(The material for this chapter was written prior to the declaration of war in 1939.)

C.I. The World Situation

The bringing into manifestation of the New Age upon earth and the accompanying emergence of the fifth kingdom of souls, is a task which calls for the united and concerted efforts of all those who are applying themselves to achieve this objective. It also needs the cooperative endeavors of that more advanced portion of humanity that is sensitive to these new influences, who can grasp the nature and far reaching potentialities of this momentous happening, and who are, therefore, prepared to share, to the best of their ability, in the response to the need of this crucial moment and to the service which the Great Ones are seeking to render. This cooperative effort by the more receptive portion of humanity is, in reality, what the Hierarchy is seeking to bring about among the sons of men.

The pressure upon the Hierarchy and upon all connected with it upon the Path of Discipleship and the Path of Initiation is today great. There has been necessitated a constant collaboration and an extreme activity, for Those guiding human evolution have been deeply concerned to preserve the balance needed in the world today. If possible, there must be no rapid climaxing of the situation, either into a general [630] conflagration nor (alternatively and quite possibly) into a general seething unrest of such widespread dimensions and of so persistent a character that the peoples of the world would be, in the one case, devastated by war, with its consequences of famine and pestilence, and in the other, worn out by the suffering engendered by economic unrest, destitution and the exploitation of the masses by fanatics, publicity seekers and well meaning but impractical idealists.

The dangers to the race and to its development of a disastrous war or wars, and the equally disastrous condition of no real or definite development, but simply decades of the present impasse and economic bankruptcy, are equally great and equally undesirable. To offset these possibilities and yet produce, during the next ten years, the maximum desired change, has been the objective of the planetary Hierarchy (that hidden band of Workers which the Christian calls the Christ and His Disciples), and constitutes the focal point of their struggle. I use this word "struggle" advisedly. The Hierarchy is struggling hard with the so-called "forces of evil," and the New Group of World Servers is the instrument, at this time, upon the physical plane, with which the Hierarchy has to work. They have no other instrument.

What do we mean by the phrase "forces of evil?" Not the armies of unrighteousness and sinfulness, organized under that figment of the imagination, the devil or some supreme antichrist, for such an army does not exist, and there is no great enemy of God, arraigned in battle against the Most High. There is only suffering, erring humanity, still half-awakened, dimly sensing the vision, and struggling to free itself from the thralldom of the past, with its tarnished allegiances and its unchecked loyalties. The forces of evil are, in the last analysis, only the entrenched ancient ideals and habits of thought which have served their purpose in bringing the race to its [631] present point of development, but which must now disappear if the New Age is to be ushered in as desired. The old established rhythms, inherent in the old forms of religion, of politics and of the social order, must give place to newer ideals, to the synthetic understanding, and to the new order. The laws and modes of procedure which are characteristic of the New Age must supersede the old, and these will, in time, institute the new social order and the more inclusive regime.

The world today is full of experiments, particularly in the realm of government, which are the attempts of men everywhere to apply the new, dimly sensed approaching ideals. These have to be applied to our modern conditions of living and eventually supersede them. There is no form of national experiment which is not based on some such ideal, and which is not essentially an effort on the part of some school of idealists to better world conditions, or to bring relief to some group of human beings. This is an axiom which must be accepted from the start, and it is one upon which the New Group of World Servers takes its stand. It therefore negates in them all political antagonisms. In the process of materializing the ideal, in the effort to procure its recognition and thus bring about conformity to the life purpose of the idea, the methods employed and the hatreds induced, the cruelties done in its name, the enforced acceptance demanded, and the evils perpetrated in the name of the new goals, have produced a condition of such an inflammatory nature that Those who stand behind world affairs and the development of humanity have been hard put to it to keep matters as quiet as they are.

What have we got in the world at this time? - for the lines of cleavage are daily clarifying, and the situation can be more distinctly grasped. Those with no vision and a myopic outlook upon environing events regard what is happening in the world as steadily becoming worse and more aggravated. They [632] see no light in the darkness, and talk wildly of our civilization being doomed. Others regard the situation as one in which they have their opportunity to assume prominence, to come to the forefront or surface in some department of world activity. They thus exploit the masses, and twist the situation to their own ends, sometimes with the best intentions, sometimes because they see their chance to arrive at power and prominence, and sometimes because life, destiny, fate or karma (we can use whichever word we like) casts them for that position, and they become men of destiny. They find themselves with their hand upon some ship of state, and are the controlling agent in some party, some group and in some political, religious or economic situation. Yet all the time they are but pawns in the hands of Those who are working to some wider end.

This whole matter might be looked at from two angles, and it may profit us to do so, remembering always that the objective of the new social order, of the new politics and the new religion is to bring about the unfoldment of the human consciousness, to institute and bring to men's attention the higher values, and to end the reign of materialism. It is, after all, the goal which all true knowers and spiritually minded men down the ages have set themselves - to bring in the rule of the Kingdom of God, the control of the soul, whose nature is love, and to carry forward the work which Christ inaugurated, - the era of peace on earth, good will towards men. This is plainly indicated by the widespread emphasis upon world peace, as voiced by the great political leaders and as worked for by the churches everywhere.

The peoples of the world today are divided into four groups, from the angle of Those Who are seeking to guide humanity into the New Age. This is of course a wide [633] generalization and there are many bridging groups between the four major divisions.

First, the ignorant masses: These, through poverty, lack of employment, illiteracy, hunger, distress and no leisure or means for cultural advantages, are in an inflamed condition. They are developed just enough to respond to the mental control and suggestion of slightly more advanced people. They can be easily regimented, influenced, standardized and swept into a collective activity by leaders of any school of thought which is clever enough and emotional enough to appeal to material desires, to love of country, and to hatred of those who possess more than they do. They can be controlled by fear, and thus aroused to action by emotional appeal.

Knowing no better and suffering so much, they are easily swept by the fires of hatred and fanaticism, and so they constitute one of the greatest and most innocent menaces of the present time. They are the playthings of the better informed and are helpless in the hands of those who seek to use them for any purpose whatsoever. They can be reached most easily by emotional appeals and by promises, whereas ideas can make but little impact upon their consciousness, for they are not yet developed enough to do their own thinking. The bulk of them are young souls, though there are exceptions, naturally. It is not the idealism of the leaders and demagogues which impresses them and impels them into action (usually of a violent nature), but the desire to retaliate, the longing to possess in the material sense, and the determination to be what is colloquially called the "top dog." They embody mob psychology, mob rule, and mob violence. They are helpless, exploited and - because they are an unthinking, unreasonable mass of human beings, - they present a very real problem, as we all well know and as all governments realize. Blind, unthinking violence has hitherto been met by armed force. Such [634] is the case today. The masses fight and die on the urge of inflammatory speeches and seldom know what it is all about. Their conditions must be bettered, but not through bloodshed and exploitation.

Secondly, the middle classes, so called, both higher and lower. These are the bulk of the nations, the bourgeoisie - intelligent, diligent, enquiring, narrow-minded, essentially religious, though frequently repudiating the forms of religion. They are torn and devastated by the economic conflict, and are, without exception, the most powerful element in any nation, because of their capacity to read, to discuss, to think, to spend money, and to take sides. They form the bulk of the partisans in the world, the fighters for a cause, and are formed into great groups, either for or against this, that, or the other party. They love to recognize and choose a leader, and are ready to die for a cause, and to make endless sacrifices for their ideals, based upon the ideas presented to them by their chosen leaders.

I am not differentiating the so-called aristocracy into a group, because that is entirely a class distinction, based largely on heredity and capital, and the modern adjustments in nations are rapidly fusing them into the large middle class. We are dealing with basic matters, with the groupings which are founded on major attitudes, and not on divisions which emerge when material resources are under consideration. The bourgeois mind is today slowly and steadily permeating the masses, the proletariat, and it is also penetrating into that circle which has hitherto been called the upper classes. It is found existing as a state of consciousness in the aristocracy of any nation and absorbing them under the great present leveling process. Because of this leveling which is everywhere going on, the spiritual aristocracy can now emerge, - an aristocracy based on a realization of divine origin and goal, which knows no [635] class distinction, no barriers in religion, and no separating differences. We are therefore dealing with human divisions and not class distinctions.

This second group is the most fruitful field from which the new leaders and organizers are being drawn. They constitute an intermediate group between the world thinkers, the intelligentsia, and the masses of men. In the last analysis, they are the determining factor in world affairs. The masses suffer from world conditions and from the situations brought about through the activity of this second group as it responds in some way or another to the new influences, the new ideals, and the new controlling factors in the modern world. This great second group itself suffers at the hands of those who seek to impose the new rhythms upon the peoples, - the political groups, the religious idealists and fanatics, and the protagonists of the new social order and economic regimes (as interpreted to them rightly or wrongly by their leaders).

Because of their intelligence, due to the improving educational facilities, the ability to read, and the impact of the new methods of propaganda, the press and the radio, they provide the most powerful group in the world in each nation, and it is to them that the leaders make their appeal, and it is their backing and their partisanship which is demanded, and which means success to any leader. They are the ones who have the controlling vote in national affairs. They are today swept by uncertainty, by questioning, by deep seated fears, and by the desire to see justice done and the new order of things established. Above everything else they desire peace, stable economic conditions, and an orderly world. For this they are ready to fight, and are today fighting in every party, every group, and for every kind of political, nationalistic, religious, economic and social ideals. If they are not literally fighting, [636] in the physical sense, they are fighting with words, speeches and books.

