Compilation Black Lodge

(EOH 438) I have told you elsewhere that this direct impact of the Shamballa energy upon humanity very seldom occurs. It has been loosed only three times during the entire history of the human kingdom. At other times, it makes its impact directly upon the Hierarchy, and is then transmuted or stepped down so that humanity can take it. The three times it has been directed, unimpeded and untransmuted, towards humanity are: 1. At the time of the individualisation of animal-man when the mind principle was implanted. This was the birth hour of the human soul.

2. In Atlantean days when the power of the Black Lodge was so great that defeat faced the Hierarchy and the destruction of the human soul. Shamballa then interfered, and the world of that time was [Page 439] destroyed. This period is recognised in modern history as the time of the Great Flood. 3. Today, once again, the Powers of Darkness are attempting to destroy humanity and the spiritual values. The power of Shamballa was let loose, destroying old forms—political, social and religious—but at the same time this power was seized upon by the evil forces to destroy the souls of men, to precipitate war and to destroy the cities and all our centres of civilisation and culture. The first phase or form of destruction was directed by the disciples, the aspirants and the clear thinking people of the world, and this was needed and very good. The old social, political and religious forms were stultifying the human soul and handicapping all progress. The second phase or form of destruction was directed by evil, and was focussed through those nations who had succumbed to the glamour of superiority, to the temptation of material aggression and to intolerant racial hatreds, implemented by cruelty and barbarism. Shamballic energy precipitated the fission of the atom, resulting in the atomic bomb (RI 647) Owing to extra-planetary stimulation, to the immediate planetary crisis and to the present invocative cry of humanity, energy from Shamballa has been permitted to play upon the "centre which is called the race of men" and has produced two potent results: first, the world war was precipitated and, secondly, the fission of the atom, resulting in the atomic bomb, was brought about. Both these events were made possible by the pouring-in of the energy and power of the third aspect of the first Ray of Power or Will. This is the lowest aspect, and definite [Page 647] material effects were produced. The destroyer aspect was therefore the first aspect to take effect. It split the thought-form of materialistic living (which was governing and controlling humanity everywhere) upon the mental plane and, at the same time, it produced a great agent of destruction upon the physical plane. A war to end humanity is a very real prospect if the wrong people get hold of nuclear weapons

(EOH 545) These various efforts may appear to the casual reader as relatively unimportant. This is a superficial point of view and one which meets with little sympathy from the Hierarchy. That the Jews should be rid of fear is of major importance; that they should know and recognise the Christ as the Messiah, and therefore find for themselves that the religion they follow is destructive of many of the finer values, is likewise of major importance; that orthodox Judaism, along with all the other faiths, should realise that there is no desire to make them Christian (in the ordinary sense of the term), but that they should all move towards some loving synthesis and eliminate their mutual antagonisms and rivalries is equally urgent, and this statement includes the Christian faiths as well. That the

(CF 991) Black magicians work under certain great Entities, six in number, who are spoken of, for instance, in the Christian Bible as having the number 666.98 They came in (being cosmic, not systemic) on that stream of force emanating from cosmic mental levels which produced the three worlds of human endeavour. Students should remember here the fact that the three lower planes of our solar system are not considered as embodying a cosmic principle, for they form the dense physical body of the Logos, and the dense physical body is not considered a principle. There is an occult significance in the expression "unprincipled." These entities are the sumtotal of the substance of the three lower subplanes of the cosmic physical plane (our three lower systemic [Page 992] planes), and it is under them that the black magicians are swept into activity, often unconsciously, but rising to power as they work consciously.99

(RI 237) Of this situation the determination of the United Nations to win and to enforce complete surrender upon the aggressor nations which are the agents of the Black Lodge is symbolic and also symptomatic of the progress of the human spirit. (Written in September 1944.) This time, the Hierarchy refrains from outer action, but simply inspires and transmits the needed energy, leaving mankind to find its own way into freedom, and out of Pisces into the aura and the field of activity of Aquarius, guided by those who are responsive to the illumination which Taurus confers.

(GAWP 210) 2. The second stage of the focussing process is produced through the effort to meditate. In the previous stage, the blending of the two material lights was entirely a form process and the aspirant is actuated entirely by his personality forces and expediency. An illustration of this and of its effectiveness can be seen in the man who, from purely selfish motives and through an intense concentration, focusses his mind and brings about the gratification of his desires and the achievement of his goals. He kills out all emotional reactions and goes a long way towards dissipating glamour. He develops the ability to draw on the light of matter itself (physical matter and mental substance) and thus he generates a false light from which soul light is rigorously excluded. It is this power which eventually produces a black magician. He has developed the capacity to draw [Page 210] upon the light energy of matter itself and to focus it so powerfully and effectively that it becomes a great destructive force. It is this which has given Hitler and the six evil men associated with him their power to destroy upon the material plane. But, in the case of the aspirant, the power to meditate upon spiritual reality and to contact the soul offsets the dangers inherent in focussing on and using solely the light of matter; to the lesser light of matter is added the light of the soul and then these two blended lights, or aspects of the One Light, are focussed upon the mental plane through the power of the creative imagination. This enables man eventually to dissipate glamour and liberates him from the astral plane.

(CF 990) b. The Source of Black Magic. In touching upon this point, we are trespassing into the realms of the mystery and the domain of the inexplicable. Certain statements can, however, be made here which, if pondered upon, may throw a little light upon this dark subject.

First. It should be remembered that the whole subject of planetary evil (and students must distinguish carefully between planetary and cosmic evil) lies hid in the individual life cycles and in the history of the Great Being who is the planetary Logos of the Earth. Therefore, until a man has taken certain initiations and thus achieved a measure of planetary consciousness, it is useless for him to speculate upon that record. H. P. B. has touched, in the Secret Doctrine,95 upon the subject of "the imperfect Gods," and in these words lies the key to planetary evil.

The difference between Planetary Evil and Cosmic Evil

Second. It might briefly be said that, as far as our humanity is concerned, the terms planetary evil and cosmic evil might be interpreted thus:

Planetary evil arises from certain relations existing between our planetary Logos and another planetary Logos. When this condition of polar opposition is adjusted, then planetary evil will cease. The adjustment will be brought about through the mediation (occultly understood) of a third planetary Logos. These three will eventually form an equilateral triangle, and then planetary evil will cease. Free circulation will ensue; planetary obscuration will become possible, and the "imperfect Gods" will have achieved a relative perfection. Thus will the karma of the manvantara, or secondary [Page 990] cycle, be adjusted, and so much planetary karmic evil be "worked off." All the above must be interpreted in its esoteric sense and not its exoteric.

It should be remembered that only once a Master has taken the 9^th planetary initiation is he free from Cosmic Evil, and the Cosmic astral plane and the massed Lodge of Black Masters-This means that only when a certain percentage of Human Monads, in the 3^rd, or rather, the next Solar System have taken the 9^th initiation, will the triangle below be complete, and Cosmic Evil negated. Not too much longer to wait then!

Cosmic evil from the standpoint of our planet consists in the relation between that spiritual intelligent Unit or "Rishi of the Superior Constellation" as He is called (who is the informing Life of one of the seven stars of the Great Bear, and our planetary prototype) and one of the forces of the Pleiades.96 Students need here to remember that the "seven sisters" are occultly called the "seven wives" of the Rishis, and that the dual forces (resultant from that relationship) converge and play through that one of the planetary Logoi who is the Logos of any particular planet, and is the "reflection" of any specific Rishi. In this relation, at present lacking perfect adjustment, lies hid the mystery of cosmic evil as it makes itself felt in any particular planetary scheme. Again, when the heavenly triangle is duly equilibrated, and the force circulates freely through

then again cosmic evil will be negated, and a relative perfection achieved. This will mark the attainment of primary perfection, and the consummation of the greater cycle.

Cyclic evil, or tertiary evil, lies hid in the relation between the globes in any particular scheme, two of them ever being in opposition until equilibrised by force emanating from a third. Students will only apprehend the significance of this teaching as they study the pairs of opposites in their own cycles, and the equilibrising work of the Ego.

A fourth type of evil growing out of the above finds [Page 991] its main expression in the sorrows and troubles of the fourth or human kingdom, and will find its solution in two ways: by the balancing of the forces of the three kingdoms (the spiritual or fifth kingdom, the human, and the animal), and secondly, by the negation of the attractive power of the three lower kingdoms (the mineral, the vegetable, and the animal, who thus form one unit), by the spiritual kingdom, utilising the fourth or human kingdom. In all these cases, triangles of force are formed which, when balanced, procure the desired end.

Black magic is spoken of as making its appearance upon our planet during the fourth root race.97 It should be borne in mind here that this means strictly in connection with the fourth kingdom and its conscious use by wrongly developed men. The forces of evil of the planetary and cosmic kind have been present since manifestation set in, being latent in the karma of the planetary Logos, but human beings began consciously to work with these forces and to use them for specified selfish ends in this round during the fourth root race.

In the early stages of human unfoldment all men are unconscious black magicians, but are not occultly "damned" thereby. As evolution proceeds they come under the force of the second aspect, and the majority respond to it, escaping from the meshes of the black magicians, and coming under the force of a different number. The few who do not do so in this manvantara are the "failures" who have to continue the struggle at a later date. A tiny percentage wilfully refuse to "pass on," and they become the true "black magicians." For them the end is ever the same, first, severance of the Ego from the Monad, entailing a wait for many aeons until another solar system has its being. In the case of the "failures" the Ego severed itself from the personality or lower self, entailing a setback for a lesser period, but still having opportunity within the system. Second, a cycle of existence, spent in unlimited evil, and dependent upon the vitality of the severed egoic body and its innate persistence. These are the ordinary "lost souls" spoken of in the Secret Doctrine.1 If students will study these conditions, and will extend the same concept to an earlier and more matured solar system, they will get [Page 993] some light upon the problem of the origin of evil in this solar system. (the Black magicians of today are the refuseniks from the last solar system)

(RI 232) Incidentally, it is this Aquarian influence which has given the adepts of the Black Lodge the power to bring universal death throughout the world. These evil beings have responded to the will energy of Shamballa and to the life-giving vitality, but have used it in keeping with their own evil intentions and with the power conferred by their standing upon the cosmic ladder of evil……

(EOH 298) 1. Racial Avatars. These Appearances are evoked by the genius and destiny of a race. The typical man (in quality and consciousness, not necessarily physically) foreshadows [Page 298] the nature of some race. Such a man was Abraham Lincoln, coming forth from the very soul of a people, and introducing and transmitting racial quality—a quality to be worked out later as the race unfolds. Coming forth correspondingly from the realm of cosmic evil, and responsible for the focus of materialism upon the planet today was Bismarck. Both men came forth within the same one hundred years, thus demonstrating the balance in nature and the constant interplay of the pairs of opposites. They are both types of the most powerful Avatars which humanity itself has as yet produced. They emerge along the lines of government, of the first ray and in the department of the Manu, and are very sensitive to Shamballa force. Such Avatars frequently emerge at the founding of a nation. This is true of both Bismarck and Lincoln.

Hitler’s case was one of obsession by an evil force

(EOH 308) In the case of obsession, the evil force enslaves the personality which, in the majority of cases, is but a shell. Of this, Hitler is a case in point. This produces greater potency [Page 308] on the physical plane and on the astral plane; it is quicker and more immediate in results, but the lasting power is less and the effects are relatively temporary.

The seven leading Nazis

(EOH 258) It is the potency and grasp of things material and the fact of undivided focus upon the physical plane that has given the forces of aggression so much success up to the present time. These forces, through their very potency, have fused and blended together a group of seven men who personify in themselves great and specific aspects of material forces (connected with the seven types of energy in their lowest and most material expressions) and their manifestations—war, fear and cruelty. They are united by one point [Page 258] of view and by one goal, and hence their success. (It is interesting that, again in their case, there appears inevitably an initiatory seven—the base and dark parallel of the initiating Seven who lead human beings into light and who are symbolised in the seven Masons who constitute a Lodge of Masons.) They are the custodians of forces which control them and over which they themselves have no slightest control. You ask who these seven are: Hitler, von Ribbentrop, Goebbels, Goering, Hess, Himmler and Streicher—names well-known to you all. These men embody and personify the forces of aggression and rule by fear not only the enslaved nations but also their few allies who are not by any means in the same category of power—fortunately for them.

When those who are on the side of the Forces of Light and of non-aggression can see their goal with equal clarity and are equally and uniformly united with the objective of ending oppression and slavery and of freeing humanity, then we shall see also an embodiment of spiritual force which will bring disaster to these potent seven. Such a unification of objective and of purpose is possible and needed; and when it does take place, the force generated and the power let loose upon the physical plane will be of so stupendous a nature that human liberation will rapidly be brought about.

