Caption on cover - "Where there is Peace, there is Culture; Where there is Culture, there is Peace." Nicholas Roerich
Dear Networkers,
"Striving to Hierarchy creates that culture about which so much is spoken."1
In order to cultivate cultural beauty in your land, intelligent men and woman, families and groups, nations and their leadership must all strive to discard selfishness, separative thought, hatred and anger, jealousy, greed and treason, and orient their hearts to the Great Ones. The flame of culture is kindled through one's awakened awareness of and response to the Great Spiritual Life that pervades all kingdoms in Nature.
As I was reading and studying a book entitled Symphony of the Zodiac, giving some concentrated thought to the three upcoming annual festivals-Easter, Wesak and the Festival of Humanity-I learned of the spiritual correspondence between Culture, Hierarchy and the three major festivals: "The form of civilization or culture that we have is the result of conscious cooperation with the forces which cyclically pour into our planet and open up an opportunity for us. If we consciously cooperate with these forces on gradually higher and higher levels, the result will be a greater culture and a greater civilization."2
The forces which cyclically pour into our planet and open up an opportunity for us can be recognized in the sun's passage through the constellations of Aries, Taurus and Gemini, known to many as the three major festivals of Easter, Wesak and the Festival of Humanity. No matter what one's religious practices are, these three festivals belong to all of Humanity and to all Life. These three festivals can direct humanity toward the expression of higher values, ethics, and cooperative global endeavors if the millions of "points of light" in the world consciously cooperate with these cosmic forces in the same manner as they cooperate with the laws of the land.
Helena Roerich in Letters of Helena Roerich, Vol. I, quotes from Infinity: "Great unity in Cosmos holds sway like a powerful law. Only those who accept this law may truly participate in the cosmic cooperation. The unity of essence in everything directs humanity toward creation. When the consciousness draws from the treasury of space..."3
In this volume of Meditation Monthly International you will find the stories of three dedicated points of light who are striving to create a culture based upon the principles of the Great Ones, the principle of Beauty. Each person was interviewed by a member of our staff who is herself a point of light striving toward Hierarchy.
Shanti,
Joleen D. Du Bois
joleen@wmea-world.org
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Culture and the Seven Rays
Astrological influences and energies
Culture is the effect
and outer expression of inner, underlying causes. We can realize how profoundly
important are the various interplay of esoteric energies in our little
cosmos, Earth. The Tibetan gives us a wealth of Teaching about esoteric
astrological influences, which will be briefly mentioned here. 
The One Life expresses Itself through seven basic qualities, and through a myriad diversity of forms. These seven radiant qualities are called the Seven Rays. "The seven stars of the Great Bear are the originating sources of the seven rays of our solar system... Each of these seven rays, coming from the Great Bear, are transmitted into our solar system through the medium of three constellations and their ruling planets."1 Our solar system is made from the Cosmic Second Ray of Love-Wisdom; consequently, all of the Seven Rays in our solar system are sub-rays of the Second Cosmic Ray. As our sun enters into each constellation, the ray energies are poured into our planet.
The rays of a leader of a country can be quite responsible for the direction the country takes and the manner in which it relates to other countries. Take, for example, the iron will of a Margaret Thatcher, or the idealism of a Ronald Reagan.
As the rays and sub-rays cycle in and out of manifestation, and as they wax and wane in strength, the expressed qualities manifesting in all fields of human living change, develop, and blend. The emergence of certain religious groups, the beginning of wars, developments in science, and great educational and philanthropic movements, can all be noted by the esotericist to correspond to the undulating influx of cycling ray energies and their impact on our way of life.
By Brad Berg
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Culture can be understood as that which differentiates one country or one race or one civilization from another. It is defined through the way people dress or eat or pray, observe various customs and traditions, or through the way they express themselves, in any particular place or time or country, in the fields of politics, education, communication, the arts, science, religion, or economics. This all-too-familiar definition, however, serves only as a limitation to true understanding. To comprehend culture, one must recognize its effect. In the evolution of mankind, the creation and impact of culture depends upon the degree to which man has been able to contact his inner Divinity and express this contact creatively. Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle said, "The great law of culture: let each become all that he was created capable of being." Thus the world's culture is diverse and affects humanity according to the level expressed.