Thirdly, the thinkers of the world: These are the intelligent and highly educated men and women, who sense ideas and formulate them into ideals. These people speak the words, write the articles and books, and utilize all the known methods to reach and educate the general public, and thus stir up the bourgeoisie to activity, and arouse, through them, the masses. Their function and the part they play is of supreme importance. From their ranks come those who are steadily influencing the trend of world affairs, sometimes for good and sometimes for selfish ends. They play upon the human mind as a musician plays upon his instrument, and the power of the press, of the radio, and of the public platforms is in their hands. Their responsibility is enormous. Some few, more perhaps than might appear, are working selflessly under the inspiration of the new era. They are dedicated to the amelioration of human conditions, and the betterment of world affairs along certain lines which seem to them (rightly or wrongly) to have in them the hope of the future, and the uplift of humanity. They are found in every government, party, society, and organization, and in every Church and religious grouping. They constitute the most influential unit today, because it is through them that the large middle class is reached, swayed and organized for political, religious and social ends. Their ideas and utterances percolate down through the upper and middle classes and finally reach the ears of the more advanced of the undeveloped masses.

Fourth, the New Group of World Servers: These are the people who are beginning to form a new social order in the world. They belong to no party or government, in the partisan sense. They recognize all parties, all creeds, and all social and economic organizations; they recognize all governments. [637] They are found in all nations and all religious organizations, and are occupied with the formulation of the new social order. From the purely physical angle, they are not fighting either for the best in the old order or for the betterment of world conditions. They consider that the old methods of fighting and partisanship and attack, and the ancient techniques of party battle have utterly failed, and that the means hitherto employed on all sides and by all parties and groups (fighting, violent partisanship of a leader or a cause, attacks on individuals whose ideas or manner of living is deemed detrimental to mankind), are out of date, having proved futile and unsuitable to bring in the desired condition of peace, economic plenty, and understanding. They are occupied with the task of inaugurating the new world order by forming throughout the world - in every nation, city and town, - a grouping of people who belong to no party, take no sides either for or against, but who have as clear and definite a platform and as practical a program as any other single party in the world today. They take their stand upon the essential divinity of man; their program is founded upon good will, because it is a basic human characteristic. They are therefore organizing the men of good will throughout the world at this time, outlining to them a definite program, and laying down a platform upon which all men of good will can meet.

They state and believe that their initial appeal has been of such a nature that, given the assistance of the trained minds to be found in the third group outlined above, and given the needed financial assistance to do the required educational work and goodwill propaganda, they can so change the world (through the sole agency of the men of good will) that - without war, without arousing hatred between men, and without attacking any cause or giving partisanship to any cause - the new order can be firmly established upon earth. [638] Their program and their technique is outlined a little later in this discussion.

Behind this fourfold panorama of humanity stand Those Whose privilege and right it is to watch over human evolution and to guide the destinies of men. This They carry forward, not through an enforced control which infringes upon the free will of the human spirit, but through the implanting of ideas in the minds of the world thinkers, and the evocation of the human consciousness, so that these ideas receive due recognition and become in time the controlling factors in human life. They train the members of the New Group of World Servers in the task of changing ideas into ideals. These become in time the desired objectives of the thinkers, and are by them taught to the great middle class, and thus worked up into world forms of government and religion, forming the basis of the new social order, into which the masses are patiently incorporated.

It should be remembered at this point that the men and women of good will belong to all the groups outlined above, and that herein lies their strength and herein lies their usefulness to the New Group of World Servers.

The strength of the New Group of World Servers lies in three factors:

1. They occupy a midway position between the masses of men and the inner subjective world government.
2. They draw their membership (if such an inadequate word can be used) from all classes, - the aristocracy, the intelligentsia, the bourgeoisie, higher and lower, and the upper layer of the proletariat. They are therefore truly representative.
3. They are closely interrelated, and in constant contact and rapport with each other, through unity of objective, [639] definiteness of method, and uniformity in technique and good will.

Let us look for a moment at the world picture - as we find it at this time, and as it is coming to be recognized by the intelligent observer of world affairs. Nothing that is here said must be regarded in the nature of criticism, for that would be infringing one of the basic rules of the New Group, and such is most definitely not contemplated. Therefore we mention no specific groups, nations or parties, nor do we refer to any particular personalities. We are concerned with only one subject, the ushering in of the new world order. To do this, we must recognize the situation as it exists. We are occupied with the formation of that new party which will gather into its ranks all men of peace and good will, without interfering with their specific loyalties and endeavors, though probably modifying their methods considerably, where based on the old order. This new party can be regarded as the embodiment of the emerging Kingdom of God on earth, but it should be remembered that this kingdom is not a Christian kingdom or an earthly government. It is a grouping of all those who - belonging as they do to every world religion and every nation and type of political party - are free from the spirit of hatred and separativeness, and who seek to see right conditions established on earth through mutual good will.

The ferment in the world today has permeated the very lowest depths of humanity. All fields of human thought are involved in the divisions and the confusions. In the past, time and time again, the nations were swept into wars of aggression. Such wars are rapidly becoming rarer, and our strifes today are based primarily upon our economic needs. For this there are obvious objective reasons. Over-population, trade barriers, the inequalities of supply and demand, plus the ambitions and [640] well-intentioned experiments of individuals in all departments of human thought and life are responsible for the upheaval. More need not be said, for the causes are generally recognized, and we are outlining a solution of a practical nature. But the true reason is deep seated and not easily recognized, though the world thinkers are beginning to deal with it and to see its outlines clearly. This reason is the conflict between certain great ideals, all of them based on spiritual ideas, but all of them prostituted to ends which lead to separativeness, to hatred, party strife, civil war, widespread economic distress, terror of a general conflagration, and fear on every hand. We are surrounded by fear and uncertainty, grinding poverty, suspicion, plus the general collapse of the bulwarks of religion and government which hitherto seemed to offer a refuge.

Leaders - both national and religious - are everywhere attempting to deal with these problems, prompted sometimes by a true love for humanity, sometimes swayed by ambition, or galvanized into violent activity by some ideal for human, racial and national betterment. Sincerity and insincerity, hatred and love, service and exploitation, divisions and unifications are found on every hand. Catch words are everywhere - religious unity, standardization of mankind, human freedom, the problem of the left and the right party, communism, fascism, nazism, the New Deal, liberalism and conservatism, creative living, population problems, sterilization, utopias, the rights of the people, dictatorships, rearmament defense tactics, public education, secret diplomacy, isolationism, - such are a few of the words which are today on everybody's lips, and which indicate the aliveness of humanity to its problems, to the difficulties with which it is confronted, and to the impasse which we seem to have reached. On every hand, people are coming to the front with some solution, gathering a party to put it over, and fighting for their ideal. [641]

Every day sees money spent like water in order to offset the propaganda of some leader, or to support the ideas of another. Campaigns are held all over the world to raise the needed funds to overthrow some ancient entrenched ideal, or for the substitution of some new idea. Men and women in both hemispheres are swept today by the desire to change the old order and bring in the new era of economic comfort and peaceful living, and are dedicating their lives to the defense of some principle which seems to them of paramount importance, or to the overthrow of another principle of importance to their brothers. Attack of personalities, defamation of character, the imputing of motives, and the stirring up of hatred are a recognized part of the technique of those who - with good intention - are attempting to salvage the world, to bring order out of chaos, and to defend the right as they see it. Love of humanity and desire to aid is unquestionably present. Yet the chaos grows; the hatreds increase; the warfare spreads; past efforts seem futile to stem the tide which seems about to sweep humanity over the brink of disaster.

This factor of futility, and the fatigue incident to the long struggle, are today recognized by the leaders everywhere. There is a demand for a new way, a desire to know what is basically at fault, and to discover why the strenuous self-sacrificing and divinely motivated efforts of many hundreds of men and women have failed to stop war, solve the economic problem and release humanity.

It might be stated that the failure is due primarily to two things:

1. The effort has been expended in dealing with effects, and the underlying causes have not been touched, even when realized by a few. The attempt has been made to right wrongs, to expose evils and evil personalities, and to [642] attack organizations, groups, parties, religions and national experiments. This has led to what appears to be a futile expenditure of time, strength, energy and money.
2. No effort has been made to find and blend into one organized whole the men of good will, of peaceful loving intention, and intelligent kindliness and goodness in the world, so that they can cooperate together in their vast masses. Those constitute an incredibly large number of people who hate war because they regard all men as brothers, but who see no way to end it, as all the organizations to that end seem powerless in the last analysis. They grieve over the economic distress but do not know what to do, as all the various groups dealing with the problem are occupied with laying the blame on others and seeking scapegoats; they are conscious of the breakdown of the many efforts towards good.

This spirit of good will is present in millions, and it evokes a sense of responsibility. This is the first indication in the race that man is divine. It is upon this steadily growing good will that the New Group of World Servers is counting, and which it is their intention to utilize. It is found in the membership of every group which exists for world betterment, and constitutes an unused power which has never yet been organized into a whole, as the loyalty and effort of the individual man of good will has hitherto been given to his organization or endeavor. It is the intention of the New Group of World Servers not to interfere with this loyalty or to arrest any activity, but to gather into one organized whole all these people, without creating a new organization or sidetracking any of them from the work they have already undertaken.