When weak-willed, good people do nothing

(EOH 346) There are two great handicaps to the free expression of the Will force in its true nature. One is the sensitivity of the lower nature to its impact, and its consequent prostitution to selfish ends, as in the case of the sensitive, negative German people and its use by the Axis nations for material objectives. The second is the blocking, hindering, muddled but massed opposition of the well-meaning people of the world who talk vaguely and beautifully about love but refuse to consider the techniques of the Will of God in operation. According to them, that Will is something with which they will personally have naught to do; they refuse to recognise that God works out His Will through men, just as He is ever seeking to express His Love through men; they will not believe that that Will could possibly express itself through the destruction of evil with all the material consequences of that evil. They cannot believe that a God of Love could possibly employ the first divine aspect to destroy the forms which are obstructing the free play of the divine Spirit; that Will must not infringe upon their interpretation of Love. Such people are individually of small moment and of no importance, but their massed negativity is a real detriment to the ending of this war, just as the massed negativity of the German people, and their inability to take right action when Hitler's purposes were disclosed, made possible the great inflow of ancient and focussed evil which has brought the present catastrophe to man. Such people are like a millstone around the neck of humanity, crippling true effort, murmuring, [Page 346] "Let us love God and each other," but doing nothing but murmur prayers and platitudes whilst humanity is dying.

You can easily appreciate the fact that the evocation of the energy of the Will and its effect upon the unprepared, materialistically minded person might and would prove a disaster. It would simply serve to focus and strengthen the lower self-will, which is the name we give to realised and determined desire. It could then create such a driving force, directed to selfish ends, that the person might become a monster of wickedness. In the history of the race, one or two advanced personalities have done this with dire results, both to themselves and to the people of their time. One such figure in ancient times was Nero; the modern example is Hitler. What, however, has made the latter so dangerously an enemy of the human family is that during the last two thousand years mankind has advanced to a point where it can also be responsive to certain aspects of this first ray force. Hitler therefore found associates and cooperators who added their receptivity to his so that an entire group became the responsive agents of the destructive energy, expressing itself in its lowest aspect. This is what has enabled them to work ruthlessly, powerfully, selfishly, cruelly, and successfully, at the destruction of all that attempted to impede their projects and desires.

There is only one way in which this focussed evil will which is responsive to the Shamballa force can be overcome, and that is by the opposition of an equally focussed spiritual Will, displayed by responsive men and women of goodwill who can train themselves to be sensitive to this type of new incoming energy and can learn how to invoke and evoke it.

The Forces of Evil took possession of the leaders of the Axis Powers

(EOH 425) The Forces of Evil sought for those leaders and groups who are the materialistic correspondence to the spiritual leaders and those who seek to guide humanity along right lines. They took possession (and I use this word with deliberation) of the evil men who led the Axis Powers—Hitler, Tojo, Goebbels, Ribbentrop, Himmler and—to a much lesser degree—Mussolini, Hess, Goering and others. They completely overpowered the minds of these men, already distorted with ambition and sadistic inclinations. Who, you ask, do I mean by "they"? I mean those intelligent evil, unloving, hateful Individualities who are to the world of selfish and material focus what the Hierarchy of Masters, working under the Christ, are to struggling human aspirants. The power of these evil forces is enormous, for they recognise no restrictions or ordinary decent, human limitations; they work through violence, coercion, cruelty, hate, terror and lies; they aim to subjugate the human consciousness through the complete control of men's minds, through the withholding of good and the promulgation of evil. They stimulate the brains of men through the extent of their evil and magical knowledge; I mean this literally and physically. The Great White Lodge, working under the inspiration of the Christ and of Shamballa, functions necessarily under certain spiritual restrictions. Coercion is not permitted; the minds of men must be and are left free; the stimulation of the souls of men is permitted, because it results in the stimulation of the expression of love and of understanding, leading to right human relations. These spiritual restrictions greatly slow down the progress of the Forces of Light; it should interest you to remember that the length of the war was partly dependent upon the inability of the Armies of the Lord to commit the crimes for which the Axis Powers have been responsible. The physical activities of the Forces of Light do recognise certain limitations, and of this the Forces of Evil take constant advantage. The bombing of massed populations was started by Hitler and could have been ended by him immediately if he so chose.

The Hierarchy considered divine intervention in the form a of a cataclysm during the second world war

(EOH 258) Divine intervention could also take the form of a cataclysmic happening which would bring aggression to an end through destruction. It would probably be at such a cost of human life that there is definite hesitation over employing it by the custodians of natural law and the workers who understand divine purpose, apart from the fact that humanity has now reached the point in evolution where the expression of human free will is definitely possible. The use of cataclysm was the method employed in Atlantean days, as you well know from the tales of the flood; and through the flood there was almost complete destruction of the civilisation of that time. It is hoped that such a drastic step will not be needed today, though there are ancient prophecies which foretell the possibility of the destruction of this world at this time through fire—instead of flood. Which of the two methods—divine embodiment and natural cataclysm—will be employed will really be decided by humanity through its use or non-use of free will and understanding. If humanity fails to unite under the banner of the Forces of Light against the forces of material aggression and selfishness, then the "fiery ordeal" might be unavoidable.

(RI 554) 2. This process received its initial impulse as a result of a group decision within the Hierarchy itself. Certain Masters Who were facing the sixth Initiation of Decision at the time—a relatively small but powerful group—decided together to tread the Path of Earth Service (technically understood) in order to bring about the changes which They sensed as desirable and as already existing within the consciousness of the One Initiator, the planetary Logos. It was Their decision, taken early in this century, which precipitated—in the centre which we call "the race of men"—those potencies and stimulating energies which produced that major destructive agency, the world war (1914-1945). As these energies occultly "fell into the centre," the effect produced was both good and bad. Human unity and unanimity, human planning for group welfare, and human [Page 554] creativity (expressed primarily at this time through science) received a tremendous stimulation. Simultaneously, the entering potencies released by this decision produced an up-surging of evil in the hearts of men so inclined, leading to an analogous or paralleling unity, unanimity and creative activity of separative and hateful evil. This, in its turn, "opened the door where evil dwelt" and let loose on earth the full fury of the Black Lodge.

That this would be the result the Masters knew when making Their decision; They consciously struck a blow at the materialism which was binding humanity and imprisoning the human spirit. This evoked a prompt reaction from the Forces of Evil which had created and "held in being" the modern materialistic world, with its emphasis upon forms and money. The Masters had confidence that the human spirit would be able to live through the period of upheaval and emerge eventually into the new era, ready to build the new world and to reorganise all human resources—material, mental and spiritual.

3. The response of humanity, from the angle of a spiritual realisation of the presented opportunity, was the emergence of the New Group of World Servers. They appeared in every country, conscious of their task of crystallising and making effective human goodwill, though generally unconscious of their hierarchical relationship. Their appearance evoked an immediate reaction from the Spiritual Hierarchy, and experienced disciples made their appearance in the ranks of the New Group of World Servers, directing their efforts, voicing their aims and stimulating their understanding. The new group worked in and through every department of human thinking, human welfare and human planning; as a result, and almost immediately, the men of goodwill everywhere in the world took heart of grace (a most appropriate phrase) and became active.

The Atlantean civilisation was brought to an end as a result of a group of Masters taking the 6^th initiation and deciding to end it-This time a material catastrophe, has not been deemed necessary

The three points made here will demonstrate to you the factual nature of the circulation of energies. All these happenings are part of a process of planetary initiation; [Page 555] such an initiation cannot take place without important effects, both in the Hierarchy and in the human family. In old Atlantean days, it was the Masters (facing the same sixth initiation) Who "decided" to bring that ancient civilisation to an end; They therefore sacrificed the form aspect of manifestation and created a situation in which the soul of humanity was liberated from the prison in which it found itself. Today, a material catastrophe, such as the flood, has not been deemed necessary; it is believed that humanity can and will find its own way out of the world difficulties.

(RI 674) Distressing as all this may be, and significant of the end of this age and the cessation of the Atlantean vibration and quality which has carried over so potently into [Page 674] this Aryan cycle, it is however indicative of the attainment of a definitely racial opportunity. Humanity—on a relatively large scale—faces the second initiation, or the Baptism Initiation.

The concept of baptism is ever associated with that of purification. Water has ever been the symbol of that which purifies; it is also the symbol of the astral plane, with its instability, its storms, its tranquillities, its overwhelming emotional reactions and its pliability, which makes it such a good agent for the deceptive thought-forming faculties of the unregenerate man. It reacts to every impulse, every desire and every possible magnetic "pull" coming from the material or substantial form side of nature. In its cycles of tranquillity it reflects equally the good as well as the bad; it is the agent, therefore, of deception when manipulated by the Black Lodge, or of aspirational reaction when influenced by the great White Lodge, the spiritual Hierarchy of our planet. It is the battleground between the pairs of opposites; the problem is complicated by the fact that men have to learn to recognise these opposites before right choice, leading to spiritual victory, is theirs.

(RI 679) The problem of freedom from the limitations of matter should now be considered and the entire theme be rendered practical.

Black Lodge was working through those controlling Russia and also through the Zionist movement

There is perhaps an ultimate opinion that it is the realm of the emotions and the susceptibility to emotional reactions which constitute the major human limitation—both from the individual angle and also from that of the national angle. It is everywhere realised that the demagogue, for instance, who sways public opinion, is one who also and emphatically plays on human emotions as well as upon human selfishness. As the race progresses towards mental expression, this distorting influence will become increasingly less important, and once the masses (composed of the millions of so-called "men in the street") begin definitely to think, the power of the demagogic approach will have disappeared. The major battle in the world today is that of the freedom of the average citizen to think for himself and to come to his own decisions and conclusions. It is here that the major quarrel between the Great White Lodge and the Black Lodge is to be found. It is a battle in which humanity itself is the decisive factor, and for this reason the Black Lodge is working through the group which is controlling the destiny of Russia and also through the Zionist movement. The leaders of the U.S.S.R. are working intelligently and potently against human freedom and particularly against freedom of thought. Communism per se has no such objective; it is the totalitarian policies of the national rulers which are so disastrous, plus their ambition and their hatred of true freedom. Zionism today stands for aggression and for the use of force, and the keynote is permission to take what you want irrespective [Page 680] of other people or of their inalienable rights. These points of view are against the position of the spiritual leaders of humanity, and therefore the leaders of the Zionist movement, and the group of men who direct and control the policies of Russia, are against the policies of the spiritual Hierarchy and are contrary to the lasting good of mankind.

The freedom of the human spirit, the freedom to think, govern and worship as innate, human, instinctual human desire may dictate, under the influence of the evolutionary process, the liberty to decide on the required form of government or of religion—these are the rightful prerogatives of mankind. Any group of men or any form of government which fails to recognise this inherent right runs counter to the principle which governs the Great White Lodge. The menace to world freedom today lies in the known policies of the rulers of the U.S.S.R. and in the devious and lying machinations of the Zionists. In neither group is there any true spiritual potency, and both are doomed to failure even though they may succeed from the angle of material gain; from the spiritual angle, they are doomed. The leaders of the Russian enterprise against the freedom of the individual are doomed, because inherently man is free and fundamentally divine, and it is assured (from the long range vision) that masses of men in Russia and in the communistically inclined "satellite states" will inevitably react divinely and potently. The true communistic platform is sound; it is brotherhood in action and it does not—in its original platform—run counter to the spirit of Christ. The imposition of intellectual and formal communism by a group of ambitious and sometimes evil men is not sound; it does not adhere to the true communistic platform, but is based on personal ambitions, love of power and on interpretations of the writings of Lenin and Marx which are also personal and run counter to the meaning of these two men, just as the theologians of the Church interpret the words of Christ in a fashion which has no relation to His original intention. The rulers of Russia are not truly working for the good of the people, any more [Page 681] than academic Zionism is working and carrying out its projects for any humanitarian reasons. But the people hold the ultimate triumph in their hands, for the heart of the people in all nations is basically sound, fundamentally good and God-inclined. This the rulers of the communistic regime forget.