English poet and literary critic Matthew Arnold wrote: "Culture [is] the acquainting ourselves with the best that has been known and said in the world, and thus with the history of the human spirit." Culture is what molds us. As children our experiences set a foundation from which we grow and blossom. The following article contains three people's cultural beginnings, three spiritual students who seek to express beauty in their lives, because they have come to understand that "Culture is the translation and interpretation of beauty." 1
Monique was born in Holland. Her father was mayor and city manager, and because of his position and love of people, her house was always a bustling center of activity. People from all fields of human endeavor were invited regularly to partake in meals, which were punctuated by lively discussions. It was through such exposure that Monique developed the understanding that "culture is not limited to art, but finds many different forms of human expression." Monique remembers going to art exhibits and concerts at City Hall, which her father had arranged. Besides his governmental duties, her father was a painter, a musician, a ceramist, and a photographer. He also organized arts classes for the children of the community. "When we were little," said Monique, "we would go to ceramics classes, sculpture classes and drawing classes. When I was about fifteen years old, I became an artist." Monique enrolled in an art school where the printmaking department was considered to be the best. She found this to be true because "the teacher went beyond the technique. He tried to teach the students that what they do should have some meaning." Monique became a printmaker, skilled in the art of intaglio.
In speaking about art, she said, "When you look at a Nicholas Roerich painting you get lifted to another dimension, where your personal hatreds or prejudices-things that are preventing you from improving yourself-wash away. Always that should be the [point of creativity], to help us overcome those things that prevent us from becoming what we really are. Some movies, for example, are artistic and aesthetically beautiful and 'correct,' but the effect is that it creates fear and hatred. We have to realize the results may be different than what we think."
As the years passed, life led Monique away from the field of fine arts into the area of business management. She describes her leap from the world of art into the world of business as a new opportunity to find beauty and express it: "What God wants the creation to be, there is a blueprint for that, and that blueprint is Beauty. Beauty is a different language. Beauty is totally non-separative. It does not say this race or that race, this expression or that expression. When we try to translate Beauty, it becomes culture: a translation of that blueprint. I am striving to express as much as possible of the blueprint.
"What I would like to do is to inspire people to have
the feeling of striving to go beyond themselves, to go from what they are
now to what they can be. I used to focus on problems, because it was what
was going on. But people cannot be inspired if you do not go to something
greater." 
The impact of culture and the appreciation of beauty in creating form was no more respected and applied than by Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the most innovative and influential architects in modern times. He believed in what he termed "organic architecture," a building style based on natural forms. In 1938, Wright created Taliesin West, a Western home and workshop and, most importantly, a school for aspiring young architects...
Charles was born the son of a Paiute Indian. He was adopted at the age of three and grew up in what he terms a "conventional small town" in northern California. His inclination toward things artistic showed itself at a very early age. Encouraged by his parents, his abilities were cultivated. Then in his senior year in high school, he said, "someone opened the world of architecture to me and it brought all my abilities into one focus." During his first year in college, Charles was told by a fellow architectural student about an architectural school in Arizona called Taliesin West. It was at Taliesin that Charles was to receive training that would be applicable in his profession and provide a foundation for his spiritual education.
"The emphasis of Taliesin," Charles said, "was the integration of basic aesthetic principles into all aspects of daily life. Through Taliesin and its cultural life, both small and large expressions of life became important, from the flower arrangement on the table to the color of the wall, the way a person dresses, the way a person speaks and moves-all of these attributes living as a unique manifestation of beauty. The ideal is that, in very simple and natural ways, an individual carries culture with and through him. It is not appliqué. As Frank Lloyd Wright stated, 'Culture is of the man, not on the man.' The ideal is that there is no imitation or mimic in the person. He is an individual and is evolving through his inherent natural self."
Charles told of a prologue to a book that Frank Lloyd Wright had written, in which after studying the animal kingdom, Wright asked, "Why is it when they [animals] build their abode the outcome of the activity of their construction is innately and inherently beautiful?" Charles: "He said that man, with very few exceptions, does not build beauty.
"In a lecture, Torkom Saraydarian said that the inherent beauty of a flower is there because it comes to life; creative energy flows through it, without the interference of form. Its destiny is manifest. It will be beautiful. For man, the interference of form is in the aspect of personality ego and vanity. The same process, the creative energy that flows through creation needs to flow in man the same way as it flows through the flower. The endeavor to integrate culture in our daily life begins with getting rid of the interference on a personality basis. The essence of culture of our daily life in American civilization is based upon the uniqueness of each individual following and clearing the form to manifest beauty."
"Organic architecture is... the growth in space of an idea... Furthermore it is the art of building wherein aesthetic and construction not only approve but prove each other." Frank Lloyd Wright
Charles: "An architect needs to sublimate preconceived ideas when approaching the design of a new building. As much as possible, elements of design must be seen for what they are and how they coexist and by what context they function. Some of the elements of design are: views, orientation of the sun relative to energy conservation, direction of prevailing breezes, slope or terrain of the property, adjacent man-made features such as roads or other buildings, availability and level of sophistication of local tradesmen, building codes and ordinances, aesthetic sensitivity and expectation of the client, and, of course, encompassing all-the budget. The greater the number of design elements synthesized by the architect's creative perception, the greater is the resulting concept. For an architect, a preconceived idea is often the interference of personality, while a study of the nature of the various elements of design is the process which evolves new thoughts and opens to view new relationships and syntax. Concept as a result of new thought inspires. This inspiration is the basis of culture."