The New Group of World Servers is already a functioning active group. Every man and woman in every country in both [643] hemispheres, who is working to heal the breaches between people, to evoke the sense of brotherhood, to foster the sense of mutual interrelation, and who sees no racial, national or religious barriers, is a member of the New Group of World Servers, even if he has never heard of it in these terms.

The members of the New Group of World Servers belong to no party or religion and yet belong to all parties and religions; they assume no attitude or position either for or against any existing government, religion or social order. They engage in no political activity of any kind, and attack no existing order. They are neither for nor against a government or a Church, and spend no money, organize no campaign, and send out no literature which could be interpreted as attacking or defending any organization of a political, religious, social or economic nature. They say nothing and write no word which could feed the fires of hatred, or tend to separate man from man, or nation from nation. Yet these members will be found in every political party and every world religion. They represent an attitude of mind.

The members of the New Group of World Servers are not, however, a band of impractical mystics. They know exactly what they seek to do, and their plans are laid in such a manner that - without upsetting any existing situation - they are discovering and bringing together the men of good will all over the world. Their united demand is that these men of good will should stand together in complete understanding and thus constitute a slowly growing body of people whose interest is shown on behalf of humanity and not primarily on behalf of their own immediate environment. The larger interest will not, however, prevent them from being good citizens of the country where their destiny has cast them. They will conform to and accept the situation in which they find themselves, but will (in that situation and under that government [644] or religious order) work for good will, for the breaking down of barriers, and for world peace. They will avoid all attack of existing regimes and personalities; they will keep the laws of the land in which they have to live, but they will cultivate the spirit of non-hatred, utilizing every opportunity to emphasize the brotherhood of nations, the unity of faith, and our economic interdependence. They will endeavor to speak no word and do no act which can separate and breed dislike.

These are broad generalities, governing the conduct of the men of good will who seek to cooperate with the work being done by the New Group of World Servers. As they learn effective cooperation and achieve steadiness in the right attitudes to their fellow men, they are gradually absorbed into the ranks of the New Group, not through a process of formal affiliation, for no such process exists (there being no formal organization) but through the development of the necessary qualities and characteristics. It is of value to reiterate at this point that the New Group of World Servers is not an organization. It has no headquarters, but only units of service throughout the world; it has no president or lists of officers; it has only servers in every country, who are occupied simply with the task of discovering the men of good will. This is the immediate task. These men of good will must be found and trained in the doctrine of non-separateness, and educated in the principles of cooperation and the characteristics of the new social order, which is essentially a subjective realignment, resulting in pronounced changes brought about through the weight of a world opinion, based on a good will which knows no national or racial barriers or religious differences. Year by year there should develop much active work and much dissemination of the teachings upon universal good will, so that it changes from a beautiful sentiment and becomes the [645] practical application of good will by action in the affairs of every day life, in every country throughout the world.

In terms of Christian teaching, the citizens of the kingdom which Christ came to found must be discovered, and will be recognized by their spirit of synthesis, their inclusive point of view and their emphasis upon a world unity which is based upon our international synthesis (the recognition really of our human relations), our religious unity as children of the one Father, and our well known, though largely ignored, economic interdependence. The education of the men and women of good will will be in relation to the expression of a practical loving understanding. The New Group of World Servers will know who these citizens of the kingdom are and where they are to be found.

The next task to which the New Group of World Servers will consecrate their efforts will be to eliminate the fear in the world. This can be done and will take place when the men and women of good will awake to the fact of the wealth of good will there is in every land. There are millions of these men of good will in the world; they have been increasing steadily in numbers as a result of the agony of the world war, but, feeling isolated and alone, they have been impotent and futile. They have felt separated, useless and unimportant. As individuals, they are. As part of a great world movement, with a spiritual basis and expressive of the essential divinity in man, they are not. The massed power of good will, a thing which has remained hitherto unorganized, will be found to be irresistible. The work of the New Group of World Servers until May 1942 is to organize this latent power and bring it forth into expression by fostering it, by educational methods, and by indicating steadily the lines along which this potent spirit can manifest.

The New Group of World Servers should therefore [646] organize for itself a program covering this period, under the direction of Those who watch, on the inner, spiritual side of life. This program must have three objectives:

1. To discover, educate and blend together the men of good will, demonstrating to them the fact that in every country in the world, without exception, much is being done along the lines of

1. International understanding and the brotherhood of nations.
2. The betterment of human conditions by groups, churches and organizations, working along the new lines, without hatred, eliminating attack on groups or persons and the expressing of a partisan spirit,
3. Religious unity and spiritual unfoldment within and without the churches,
4. Educational activity, carried forward along lines of non-separativeness and broad inclusiveness.
   This can be done through the instrumentality of a new magazine which will be the organ of the men of good will.

2. To prepare the men of good will for a repetition upon a far larger scale of the "act of appeal" which took place on May 6th, 1936. Then the Great Invocation was used by millions, and of its effectiveness there can be no doubt. It greatly strengthened the hands of the Hierarchy and established a "channel of contact" which can never again be broken. Greater similar efforts can be launched during the next few years and they will embody the next great spiritual effort and expression of the men of good will for which the intermediate period is a preparation. It is desirable that there should be, if possible, a far [647] wider use of the radio, so that sequentially and following the journey of the sun, there may go forth over the air this appeal to God at the time of the full moon. The day of appeal will be the expression of the spiritual attitude of humanity and will lead to a subjective spiritual synthesis between the men of good will and the New Group of World Servers and the inner spiritual Hierarchy which is working to bring about the manifestation of the new order on earth, to inaugurate the New Age, and to materialize the kingdom of God on the physical plane.

To this future day of appeal or world prayer much thought and preparation should be given, so that the results achieved can be even more definite and potent than in the first quite successful attempt. Prayer or appeal is either a potent way of setting certain great forces in motion or it is not. The testimony of the ages is in favor of its efficacy along these lines.

3. To hold before humanity, as part of the living instruction which the men of good will will teach and live out in their daily lives, the necessity of a great group participation in a Day of Forgiveness and of Forgetting. This may be possible in a few years' time, but could be effectively tried in 1942. This is a forgiveness which is based upon a recognition of the universality of human error in the past, and the fact that there is no blame to be apportioned to this or that group, nation or church, but that we have all made mistakes, have all failed to understand, and have all been guilty of lack of love and of tolerance. It is not, therefore, a forgiveness which is based on a spirit of magnanimity or a sense of expediency or superiority, but upon a desire to forget the past, and to push [648] forward into the New Age and participate in the new social order, free from the ancient hatreds, relinquishing the memory of the old mistakes in policy, judgment and method, and ignoring the habitual barriers and our normal separative instincts.

This is the triple program to which the New Group of World Servers is pledged and in which we are urged to participate. To this endeavor they will in their turn call the men of good will. They have no other program or intention.

Loosely knit together by mutual understanding and similarity of objective, the members of the New Group of World Servers stand, whether they are conscious or unconscious of each other or the group, as it is here described. In every country they are found and actively are working. Through them the men of good will are being discovered. Their names and addresses are being noted and collected into mailing lists. Their capacity, whatever it may be, to serve their fellow men, will be also noted when possible and utilized, if desired. Thus through the men of good will everywhere, the principle of good will can be nurtured and developed in every country, and eventually turned to practical use. These people will constitute a new body of practical thinkers in every nation, who will be no menace to any government, nor will they work against the established order. They will throw themselves into those movements and undertake those activities which can in no way foster hatred, spread enmity, or cause division among their fellow men. To this group, no government or church can object.

Danger lies in laying down rules and in making forecasts. These will only lead to premature activity and hasty procedure. If the work which is outlined here proceeds along the desired lines; if, through daily use of the Great Invocation: [649]

Let the Forces of Light bring illumination to mankind
Let the Spirit of Peace be spread abroad
May men of good will everywhere meet in a spirit of cooperation
May forgiveness on the part of all men be the keynote at this time
Let power attend the efforts of the Great Ones
So let it be, and help us to do our part

the channel is widened and firmly established, and a day of prayer is duly organized; if the daily recognition of forgiveness in the sense in which St. Paul wrote when he said "Forgetting the things which are behind, press forward," becomes the rule among the men of good will, leading eventually to a worldwide day of forgiveness, then the task of the New Group of World Servers will go forward along constructive and fruitful lines, and will lead to success. Those Who seek to lead and guide on the inner side will also have reason to go forward with increased confidence, and the Christ will see the fruits "of the travail of His soul and be satisfied."

Having thus the program for this immediate period outlined before us, what are we going to do about it? This program cannot succeed nor can this middle party in the world - intermediate between the partisans and the groups pro and con in world affairs - come to fruition and constructive activity without each one realizing the need, and bending anew every effort - individual, financial and spiritual - to the helping of the Plan.