The leaders of the Zionist movement of aggression constitute a real danger to world peace and human development and their activities have been endorsed by the expediency policy of the U.S.A. and, in a secondary degree, by Great Britain, under the influence of the U.S.A. It is the Zionists who have defied the United Nations, lowered its prestige and made its position both negative and negligible to the world. It is the Zionists who have perpetrated the major act of aggression since the formation of the United Nations, and who were clever enough to gain the endorsement of the United Nations, turning the original "recommendation" of the United Nations into an order. The rule of force, of aggression and of territorial conquest by force of arms is demonstrated today by the Zionists in Palestine, as well as the demonstration of the power of money to purchase governments. These activities run counter to all the plans of the spiritual Hierarchy and mark a point of triumph of the forces of evil. I am emphasising the activities of these two countries because through the leaders of these groups of aggressive men the forces of evil—dammed back temporarily by the defeat of the evil group which Hitler gathered around him—have again organised their attack on the spiritual development of humanity.

No nation in the United Nations (at the time this was written), was fully against the tide of evil

The world today still remains divided into people of evil intention and great power and their victims, plus the negative reactions of the remaining nations. There is no nation in the United Nations which has attempted to swing the tide of evil by ranging itself and other nations on the side of freedom. There are only groups of unillumined men who seek to control national destinies. There is still emotional reaction to situations and the emotional exploitation of individuals and nations by those who are in [Page 682] no way emotional but who are mentally convinced that certain lines of activity must be followed, leading to their own individual good but which—in the long run—are not good for the peoples involved.

We therefore come back to the problems of the astral plane, of the emotional level of consciousness, and to the second initiation; this initiation releases men from emotional control and enables them to shift their consciousness on to mental levels, and from that higher point of focus to control their normal and well developed emotional attitudes.

If you will turn back to page 340, you will find that the three keynotes are given for this second initiation and for its technique. I would like to call your attention to them because they present those keynotes which give us the clue to the world problems and indicate at the same time the solution and the way out of the present impasse. These three words are: Dedication. Glamour. Devotion.

At the ninth planetary initiation (the refusal), the Master is brought face to face with the massed group of masters of the Black Lodge

(RI 696) I have hinted earlier to you that this fourth or Renunciation Initiation is closely linked with the sixth initiation and with the ninth. The sixth initiation is only possible when the initiate has definitely made the needed renunciations; the reward is that he is then permitted to make a [Page 696] perfectly free choice and thus demonstrate his essential and gained freedom. The ninth initiation (that of the Refusal) has in it no element of renunciation. It is not a refusal to hold, for the initiate is at the point where he asks and holds nothing for the separated self. At that final planetary initiation the Master is brought face to face with what might be called cosmic evil, with that reservoir of evil which cyclically overflows the world, and also with the massed group of masters of the Black Lodge. He refuses recognition. This I will deal with later when we take up that particular initiation.

(RI 714) The Place that the Will plays in inducing Revelation

There are three words connected with this initiation which are of real importance to its correct understanding. They are: Emergence. Will. Purpose. With the emergence aspect we have already dealt under the term "raising up" or the "transition" from the darkness of matter to the light of the Spirit. But of the Will, its uses and its function, as yet we know little. Knowledge as to the nature of the will in any true sense only comes after the third initiation. From that time on the initiate demonstrates increasingly and steadily the first divine aspect, that of the Will and the right use of Power. This first aspect of divinity is necessarily closely associated with the first Ray of Power or Will. I shall, however, only consider the ray angle incidentally, for I want to elucidate for you the nature of the will in some clear measure, though complete understanding is not possible.

The Purpose is very slowly revealed to the initiated after the 4^th initiation during the next five planetary initiations, the 6^th, 7^th , 8^th, and the 9^th-afer which the Master comes face to face with the massed group of masters of the Black Lodge (see RI 696)

The Lord of the World is, we are told, the sole repository of the will and the purpose of His overshadowing, cosmic soul. These two words—will and purpose—are not identical in meaning. Sanat Kumara and His Council at Shamballa are the only Beings upon our planet Who know just what is the nature of the divine purpose. It is Their function and obligation to work that purpose out into manifestation, and this They do by the use of the will. The will ever implements the purpose. The repository of the will aspect of man's innate divinity is to be found at the base of the spine; this can only function correctly and be the agent of the divine will after the third initiation. The head centre is the one which is the custodian of the purpose; the centre at the base of the spine indicates the will as it implements the purpose. The purpose is slowly, very slowly, revealed to the initiate during the final five [Page 715] initiations and this only becomes possible after the Initiation of Renunciation. At that time the initiate says, in unison with the great head of the Hierarchy, the Christ: "Father, not my will but Thine be done." Then comes the initiation of emergence out of matter and, from that point on, the initiate begins to glimpse the purpose of the planetary Logos; hitherto he has only seen the plan, and to the service of the plan he has been dedicated. Hitherto also, he has only sought to be an exponent of the love of God; now he must express, with increasing fullness, the will of God.

Earlier in these pages (Page 410) we are told that the problem which confronts the Hierarchy as it seeks to prepare disciples for the successive initiations is the right use of the will, both Their Own use of the will in relation to the initiate, and the initiate's use of the will as he works for the Plan as that Plan implements Purpose. To produce this, a direct, understanding and powerful expression of this first aspect is demanded. There are several reasons why the will presents a problem. Let us list a few of them and thereby get understanding.

1. This energy of the will is the most potent energy in the whole scheme of planetary existence. It is called the "Shamballa Force," and it is that which holds all things together in life. It is, in reality, life itself. This life force or divine will (implementing divine intention) is that by means of which Sanat Kumara arrives at His goal. On a tiny scale, it is the use of one of the lowest aspects of the will (human self-will) which enables a man to carry out his plans and attain his fixed purpose—if he has one. Where the will is lacking, the plan dies out and the purpose is not achieved. Even in relation to self-will, it is veritably the "life of the project." The moment Sanat Kumara has attained His planetary purpose, He will withdraw this potent energy, and (in this withdrawing) destruction will set in. This Shamballa force is steadily held in leash for fear of too great an impact upon the unprepared kingdoms in nature. This has reference to its impact also upon humanity.

You have been told that this force has—during this century—made its first direct impact upon humanity; heretofore, it reached mankind in the three worlds after being stepped down and modified by transit through the great planetary centre to which we give the name of the Hierarchy. This direct impact will again take place in 1975, and also in the year 2000, but the risks will then not be so great as in the first impact, owing to the spiritual growth of mankind. Each time this energy strikes into the human consciousness some fuller aspect of the divine plan appears. It is the energy which brings about synthesis, which holds all things within the circle of the divine love. Since its impact during the past few years, human thinking has been more concerned with the production of unity and the attainment of synthesis in all human relations than ever before, and one result of this energy has been the forming of the United Nations.

The Black Lodge masters are trying to find out what the Planetary Purpose of Sanat Kumara is

2. It will be apparent to you, therefore, that this energy is the agent for the revelation of the divine purpose. It may surprise you that this is regarded as presenting a problem to the Hierarchy, but if this power—impersonal and potent—should fall into the hands of the Black Lodge, the results would be disastrous indeed. Most of the members of this centre of cosmic evil are upon the first ray itself, and some of the divine purpose is known to a few of them, for—in their due place and in the initiatory regime—they too are initiates of high degree, but dedicated to selfishness and separativeness. Their particular form of selfishness is far worse than anything which you can imagine, because they are completely detached and divorced from all contact with the energy to which we give the name of love. They have cut themselves off from the spiritual Hierarchy, through Whom the love of the planetary Logos reaches the forms in the three worlds and all that is contained therein. These evil but powerful beings know well the uses of the will, but only in its destructive aspect.

The purpose of the planetary Logos, is the answer to the question: Why did the planetary Logos create the world?

We have spoken much of the purpose of the planetary Logos. When I use the word "purpose" I am indicating the [Page 717] answer to the question: Why did the planetary Logos create this world and start the evolutionary, creative process? Only one answer has as yet been permitted to be given. Sanat Kumara has created this planet and all that moves and lives therein in order to bring about a planetary synthesis and an integrated system whereby a tremendous solar revelation can be seen. Having said that, we have not really penetrated any distance into the meaning of the divine purpose; we have only indicated the method whereby it is being attained, but the true objective remains still an obscure mystery—guarded rigidly in the Council Chamber of Sanat Kumara. It is this mystery and this divine planetary "secret" which is the goal of all the work being done by the Black Lodge. They are not yet sure of the purpose, and all their efforts are directed to the discovery of the nature of the mystery. Hence the hierarchical problem.

3. It is this energy of the will, rightly focussed, that enables the senior Members of the Hierarchy to implement that purpose. Only initiates of a certain standing can receive this energy, focus it within the Hierarchy, and then direct its potency to certain ends known only to Them. Speaking symbolically, the Hierarchy has within it, under the custody of its most advanced Members, what might be called a "reservoir of divine intention." It is the higher correspondence of that to which Patanjali refers under the words, "the raincloud of knowable things" which hovers over the head of all disciples who can see somewhat in the Light. Just as advanced humanity can precipitate the rain of knowledge from this cloud of knowable things (the divine ideas, working out as intuitions in all the many areas of human thinking), so the lesser initiates and disciples within the Hierarchy can begin to precipitate into their consciousness some of this "divine intention." It is this reservoir of power which embodies some of the Purpose and implements the Plan. One of the problems of the Hierarchy is, therefore, right timing in the revelation of divine intention and in the direction of the thinking and the planning done in Their Ashrams by the recipients: initiates and disciples. [Page 718] Again we come back to the same necessity for right interpretation of the revelation or of the vision.

4. The problem is also one that each Master has to face in connection with His Own spiritual development, for this energy is the needed dynamic or potency which enables Him to tread the Way of the Higher Evolution. On the way to liberation and in treading the Path of Discipleship and the Path of Initiation, the human being has to use the dynamic or the potency of the Love of God; on the Way of the Higher Evolution, it must be the dynamic and the potency of Will.

I would ask you all, therefore, to ponder on the distinction which exists between:

I shall not attempt to discuss these words with you. They each indicate a certain aspect of the will; you will learn more on this point by doing your own thinking and defining.

All that I can hope and pray is that your individual will can be merged into the divine will, that revelation will be increasingly yours, and that you will with increased steadfastness tread the Path from darkness to light and from death to immortality.

After the 8^th initiation, Cosmic Evil can no longer hurt the initiate

(RI 727) At the eighth Initiation of Transition the purpose of all our planetary activity is revealed to the Master, and all Masters or initiates of this eighth initiation (working either through the Hierarchy or in Shamballa) are needed at this initiation so as to stimulate the point of tension of the new initiate in order to make the revelation possible.

It might be said that They act like a lens through which the living light flows which makes the revelation possible, and They also fulfill the need of acting as a protecting factor. This protection is needed because at this initiation the initiate is shown not only the eternal good [Page 727] underlying planetary purpose, but he is allowed "to see that which is hidden behind the fast sealed door and be in touch with cosmic evil for it can no longer hurt him." He needs nevertheless the protection of Those with Whom he has fitted himself to associate. What the planetary purpose is I know not; when I say that part of the purpose is to liberate light and love into a wider universe and to free the solar system from the attacks of cosmic evil, I am stating a truth, but a truth which remains as yet meaningless to those who have not been put in touch with the completed purpose; it remains a mystery, for the true nature of light, the mystery of electricity, the constitution of the good, the beautiful and the true, the origin of evil, the nature and purpose of the Black Lodge, the place which that Lodge plays within the divine scheme of being, are all unknown to you in their essential significance. Remember that when a Member of the Hierarchy uses the word essential, He does not mean (as you oft do) that which is needed or necessary; He is referring to the inmost essence which is found at the heart of all things—both the good and the evil. Therefore, when I say to you also that at this eighth initiation the nature and the purpose of duality is revealed to the initiate, it is again meaningless.

At these three final initiations, therefore, the significance of creation, of quality and of purpose are successively revealed to the Master, and that which makes the revelation possible is not only the action of the One Initiator and of the initiating group (when such a group is required), but the major factor is the developed sensitivity of the initiate himself—a sensitivity which has developed through many aeons of lives and of vital experience.

After the Refusal, the initiate refuses to make any contact with Cosmic Evil

(RI 737) Again, we come up against the outstanding planetary characteristic which has been presented to us under many differing words, i.e., the sensitivity which in some form or another distinguishes each initiation. We know it also as attraction, the sensitivity which moves outward until it attracts and draws to itself those forms of being which the initiate can instruct or aid; we know it also as the overall [Page 737] activity conferring that spiritual sensory perception which makes the initiate aware—in a universal sense—of all that concerns the sphere of influence of the Will of God. This demonstrates particularly at the eighth Initiation of Transition. In the ninth Initiation of Refusal, this heightened spiritual perception is presented to us under the word "Existence," for existence is a livingness coupled with awareness which "finds its own place and the spiritual house of its Being which is the true home of all Beings, but of this—our planetary forms know naught." This the initiate has at last learnt to find, after the struggle with evil in himself, after the struggle with materialism and with evil in the human family, and after his struggle to aid in the "closing of the door where evil dwells" and his refusal to make any contact (even with good intention) with cosmic evil.