"The profound naturalness of his own being is the essential condition of a great architect and the condition of greatness in the man. Expect from him a system of philosophy and ethics which is a synthesis of society and civilization... His concern is the heart of humanity. He, of all men, must see into the life of things; know their honor." Frank Lloyd Wright
"Civilization is making things work," said Charles. "Culture evolves through group effort, where the synthesis of resolution of creative energies are for the benefit of the whole through the effort of a greater creative energy. From this, because there is a group need and the need is reflected, the outcome is culture."
Adrienne's cultural education began at home, on the isthmus of Panama. Adrienne's mother was an artist and a writer, as were her grandparents and other members of her family. They were cultivated people, she said, who lived in beautiful environments. Books and paintings filled Adrienne's world. It all served as a springboard that would feed her fascination for art, architecture, and the study of art history. After moving to the United States at the age of twenty-four, Adrienne began working in an art gallery. One year later she moved to Taliesin, where she worked in the Frank Lloyd Wright archives.
"It was in going to Taliesin," said Adrienne, "that I became conscious that Beauty and Culture were ideals that have a transforming effect. Most of us go through life and we want to live in a lovely home with a garden, go to museums and concerts, and have a certain quality of life, but we are unconscious of the deeper meaning of these things-that Culture and Beauty can be used to transform ourselves. For example, when a young student first came to Taliesin, he brought with him lots of baggage from the outside, and it was interesting to watch him 'smooth out' through an exposure to the beauty of the desert, to the building, and to a lifestyle that emphasized aesthetics and culture."
Mrs. Frank Lloyd Wright studied with G. I. Gurdjieff, who established the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man at Fountainebleau, France. Years after her tutelage, she sent her daughter to Paris to learn the Gurdjieff movements, or temple dances, which she then taught to the Taliesin Fellowship. Temple dances involve learning precise movements that are performed synchronously. In the book Spiritual Regeneration, it is explained that temple dances are "disciplinary processes to create alignment within one's body, between the body and Soul, and between the Soul and the audience."2 "They were very difficult," said Adrienne, "but now I think I could do almost anything. The movements help enormously to organize you interiorly; they center you. And learning them gives you confidence, simply because you see you can do difficult things."
Today, Adrienne manages her husband's architectural office. She is also working on her master's thesis about the Gilded Age (1885-1905) in America. "This was a period when great fortunes were being amassed," said Adrienne, "and the newly formed upper class believed they were charged with the responsibility of establishing not only the standards of behavior but also the aesthetic and cultural standards of the nation. These standards would, in effect, filter down to the lower classes and eventually became the level of the country. Some very important things resulted from this Victorian ideology. For example, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was created by a group of private citizens so that the general public would be able to experience and educate themselves about art.
"Today when we see the great houses and art collections created in that period we regard them as examples of greed or 'conspicuous consumption.' But there were strong ideals at work then and a real desire to create beauty and uplift the cultural level of the nation. So you see, Art History is about making connections, presenting the whole picture."
What do you think is the greatest responsibility for an creative people in today's world? "Creativity is a spiritual process, and it's just hogwash to leave it out. People write volumes about Frank Lloyd Wright, for example, but miss the fact that he was an intensely spiritual man. Most artists, at least those who make a difference, express their beliefs in their work; they are fulfilling their responsibilities. It's our responsibility, as stewards of our Culture, to learn about great art, to make it a part of our lives, to keep it alive."
The Ageless Wisdom Teachings say that there are four distinct levels of culture. The first is mass culture, culture created for the personality life of the human being. It is culture that sells us everything from soda to cigarettes and, especially through the arts, stimulates our personality desires for sex, food, and money. The second level of culture occurs when man makes a contact with his Soul and is inspired to create something beautiful. Because of Soul culture, there are great works of art, masterpieces of music, magnificent cathedrals, and words that stir our souls. These works last for centuries. The next level of culture is expressed by those who are able to touch an even higher level of divinity within themselves, a level that has been reached only through great striving, sacrifice and labor. It is culture that has the ability to transform people's natures. It is culture that is timeless in its ability to touch others.
The fourth level of culture belongs to those whose spiritual progress has unfolded to such a fiery degree that they have come to embody Divinity. It is through the radiation of such Great Ones that culture is transformed and civilizations are created. "The culture of Avatars renews itself age after age. It can keep renewing itself because of the power of the Avatars to raise the level of consciousness of humanity and to increase the ability to interpret culture. The culture of Avatars brings bliss and striving for humanity, brings revelations for humanity toward which walk all those who are awakening into the reality of such a culture."3
by Kathryn Agrell
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