of the Whole, thus lifting the divine presentation out of the individual and the personal into that of the universal divine Purpose; the relationship of the Whole to the part and of the part to that Whole will be thereby fully expressed. Humanity will therefore invoke the spiritual power of the Kingdom of God, the Hierarchy; the Hierarchy will respond, and God’s plans will then be worked out on Earth. The Hierarchy, on a higher turn of the spiral, will invoke the centre of God’s Will, Shamballa or Shangri-Lha, thus invoking the Purpose of God. Thus will the Will of God be implemented by Love and manifested intelligently; for this mankind is ready, and for this the Earth waits. (Ibidem, p. 417/22)

* * *

---

We dedicate these reflections on the theme of the Religion of the future, on the day of the Sun-Earth-Neptune alignment, the latter being the Lord of 6th Ray, the God of Waters, “He who pours out its essence”, and who esoterically “veils the Christ” as Initiator of Humanity, whose Return is awaited and invoked by Humanity and the spiritual Hierarchy for the affirmation of universal Brotherhood in the new age of Aquarius.