The planetary Lodge of Masters has absorbed Him and, at the final initiation, the Great Lodge on Sirius has recognised Him, and with the Black Lodge of Adepts He will have nothing to do. He will mitigate its evil effects and will struggle to offset its results, but He knows that the final overcoming of cosmic physical evil must be undertaken by Existences much further advanced than even the Members of the Council Chamber at Shamballa; certain solar Entities and certain great Lives from Sirius are dealing with the problem.

At the ninth planetary initiation (the refusal), the Master is brought face to face with the massed group of masters of the Black Lodge

The aggressor nations during the 2^nd world war were the agents of the Black Lodge

(DINAII 40) I would have you remember that when the war ends two great conditions will emerge for which you must be prepared and for which you should now begin to prepare others. These are:

1. There will be a great settling back by mankind in an effort to find security, to obliterate the effects of war from their troubled minds, to forget that which has happened, to return to the familiar, and to re-establish the old ways of life. Human beings forget easily, and besides this ancient habit, humanity is very tired. Get ready to deal with this, for it must not happen if it can in any way be prevented.

2. There will also come the cessation of the "great sounds of the material aspects"—the sounds of war, the noise of explosion, and the cry of suffering humanity. This will create a curious false peace, but it will at the same time create a channel of approach for new spiritual forces and energies which—directed by the Hierarchy—will pour into the human family, causing spiritual stimulation, spiritual receptivity, spiritual aspiration and a great readiness for that which is new. You will therefore have two opposing conditions to consider, with which to deal, and you will need much wisdom. You will have to assist in the task of preventing the relapse of a tired humanity into the state of mind of [Page 41] which inertia, a reverting to the old, and a demand for the ancient ways are characteristic. You will also have to aid in the directing of the registered spiritual energies into avenues and channels of usefulness where they can accomplish the greatest good. Ponder on this.

I have given you much in this instruction. I seek to make my Ashram useful at this time of crisis. We have had a great crisis of materialism and the powers of darkness have very nearly assumed control. But we are seeing the slow domination of the good. Humanity has been the battleground for a major conflict between the two great Lodges—the great White Lodge and the Black Lodge. The former is now gradually gaining control.

The withdrawal (quite imminent in time, my brothers) of the evil group will leave humanity relieved but bewildered, beaten to the ground, but with enough strength to rise to greater heights than ever before. For this withdrawal I ask you to prepare—with intelligence, wise understanding and deep love.

The work to be done by the world disciples, the world aspirants, the New Group of World Servers and the men and women of goodwill can be a determining factor in the New Age and can tip the scales between a static and retrogressive activity and a steadily planned moving forward into light. You can play your part in this determination, if you so will.

That you will do so, and that you will have the opened eye which will see the dawning light and the fading darkness is my earnest wish for you.

(DINAII 238) The whole point, brother of mine, is that in both connections the incentive towards activity lies with the individual and there is no imposing authority. The only authority recognised is the truth as it emerges in the human consciousness, in any world or historical cycle. Today more truth is being recognised (and incidentally, repudiated) than at any other time in human history. Men have attained the point in evolution where they are able to know the truth if and when presented, because the concrete human mind is now more highly responsive to abstract truth, and therefore to the next evolutionary presentation. It is this which the Totalitarian Powers, the unconscious (and I mean that, brother of mine) agents of the Black Lodge are fighting; they will not win; in the long run they cannot, for the human spirit is eternally sound and sane.

(EINA 60) The first task of the esotericist is to comprehend the nature of the energies which are seeking to condition him and which work out into expression on the physical plane through the medium of his equipment or his vehicle of manifestation. The esoteric student has, therefore, to grasp that:

1. He is an aggregation of forces, inherited and conditioned by what he has been, plus a great antagonistic force which is not a principle and which we call the physical body.

2. He is sensitive to and should be increasingly aware of certain energies, at present unknown and of no use to him; of these he must eventually become aware, if he is to move deeper into the world of hidden forces. They may be energies which, for him, would be evil were he to work with them, and these must be distinguished and discarded; there are others which he must learn to use, for they would prove beneficial and would increase his knowledge, and should therefore be regarded as good. Bear in mind, however, that energies per se are neither bad nor good. The Great White Lodge, our spiritual Hierarchy, and the Black Lodge employ the same universal energies but with different motives and objectives; both groups are groups of trained esotericists.

(EOH 74) The two other forces which tend to increase the already prevalent tension in the world are:

4. The forces of materialism, streaming out into the three worlds from the so-called "Dark Forces" or Black Lodge, and from those groups of lives and workers which are the antithesis of the Great White Lodge.

5. The force emanating from that section of humanity which is found in every part of the world and which we call the Jewish people. What I say here has no specific reference to any individual; I am considering the world problem, centering around the Jews as a whole.

These two forces greatly complicate the problem by which humanity and the Hierarchy are faced, but it should be remembered that they also produce that balancing which is ever needed for the production of right conditions.

There is little that I can tell you about the Dark Forces. They are not the problems of humanity but that of the Hierarchy. The task of these Forces is the preservation of the form life and the working out of methods and aims which are inherent in the processes of manifestation. The Black Lodge, so-called, is occupied with the form aspect of [Page 75] manifestation; the White Lodge, with the consciousness aspect. It might, therefore, be stated that:

Again, light may come to you, if you relate this triple statement to the three solar systems and to the three aspects of divinity. Evil or wrong, therefore, exists only when the emphasis is retained in the wrong aspect from the point of view of the unfoldment attained or when that which has been used and developed to the necessary point, holds the life or consciousness too long. Hence, my brothers, the beneficent nature of death.

The Forces of Darkness are powerful energies, working to preserve that which is ancient and material; hence they are pre-eminently the forces of crystallisation, of form preservation, of the attractiveness of matter, and of the lure of that which is existent in the form life of the three worlds. They consequently block deliberately the inflow of that which is new and life-giving; they work to prevent the understanding of that which is of the New Age; they endeavour to preserve that which is familiar and old, to counteract the effects of the oncoming culture and civilisation, to bring blindness to the peoples and to feed steadily the existing fires of hate, of separateness, of criticism and of cruelty. These forces, as far as the intelligent peoples of the world are concerned, work insidiously and cloak their effort in fair words, leading even disciples to express hatred of persons and ideologies, fostering the hidden seeds of hatred found in many human beings. They fan to fury the fear and hate of the world in an effort to preserve that which is old and make the unknown appear undesirable, and they hold back the forces of evolution and of progress for their own ends. These [Page 76] ends are as inscrutable to you as are the plans of the Ruler of Shamballa.

(EOH 127) It will serve no purpose for me to trace the relation of the present world conflict and the present world leaders to the conflict and the leaders in Atlantean times. Suffice it to say that many of the same personalities (on a higher turn of the spiral) are again playing their various parts in the great drama. It is no service to you and to your mental grip upon the situation for me to emphasise the details of that great war and its modern correspondences; it is of no value for me to compare the old methods and the modern usages whereby one side or the other carries forward the struggle for supremacy. You are in no position to verify what I say or to check the accuracy of my statements. The point which is, however, of major importance is for you to arrive at a clear understanding of what is at stake and a just appreciation of the values involved and also a correct grasp of the ideals animating the two groups of opponents.

In Atlantean days, it was stated that the battle was between [Page 128] the Forces of Darkness (the so-called "Black Lodge of Adepts") and the Forces of Light (the so-called Great White Lodge, the Hierarchy of Masters). That was then approximately true, for the conflict was between two small groups and the masses of the people were simply the blind and miserable victims of the fight and of the situation.

Today, it is not possible to make such a clear distinction between the forces engaged, nor is it properly admissible. No nation or group of nations can be classed in a broad generalisation as either black or white. Bear this in mind. Only those with no vision and an intolerant and prejudiced spirit will speak thus. All nations have within them those who belong in their thousands to the category of those who are swayed by the Forces of Light and who, therefore, respond normally and easily to the concept of goodwill, to the desire for right relationship between all men and to the ideal of true international and world understanding. In all nations there are those to whom this position makes no appeal at all and they are still in darkness and blinded to the true issues. This is a statement of fact. Those who seek to see the establishment of goodwill and understanding are in the majority but are—as I pointed out in earlier writings—relatively futile to control the situation as yet or to force their leaders to follow the mass will-to-good. They are either inspired or protected by the Hierarchy of Light and it is with them that the task of stimulating the free expression of this goodwill must be carried forward when the conflict ends.

As for the other group, they are those who through inclination or ancient karma are the descendants of the Lords of darkness; their actions and ideals make possible the activity of the forces of materialism. I would have you note that phrasing. Even the most dangerous of them are nevertheless conscious of some form or another of idealism, but they are misguided and full of response to the will-to-power (power upon the physical plane and through the medium of form activity). This is stimulated by the inflow of the Shamballa energy. Because of these reactions and tendencies, they constitute focal points for those Lives and [Page 129] Energies which are inherent in matter itself and whose influence and work are dedicated to the preservation of form, and of that which is. They endeavour constantly to negate the new and to hold back the evolution and development of the human consciousness. Forget not that the real issue is in the field of consciousness and that the struggle is between form and the life within the form, and between progress, leading to the liberation of the human spirit, and reactionary activity, leading to the imprisonment of the human consciousness and the restriction of its free expression.

(EOH 340) Freedom, my brothers, can itself prove a limitation when it delays right action, when it centres attention upon the petty differences and the personality inclinations of people and when it serves to prevent that unity of action which can win the war. It has been necessary for the leaders of the peoples to take valuable time to bring them to a proper sense of values and to the realisation that individual and national differences and points of political and religious disagreement must all give place to the one supreme requirement—the winning of the war and the releasing of humanity from the threatened slavery, the steadily mounting fear, and the world domination of the Black Lodge.

(EOH 433) 3. The conflict at present involving humanity has its source not only in human weakness and selfishness, but in a situation which has existed for ages between the Great White Lodge of Masters and the Lodge of Black Adepts. This started in Atlantean times and must now be fought out to a finish. With the details of this struggle (fought on mental levels) you have no concern, except in so far as you and the rest of mankind react to lies or to truth. Two streams of mental energy or of thought-directed ideas impinge powerfully at this time upon the human consciousness. One is embodied in the lying propaganda emanating from the Axis Powers and affecting potently not only their own peoples but the selfish politicians, the intolerant and the racially conditioned people, and the well-intentioned but short-sighted appeasers and pacifists. The second stream is embodied in the idealism, the humanitarianism, and the clear presentation of the factual situation which characterise the best minds in every nation and which condition the thinking of the leaders of the United Nations; this stream has, for instance, conditioned the attitude and the changed orientation of the U.S.S.R., and has brought them to a position of cooperation and to a relinquishing of some of their separative ideas.

(EOH 437) Today the Hierarchy is facing a climaxing activity. From the Full Moon of May, 1944, until the Full Moon of May, 1945, the Members of the Hierarchy will unitedly be putting forth Their maximum effort to close the door upon the Forces of Evil, to direct the Shamballa energy (now let loose upon the world) so that its destructive aspect may be transmuted or directed towards the stimulation which will result in the rebuilding of the world. This will then affect not only the Members of the Hierarchy, but all on Earth who respond to hierarchical impression. Have the following statement in mind:

"The focussed and concentrated work of the Hierarchy at the time of the Full Moon of May, 1944 is—by Their united effort, Their blended thought and Their illumined will power, under the trained guidance of [Page 438] the Buddha and the Christ—to withdraw the energy of the will-to-separation and aggression (a distortion of first ray energy) away from the Forces of Evil and channel it again, via the Hierarchy; it will then demonstrate as the Will-to-Good, and this will express itself via the men of goodwill on Earth. This requires a great Act of Absorption by the Hierarchy."

The Buddha will start the process at the time of His appearance, through the use of a great first ray mantram. This can be used only by someone of His initiate standing and in collaboration with the Lord of the World. He will thereby deflect the Shamballa force which the Adepts of the Black Lodge have turned loose into the Axis nations; this has been made possible by their receptivity to the will-to-power. He will "corral" it (if I may use such a colloquial and inappropriate term) and will place it at the disposal of the Christ. The reception and the acceptance of this first ray energy will require a tremendous effort upon the part of the Christ, the Custodian of the energy of the second Ray of Love-Wisdom. It is for this "reception" that He started to prepare at the time of the April Full Moon.

