The keynote of the New Age is Group consciousness - Groups, who with an awakened sense of Purpose, have expanded their consciousness through higher principles, higher values, and a deep sense of living ethics to better serve Life and Nature; Groups who are establishing goals to serve as a magnetic force in developing global responsibility, unity and service; Groups who are a part of the New Group of World Servers.
The New Age is not about an illusive movement of people who have created alternatve living communities of crystal gazers, aura balancers, "channelers" and past-lifers. The New Age is about a consciousness of national, international, Global and Universal communities who are in recognition of the need for World Service, as well as creatively striving tro serve the recognized need.
The New Age is about vision; it is about responsibility to the citizens of the world, and nobility. The New Age is about raising the consciousness of humanity to the principles of Beauty, Goodness, Trust, Goodwill, Freedom, Joy and Future.
"It is of importance that you realize that today something new is happening. There is the emergence of a new kingdom in nature, the fifth kingdom; this is the Kingdom of God on earth or the kingdom of souls. It is precipitating on earth and will be composed of those who are becoming group-conscious and who can work in group formation. This will be possibile, because these people will have achieved a self-initiated perfection (even if relative in nature) and will be identified with certain group expansions of consciousness. It will also be because they have arrived at a love of their fellowmen, just as they have loved themselves in the past. Think on this with clarity, my brothers, and grasp, if you can, the full significance of this last sentence." 1
Shanti,
Joleen D. DuBois
President
joleen@wmea-world.org
1. Discipleship in the New Age, A.A. Bailey (Lucis Trust, 1971), p.3
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In Challenge for Discipleship by Torkom Saraydarian, we read:
"According to the Ancient Wisdom, an age lasts 2500 years. Our sun travels through the signs of the zodiac, and every 2500 years, it enters the energy field of a new sign. The age is called by the name of whatever sign the Sun is in. For example, we were in the Piscean Age for 2500 years; now we are in the Aquarian Age, because our Sun is entering more and more deeply into the energy field of Aquarius. As our Sun enters a new sign, everything on our planet is influenced, and many changes take place in humanity as well as in other kingdoms. Thus the planetary life slowly changes and adapts itself to the energy patterns of the great constellation in which the Sun is.
"We will have twelve new ages. Then we will repeat these ages in higher and higher spheres, with purer and greater responses to the principle each sign is presenting to us. The progress of humanity goes very slowly if humanity as a whole does not consciously cooperate with the principles of each sign. Those who strive, labor, meditate and lead a life in harmony with the presented principles speed their evolution and lead humanity in its many departments of endeavor. However, the majority of people do not make substantial progress This is why events in history of humanity almost always repeat themselves.
"Each constellation presents certain principles, laws and directions. The power of the influence of the sign increases as humanity receives, assimilates and creatively uses these principles, laws and directions.
"We may say that the energies of a constellation affect us like our food does: If we swallow food without chewing, digesting and assimilating it, it becomes a burden in our digestive system and a poison for our body. But if the food is digested and assimilated, it becomes nourishment for our body.
It often happens that when the energies of new constellations are not digested and assimilated by our psychic mechanism and expressed in our life, there is a period of temporary degeneration. This is especially noticeable at the time when our Sun is entering the new field of energy of the constellation. We see anarchy, wars, degeneration off morals and values, the increase of crimes of various kinds; we see the spread of fear, hatred and greed. Sometimes this period is the most critical period of the cycle, in which humanity goes through a dark night and eventually adjusts itself in some degree to the principles of the new age."
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The astrological symbol of Aquarius is the water bearer. What is the function of the water bearer? It is to serve, to nourish and to sustain through creative fire the spiritual aspect of this new era in the expanding consciousness of mankind. It is to bring forth the divinity, which we call the spark or the human soul, that dwells within each individual. This places a responsibility upon humanity to actively participate in this act of unfolding. How do we begin? Here are but a few methods that can be followed:
Relative to this, the Tibetan has taught us:
"The practical aspect of the mode of elimination of the hindrances can also be simply stated. The vision will appear as fact on Earth when individuals willingly submerge their personal interests in the good of the group; when the group or groups merge their interests in the national good, when nations give up their selfish purposes and aims for international good, and when this international right relation is based upon the total good of humanity itself. Thus the individual can play his part in the bigger whole, and his help is needed."..1
Group work will be of utmost importance as individuals renounce selfish motivations and turn their attention to working for the good of humanity. This eventually will enable the Law of Brotherhood to be made manifest. Brotherhood is a Group quality. Today there are groups consisting of people who may or may not succees in contributing to a common goal or purpose. The New Age will consist of integrated Group members exercising full cooperation toward a common purpose. Groups will become a cause, not an effect.