C.II. The New Group of World Servers

The first thing to be grasped is that there is a Plan for humanity and that this Plan has always existed. It has worked out through the evolutionary developments of the past ages and also through that special impetus which has been given it from time to time by the great intuitive and teachers of the races. Today there are a sufficient number of men and women [650] in the world, adequately developed, so that they can contact it and work in connection with it. It is becoming more a matter of group recognition than of intuitive revelation. Secondly, it is to be noted that there is upon our planet a group of men and women belonging to every nation, who are definitely upon the Path of Discipleship and because of their status, they are all of them as definitely serving the race. They are subjectively welded together into a body, which we have called the New Group of World Servers, for lack of a better name. Their characteristics are well known, for many have made a careful study of this group for two or three years and many also form a part of it.

Prominent members of this group are to be found in every country in Europe, in China and Japan, in North and South America, and in South Africa. In Australia, New Zealand and other countries not enumerated above, members and servers of this group are to be found.

Many of these group members know or recognize each other from the similarity of objectives, ideals and methods, to be seen in their work, but in many cases they remain unknown to each other. Group members are to be found working in all fields of human enterprise, - economic, political, social and religious. These four groups are named in the order of their importance in the present world situation. Religious difficulties and problems are perhaps the most easily handled and realized, because they are the most easily recognized. Religious antagonisms are rampant today but they are known for what they are, hence the religious field is mentioned last.

It is encouraging for us to observe, however, that the New Group of World Servers working in connection with the rapidly emerging plan of the Great Ones, has been vitally increased in numbers during the past few years and [651] there is a much closer inner welding than heretofore. The group will be found divided into two parts:

1. An inner nucleus, composed of those active servers who know themselves to be disciples, is consciously in touch with the Plan, and is strenuously working at its development.
2. Those who have responded to the vision as it has been presented to them by that inner nucleus, and have ranged themselves definitely on the side of the Plan. They are, therefore, men and women of good will.

Connected with these two groups, there is a steadily growing public which is becoming increasingly responsive to the new ideas. They have expressed their interest and are eager to see the Plan materialize in proper form on earth. The diverse needs of all these groups must be met and this is the definite problem of all who are working in conscious collaboration with the Hierarchy.

It is not easy for all of us who are working and struggling in the battlefield of life to see the world picture as it really is. It is difficult to appreciate the urgency of the present time, and to evaluate correctly the opportunity that is offered for the bringing of sorely needed changes. It is hard too to gauge the extent and the power of the forces working in opposition. It would be useless to refer thus to these forces, if there were no chance of success and the victory were not possible. Both success and victory are possible, if there is a unity of ideal and method amongst us.

A picture of the immediate problem to indicate possible dangers and suggest at the same time what should be done in the period immediately ahead, has practical value. Some of what is here said is already well known, but a restatement of [652] the situation is in order, for it will enable us to lay our plans with clarity and precision.

C.II.1. Objectives and Ideals

The statement has been made that Those who constitute the inner government of the world, or the so-called planetary Hierarchy, are working to facilitate the entry of the new ideals and aims into the consciousness of the race. These new ideals and aims are characteristics of the New Age. This statement is of importance, because it indicates that the effort now on foot is in line with the evolutionary development going on upon our planet. It is therefore assured of ultimate success. The work that the New Group of World Servers is endeavoring to do is intended to hasten that process, and so avert a long period of distress and disorder. Whether this effort succeeds or not, the final aim is assured, but it can be hastened if men will only appreciate fairly the situation with which they are immediately faced and take the necessary steps to change the present condition.

The new Plan of the Great Ones is, therefore, in the last analysis, simply an extension of the Plan as it has always existed. No changes in the basic idea are involved. The success of the present endeavor is contingent upon the availability of the forces which stand for progressive righteousness and the ability of the disciples of the world to act in unison, and so to influence public opinion that there can be a world wide change in human attitudes, but the members of the New Group of World Servers must refrain from dissipating their efforts in secondary activities. For these latter, there will be time, once the main objective has been reached. The immediate objectives of the Plan might be stated as follows:

1. To raise the level of the human consciousness so that [653] intelligent thinking men and women will be consciously in touch with the world of ideas and the realm of intuitive perception. This means that they will be oriented towards reality.
   Average men and women will then be led definitely to shift their attention from the world of the emotions in which they have hitherto lived, and will begin to live more in their mental natures, and to think clearly and wisely. As a direct result of a growing awareness of the two above mentioned groups, the masses, as a whole, will be definitely benefited. They will find their living conditions so ameliorated and wisely ordered that the present state of fear and of intense competitive struggle for existence will be superseded by a real measure of stability and security. A more leisured life will consequently be possible and this will enable men to unfold their powers - mental and spiritual - normally.
   This is no picture of an immediate Utopia. The modification of the present situation, even in a small measure, is a Herculean task, and will strain the resources of the New Group of World Servers to the utmost.
2. The second objective of Those who are working out the Plan is the clarifying of the international situation. It is necessary that each nation should realize two things:
   1. First, the importance of attending to its own business and its own internal problems which are those of beautifying the national life, by the production of order, stabilization, and above all, freedom. Each nation must internally adjust itself to peace. This must be done, not by the armed force of some powerful group, but by the wise consideration of the needs of the entire people, excepting no part of the national life.
   2. Second, the prime importance of each nation realizing [654] its responsibility to all other nations, and the interrelation of all parts of the life of our world. This realization will bring about a reciprocal interplay in the field of economics, for this is the most important field at this time. Practically all world problems and differences are based upon an economic situation. It is, therefore, more important in the solution of the present world problem than are the political rivalries and the selfish, individual, national ambitions.

The providing of adequate food, raiment and housing facilities to the unthinking masses everywhere will bring about a changed world psychology, which will be constructive and sound, and which, will usher in the deeply desired era of peace and plenty. That the problem involved is difficult no one denies, and for this, man's selfishness and greed is responsible. It is, in reality, relatively simple, if not complicated by too much statistical deduction and the opposed selfishness of national and monied interests. The term "monied interests" is here used to designate no one class in particular for the transition of money out of one set of hands into another provides no real solution. Whoever possesses the money at any particular time wields power, and this is true, whether it is the present capitalistic class or an enriched proletariat or a grasping government.

3. The third objective is the growth of the group idea with a consequent general emphasis upon group good, group understanding, group interrelation, and group good will. These four are the ideals of that subjective group, working on the physical plane, which we call the New Group of World Servers.

If these ideals can be materialized, this new group provides [655] a nucleus for that future world group which will gradually knit together all men in the cause of true brotherhood. This group will not be occupied with experiments in the various fields of human life or in connection with world problems. Its members will not work for political prominence or for the success of any particular experiment in the field of economics, politics or religion. Their work is the emphasis of the underlying principles and the education of public opinion along the new lines. They will seek to reveal to humanity the true and underlying inner synthesis, which is based on uniform objectives and which leads to that universal good will which will enable a man in any country to identify himself with his brothers in other parts of the world.

This group will provide an international unit, made up of intelligent men of good will, which must inevitably control world destiny and bring about world peace and thus organize the new world order. They will do this without the use of the old political machines, the violent propaganda, and the organized force which are characteristic of the old order. Their method is the method of education; they will mould public opinion and foster mutual good will and national, religious and economic interdependence. What they are really attempting to do is to awaken into fuller activity an aspect of human nature which is always present but which has hitherto been subordinated to selfish or ambitious ends. Human beings are innately kind when their minds are not distorted and their vision impaired by the false teaching of any selfish interest, political propaganda and racial or religious difficulties.

Upon this fact we take our stand and, given right opportunity and adequate aid, the work of the New Group of World Servers will demonstrate this fact. This new group provides a field of effort and a center of energy towards which all men of good will everywhere throughout the world [656] can turn, thus pooling their resources, strengthening each other's hands and sounding forth in unison the note of mutual cooperation for the good and well being of all, irrespective of creed or race. This is not a vague and mystical generalization, carrying with it no practical purpose or plan. It is a statement of the ideals of a very large group of intelligent men and women, found today throughout the world and working in cooperation with Those upon the inner side of life Who know. These aims will be achieved, not by propaganda backed by force, but by example, backed by sacrifice and love. Another important objective of the Plan, which will materialize later when world conditions are bettered, is the emergence into physical plane activity of that group of souls of Whom the New Group of World Servers are the outer representatives. This appearance can be called (in Christian phraseology) the second coming of Christ with His Disciples, or it can be called the manifestation of the planetary Hierarchy or the appearance of the Masters of the Wisdom, Who will restore upon earth the ancient mysteries and institute again the order of Initiation.

Such is a broad and general idea of the objectives of the Plan and the aim of its Custodians. Each phase of it constitutes a field of active service, and all men of good will everywhere and the members of the New Group of World Servers find their place in one or another of its departments. The members of this group are, in reality, an intermediate group, between the Custodians of the Plan, as They express the mind and purpose of God, and the intelligent public. They constitute the "brain trust" of the planet, for they are definitely wrestling with the problem of unrest and distress in the economic, political and religious fields. Through them the Plan must work out, and if they work with the desired selflessness and wisdom, and if they demonstrate adequate skill in action, they [657] will eventually achieve much power. It will, however, be power based upon an intelligent good will, upon a right understanding of brotherhood and upon a determination to bring about the good of the whole body and not the good of certain sections of the national life or of certain nations at the expense of other sections and other nations. Hence, my constant emphasis upon the necessity of thinking in terms of good will to the whole. The very effort so to think is part of the technique required to expand the present human consciousness, and in these words I have stated the basic principle underlying the new technique of world unfoldment and integration. The development of self consciousness and of the uniquely separative individual has been the right and desired technique in the past. The development of group consciousness, through the activity of the New Group of World Servers, is intended to be the right and desired technique of the future.