I have told you elsewhere that this direct impact of the Shamballa energy upon humanity very seldom occurs. It has been loosed only three times during the entire history of the human kingdom. At other times, it makes its impact directly upon the Hierarchy, and is then transmuted or stepped down so that humanity can take it. The three times it has been directed, unimpeded and untransmuted, towards humanity are:

1. At the time of the individualisation of animal-man when the mind principle was implanted. This was the birth hour of the human soul.

Notice DK here says “destruction of the human soul, not form-it takes ages for a Soul to be created and nutured by the Monad and Solar Angel”

2. In Atlantean days when the power of the Black Lodge was so great that defeat faced the Hierarchy and the destruction of the human soul. Shamballa then interfered, and the world of that time was [Page 439] destroyed. This period is recognised in modern history as the time of the Great Flood.

3. Today, once again, the Powers of Darkness are attempting to destroy humanity and the spiritual values. The power of Shamballa was let loose, destroying old forms—political, social and religious—but at the same time this power was seized upon by the evil forces to destroy the souls of men, to precipitate war and to destroy the cities and all our centres of civilisation and culture. The first phase or form of destruction was directed by the disciples, the aspirants and the clear thinking people of the world, and this was needed and very good. The old social, political and religious forms were stultifying the human soul and handicapping all progress. The second phase or form of destruction was directed by evil, and was focussed through those nations who had succumbed to the glamour of superiority, to the temptation of material aggression and to intolerant racial hatreds, implemented by cruelty and barbarism.

The time has now come when this divine energy must express itself through the second aspect of the will-to-good, and not through the first aspect, the will-to-power. Mankind has had to be shown that it is not yet ready for power, because the will-to-good is not adequately strong to balance this first aspect of the will.

This then is the task of the Christ and of the Buddha at the time of the May Full Moon—to channel and redirect the Shamballa force. If They can do this, the result will be a new realisation and accomplishment of the will-to-good by the New Group of World Servers, under the receptive guidance of the world disciples and a responsive activity of the men and women of goodwill.

Therefore, get this clearly in mind, so that your cooperation can be intelligent and rightly directed.

First, at the time of the May Full Moon, the Buddha [Page 440] will sound out a great mantram and become the "absorbing Agent" of the first ray force. He will use the magnetic power of the second ray to attract this force to Himself and will hold it steady, prior to redirecting it. The Christ will then—on behalf of the Hierarchy—become the "receiving Agent" of this potent energy, and the seven groups of Masters Who work with the human and sub-human kingdoms will (in response to His demand) become the "directing Agents" for the sevenfold expression of this force.

Second, at the time of the June Full Moon, the Hierarchy, under the guidance of the Christ, will let loose this will-to-good upon humanity, producing seven great results, according to the seven subrays of this first Ray of Will or Power:

1. Power will be given to the disciples of the world and the initiates among men, so that they can direct efficiently and wisely the coming process of rebuilding.

2. The will-to-love will stimulate the men of goodwill everywhere so that hatred will gradually be overcome and men will seek to live together cooperatively. This will take some time, but the inner urge is there and subject to stimulation.

3. The will-to-action will lead intelligent people throughout the world to inaugurate those activities which will lay the foundation for a new, better and happier world.

4. The will-to-cooperate will steadily increase also. Men will desire and demand right human relations—a result more general than that produced by the activity of the first three aspects of this ray, but which will be a natural outcome of this activity.

5. The will-to-know and to think correctly and creatively will become an outstanding characteristic of the masses. Knowledge is the first step towards wisdom.

6. The will-to-persist (which is an aspect of devotion and idealism) will become a human characteristic—a sublimation of the basic instinct of self-preservation. This will [Page 441] lead to a persistent belief in the ideals presented by the Hierarchy, and the demonstration of immortality.

7. The will-to-organise will further a building process which will be carried forward under the direct inspiration of the Hierarchy. The medium will be the potency of the will-to-good of the New Group of World Servers and the responsive goodwill of mankind.

(EOH 492) One point should here be remembered, and that is that this phase applies to both the great White Lodge and the Black Lodge—the one dedicated to the beneficent task of purifying and aiding all lives in the three worlds of material evolution and to the release of the soul in form, and the other to the retardation of the evolutionary process and to the continuous crystallising of the material forms which hide and veil the anima mundi. Both groups have been profoundly interested and implicated in this matter of the release of energy from the atom and the liberation of its [Page 493] inner aspect, but their motives and objectives were widely different.

(EOH 614) As the disciple confronts both the inner and the outer events and possibilities, he is apt to register a sense of complete frustration; he longs to help, but knows not what [Page 615] to do; his grasp of the menacing difficulties, his analysis of his resources and of those with whom he works, and his clarity of perception as to the forces ranged against him, make him feel inclined to sit back and say: What is the use of any effort I can make? Why not let the two forces of good and evil, of the Black Lodge and the Spiritual Hierarchy, fight it out alone? Why not permit the pressure of the evolutionary current, eventually and at long last, to bring cessation to the fight and the triumph of the good? Why attempt to do it now?

(EOH 676) As the next few years bring into focus the hierarchical intention, disciples and aspirants must look for those men and those few women who will be working as a group along spiritual lines in or near one or other of these five localities.

Initial opposition to the founding of these centres of clear thinking men and women, working freely and understandingly with one of the Masters or senior initiates, is already unhappily present; it is to be found in the narrowness, the biassed information and the lack of freedom of the totalitarian schools of thought. This was inevitable, for the Black Lodge ever endeavours to parallel, offset and undo the work of the White Lodge, and hitherto quite successfully. But the cycle of success is slowly closing because the energy of goodwill, emanated by the Will-to-Good, is rapidly becoming effective.

In London, in New York, in Geneva and Darjeeling and in Tokyo, a Master will eventually be found, organising a major energy centre; at the same time His Ashram will continue to function upon buddhic levels, for the entire personnel has not been alerted for externalisation. The Ashram will therefore be working on two levels—and yet that is not a correct statement of fact, as there are no levels, as well you know, but only states of consciousness. Ask me not how this can be; ponder on the relation of this dual and simultaneous appearance by attempting to grasp the nature of the manifested form of the planetary Logos in the Person of Sanat Kumara. Sanat Kumara is not the personality of the planetary Logos, for personality as you understand it is not existent in His case. It is not the soul of the planetary Logos, because that soul is the anima mundi and the soul of all forms in all kingdoms. Sanat Kumara, the Eternal Youth, can be seen by Those Who have the right, presiding, for instance, over the Council in Shamballa, yet at the same time He is present as the life and the informing intelligence upon and within our planet.

(EOH 684) Necessarily, the problem is one of a change in the orientation of perception but not necessarily in modes of living or in any definitely physical plane adjustments. Hierarchical orientation has for some centuries been one of a very strict internal consolidation, in order that the magnetic aura of the Hierarchy may unfailingly respond to impression from Shamballa, and also be of so potent a nature that it can form a protective screen around the human family. Forget not the nature of the protective service which the Masters have assumed on behalf of mankind, standing between humanity and the emanations and influences and the magnetic aura of the Black Lodge.

(EOH 688) Again, the Members of the Hierarchy are not only sensitive to impression from the two other planetary centres (Shamballa and Humanity), but They are acutely aware of the Forces of Evil which are fighting furiously against the externalisation of the spiritual work. The energy which cosmic evil generates is active along three main channels:

1. From the centre of cosmic evil upon the cosmic astral plane. Of this centre you can know nothing, and its emanations and its magnetic aura can only be understood and recognised or interpreted by the senior Masters and by initiates of still higher rank. As the potency of the astral plane (which is so familiar to us all) weakens, and glamour and illusion are negated by a rapid spiritualising of humanity, the power of cosmic evil will correspondingly weaken and the Forces of Evil will be unable to reach the planet with their present easy effort. It is against the impact of this emanating evil that the Hierarchy stands in protection of humanity. Hitherto it has been the task of Shamballa, working through the Hierarchy, to protect humanity from the "intention to destroy" of the cosmic Forces of Evil, but—in the coming cycle and as a result of the triumph of the Forces of Light in the world war—the potency of Shamballa can be combined with that of the "protecting Agents of Light."

2. From the Black Lodge which is the externalisation of the centre of cosmic evil on Earth. Just as the White Lodge is the representative or correspondence of the cosmic centre of light upon Sirius (the true Great White Lodge), so the Black Lodge is also representative of ancient and cosmic evil. The Black Lodge is also far more advanced in externalisation than is the White Lodge, because materialism and matter are, [Page 689] for it, the line of least resistance. The Black Lodge is therefore far more firmly anchored upon the physical plane than is the Hierarchy. It requires a much greater effort for the White Lodge to "clothe itself in matter and work and walk on material levels" than for the Black Lodge. Owing, however, to the spiritual growth of mankind and to the steady, even if slow, orientation of mankind to the spiritual Hierarchy, the time has come when the Hierarchy can materialise and meet the enemy of good upon an even footing; the Hierarchy need not be further handicapped by working in substance whilst the Forces of Evil work both in substance and in matter. Once the reappearance of the Christ and of the Hierarchy is an accomplished fact, these Forces of Evil face sure defeat. The reason for this is that the trend of human living and thought is turning steadily towards the subjective spiritual values, even if these values are interpreted in terms of material well-being at present and of better living conditions for all—with peace and security also for all. The Black Lodge or the planetary centre of evil works almost entirely upon the astral plane, and is impressed directly and guided in detail from the cosmic astral plane.

3. From the negative or purely material forces of the planet, which are not necessarily either good or bad but which have been used instinctually and oft unconsciously by humanity for purely material ends, and are therefore basically anti-spiritual and subject to the influence of human desire—a desire oriented towards selfishness, and therefore towards separateness. This form of evil is being combated today by the New Group of World Servers. Of this battle you know something because every thinking man and woman is immediately implicated.

I have spoken of the evil present in the planet in very simple terms, and there are phases of it to which I have not referred; the interlocking and inter-penetrating of the grades of evil are far more numerous and intricate than you surmise.

In summing up, I would say that the present reorientation of the Hierarchy, in relation both to Shamballa and to [Page 690] Humanity, ushers in the cycle of complete defeat of cosmic evil upon our planet, leaving only an isolated and weakened Black Lodge to die a slow death; this permits the purification of human desire to such an extent that "matter will be redeemed by the sacrificial will of Those Who know, by the will-to-good of Those Who are, and by the goodwill of those sons of men who have turned their faces to the light and who in turn reflect that light."

(TEV 148) The use of the creative imagination is of value here. It may not give a true picture on all points, but it will convey one great reality. The reality to which I refer is that there is no possible separateness in our manifested planetary life—or elsewhere for that matter, even beyond our planetary ring-pass-not. The concept of separateness, of individual isolation, is an illusion of the unillumined human mind. Everything—every form, every organism within all forms, all aspects of manifested life in every kingdom in nature—is intimately related each to each through the planetary etheric body (of which all etheric bodies are integral parts) which substands all that is. Little as it may mean, and useless as it may appear, the table at which you write, the flower you hold in your hand, the horse on which you ride, the man to whom you talk, are sharing with you the vast circulatory life of the planet as it streams into, through and out of every aspect of the form nature. The only differences which exist are those in consciousness, and peculiarly so in the consciousness of man and of the Black Lodge. There is only the ONE LIFE, pouring through the mass of forms which, in their sum total, constitute our planet—as we know it.

(EA 588) One of the causes lying behind World War II is to be found in a premature contact—a contact made by certain selfish minds of a relatively high quality, aided by the Black Lodge. To offset this and eventually bring about the elimination of the influence of the dark forces from our planet must come the active, conscious use of the Shamballa force by the White Lodge, aided by the men and women whose will-to-good is strong enough to safeguard them from personal peril in their work and from being deflected on to wrong and dangerous lines. This aid necessitates a certain definite and planned contact and interplay between the two centres: Humanity and Hierarchy. When this is better established, there can be organised and known cooperation and the members of both great centres can "stand together with massed intent." This massed intent will be the correspondence upon the mental plane of the massed intent of the general public who stand with the power of appeal upon their lips and in their hearts. To this appeal must be added the focussed will of the world thinkers and intuitives who will use their minds and brains in the affirmation of right.

(EH 229) A. Venereal and Syphilitic Diseases.