In The Reappearance of the Christ by A.A. Bailey, it states that in the Aquarian Age, "The five kingdoms in Nature will begin to function as one creative whole. Their work falls into the following parts, functions or activities:
a. The production of a human synthesis or unity which will lead to a universal recognition of the one humanity, brought about through right human relations.
b. The establishing of right relations with the subhuman kingdoms of nature, leading to the universal recognition that there is One World.
c. The anchoring of the Kingdom of God, the Spiritual Hierarchy of our planet, in an open expression on Earth, thus leading to the universal recognition that the sons of men are one. 2
In the New Age, there will be increased attention given to developing contact with the Soul, so that the personality can become the server of the Soul, and man can learn to function from subjective levels. This means dedicating one's self to increasing one's own spirituality until a desireable balance can be affected between spirituality and materiality.
In the New Age, it will be discovered that mankind is endowed with talents, capabilities and beauty never before imagined. The New Age will provide an opportunity for the development and expression of these treasures as long as they are directed toward the future of mankind in consort with guidance from the Soul.
We hear utterances such as : "The world is changing," "Everything is different." This is true, because as a new era approaches, change occurs as new energies displace old ones. Degeneration is evidenced in all fields of human endeavor, as well as in man's physical, emotional, and mental natures. It becomes a test for each one of us to see if we can withstand the new energies, whether we will grow from the change or fail to meet the challenge. ët is important that all disciples stay alert to the need to apply the higher spiritual laws of Beauty, Unity, Love, Harmlessness, Synthesis, Cooperation and Responsibility in their lives. The application of these laws is the basis for preparing for the work to be done in the Aquarian Age.
What is the New Age? It is the coming era when there will be presented to humanity the greatest opportunity for Freedom that has ever been available. The Aquarian Age means that the time and the circumstances are favorable for the ending of:separatism and selfishness, the conflict of human relationships, and the preponderance of materiality, parochialism, crystallizations and attachments to that which has become obsolete. This will be supplanted by: right human relations, inclusiveness, synthesis, universality, harmlessness, sacrificial service, cooperation among all beings, right use of higher energies and principles, brotherhood, higher values and standards, and group consciousness. The groundwork is being laid, limitations of ages past are diminishing, and the concepts of selfless service for humanity, as well as the awareness of a Hierarchical Plan, are beginning to be grasped. Humanity has reached the point where striving will fulfill the Vision that is embodied in the hearts and minds of all true servers.
By Rev. Laura Elizabeth Crow
______________________
1. The Externalization of the Hierarchy, A.A. Bailey (Lucis
Publishing Co., 1957), p. 244.
2. The Reappearance of the Christ, A.A. Bailey, (Lucis Publishing
Co., 1948), p. 78.
3. The Year 2000 & After, Torkom Saraydarian (T.S.G. Publishing
Foundation, Inc., 1991), p. 191.
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Blavatsky's motto was "There is no religion higher than truth." She appeared at a time when western religion had all but given up the true principles of Christ and western science was only interested in what could be seen, weighed or measured. The people's longing for spiritual development had been blunted and they had no place to turn for guidance. Blavatsky proved that there were unseen Higher Worlds and more advanced Beings, such as Christ, Buddha, Zoroaster and many others who came into incarnation to help humanity whenever the avenues to Higher Worlds, toward higher levels of consciousness, were totally blocked by materialism. In her greatest work, The Secret Doctrine, she told how these Great Beings gave humanity the vision toward an expanded consciousness. She emphasized that love and compassion toward all life, and striving hard to express the virtues, were the ways to progress. Without her, the New Age consciousness would have, at the very least, been long delayed.
The second great woman was Helena Roerich. She called her teaching "The Living Ethics." "Living," because it was practical and could be applied in daily living, and would bring about world improvement, as well as personal improvement. Her major works were her two volumes, The Letters of Helena Roerich, and the fourteen volumes on Agni Yoga. She wrote,"Those who wish to follow Christ exclusively should follow Him. But let them clearly define which Christ they want to serve, the evangelical Christ or the Christ of the latter-day churchmen. In this realization, there will already be a shifting of the consciousness. None of the Great Teachers will ever demean any one of the Great Founders of ancient or later religions, because, verily, the very same Ego has many a time reincarnated in some of them."