Speaking generally, we have, therefore, in the world today the unintelligent masses who are rapidly becoming self-conscious under the pressure of modern life and our modern educational systems. We have secondly, the truly self-conscious thinkers or individuals who have assumed world control and prominent place in world affairs, through the power of their thoughts and the emphasis and magnetism of their personality. By the clarity of their thinking in their chosen field, they dominate the masses, but they are dominant in a separative sense. These masses whom they control can be divided into two divisions: - A restless, alert, discontented and intelligent minority (a minority of about forty per cent of the whole). The remaining sixty per cent is formed by the unthinking masses, who are little more than emotional animals. They live, work, suffer and fight, but have no real idea of what it means, or of where they, as a race, are going. [658] With these latter there is little yet to be done. With the forty per cent, however, much can be achieved when the New Group of World Servers is sufficiently coherent. Notice should be taken also of the world idealists and workers, who are pledged to the working out of some ideal which seems to them to embody all that is desirable and to solve the problem as they see it around them. Under this group could be placed the leaders and dictators of the world at this time, no matter by what name they call themselves. That their methods may not be desirable, is of course often true but is relatively immaterial. Rightly or wrongly, they are working under the inspiration of an idea; they are bringing about definite changes in the minds of their fellow men and in world conditions; they are evoking a mental response from the public and the world. They are, therefore, placing the world in their debt, by inaugurating those changes which are altering the world rhythm and speeding up its tempo. They are thus preparing us for the still more revolutionary changes of the new age. Some of them are to be found included in the New Group of World Servers.

Members of the New Group of World Servers stand for the following ideals:

1. They believe in an inner world government and in an emerging evolutionary plan. They can see its signs down the ages. That they may express the significance of this inner world government and of the planetary Hierarchy in varying terms, is inevitable. That they may regard it from the peculiar angle of their own tradition and schooling is also inevitable but unimportant. That which is of importance is that they are in touch with the center of energy which is attempting to guide human affairs; their know something of the detail of the immediate [659] plan, and to the furtherance of this they are bending all their energies.
2. They are steadily cultivating an international spirit of good will and to this they consecrate every effort. They avoid all points of dissension, regarding them as incidental to the point in evolution which the race has reached and they are convinced of the inevitable change for the better which is on its way. They emphasize the point of common endeavor and seek to interpret to the public the trend of the present world efforts as these begin the work of swinging the world on to new paths and producing in the minds of the people new and better ideals.
3. They seek to teach also the fact that the many national, religious and social experiments are only modes of expansion, ways of growth and needed lessons. They seek to point out that the effects of these will be twofold.
   First, they will demonstrate the usefulness of those lines of thought and consequent methods which will eventually bring about the release of mankind from its present limitations and distress. These experiments are not lost effort. They have a definite place and purpose.
   Second, they will demonstrate the recognition of those methods and techniques in government and religion which are undesirable, because they spread the virus of hatred, breed class and racial distinctions and are consequently detrimental to world understanding, international good will and spiritual amity.

There is no thinking man today in prominent position who does not in his highest moments appreciate the necessity for world peace, international order and religious understanding - all leading in the last analysis to economic stability. The [660] right order by which men will find that stability is the ancient one that certain fraternities have ever emphasized: - Unity, Peace and Plenty. They lead sequentially and automatically from one to the other. The major instrument today for the achievement of world unity is the New Group of World Servers. It is as yet only potential but, given opportunity, and the necessary means to go forward with its work, it can make real changes in the public consciousness during the next few years and eventually can swing the mass of public opinion behind it. It can go forward to a large usefulness and can constitute eventually a most potent instrument to bring about the needed unity, peace and plenty. Their usefulness, however, can only be brought about by a strenuous effort and by constant self-sacrifice on the part of all who know something of the aims of the group and what the Plan seeks to bring about.

C.II.2. Immediate Lines of Activity and Techniques

Two immediate lines of activity are imperative. The members of the New Group of World Servers must have the above outlined ideals and objectives held constantly before them and they must also, as far as is possible, be brought in touch with each other. This work calls for immediate attention. The aims and ideals of the New Group of World Servers must also be presented constantly and clearly to the thinking public. The form in which this must be done and the medium used is for the associated servers to decide. Attention should be called to those activities which are obviously in line with the Plan, and the work and the programs of the World Servers wherever they are found and located must be made known and aided. To do this, we need to combine wise and deliberate action with speed, owing to the urgency of the crisis. Those whose function it is to cooperate and help will appear, but our spiritual perception must be alert to recognize [661] them. They must evoke recognition, first of all, through their spiritual idealism and secondly, in the field of work, through efficiency and capability. It is essential that they possess, as far as possible, the qualities of intuitive spiritual perception, but it is also imperative that they possess practical experience and training in efficiency in the work of moulding public opinion, in the circulation of ideas and in the understanding of human relations in the various fields of human expression.

By means of right inner activity and wise leadership, the New Group of World Servers will respond increasingly to the presented new ideas and will grow in strength, optimism, inner relation and interplay. They will and should become a strong united body in the outer world. The test will then be to hold the inner clarity of vision and the inner subjective relationships and, at the same time, pursue the work in the world with united, intelligent effort and with success. The true values, based on good will and brotherhood and founded in man's innate divinity, must be skillfully preserved; the right use of opportunity, plus the consecrated utilization of world power, will call forth that skill in action which comes from true dedication and right meditation.

The New Group of World Servers has the immediate task of achieving power in moulding men's ideas to the needed changes of thought and the new technique of work all over the world. To do this, there must be the explanation of the ideas which lie behind the group and a clear statement of those parts of the Plan which are of immediate application. There must be a steady emphasis upon the reality of that which is inner and subjective (the world of real values) and upon the dynamic power of ideas as they control, and can be shown to control, all that is happening in every disturbed nation today. What is going on in the world today is the [662] working out of ideas. As to the technique to be employed certain contrasts might be touched upon.

All nations at this time are engrossed with the imposition of some idea, or group of ideas, upon their peoples. This seems to the leaders, no matter how enlightened they may be, to necessitate force in some form or another and to call for drastic coercion. This must necessarily be the case where the time factor is misinterpreted. The immediate good of the people as a whole is felt by the leaders far to outweigh any temporary happenings to individuals and smaller groups. In the work of the New Group of World Servers, this time element will be better understood and the work must be carried forward with as much rapidity as possible, yet without any coercion, mental or physical. The laying of right foundations and the promulgation of right principles is of tremendous importance and must be ensured, but there must be no undue emphasis laid upon the regimenting of men's thoughts within a given time. With care, with prevision, with forethought and with skill must the ground be laid and the arguments given for the fostering of good will and the growth and spread of brotherhood on an international scale.

Theoretically, the ideal of brotherhood has been presented by many organizations, by many fraternities and many theosophical bodies; but those who have promulgated the idea of brotherhood in these various organizations are themselves too separative and sectarian to carry forward the work constructively. Theirs is not now the function to organize the men of good will in the world for they insist on labels, on certain exclusions, on working for their organization more than for humanity, and on the necessity of people to affiliate with them. They emphasize the need to adhere to certain formulated beliefs, such as the doctrine of reincarnation as the basis of brotherhood, or the fact of the Masters as the [663] background of the Plan; but men of good will can believe all or none of this. Such doctrines do not affect their recognition of certain great evolutionary trends, nor the necessity to recognize man's essential relationships. That the service rendered by the groups who have promulgated these ideas is immeasurable and that humanity is deeply in their debt is undoubtedly true. That hundreds of the members of the various organizations are affiliated with the New Group of World Servers is also entirely correct; but the materializing of these ideas, which have hitherto remained theoretical, is the prime function of the New Group of World Servers. They have to remove the whole theory from the realm of sentiment, of idealism, and of mystical aspiration and must bring the question, as a concrete demonstrated factor, before the public.

They must place the emphasis upon the expression of good will and the fulfilment of the law of love and not upon affiliation with organizations, with their labels and their doctrines. The New Group of World Servers must keep itself free of all of these, for otherwise the work will crash upon the ancient rocks of doctrine and of organization. The members of the New Group must remain loosely linked together by their mutual good will and the unanimity of their objectives, expressed irrespective of national boundaries, racial distinctions and religious prejudices. It must throw the weight of its influence behind all movements, which are struggling to overcome differences and which express similar aims. Its members will sponsor, aid and foster many endeavors which work toward international understanding and synthesis, and express those religious interpretations which teach the spirit of unity.