Paralleling all the activity of the Great White Lodge [Page 229] (as was always the case and is the case today) was the activity of the dark forces. Their effects had to be brought about through the medium of the sacral centre, and thus a most vicious situation came about which weakened the stamina of the human body, which greatly increased the demands of the sex nature through the stimulation of the sacral centre, artificially brought about by the Black Lodge, and which produced many unholy alliances and widespread evil relations.

A great new law of nature was then imposed by the planetary Logos which has been expressed (very inadequately) by the words, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." This law could be better expressed by saying, "He that misuses that which he hath built will see it fall from forces within itself."

As the centuries slipped away and the Lemurian race submitted to the evil impulses of the animal nature, gradually the earliest type of venereal disease made its appearance; eventually the entire race was riddled with it and died out, nature taking its toll and exacting its inexorable price. You might here ask how these early inhabitants of our planet could be held responsible for there is no sin where there is no sense of responsibility and no consciousness of wrong doing. The Hierarchy in those days had its own methods of teaching these infant peoples, just as the smallest child can be taught today to refrain from certain physical habits. Humanity then knew well what was evil, because the evidences of that evil were physically apparent and quite easily perceived. The penalty was obvious and the results immediate; the Teachers of the race saw to it that cause and effect were quickly to be noted.

At this time there also arose the first tendencies to marriage, as differentiated from promiscuity; the formation of family units became the subject of attention and [Page 230] a goal for the most highly evolved. This was one of the first tasks undertaken by the Hierarchy and the first effort toward any form of group activity, conveying the first lesson in responsibility. The family unit was not stable as it can be now, but even its relatively brief tenure was a tremendous step forward; the segregation of the family unit and the growth of the sense of responsibility has gone steadily forward until it has culminated in our present system of marriage and our stress in the Occident upon monogamy; it has led to the western pride in family strains and pedigrees, our interest in genealogies and relationships, and the complete horror of the occidental thinker over the syphilitic diseases as they affect families and their offspring.

(EH 487) As I have earlier told you, the astral plane has no factual existence, but is an illusory creation of the human family. From now on, however (through the defeat of the forces of evil and the disastrous setback suffered by the Black Lodge), the astral plane will slowly become a dying creation, [Page 487] and in the final period of human history (in the seventh rootrace), it will become nonexistent. Today this is not the case. The sentient substance which constitutes the astral plane is still being gathered into forms of illusion and still forms a barrier in the path of the soul seeking liberation. It still "holds prisoner" the many people who die whilst their major reaction to life is that of desire, of wishful thinking and of emotional sentiency. These are still the vast majority. In Atlantean days the astral plane came into being; the mental state of consciousness was then practically nonexistent, though the "sons of mind" had their place on what is today the higher levels of that plane. The mental permanent atom was also practically quiescent within each human form, and there was consequently no attractive "pull" from the mental plane, as is the case today. Many people are still Atlantean in consciousness, and when they pass out of the physical state of consciousness and discard their dual physical body, they are faced with the problem of elimination of the astral body, but they have little to do to release themselves from any mental prison of the soul. These are the undeveloped and average persons who, after the elimination of the kamic or desire body, have little else to do; there is no mental vehicle to draw them into a mental integration because there is no mentally focussed potency; the soul on the higher mental levels is as yet "in deep meditation" and quite unaware of its shadow in the three worlds.

(EH 669) I have used the above illustration so as to make my theme somewhat clearer. The whole problem of evil is, however, too vast to contemplate here, nor is it advisable or wise to discuss the source of evil (not of imperfection), the Black Lodge. Energy follows thought, and the spoken word can be potently evocative: therefore, until one is a member of the Great White Lodge, it is the part of wisdom to avoid consideration of forces potent enough intelligently to use the latent imperfection in humanity and to impose the vast evil of war, with all its results and far-reaching effects, upon humanity. The Black Lodge is the problem of the White Lodge, and not the problem of humanity. For aeons the Hierarchy has handled this problem, and is now in process of solving it. It is essentially, however, the main consideration and problem of Shamballa, for it is connected with the will aspect, and only the will-to-good will suffice to blot out and annihilate the will-to-evil. Goodwill will not suffice, though the united and invocative appeal of the [Page 670] men of goodwill throughout the world-increasingly voiced through the Great Invocation-will serve "to seal the door where evil dwells."

(EH 705) III. The Seven Healing Techniques

The techniques I shall have to give in the form of seven ancient symbolic statements or formulas, gathered out of the Book Of Rules for Initiated Disciples. I dare not yet give the simple physical application of these ray techniques, as it would be too dangerous. When rightly used and understood they carry terrific force and—in the wrong hands—could work real damage. May I remind you here that the Black Lodge initiates likewise heal or produce death and disease, and employ very similar techniques; the difference lies in the fact that they can work only with the personality rays of both healer and patient, and because they are more potent on the physical plane than are the Members of the Great White Lodge, their work is frequently most effective. The spiritual healer, working with the energies of light whenever possible, is seldom as effective physically.

The members of the Black Lodge, or healers working under its influence, are, however, totally unable to work on a patient who is spiritually oriented to the slightest degree, and is therefore coming under the control of the soul; neither can they work through a healer who is spiritually oriented. When they attempt to do so they find themselves combatted by energy coming from the Ashram towards [Page 706] which either the healer or the patient is moving or with which he is affiliated, even if he has his place only upon the periphery. Where the average unthinking man is concerned, the danger of "black" interference is nil; the dark forces do not interest themselves in any unimportant person, save with those of potency and influence who can serve their ends. Also their evil work is only possible at the moment (or cycle) wherein the man is making decision as to whether he will move in spiritual living, remain static where he is, or turn with deliberation (which is exceedingly rare) to the path of pure selfishness. This path leads to the Black Lodge.

(RI 14) There is therefore a line of descending energy which has its origin outside our planetary life altogether; the inflow of this energy, its inevitable effect under cyclic law and its consequences, as they work out upon the physical plane, has produced and is producing all the changes of which mankind is so terribly aware at this time. This swings into immediate conflict the past and the future, and in this statement I have expressed the deepest esoteric truth which mankind [Page 14] is competent to grasp; it brings into a culminating struggle the Great White Lodge and the Black Lodge and opens the door to great contending energies which we can call spirit and matter, spirituality and materialism, or life and death. These words are, in the last analysis, as meaningless as the terms good and evil, which have significance only in the human consciousness and its inherent limitations.

(RI 156) Thus he goes from strength to strength. All the time the Hierarchy is aiding in his development and at the same time protecting the Way from him until such time as glamour cannot reach him. This individual security of his [Page 156] is only reached between the time of taking the second initiation and the third. Prior to that, he is still regarded as a potential hazard and as unstable. After that, he may suffer from illusion, but there is then no fear of his permanently turning back and reaching the left-hand path and so perhaps, in rare cases, finding his way into the Black Lodge. The major liability of the average initiate is sloth or lack of speed. Ponder on that.

How the Black Lodge was founded in Atlantean days

(RI 186) 1. The rules for work within the veils of Maya are known and have been used.

Students should remember that the work of the Hierarchy is constantly conditioned by the point in evolution of the human hierarchy. In the early days of human history, thinking, and progress had practically no place, and therefore little or no effect upon the forces and energies which were active upon etheric levels. At that period, they were left in a relatively quiescent state or else were swept into activity by definite and planned impression from the Hierarchy; any effect coming from the human kingdom was due solely to mass impulse or impression. This was very little, owing to the lack of coordinated relation between units and groups within the human family. Later, as family units massed together and formed tribes, and then tribe united with tribe to form larger tribes or embryonic nations, this mass effect increased, but there was still but little thinking or direction connected with it; it was largely instinctive and—if I might so express it—the etheric plane was in reality more in the nature of a matrix surrounding a valuable creation, and was essentially protective, separating and slightly energising.

In Atlantean days, the plane whereon humanity received its major direction or unfoldment was such that the [Page 186] emotional, impulsive nature and the field of maturing desire became dominantly active. Then the real difficulty within the realm of maya started. Hitherto only two energies had been felt upon the etheric plane: the energy of life itself, via the sutratma, as it passed through the etheric plane in order to produce exoteric livingness upon the physical plane, and secondly, the energy of the Hierarchy as a whole, producing a slow, broad, though somewhat negative organisation of the prevalent forces. But then a third and most potent force, generated by humanity, was beginning to make an impact upon the etheric forces. Men were beginning, at this early period of human history, to desire, and this desire was not, as hitherto, of a purely animal nature and hence an emanation from dense physical substance (and, therefore, not related to a principle), but it embodied a new type of energy and was—in reality—man's first expression of the highest divine aspect. Desire is the lowest reflection within the human consciousness of the will aspect.

This potent vibration of desire was evoked by men who were as yet without any spiritual vision of any kind; they were purely material in their instinctive reactions (and rightly so at that particular time), and these reactions attracted the attention of certain purely evil energies or Beings. These Beings availed themselves of the situation in order to satisfy their desire for power—again a distortion of the will or first aspect. Thus the Black Lodge was founded. It fed upon human desire and resembled a vast overshadowing vampire. It vitiated human living and increased the growth of desire far beyond normal expectancy or hierarchical planning, thus creating false goals and standards, building a barrier between the lowest planetary centre, Humanity, and the "middle point" or centre, the Hierarchy. It will be apparent, therefore, that the following energies were let loose within the realm of maya:

1. The instinctive force of animal desire. This was not wrong in itself and is subject to negation in time, and normally is controlled.

2. The stream of descending life, and this in two aspects:

3. The steady impact of the attractive power of the soul, implemented by the Hierarchy and increasing in potency as time elapses.

4. The impelling power of material desire, focussed in the Black Lodge, both feeding human desire and drawing a form of life from the massed desire of humanity.

5. Human development along astral lines, expressing itself as certain well-defined energies or force directions:

All throughout this period, the organisation of the etheric plane has been going on, subject to the impact of energies and forces as listed above, plus certain other energies (latent or potent) with which we have no immediate concern. Both the great White Lodge and its opponent, the Black Lodge, increased steadily in potency. Gradually the forces took organised form and the four "veils of maya" or the seven separating energies became well-defined. When this differentiation was complete, two great planetary events (if I might call them so) were consummated:

1. The seven centres in the human body (five up the spine and two in the head) were esoterically "in shape." The seven lotuses or chakras were functioning, some powerfully, whilst others remained unawakened. These seven were now visible to clairvoyant vision.

2. The seven Ashrams of the Masters in Their seven groups (conditioned by the seven Rays) appeared, motivated from Shamballa, organised at this time upon the higher levels of the mental plane, and gradually supplied with personnel from the ranks of humanity itself, as one by one men achieved initiation.

Paralleling this activity and implemented, fed and sustained by the Black Lodge, was the appearance of glamour upon the astral plane, and to this thickening glamour humanity steadily contributed and responded. Then as evolution progressed and the human intellect began to make itself felt, "the four veils of maya" and the great "curtain of glamour" began to condition the mental plane. Illusion then appeared, and the distinction between truth and falsehood, between good and evil, and between the left hand Path and the Path of Initiation became apparent to the advanced humanity of the time. These distinctions had always been known to the Hierarchy, but now human beings were faced with them and recognised them: the great potency of intellectual choice confronted humanity and the Aryan race (as that name is correctly used to denote modern intelligent humanity) came into being.

As the ages slipped away, men contributed more and more both to the problem and to the solution of maya, of glamour and of illusion. The potency of human thought began to make itself felt; men in increasing numbers sought the Path of Liberation and so passed on into the Hierarchy; they became active and instructed opponents of the Black Lodge and intelligent wielders of energy as it can be projected downwards and used to destroy the four veils, to dissipate glamour and to dispel illusion. Humanity responded more and more sensitively to impacts—both subjective and objective—and their cooperation began to be [Page 189] effective and useful to the Hierarchy, necessitating some changes in hierarchical techniques, releasing hierarchical workers for other and different activities, and

greatly complicating the problem and menacing the safety and the status of the Black Lodge.

One of the results of this mental development was the sending of the disciples out into the world of men; they issued forth in large numbers, and whilst preserving their conscious link with the Ashram with which they were affiliated, they could be trusted to live among men as men and to bring their potency to bear upon the problem of maya and glamour, doing so from below upwards. This work had to be done by disciples who could stand under pressure, who would, in spite of all difficulties, live nobly and prepare for and take the initiation which was for them their next step. Several hundred years ago, only a few could be so trusted. Today (1944) there are many in every land, though there are very few in Germany, owing to the concentration in that unhappy land of the power of the Black Lodge and also to the misuse of the Shamballa force. This force has been isolated and its destructive aspect utilised in Germany, and this has been done without the paralleling activity of the love energy of the Hierarchy. It is this fact that has made it impossible (since 1933) for disciples of the White Lodge to enter. Elsewhere, however, the concentration of active disciples is greater than at any other time in human history.

