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THE WORK OF THE SPIRITUAL HIERARCHY OF EARTH ACCORDING TO ALICE BAILEY





About this subject, Alice Bailey signaled the following:

The outstanding and dramatic feature of Hierarchical action in the present era is the preparation now under way in the Hierarchy for its return to outer plane activity. (1)  It is important, therefore, that more people know about the fact of the Hierarchy and about what sort of men the Masters of Wisdom really are.

These men are skilled and experienced spiritual executives. They are far more practical and realistic than the most efficient big business executives in our modern world. They are far more potent in affecting world events than are the most powerful leaders of any nation or government in the world. They make a constant study of human affairs, watching human trends and human planning for world betterment. (2)

With very few exceptions, which are incidental to finding personnel for their work, they have no time to deal with individuals. Until a man is useful to them in their work, he cannot contact them. To be valuable to them, he must have achieved to some degree, their point of view and sense of values. (3)

To do this, we need to know something of what they are trying to do and why they are trying to do it. Regarding this, certain basic and important things are known and can be stated. Among these are:

1) They work according to plan and are known as "The Custodians of the Plan." This Plan is for all men everywhere in the world, and works out under the impelling power of evolution itself. Local action in any one country or race is only undertaken for the benefit of the whole humanity.

2) They work under law and never coerce or pressure humanity. Individual freedom, particularly mental freedom, is never infringed.

3) Anything which is really good for humanity as a whole is a legitimate aid to their work and fits in to the fundamental purpose of the Plan itself. For example, the establishing of right human relations between races and nations and groups, of every kind; the substitution of co-operation for competition in all departments of human affairs; the growth of the recognition and use of the power of goodwill.

4) The Plan is long range and from our standpoint moves slowly, but its achievement can be hastened, thus saving ages of pain, suffering and misery. Timing in relation to world events is an important factor, and the Masters have great skill in the wise utilization of the time factor.

5) Until the Hierarchy again moves openly on the physical plane among men, they work through their disciples. (4)  The externalisation of the Hierarchy will transcend this limitation but will involve many problems, experiments and some risks.

6) The work of the Hierarchy naturally falls into specified fields of action which are determined by developing world consciousness, the increasing general intelligence and the possibility of practical effectiveness.

7) The main fields of Hierarchical enterprise are seven in number and have been listed as follows:

8) The three major fields of activity are religious, scientific and political. The fourth is cultural. Later, definite action was taken in three more fields, philosophical, psychological and financial. (5)

9) The work since the 15th century has been carried forward by the sending out of senior disciples, qualified and trained to work in these particular fields. A number of such disciples appeared at about the same time, sometimes in different parts of the world, working separately, but producing an effect upon human consciousness. Today, all of the work is interrelated and co-ordinated into one worldwide group effort, and the senior members of this group who are responsible for the implementing of the Plan in these various fields have been called "The New Group of World Servers." (6)

The results of the work accomplished in these seven fields can be clearly seen.

  a. The entire level of human intelligence has been raised and the minds of men made generally more active in all races everywhere. Humanity has progressed to a state where an intelligent public can discuss world problems.

  b. Basic cleavages and separateness unrecognized 500 years ago are now recognized as harmful and remedies are sought.

  c. World interrelation, intercommunication and economic interdependence has been achieved, thus guaranteeing ultimate world unity. (7)

  d. Progress from the old ways and ideas into the new has produced a natural division of intelligent men and women into two general basic attitudes, the conservative and the progressive. This applies in all fields of human affairs producing clarifying comparisons which bring opportunity of choice and therefore opportunity for improvement.

  e. A widespread philanthropic enterprise, utterly unknown before the year 1500, has appeared which is the practical result of the growth of the concept of the brotherhood of humanity.


Hierarchical work is so quietly and smoothly developed and so effectively expressive of expanding human consciousness, that when it is well advanced it appears quite natural and reasonable. In the early stages, however, generally it is radical and even revolutionary and often meets determined opposition. Because Hierarchical work is always in advance of human consciousness and is seeking to lead the entire human family forward, it is always pioneering. Accepted disciples, therefore, working consciously at the Plan are spiritual pioneers and must have the courage that goes with this position, and must have the perseverance which is required to produce fundamental changes. (8)

All works according to the Plan under the guidance of the Spiritual Hierarchy. Ignorance and greed are the main hindrances. Spiritual education cures one; goodwill in action cures the other.

One of the important next stages in the development of Hierarchical world work is in the recognition which must be achieved between the senior disciples of the world so that they will naturally and successfully support and strengthen each other. Then the entire field or Hierarchical enterprise can be co-ordinated externally as well as subjectively as is the case now. This has to be the result of an achievement by the disciples themselves. For this purpose, they must be given the story of the Hierarchy and its Plan and its method of work, for in the great majority of cases these disciples do not have this knowledge in their physical plane consciousness, although of course, on the inner side, they are aware of it.

Paralleling this increased co-operation of the disciples of the world, action must be taken to acquaint the intelligent men and women of goodwill in the world with these same facts in such terms that they will gladly give support to the various projects now in operation, and those soon to be inaugurated in connection with the reappearance of the Christ. A third main hindrance to the Plan is the spiritual inertia of the men of goodwill.