She also wrote, "It is necessary to establish the science of thinking in schools, not as an abstract psychology, but as the practical foundation of memory, attention, concentration and observation. True, apart from these four fundamental branches of the science of thinking, many other qualities require development: accuracy, resourcefulness, quickness, synthesis, originality and others. If even a part of the effort used in schools for sports were applied to the art of thinking, the results would be astounding."
The third great woman was Alice A. Bailey, who wrote twenty-four books, which were published by the Lucis Press. Titles of the books include: Letters on Occult Meditation, Esoteric Astrology, A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, The Rays and the Initiations, and Roerich's Unfinished Biography.
Bailey explains how the sequence of events in human history parallel the Cosmic events leading to the present Aquarian Age. She said, "I discovered...that there is a great and divine Plan. I found that this universe of ours is not a 'fortuitous concurrence of atoms,' but that it is the working out of a great design or pattern...that race after race of human beings had appeared and disappeared upon our planet and that each civilization and culture had seen humanity step forward a little further upon the path of return to God."
The pure Teaching given by these remarkable women, about how humanity needs to strive toward the virtues, practice Living Ethics, love and compassion, are helping to bring about the New Age. Without these three, great women, there would still be an Aquarian Age, but there would not be a New Age for humanity.
By Harold Balyoz, author *
* Three Remarkable Women by Harold Balyoz, which relates the life and work of Helene P. Blavatsky, Helena Roerich and Alice A. Bailey, may be ordered through the White Mountain Bookstore, P.O. Box 11975, Prescott, Az. 86304.
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Yuga is a Hindu term for the measurement of a world age. According to the Hindu system there have been four world ages, which, together, represent more than four million years of Earthly existence. Kali-Yuga, the age in which we are now living, is referred to as a "dark age," or "black age," out of which will arise Satya-Yuga, the "Golden Age." The Ageless Wisdom Teachings tell us that we are in the final days of Kali Yuga, and that it is a time of great opportunity for mankind to break through age-long crystallizations of separatism, hatred and fear. "People may feel that for some reason they cannot start doing anything. Such a mood is caused by a change of rhythm. One's inner consciousness may have already assimilated the future, but the mechanical routine is the result of the hypnotic effect of Kali Yuga. This is a state of divided consciousness, which also affects the general rhythm of Our Work. Various calamities threaten Earth. Karma works intensely...Thus the forces are intensified during the change of Yugas. Let us be aware of this and let us fill our hearts with courage." (Supermundane, from Paragraph 111, p. 181, Agni Yoga Society)
"Falsehood and darkness fill the end of Kali Yuga. One must realize this in order not to lose one's strength. It is impossible to avoid the dark days, and only a knowledge of their cause will give one the patience to survive them...We all must now adapt ourselves to the fiery elements...I consider that it is time to call people to the understanding of Be-ness." (Fiery World I, Verse 435, Agni Yoga Society, Inc.)
We are admonished to understand Be-ness, to develop our hearts, to keep focussed upon the Higher Worlds, to develop the quality of courage if we are to create a future for humanity. "Long ago it was said, "Blessed are the obstacles, by them we grow." Thus, also in the most ancient Hindu scriptures it is said that the Kali Yuga is particularly useful for spiritual perfectment, and that which in the Satya Yuga could only be achieved through hundreds of thousands of incarnations can be attained in Kali Yuga in a few lives...But, of course, here as ever, only strong spirits who love to overcome difficulties are particularly successful, whereas lukewarm ones, who choose the easiest and irresponsible path, are destined to hard toil, which will finally lead them to a most difficult path. Therefore, profoundly just and scientific are the words from the Apocalypse, "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."
(Letters of Helena Roerich, Vol. II, p. 232, Agni Yoga Society, Inc.)
So let us move forward and strive to overcome the obstacles. As it is said in the Eastern Teachings, "Verily, excellent is the Kali Yuga (black Yuga), as it offers us a possibility of hastening our approach to the light. All difficulties are possibilities, and a victory achieved is a step in the ascension."
Letters of Helena Roerich, p. 482, Agni Yoga Society, Inc.)
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