I have emphasised this point because our second phrase, "let the group widen all the rents within those veils," has reference here to disciples and the groups which they have everywhere gathered around themselves. It is these groups, many in number and differing in ray potency, which will lead the world through the post-war period into the New Age. It is their pressure upon the physical plane which has precipitated the crisis between the great White Lodge and the Black Lodge. Their work is to let in the light, and where the light goes the Black Lodge must fade out and disappear. It feeds on glamour and illusion and uses the [Page 190] veils of maya as a protection. Students would do well to avoid naming and differentiating the four veils. The veils themselves are transient and variable. They differ as they come under the impact of the seven rays. It is not possible or practical to distinguish them one from the other, except from the angle of the Hierarchy, and their destruction today (though it was not so earlier) has to come from the dense physical plane, and the attack must be made by personalities and individualities dwelling in physical bodies. This is a somewhat new mode of approach, for hitherto only a very few disciples and initiates have been able so to work. Today, hundreds and thousands of disciples are working, and thus learning to use the ancient rules for work within the veils of maya. Let me here give you some of these rules or formulas as they are to be found in The Masters' Book of Rules and as I can translate them. Some are untranslatable:

There are other rules, but these will give you the [Page 191] major recognitions needed to do this type of work; these are the rules which the adventuring disciple needs to know. They have been used, and should not be interpreted by the lower mind, but with the aid of the initiate consciousness.

The second phrase runs as follows:

2. Let the group widen all the rents within those veils and thus let in the light.

We come now to a definite group injunction or instruction. The aid of the group is invoked almost in the form of an order. The point of this formulated injunction is that in the new era and in the interlude between the past (wherein prominent disciples worked within the veils of maya) and the New Age (wherein humanity itself will consciously function upon the etheric plane), the work of the esoteric groups, under the direction of the New Group of World Servers, is needed. They will have the capacity to recognise the distinction between the various veils. This is the next needed development. The groups must focus the energy at the very centre of the group being; the group must carry the force from point to point and from veil to veil; the group must project the destroying energy and become unitedly aware of what each veil hides; the group must perform the activities (seven in all) of purification; the group must meet, accept and distribute the descending spiritual energy which will finally consummate the work done. The group—through the use of that descending current—will drive the forces of evil back on to the astral plane and will together work with the three aspects of the first ray. These are typified by the Voice, the O.M. and the Sound.

In the above you have in reality a great formula for group activity and also a potent method (once the group can unitedly work together) for the cleansing and the re-organisation of the forces active in the world today. These forces are now raging and running wild; their effect is almost tangible (being in etheric substance) and factually and visibly present under the control of the Black Lodge. This [Page 192] Lodge uses the voices of lying propaganda, the Word of death (which I shall not give to you for the O.M., the Word of Life, suffices), and the Sound of the densest aspect in manifestation—the sound of power in the mineral kingdom. This constitutes an unparalleled condition and creates a unique concentration of the Forces of Good and the forces of evil upon the etheric plane. The task of all groups which are working under the Masters of the Wisdom is to let in the light, utilising those rents which already exist within the Veils of maya.

Three major rents within these Veils might here be noted. They are symbolically referred to in The Bible, though their essential meaning has not been noted or comprehended.

The first major rent was made by the establishment of the Law of God, and this is portrayed for us symbolically in The Old Testament in the story of Moses. He went up into the Mount of God and there received the Ten Commandments. This is the expression of divine law as adapted for humanity and as needed in the projection of those forces which will destroy, purify and reorganise. Moses, the Lawgiver, penetrated to one of the halls within the Veils of maya, and there encountered the glory of the Lord. This was of such a radiance that, as the Old Commentary puts it:

"He who entered among the first to penetrate within the veils absorbed the light and knew not how to pass it on. Neither he nor they were ready, but the light was there and likewise the two directing eyes. But only one can use, project and send the light upon its mission. The other must be blinded, and of this fact the Lawgiver was aware. He therefore veiled the light, assuming towards this end a fragment of that which he had helped destroy, and so descended from the mountain top, back to the darkness of the earth."

The second, and much the most important rent, was made by the power of the second aspect when the Christ subjected the Master Jesus to the fourth initiation and Their joint influence was triumphant over death. Then we read [Page 193] that the veil of the Temple was split in twain from the top to the bottom. The lawgiver assisted at the first rending as the climax to the third initiation, and there was a somewhat similar process of glorification. A similar event took place at the Transfiguration of the Christ, overshadowing or rather working through the Master Jesus. But at the triumph over death and through the Great Renunciation or Crucifixion episode, a great and major rending took place. The Law, when rightly kept and interpreted, defines man's attitude upon the mental plane and serves to make a rent in the etheric veil, separating the etheric vehicle in its fourfold aspect from the dense physical form. The rending of the second veil at the time of the Crucifixion let in light on to the second level of the etheric plane, and a new type of illumination was spread abroad upon the earth. Law and Love could now penetrate into the consciousness of humanity in a new and direct manner, as the brain of man became involved through the substance of the etheric counterpart of the physical brain; the instinct to self-preservation (one of the lowest aspects of Law) and the tendency to sensitivity (feeling or emotion, one of the lowest forms of Love) could be expressed in a more comprehensive manner.

Another rending of the veil, and one of relatively minor importance, took place when Saul of Tarsus saw the glory of the Lord and was changed into Paul the Apostle. His forward moving and potent directness and sincerity, pushing along "the road to Damascus," forced him to penetrate through one of the separating veils. The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force. This force, working in Saul, drove him through the veil which prevented vision, and the rent thereby made brought him a new revelation. He was, we are told, completely blinded for three days, and this the esoteric records corroborate. This is a well-known correspondence to the three days in the tomb and one recognised by esotericists; it corresponds also to the penetration into the third heaven to which Paul testified later in his life. He realised the nature of the Law, as his later epistles demonstrate; he was brought [Page 194] to the feet of the Initiator through the effect of love, and thus he availed himself of the two earlier rents in the veil. Whilst thus reaching out to the light, he wrote that epistle about which so much controversy has raged—The Epistle to the Hebrews. In it the results of the rending of the third veil provide the keynote and express the first and highest aspect, as the two earlier rents lead to the revelation of the third and second divine qualities. This first aspect is seen as synthesis, as the Communion of Saints, and as related to the Lord of the World, Melchizedek. Read that epistle in the light of these remarks, and note how a great initiate endeavoured to reveal some facts, inherent in the will or power aspect. These were, however, far beyond the ken of the disciples and aspirants of the time, but can today form a true part of the realisation of humanity. Law, Love, Union or Synthesis—all these great energies have seeped into the human consciousness and now provide the platform upon which the new civilisation can be founded, the new approach to God be taken, and new human relations be implemented.

Three great rents, therefore, now exist, as well as numerous smaller and less important ones, to which no reference has been or need be made. Three great Sons of God at the moment of initiation made a major contribution to the human consciousness through their determined will-to-law, will-to-love and will-to-synthesis. Mankind was thereby aided to move forward more easily along the "lighted Way," to pass through the halls of maya, aided by the light pouring through the rents made in the separating veils by perfected divine Men at the very moment of Their triumph. A fourth great rent still remains to be made as a result of the energies released and the gained good which the three earlier rents have made possible. This fourth major rent will be made by humanity itself, standing with "massed intent," focussed through the groups which are externalisations of the Ashrams of the Masters. It will therefore be made at the time that the Hierarchy takes physical shape upon the earth again.

Bear in mind the symbolical nature of this teaching. The veils are not actually existing veils in the usual sense of that term. They are in the nature of opposing forces and energies which act as inhibitory factors to the aspirant as he seeks to make progress, and to the entire human family as it moves onward upon the Path of Evolution. They are not basically related to consciousness at all, for in the majority of cases these veils "lie on the earthward side of being and not upon the side of light"; they are essentially physical forces, and although they are the result of man's own effort and activity down the ages, they are largely unrealised, unseen obstacles to his progress. They constitute the lowest concentration of forces precipitated from levels of activity other and higher than the physical, as you understand physical substance. If one might use a phrase which, even if true, is misleading, they lie between the subtle inner man, mental and astral, and his physical brain. They are that which prevents brain registration of the world of causes and of meaning. This inner world can be emotional or mental in its focus and in its force precipitation on to the etheric plane. It can be the fused result of personality integration and be a combination of energies; or it can be dominated by the effects of soul energy. These, if evoked, can penetrate occultly and drive out or break down and through the separating veiling forces, thus producing coordination eventually between soul and brain.

(RI 210) When we can identify the Sound and are no longer "moved" by the O.M., then the initiate becomes a Christ in expression and makes His appearance, either in physical form or upon the planes of what to us might be called the "areas of non-appearance." He can then contain and utilise the energies of which the Spiritual Triad is the custodian and which are the expression of the will and purpose of God. Though the initiate may not be a part of the planetary government, and though he may not be a member of the Council at Shamballa (for only a limited number of initiates are so placed), he nevertheless has the right to move on identical levels and to prepare himself for those higher evolutionary processes which will give him entrance to the cosmic astral plane. This will enable him to "see through" [Page 202] and to recognise "cosmic glamour," and will give him the hidden key to the world of feeling and of sentiency of which our feeling-response and our emotional and intuitional sensitivity are but the dim and distorted reflections. This is a factor of some importance to have in mind if a right sense of proportion is to be developed. The initiate has learnt on earth that the astral plane is in fact non-existent—at least for those of the higher degrees of initiation. This knowledge constitutes the first step towards the comprehension of the secret of negation, towards a true understanding of the basis of the ever-existent pairs of opposites, and towards the knowledge which lies behind the significance of negation. The above sentence is in all probability of little meaning to you, but it nevertheless contains a truth for which the trials, experiences and initiations of planetary existence prepare the initiate. They endow him with those qualities which will enable him to contact cosmic evil and yet remain untouched, eventually to play his part in bringing the Black Lodge and its Brotherhood to an unholy finish. The roots of the Black Lodge are on the cosmic astral plane, as the roots of the White Lodge and its Brotherhood are on the cosmic mental plane; this is, in reality, only for the time being and in order to see certain organised activities upon the star Sirius perfected and carried to a consummation. This has oft been hinted in my writings.

(RI 232) It is through the disciples that the New Group of World Servers are brought under the stepped-down Aquarian influences; this has to be an individual matter, largely dependent upon the point of evolution. Some members of [Page 232] the New Group of World Servers will not respond in any way; they cannot. Others will respond as fully as their spiritual status permits. This inflow of Aquarian energy is one of the factors which will enable the Christ to complete His task as World Saviour and World Teacher; it will also enable Him to take the initiation which lies immediately ahead of Him and for which He has been preparing for close upon three thousand years—so exalted and peculiar an initiation it is. It is this influence also which has enabled the Master R. to assume the mantle of the Mahachohan and become the Lord of Civilisation—a civilisation which will be conditioned by the rhythm of the seventh ray.

Incidentally, it is this Aquarian influence which has given the adepts of the Black Lodge the power to bring universal death throughout the world. These evil beings have responded to the will energy of Shamballa and to the life-giving vitality, but have used it in keeping with their own evil intentions and with the power conferred by their standing upon the cosmic ladder of evil. Hence the war. I only mention this as a striking example of the oft misunderstood fact that the same energy or identical force will produce results within the consciousness of a Christ or within the consciousness of anti-Christ. It is the same energy, but the forms upon which it plays differ so vastly that in one case the will-to-good is intensified, and in the others the will-to-evil. Energy per se is entirely impersonal.

(RI 234) Recognition of the successful work of the New Group of World Servers will be accorded by the Hierarchy, and the testimony of the recognition will be the appearing of a symbol in the aura of the group—of the entire group. This will be a symbol projected by the Hierarchy, specifically by the Christ. What that symbol will be it is not for me to say. It is not yet fully earned, and only its dim and uncertain outline can be seen from the level on which the Masters work, and not at all from the level on which the group itself works. It is "the mark of a Saviour" and it will embody the mark or indication (the signature as medieval occultists used to call it) of a new type of salvation or salvage. Up till now the mark of the Saviour has been the Cross, and the quality of the salvation offered has been freedom from substance [Page 234] or the lure of matter and from its hold—a freedom only to be achieved at a great cost. The future holds within its silence other modes of saving humanity. The cup of sorrow and the agony of the Cross are well-nigh finished. Joy and strength will take their place. Instead of sorrow we shall have a joy which will work out in happiness and lead eventually to bliss. We shall have a strength which will know naught but victory and will not recognise disaster. Even the Black Lodge knew of this change in the mode of salvation, and hastily founded its groups of youths, banded together by the motto "joy through strength and strength through joy." It seems to be a law for group development to receive recognition from the side of evil, prior to that recognition coming from the good. But "after weeping cometh joy, and that joy cometh in the morning." Only the dawn is with us as yet—the dawn of the Aquarian Age. The full tide of light is inevitably moving upon its way towards us.