All truly spiritual work finds its place in one of the seven fields of Hierarchical action and all accepted disciples work at some aspect of one of these fields. Each disciple makes his own choice as to what spiritual work he engages in. This choice is a natural choice arising from the fitness of things and his capacity which is put into action by his soul and carried forward by the soul-infused personality.

When the working disciple on the physical plane finally accepts his job consciously, he then will proceed to study the problems involved and become intelligently effective in that field. He thus demonstrates by service that he is an accepted disciple.

The financial department of Hierarchical work is the latest to be organized in point of time. The workers in this field have been spoken of as the custodians of the means whereby man can live on the physical plane. This group controls and orders the means whereby man exists, controlling all that can be converted into energy and controlling all modes of intercourse, commerce and exchange. They control the supply and distribution of all of the things on the physical plane which humanity regards as essential to its proper way of life.  Money is vital energy externalized and this form of energy as used by humanity is under the direction of the financial group. Their work is most carefully planned by the Hierarchy. Today many men of financial stature regard money as a responsibility to be dispensed wisely for the service of others. Among such men are found leaders in the Hierarchical financial group. (9)

Humanity all over the world has so organized its various types of civilization and affairs that it is today practically impossible to do anything effective, except on a very tiny scale, without the use of considerable sums of money.

The work of the financial group is still in its early stages but it has already achieved outstanding results. Control of world food supplies for the benefit of human beings instead of for profit or national aggrandizement is an ideal far enough developed so that it cannot be prevented from its ultimate achievement. The next great struggle and its climaxing achievement will be the safe-guarding of atomic energy from the big business combines that will fight for its control for profit, and its development and use for human progress and welfare. (10)

Meanwhile, millions of money are already diverted from purely selfish purposes into all sorts of relief of suffering, health research and cure, scientific research, educational advantages for the masses, etc. Whereas 500 years ago to give away money was the act of a crazy man, now all intelligent men of goodwill habitually contribute according to their means to worthy causes and such conduct is accepted as a mark of right and wise action. This of itself is a fundamental change in humanity's sense of values with far reaching effects. This trend is on the rapid increase.

The financial group is one of the most synthetic of all the Hierarchical projects because all spiritual work must have money. (11)  Workers in this group therefore serve all groups. The success of the work of this group is increasingly essential for the progress of all work in all fields. The crux of the problem of spiritual work in the world is today a financial one. The work lags, time is lost, opportunities are missed and only small results achieved, mainly because in the modern world discipleship work is inadequately financed. The problem is how to direct money into the Hierarchical work which is controlled by disciples. For this purpose the power of group invocation can be and is being used, plus effective practical personal action. Lack of money for Hierarchical work is the fourth main hindrance to the Plan.

Through the enlightened plans of the world intelligentsia, leading humanitarians and the servers of the race, it will be possible to establish those spiritual principles and the correct co-operative relationships which should distinguish human affairs in the future. If the plans go as desired, definite results will be achieved through the big educational systems, worldwide propaganda institutions, and all agencies which work to educate and direct public thinking and to mould public opinion.


GREAT INVOCATION

From the point of Light within the Mind of God
Let light stream forth into the minds of men.
Let Light descend on Earth.

From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into the hearts of men.
May Christ return to Earth.

From the centre where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide the little wills of men -
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.

From the centre which we call the race of men
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out.
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.
Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth. (12)





And about what Alice Bailey said, the Theosophist Victor Endersby added the followings comments:

1. In other words, the building up of a body opposing the teachings of H.P. Blavatsky, under the deceptive guises aforesaid, to culminate in the seventies and eighties as a blockade to the real Mission of that period, which will reaffirm H.P.B.'s teachings.

2. Note the appeal to the supposed psychology of the substantial business men by whom the "Return of the Christ" is presumably to be financed.

3. If you are one of the few who can swallow all this, you are in. Note the subtle flattery.

4. How nice to be one!

5. Making up the traditional seven. The "patron saint" idea. And how could a potential recruit resist such intimate knowledge of the inner plans of Great Beings?

6. No competition. Either you are a member of the "World Servers" or you are out.

7. It has?

8. Your acceptance of the "Plan" proves that you have those qualities, naturally

9. Business-like appeal to business men. But if this "group" controls and orders everything so wisely, why is it that world economics are chronically in such a hell of a mess? One supposes that the European Common Market was their idea - it must have been if they control everything. But who controls De Gaulle?

10. It seems to us that something much more important would be to safeguard humanity from being blown off the planet by atomic energy. This was supposed to be accomplished by the success of Theosophy as H.P.B. taught it - if accomplished at all. But we seem to be out of luck and on our own here, because no military branch of the "Hierarchy" is named. That would make eight and this would break all the rules.

11. The whole Hierarchy looks pretty "synthetic" to us.

12. This invocation looks as though the "cultural" department of the "Hierarchy" was taking a nap at the moment.


(Theosophical Notes, September 1963, p.26a-30)












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