The power which the New Group of World Servers will eventually wield, will be drawn from two sources:

• First, from that inner center or subjective world government, [664] whose members are responsible for the spread of those ideals and ideas which have led humanity onwards from age to age. This inner center has always existed and the great leaders of the race, in every field, have been connected with it. The great idealists and world workers, (such as the Christ and His great brother, the Buddha, and those lesser workers, such as Plato, Spinoza, Abraham Lincoln, or Florence Nightingale) have all been associated with this center. The range of these associates is tremendous and the grades of these workers are many, but self sacrificing work for the betterment of human living and love of their fellow men have distinguished them all. Yet all drew their light and inspiration from this central focal point. The members of this government may be alive in physical bodies or discarnate. It is assumed that there is belief in immortality among those who read these pages - a belief in the perpetuation of the conscious soul in some dimension. These great souls are primarily distinguished by the fact that they know no mental limitation, and their inclusiveness is such that for them there are no racial distinctions nor any religious differences.
• The second source from which the New Group of World Servers will draw its power will be from the men of good will in the world at any given time. They will be able to swing into activity at any moment such a weight of thought and such a momentous public opinion that they will eventually be in a position definitely to affect world affairs. One of their functions will be to bring into touch with each other, men of similar ideals and also to direct and further their efforts.

Knowledge of these ideals will be spread everywhere in the face of opposition and distrust; these truths must be expressed in every possible language and by every available means, and every available person must be utilized to circulate them. No effort should be spared at the present time and for [665] the next few years. This work must first of all, be undertaken through the medium of the printed page and later, when trained people are available, through the medium of the spoken word. There must be synthesis of effort and the elimination of unnecessary and personal aspects of the work.

Members of the New Group of World Servers learn mostly through the ear and through that careful attention which comes from an inner attitude of constant listening. They are unfolding that spiritual perception which is latent but unused in the average man. They have to catch the new Words of Power as they come forth from the center of spiritual light and force in the world and, at the same time, they must be attentive to the cry of humanity as it voices its highest hopes, longings and desires. This attitude of listening and of a subsequent prompt readjustment of the inner, received commands, is characteristic of the New Group of World Servers. The mass of people whom they will eventually gather around them must be taught, and learn through the eye, through the printed page, and later through a sensing of the vision. These two points must be remembered in planning the work and in finding the workers.

A word should be spoken here about the dangers the New Group of World Servers should seek to avoid. It must not be forgotten, first of all, that many people of many races and religious views, form a part, consciously or unconsciously, of this group. Some of them are so close to the Plan that their clarity of vision and their understanding is very real. They know. They need to be very sure, however, as to their right action from the angle of time. Skill in action is their main problem and not accuracy of perception. Others are not so close to the Plan and only know it in a vague and general way. They are consecrated and dedicated souls, but personal ambition and national and religious prejudices, still govern [666] their minds, their reactions and their habits of speech. They sometimes resent the fact that others of different race, tradition and religious sentiment may be as close to the Plan and the Custodians of the Plan as they are. They question the authority of individuals in the New Group of World Servers and sometimes work towards the undoing of disciples in the same field as their own. This must not be. There is no time today for such trifling things as personal prestige, or for the emphasizing of one organization at the expense of another, or for the assumed priority of this or the other teaching. These are the things that do not matter, but which do hinder. What is of importance at this time is the unified stand which can be made by the men of good will in the world during the next few years in order to turn the tide in human affairs, avert possible catastrophe and bring in the era of unity, peace and plenty. Personal ambitions have to go. Personal desire, self defense, or self assertiveness have no place in the ranks of the New Group of World Servers. How can good will be fostered in the world, if those who profess it are fighting amongst themselves? How can the Plan of the Great Ones make progress and the leadership of the world pass into the hands of those who have a definitely spiritual objective if they are quarreling over place, position, and precedence? Personalities do not count and only souls have power.

Let all of us, therefore, who belong to the New Group of World Servers or who respond to their message of good will, sacrifice our personal differences, our petty interpretations, and our selfish ambitions upon the altar of world service and friendships. Thus we can offer to the Custodians of the Plan an instrument which They can freely use.

Another danger may arise if undue emphasis is laid upon the organization aspect of the New Group of World Servers. It must never be forgotten that there is here no ordinary [667] organization, such as is usually found in the world. The group is an organism, not an organization. It is not a propaganda group, as that term is usually understood. It is not interested in politics, religion or place. Its work is the educating of the human being and the expanding of the human consciousness, so that the newer and truer ideas may be grasped. Its function is the spreading of the message of international good will and religious unity. The members of the New Group of World Servers are primarily interpreters. That they may have high place and position, that they may be powerful and influential people, that they may work through the spoken and the printed word, that they may employ every possible means which brains and money can use in their endeavor, and that they may evidence the highest skill in action will be true if things progress as desired; but all these things are to be regarded as simply a means to an end - the production of worldwide good will, of intelligent and loving understanding and unity, peace and plenty.

The outer organization is of importance in so far as it leads to the skillful use of opportunity and money, but the organization is again only a means to an end. The organization of the New Group of World Servers is not possible. They must ever remain unorganized and unlabelled, free to work as they individually see fit. It is the organization of the available resources to which we refer, so that the Plan may be promoted, the ideals become practical and the work be carried intelligently forward.

The various plans under consideration for the furthering and growth of the New Group of World Servers, should and will go steadily forward. The ideas briefly outlined above should be worked out in detail. People must be trained to work for the expansion of these ideas. The general public must be educated as to the aims and objectives of the new [668] group. Meditation groups should be formed, dedicated to the work of contacting the vision and of drawing in the needed wisdom and power. The Great Invocation should be increasingly used, and daily and hourly must the Invocation be sent forth. The gist of that which is here set forth should be rearranged and readapted for the use of the general public for it is only through constant reiteration that men learn, and these things must be said again and again before the real work of the New Group of World Servers can make itself felt.

The function of the New Group is to balance the forces leading to disintegration and destruction by embodying in itself the forces of integration and construction. The New Group will eventually offset the tendency (so prevalent at this time) towards racial hatreds, and the teaching given out will tend to negate the present ideas which are powerful in producing the current cleavages and barriers among men, thus causing separation and war. Where there is an appearance of a group or groups, expressing ideas which potently emphasize one angle of public opinion and one aspect of life, there must inevitably appear, under the law of balance, that which will offset it. At the present point in the history of the race, the groups which foster the spirit of cleavage and which build up barriers to impede the free spirit of man, have appeared first. They do their needed work, for they too are included in the Plan. Then, under the law, there must appear the group or groups which embody those ideas which lead to integration and constructive building. They will swing the world on to a higher turn of the spiral; they will heal the breaches, break down the barriers, and end the cleavages.

C.II.3. Functions of the New Group of World Servers

It would be of value at this time to indicate three of the functions of this New Group so that there may be a clear [669] picture of the work that must be accomplished during the next few years. This work is intended:

1. To produce a balancing of the forces present in the world today and responsible for the widespread unrest and chaos, so that it will be possible for the race to swing back to a point of equilibrium.
2. To act as the interpreters of the new attitudes and the new activities which must eventually govern men in the coming New Age.
3. To bring about the eventual synthesis and unification of the men of good will and of understanding into one coherent body. The many who are working in isolated fashion in the various fields of human endeavor (political, religious, scientific and economic), must be brought into touch with each other, and thus made to realize their essential unity.

The major objective and aim of all who are associated with the New Group of World Servers is to bring order out of chaos, and to resolve the widely separative issues of modern life into some kind of stability. Men would then have time to make the needed readjustments, to think through to a few vital conclusions, and to bring about a period of relative quiet in which to order the newer ways of living, so that the wider issues may be perceived and developed.

At present, such is the distress of mind, so great is the economic suffering, and so deep seated is the widespread illusion, that there is no opportunity to precipitate that which is imminent. It is not possible for the new ideas, which constitute the coming ideals of the race, to make any real headway. As yet, these ideas are only sensed and appreciated by a few intuitives and thinkers, the masses remain unaware of the implications of the new order. These thinkers may be oriented towards [670] unity and good will, but the majority seize upon the ideals presented to them, bend them to their own ambitions, and distort and misapply them to their own selfish ends. They enforce drastic measures upon the people in order to bring about the acceptance of these ideas by an ignorant and dissatisfied public opinion.

We live in an era of extremes, - of extreme riches and extreme poverty; of extreme ignorance and extreme learning; of extreme discontent and the extreme satisfaction of personal ambitions; of extreme selfishness and extreme self-sacrifice. On every hand can be seen the wrecking of the institutions of the past, with consequent chaos and disaster, despair and suffering. At the same time we have the loud shouting and the active work of certain idealists, who seize upon the presented opportunity to swing the masses and the nations into certain activities in the spheres of government and religion. Their measures seem right and good to the self-imposed leaders, but they are often, in the last analysis, only misinterpreted ideals, growing out of a dimly sensed idea, and are usually unjustly enforced and wrongly applied. Between these extremes the masses swing, - inert, helpless, unthinking, easily swayed, regimented and standardized.

In every country in the world today, men of good will and of true understanding are to be found. Many thousands of them are known. They are however, either ridden by fear or by a feeling of futility, and by the realization that the work to be done is so stupendous that their little isolated efforts are utterly useless to break down the barriers of hate and separation everywhere to be found. They realize that there is apparently no systematized spread of the principles which seem to hold the solution of the world problem; they have no conception of the numerical strength of those who may be thinking as they do, and they are consequently rendered impotent [671] through their loneliness, their lack of unity, and the dead weight of the surrounding inertia. The powerful thinker or the ambitious demagogue, and the man with a true love of his country (but with his own selected ideas as to the right solution of that country's problem) are today availing themselves of the general inertia and of the world crisis and depression in order to impose (if need be, by force) those systems of governments and of control which will materialize their interpretations of the ideal. These the masses have to accept, and because they normally take the line of least resistance without thinking, they are easily regimented into compliance.