(RI 236) These forces and energies—from the zodiac or from one or other of the seven rays—have poured into and through our planetary Life for countless aeons. Each time that they cyclically make their appearance, the forms and substance in the three worlds upon which they impinge and through which they pass are different in the degree of evolutionary response and of sensitive reaction to impact. The response and the reactions of the human family as a whole, or of the individual within that whole, will differ from that of the previous cycle; with these factors the Hierarchy has to contend, changing cyclically its technique and altering its modes of work in order to meet the changing need. Bear this in mind. This has never been more evident to the Masters than today. The war might be regarded as a revolt by the form side of nature against the old conditions, and [Page 236] against the new incoming conditioning factors on the part of the Black Lodge. Between the two forces—one sensitive, onward moving, ready for that which is new and better, and the other reactionary, static and determined to gain a strangle hold upon the life within the form—the Hierarchy stands at the midway point:

This has been an epoch of crisis, and the great moment for which the Hierarchy has been preparing ever since it was founded upon the Earth. Slowly down the ages, men have been trained and prepared for initiation; they have been taught to develop the initiate-consciousness; they have taken then their place within the ranks of the Hierarchy and have—later—passed into the higher centre, Shamballa.

Previous conflicts were handled by the Hierarchy by intervening

(RI 237) As individual aspirants, you all know that this condition [Page 237] exists in the conflict waged interiorly and expressed exteriorly between the soul and the personality. The same conditioning factors can be seen also working in every group, organisation, world religion, and in every nation, as well as in the planet as a whole. Millions of years ago, the Hierarchy realised that such a time of crisis and of conflict was inevitable. The easiest way to handle it would have been as lesser conflicts were dealt with in the past—by a process of final intervention. Shamballa and the Hierarchy could have unitedly ended this world crisis, but it would then have again arisen and have gone on arising until humanity itself ended it once and for all upon the physical plane.

Black magicians can and often do take the 1^st and 2^nd initiations

(RI 348) I would point out also that even the black magician possesses these qualities, for they are the sine qua non of all magical art, both black and white; the black magician passes through the door of initiation as it opens twice for the first two initiations. He passes through on the strength of his will and his character accomplishments and because the group-conscious aspect of the soul is active in him as in his brother seeking affiliation with the Great White Lodge. The love aspect is, however, lacking in the black magician. Forget not that all is energy and there is nothing else. The energy which [Page 349] is an aspect of the soul and which we call magnetic attraction (the group-building quality) he shares with the spiritual aspirant. He is essentially group conscious, and though his motives are separative, his methods are those of the group, and these he can get only from the soul.

You see again another reason why the first and second initiations are not regarded by the Lodge of Masters as major initiations. Only the third is so regarded, because at that initiation the entire personality life is flooded with energy coming from the Spiritual Triad, via the "sacrifice petals" of the will and purpose aspect of the soul. To this type of energy the black magician is not responsive. He can and does respond to the knowledge—most ancient and hardly won—stored up in the "knowledge petals" of the souls he can appropriate and utilise the energy of attraction (erroneously called love by some students) stored up in the "love petals" of the soul, but he cannot respond to and use the energy of divine love, working out in the divine Plan which controls all knowledge and converts it into wisdom, and which actuates and clarifies the motive which brings loving magnetic attraction into action and which we call true group consciousness and group cohesion. It is at this point that the two ways—of darkness and of light—become widely divergent. Until the third initiation is taken, glamour may condition the attitude of those seeking to understand the life of a man upon the Path, and they may mistake the spurious for the real. The black magician leads a disciplined life, analogous to that of the spiritual aspirant; he practices purity for his own safeguarding and not in order that he may become a channel for the energy of light; he works with power (the power of magnetic attraction) with and in groups, but he does this for his own selfish ends and for the fulfillment of his own ambitious purposes. But at the third initiation there comes to the true spiritual initiate the revelation which is the reward of perseverance and purity rightly motivated—the revelation of the divine purpose, as the soul records it in terms of the hierarchical plan, though not yet in terms of the Monad. To this purpose and [Page 350] to the loving Will of God (to use a trite Christian phrase) the black brother cannot respond; his aims are different. You have here the true meaning of the oft-used and misunderstood phrase, "the parting of the ways."

But both groups of aspirants (the black and the white) stand before the door of initiation and take the needed steps to open it on two similar occasions. Both overcome glamour after the second initiation, and see their way clearly ahead; but their goals emerge as widely different; one treads the broad way which leads ever deeper into matter and materialism, into darkness and "black power"; the other leads to the straight and narrow way, to the razor-edged path which leads into light and life. One group has never freed itself from the principles which governed the first solar system. They were principles entirely related to matter and substance, and were at that time and in that period (so remote that the number of years of distance can be stated only in super-astronomical figures) the conditioning factors for the initiation of the time. Certain units of humanity—then existent—were so completely conditioned by these material principles and so deliberately unready for moving on to the comprehension of another set of principles (more expressive of the divine nature) that they remained of "fixed and selfish material purpose" and a planned distortion of the divine will was intelligently created by them. You have here a hint as to the nature of evil and a clue to a part (though only a part) of the mystery to be noted in the statement that evil and good are reverse aspects of the same one reality, and evil is that good which we should have left behind, passing on to greater and more inclusive good. Forget not that the black magicians of today were the initiates of a previous solar system. When the door of initiation is ready to open for the third time, the parting of the ways takes place. Some follow selfish intention and the fixed determination to remain with the separative condition of matter; and to others, the divine will is clearly impressed upon them and becomes the motivating power in their lives. It was under instructions from the Great White Lodge on Sirius that the door remains [Page 351] closed the third time to the dark brothers. Evil, as we understand it, has absolutely no place on Sirius.

To the black magician, at this third opportunity, the door of initiation presents an insuperable barrier and obstacle; to the true spiritual neophyte, the door connotes "overcoming." We shall not consider further the approach of the black brothers to that door, but shall confine ourselves to a consideration of the initiations of the Great White Lodge.

(DON 36) When the nature of the present struggle is better understood and its subjective causes are considered instead of the superficial objective reasons, then real progress will be made in the process of releasing humanity from the thraldom and the narrowness of the present civilisation and from the influence of the forces and energies which are responsible for the situation. These will be understood, correctly handled and rightly directed towards constructive and desirable ends. In the realm of this conflict, the great and fundamental law that "energy follows thought" always holds good, and one of the conditions which is inducing the present stress and strain is due to the fact that so many millions of people are beginning to think. This means that the ancient simplicity which has held good up to five hundred years ago is no longer controlling and the situation is much more complex. In ancient days the forces were largely controlled by the Lords of Materiality (those whom the ignorant and the prejudiced esotericist call "the black forces"); the forces of spirituality plus the thought of a handful of advanced men in the different nations were not so potent as they are today. The situation was then relatively simple. It was part of the [Page 36] evolutionary plan that matter and substance should temporarily control and that spirit should learn to "mount on the shoulders of matter" as the Ancient Wisdom puts it. Now, however, owing to the widespread education of the masses and the many means of worldwide propaganda, these masses are themselves either thinking independently or are thinking as directed by the powerful minds everywhere to be found and which are seeking to control world events. Hence the increasing difficulty of the problem and one that is equally difficult for the Lords of the Left Hand Way as it is for the Great White Lodge. This is a point which you should consider and discover the implications.

Humanity itself is rapidly arriving at the point where its united will will be the determining factor in world affairs and this will be due to the unfoldment of the mind through the success of the evolutionary process. It is right here that many experiments will be made (and are being made today) and many mistakes must inevitably take place. The major requirement therefore at this time is the rapid educating of the people in the Plan and in the nature of the forces which are controlling evolution and their directing agencies. The fact of the Hierarchy must be announced in no uncertain terms, thereby arousing public interest, public investigation and public recognition. In the process of so doing much will be learnt of the balancing group of initiates and adepts who work entirely with the material side of life and in whom (for this major cycle) the love aspect of the soul remains totally undeveloped, whereas the mind nature is potently expressing itself. If you will study what I have earlier given anent certain of the higher and lower expressions of the rays you will see how these two fields of endeavour — that of the Hierarchy, animated by love and that of the opposite pole, the Black Lodge, working entirely [Page 37] through mind and substance — are engaged and their close relationship will emerge. You will realise then that the margin of difference is very slight and is to be found solely in intention, in the underlying purpose and the concrete objectives which this group of material workers have set themselves. The major instrument of the Black Lodge is the organising power of the mind and not the coherent influence of love, as is the case with the Masters of the Wisdom. Yet in the natural process of form evolution, these workers on the darker side of life have their useful function. Because they are working predominantly through the mental principle, we find the susceptibility of the untrained masses to this mental imposition and the facility with which they can be regimented and standardised. They have no power to think with clarity for themselves and their minds are consequently plastic and receptive to the powerful forces directed by the two contributing groups — the spiritual workers of the planet and the material workers. Because the bulk of human beings are still materially focussed, the forces which work on the side of matter find a line of least resistance which is not available to the Masters of the Great White Lodge. This danger is, however, lessening decade by decade.

(DINAI 88) I would remind you also that the life of the disciple is ever a life of risks and of dangers, entered into willingly and deliberately in the cause of spiritual unfoldment and the service of humanity. But I would ask each of you to watch your emotional life and reactions with greatly increased care; I would ask you to watch particularly for the least outcropping of glamour. I would call your attention to the fact that the emergence of emotional conditions or of glamour in your life-expression need not necessarily indicate failure. There is only failure if there is identification with these astral conditions and a succumbing to old rhythms. The success of the meditation work assigned and regularly followed may be proved to you by the appearance of these undesirable conditions; they must be then recognised for what they are, and evoke in you that "divine indifference" which permits the emotion or the glamour to die of attrition, because deprived of the "feeding-power" of the attention. The whole history of true emotional control is to be found in the sentence just given. The process of achieving this control constitutes one of the most difficult periods in the life of the disciple and quite one of the longest from the angle of time. For this you should be prepared. Particularly is it difficult at this time to triumph over emotion because of the intense emotional condition of the entire human family and the widespread fear and terror for which the energy of the Black Lodge of Adepts is responsible. This definitely complicates your problem and that of all disciples: it tends to foster a most potent glamour. [Page 89] So I beg of you to proceed with courage, joy, understanding, extreme caution and—at the same time—with speed.

(RI 430) In the hands of the United States, Great Britain and Russia, and also in the hands of France, lies the destiny of the world disciple, Humanity. Humanity has been passing through the tests which are preparatory to the first initiation; they have been hard and cruel and are not yet entirely over. The Lords of Karma (four in number) are today working through these four Great Powers; it is, however, a karma which seeks to liberate, as does all karma. In the coming crisis, true vision and a new freedom, plus a wider spiritual horizon may be attained. The crisis, if rightly handled, need not again reach the ultimate horror.

A triangle of Evil in the world

The area of difficulty—as is well known—is the Near East and Palestine. The Jews, by their illegal and terroristic activities, have laid a foundation of great difficulty for those who are seeking to promote world peace. As a Jewish member of my Ashram pointed out (and I commend him on his soul vision), the Jews have partially again opened the door [Page 430] to the Forces of Evil, which worked originally through Hitler and his evil gang. The "sealing" of that door had not been successfully accomplished, and it is the part of wisdom to discover this in time. These Forces of Evil work through a triangle of evil, one point of which is to be found in the Zionist Movement in the United States, another in central Europe, and the third in Palestine. Palestine is no longer a Holy Land and should not be so regarded.

I would have you bear these points in mind while you investigate the world picture. This picture is taking shape and warrants recognition. It involves the Jews (who are not a nation but a religious group) the Near East and Russia. In the maps which are to be found in the Archives of the spiritual Hierarchy, the entire area of the Near East and Europe—Greece, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Palestine, the Arab States, Egypt and Russia—are under a heavy overshadowing cloud. Can that cloud be dissipated by the right thinking and planning of Great Britain, the United States and the majority of the United Nations or—must it break in disaster over the world? Will it present a task too hard for correct handling by that inexperienced disciple—Humanity?