The argument of the leaders is that the masses have not the long vision, and do not, and cannot, know what is good for them. This is undoubtedly true. They must, therefore, be told what to do, and be led, blindly or by force to that state and form of civilization which the leaders and their associates believe (often quite sincerely) to be the best. In the process, those who disagree or who are thinking for themselves must necessarily go to the wall and be silenced, for the good of the whole. Such is the general situation, with certain national differences of no major importance in the light of the basic problem. The well-being of the national life may be sensed and desired, but the integration of that national life into the greater whole of humanity - of this the leaders seem, as yet, to have but little vision.

Attack by one party upon another party in public, national or political life, or of one group of thinkers (advocating their peculiar ideas) upon another group of thinkers with differing ideas, has long been the custom. In this process the more powerful obliterate the weaker, and the masses are exploited and told what to do and to think, with no real effort to bring them into a condition of right understanding. It is the same in the religious field, but the religious differences of the race are [672] of such old standing that there is no need to enumerate them here. Militarists and pacifists in their many groups, Communists and conservatives, socialists and Nazis, republicans and Fascists, democrats and progressives, labor and capital, Catholics and Protestants, agnostics and fanatics, politicians and idealists, criminals and the enforcers of the misinterpreted law, ignorant masses and the intelligent few, plus the class distinctions, the racial differences, and the religious feuds in both hemispheres, have reduced the world to turmoil and complete disunion and feebleness.

Out of this condition, how shall order be restored? How can the economic situation be stabilized, and the world be brought to a condition where there is a just and right sufficiency for all? How can national differences be healed and racial hatreds be ended? How can the many religious groups pursue their work of leading men to an expression of their divinity along the lines of individual heritage, and yet at the same time exist in harmony and present a united front to the world? How can wars be ended and peace be brought about on earth? How can a true prosperity be established, which shall be the result of unity, peace and plenty?

Only in one way. By the united action of the men and women of good will and understanding in every country and in every nation. Steadily and quietly, with no sense of hurry, must they do three things:

• First, they must discover each other and be in touch with each other. Thus the sense of weakness and of futility will be offset. This is the first duty and task of the New Group of World Servers.
• Secondly, they must clarify and elucidate those basic principles of right living, good will and harmony, which are recognized, but not applied, by all right thinking [673] people today. These principles must be formulated in the simplest terms and made practical in action.
• Thirdly, the general public must be educated in these principles. Steadily, regularly and systematically, they must be taught the principles of brotherhood, of an internationalism which is based on good will and love of all men, of religious unity, and of cooperative interdependence. The individual in every nation and group must be taught to play his important part with good will and understanding; the group must shoulder its responsibility to other groups; and the responsibility of nation to nation and of all nations to the world of nations must be explained and emphasized.

This is no idle or mystical, impractical program. It undermines and attacks no authority or government. It is not interested in the overthrow of rulers or the downfall of any political or national party. It calls for intelligent and practical effort. It will call for the cooperation of many types of mind and many trained executives. The men of good will in every country must be discovered, and all who respond to these ideals must be gathered together through mailing lists. Their cooperation must be sought and systematized. This program will call, eventually, for the assistance of many lecturers and writers, who will work along the same idealistic lines but with differing methods. Through their knowledge of their own country, and of the best way to bring these basic truths home to their own nationals, they must be left free to work as they see best for their particular nation. They, and all men and women of good will constitute the New Group of World Servers. A central group, chosen from among them, should synthesize this work and coordinate it, whilst giving the widest latitude to individual servers and workers. [674]

This program will require patience and much cooperative work. The members of the New Group of World Servers must be discovered through their reaction to these ideals; they must be trained in the new policies, and educated in the technique of right thought, non-aggressive action, and the elimination of antagonisms of every kind; they must be taught the manner by which these basic ideals of world unity, economic synthesis and religious cooperation are to be expressed and attained. The law of Love, expressed intelligently, must be applied to all human relationships.

This work of educating the men and women of good will in the world must be proceeded with as rapidly as possible. The work must, however, be carried on with no infringement of harmony. There must be no interference with national preferences and programs, and no belittling of national governments, no matter what they may be. No political activity should be carried on in the name of the New Group of World Servers. Such action would continue the old methods and perpetuate the old hatreds. There must be no attack upon any party or group, and no criticism of any leader or national activity. Such old methods have long been tried and have failed to bring peace on earth. The members of the New Group of World Servers, and those associated with them, stand for no party, neither for nor against any group or form of control. This is their imperative position. For attack or counter-attack they have not time, energy or money. Yet their attitude is not one of "passive non-resistance". They are at work balancing world forces, and fostering the growth of that group of men who stand for good will, understanding and brotherhood.

The world of men today can be divided into two major groups. They are those who are fighting for some political party, some form of national government, some religious, [675] social or economic attitude. They are against all that is not of their inclination. There are those who are opposed to them, and who are ranged against them. Partisanship, fighting for or against, and party spirit distinguish the modern world of men. With these activities; which lead to separation and division and strife, the New Group of World Servers have no time or interest. They stand for those attitudes which will eventually produce a third party, free from political and religious hatreds. As yet they are unknown, unrealized, and relatively powerless to make a definite impression on world thought. If, however, there is skill in action and an adherence to the principles of harmonious cooperation, they can, in a very few years, demonstrate real power and influence.

The work can then swing into its second cycle of pronounced and definite influence. This will be possible only if those who have this vision will make every effort and every possible sacrifice of time and money to bring it about. Between the exploited and the exploiting, the warlike and the pacifist, the masses and the rulers, this group will stand, taking no sides, demonstrating no partisan spirit, fomenting no political or religious disturbance, and feeding no hatreds, either of individuals, nations or races. They will stand as the interpreters of right human relations, for the basic oneness of humanity, for practical brotherhood, for positive harmlessness in speech and writing, and for that inner synthesis of objectives which recognizes the value of the individual and at the same time the significance of group work. The propagation of these ideas and the spread of the principles of good will will produce this third group in world affairs.

In a few years' time, if the work is carried forward along these lines, public opinion will be forced to recognize the potency of this movement towards peace, international understanding, and mutual good will. Eventually, the numerical [676] strength of the men and women of good will in the world will be so great that they will be able to influence world events. There will then be enough people enlisted in the cause of good will to affect definitely the trend of world affairs.

No idle pacifism will be taught. It is no mystical dream which waits for God to take action and which relies on the future to straighten things out. It is no impractical idea, incapable of application. It is the plan for the development of a group of people, gathered out of every nation, who are trained in the spirit of good will, and who possess such a clear insight into the principles that should govern human relations in world affairs, that they can work with power in the field of human peace and understanding. It is a systematized process of education. By its means, men and women everywhere are to be trained to live as exponents of good will in every department of life, and the power of intelligent good will to adjust difficulties in every department of human affairs is unbelievably potent. But as yet, that growing spirit of good will has not been intelligently developed, applied, and systematized. Thousands of men and women are ready today throughout the world to be so trained, and to be brought into cooperation with each other, so that there can eventually be unity of effort in the cause of peace and harmonious relations. The New Group of World Servers seeks to discover these people, and unify them into a coherent group.

In conclusion, it might be said, therefore, that the New Group of World Servers seeks to help in the restoration of world balance and peace through the activity - coordinated, definite, and applied - of this emerging group of people, who can constitute a third group or "middle party" (to borrow a phrase from the field of politics) between those who are fighting for, and those who are fighting against, any group, religious organization, political affiliation or form of government. [677]

Through their work, the consciousness of humanity will be steadily evoked on the side of righteousness and peace. Righteousness will be regarded as the conscious establishing of right relations with one's fellow men. When the mass conscience is evoked and functioning, a stabilized opinion will be possible, and will be so strong that, in every country, acts of cruelty, of oppression, of enforced obedience through penalizing, of selfish aggrandizement at the expense of the helpless, of personal ambition, and of war will no longer be tolerated.

The time must come in the history of humanity when so large a number of people have been awakened to the finer spiritual issues and values that the old attitudes and activities will be rendered eternally impossible on a large scale. This coming period will be the correspondence in the life of humanity to that stage in the life of the disciple and Christian wherein he is no longer a victim of his wrong tendencies and habits, but begins to dominate them by imposing his enlightened spiritual will upon his lower nature. This stage can now be developed in our present day humanity for the first time in its history. One of the main functions of the New Group of World Servers is to bring about these changed attitudes, to foster the growth of a true public opinion through the education of the thinking people in the principles of good will and right relations. They in their turn will educate the masses. Thus it will be possible to profit by the emerging tendency towards righteousness and good will which is today most definitely present, even if weak and as yet but little realized.

The second function of the New Group of World Servers is to interpret the ideals and objectives which should govern the race and to familiarize the public with the immediate possibilities. By these means, they will eventually awaken in the masses an intelligent response, an ardent desire and a right [678] activity. In this way the idea of the few will become the ideal of the many, and will finally make its appearance as a working fact in human consciousness. The new, compelling, inner impulses must stand revealed to the human intellect. The growing tendency towards brotherhood (of which our modern philanthropic enterprises are an illustration), the ideal of group welfare in contradistinction to individual aims of a selfish and ambitious kind, and the enunciation of those principles which must and will govern the next world cycle, - these interpretations and their right and intelligent application must be carried forward. Through this form of mass education the new age will begin to make its potencies felt. The activities of the New Group of World Servers will lead to the establishment of two momentous facts. These are as yet only theories to the mass, though established knowledge to the few. They are:

1. The fact of an intelligent, unfolding Plan which underlies the entire evolutionary process of the world, and which history and the growth of human consciousness demonstrate infallibly.
2. The fact of immortality, or of life which persists when divorced from the body.

The recognition of these two facts will bring about great changes in world attitudes and governments, when the underlying purpose of world events is grasped and when the hope of immortality becomes a known accepted fact. World affairs and modern life conditions will then be seen in true perspective. Upon this we need not here enlarge, but when it is seen that the growth of good will in the world is the normal emergence of that which is inevitable, and when all that is occurring is seen in its relation to an eternal future, there are [679] carried to our minds implications of profound magnitude to the race.

The third function of the New Group of World Servers, and one that is of immediate import today, is to gather together into one loosely knit group, the men and women of good will throughout the world. Those who respond to these ideas and who show no antagonistic reactions to these truths must be brought into relation with each other. This group is today in existence. The nucleus for the work is already there. Their numbers must be steadily increased and their usefulness developed by a steady education in the basic principles of good will, during the next five years. Sufficient momentum will then have been developed so as to make it possible to initiate right activity. The New Group of World Servers should then be in a position to mould public opinion.

C.II.4. Rules of Procedure

Such is the task with which the New Group of World Servers is faced. What should be the immediate procedure?

The following procedure is suggested. The details of its application will vary from time to time in the different countries.

• The men and women of good will who are willing to listen, to consider and to work, must be found and contacted in every country.
• Secondly, these men and women of good will should be subjected to an intensive training. This should be carried forward through printed pamphlets, personal contact, and correspondence; through lectures and discussions and eventually, if possible, through the medium of some periodical which will literally be the organ of the New Group of World Servers. It will carry information as to the activities which foster [680] good will, international understanding, world education and scientific achievement.

At the end of that period there should be enough people in the world who are alive to these principles and to the opportunity, so that they can begin to make a definite impact upon the public consciousness. In this way the contacting of the true intelligentsia of the world will proceed with increased rapidity. The education of these thinkers should be carried on by the World Servers in conformity with the following rules:

1. No word must be spoken or written which could be construed as evidencing partisanship, or as an attack upon any ruler, any form of government, or any national activity. "Hatred ceaseth not by hatred; hatred ceaseth by love."
2. Nothing must be published in any pamphlet, newspaper, circular or letter which could evoke antagonism from any government, any political party, any economic strategist, or any religious organization. Only principles of universal application must be expressed, and no partisanship is permitted.
3. No race or nation must be regarded (either in the spoken or written word) as of greater importance essentially than any other race or nation. Humanity as a whole must be emphasized. Yet those who think otherwise than this must not be subjected to attack. Racial hatreds, religious differences, and national ambitions are to be ignored by this balancing third group, the New Group of World Servers.
4. Members of the New Group of World Servers are never to identify themselves with any political, religious or social propaganda. Such propaganda is separative in its effects, [681] and breeds divisions and hatreds. Some of the World Servers and men of good will may themselves be members of political, religious or other organizations committed to activity of the kind which causes divisions. This may happen through their past inclination, by enforced national discipline, by heredity, or by force of circumstances. When men of good will find themselves in such a situation, they can refrain from breeding hatred and from active antagonistic propaganda, and can regard their position as one which will enable them - in a very difficult setting - to interject the theme of brotherhood by living in a brotherly spirit, and by expressing understanding and love.
5. Units of Service in all nations must be built up steadily. A number of such units already exists. Their objectives are as follows:
   1. To educate the people in their nation in service, in kindly effort, and in non-aggressive action. A positive harmlessness will be inculcated, which in no way negates intense, intelligent activity, and the propagation of those ideals which lead to mutual understanding, and eventually to unity, peace and plenty.
   2. To provide in every country and eventually in every city, a central bureau where information will be available concerning the activities of men and women of good will all over the world, and of those organizations and groups and parties who are working along the lines of international understanding, mutual cooperation, religious unity, and economic interdependence. Thus, many will find those who will cooperate with them in their particular endeavor to promote world peace. What is being accomplished along these [682] lines in the world today can thus be synthesized and studied.
   3. To bring together the members of the New Group of World Servers and those associated with them through similarity of ideas and vision, so that in every country and major city the World Servers can find those whose aims are the same as theirs and who are pledged to the same service and activity. The same language of brotherhood and kindness will be taught, and thus mutual confidence and a spirit of optimism will be promoted.
   4. To list and investigate the work and the ideals of all groups which purport to have an international program which tends to heal world differences and national quarrels, to work for a better understanding between the races, and to harmonize religious distinctions and class wars. A study will be made of their techniques and modes of work. When such groups are found to be colored with aims that are truly spiritual and harmonizing, when they are true healers of differences and under the guidance of men of good will, cooperation will be offered. Such groups now exist.
6. No secrecy must ever be permitted in the work of the New Group of World Servers. Secret societies are organizations ever open to attack and suspicion. The New Group has nothing to hide, and their files and methods of work must ever be open to investigation. The Secret Services and Intelligences of any country must find all literature and information easily available. No secret lists must be kept. Members of the New Group of World Servers must be encouraged to seek out those in high places in government circles and church, and enlighten them as to the objectives of the Group. [683]

It takes no great effort of imagination to see that, if this work of educating public opinion is pursued, and the finding of the men of good will is carried forward, much can be accomplished. Thousands can be gathered into the New Group of World Servers and can work in the Units of Service. This is the initial task. How to use the weight of that good will and how to employ that intelligent understanding will gradually appear out of the work accomplished and the world situation. The needed right activity will be apparent when the time comes. The trained use of power on the side of good will and international understanding will be possible, and the complexion of world affairs can then be changed.

This can be done; not by the usual warlike measures of the past or the enforced will of some group, but through the educated opinion of the intelligent masses, - an opinion which will be based on a trained good will, the intelligent understanding of the needs of humanity, and with no antagonism to any living being. The initial concepts must be carried forward in their essential purity; the process of thus educating the public must go forward with diligence and tact, and wisdom must be cultivated in order to avoid all antagonism, all criticism and all hatred. The power of such a group, working in such a fashion, will be tremendous. They can accomplish phenomenal results. This is no idle promise, but it is contingent upon the preservation of the initial concepts and the steady practice of good will.

C.II.5. The World Servers and the May Full Moon

The Month of May is one of deepest significance to all who are affiliated with the Great White Lodge (as are all true esotericists) in that the Wesak Festival takes place and is of moment and deep import. The period is always one of prime interest and rare opportunity, but the Wesak Festival [684] of 1936 was unique and the Lodge of Masters prepared for it for six months. May I add also that the Buddha Himself in His high place and the blessed Lord Maitreya (known to Christian disciples as The Christ) have since then been in close communication with each other and cooperating in order to bring about a receptivity on the part of the human family to a possible outflow of spiritual force which may serve to turn the tide of the present distress, depression and uncertainty and thus inaugurate an era of peace and of soul-culture. This item of information is of interest, is it not?

In connection with these Festivals every May, I am presenting you an opportunity to serve and to bring about the desired objective of peace. It is possible for us, each of  us, - in our small measure to cooperate in the intended Plan, and therefore what I have to say takes on another aspect and lays the responsibility of materializing that Plan upon the Earth upon the shoulders of each and all of us. The work has been brought about through an intensive effort in two directions, - one the effort of the Hierarchy to impress that Plan upon the minds of men and to convey the needed power and understanding to effect the intended work, and secondly the effort of all disciples and aspirants to respond and bring through into manifestation that which is waiting on the subjective side of life. How, therefore, is that work at this time going forward?

This planet of ours, the Earth, is at this time the focal point of much attention on the part of the Administrators of the Plan Who today are working in conjunction with certain types of force and with certain Spiritual Entities other than those to be found at this time within the ring-pass-not of our planetary life. May I give here one hint without proceeding to elaboration? This hint can be accepted or rejected according to the intuition of the individual student. [685]

The Buddha has a special function at this time as an interplanetary mediator, and in this capacity (at the coming May Festivals) He will attempt to bring certain Spiritual Beings into touch with our Earth Hierarchy. They have expressed Themselves as willing to aid in the present crisis. That aid, if the effort prove successful, will come in the form of a much increased spiritual inflow of energy of a kind more potent and of a quality somewhat different to any at this time pouring into and through our planetary life. Those aspirants and disciples who can train themselves to the realization of an increased spiritual responsibility and can preserve an inner quietness and a focused esoteric attentiveness can be swept into this tide of spiritual force and can then and thus serve humanity's need. As transmitters they meet that need; as interpreters they increase the capacity of the human being to respond and to understand.

In order to effect this transmission of force, a peculiar interchange of ideas and of cooperation is going on between the Lord Buddha and the Lord Maitreya, and They are subjecting Themselves to a most definite form of training in order to present to these interested Spiritual Beings Who are seeking to help the planet, more adequate channels of service. Three Masters from each of the seven ray groups of Masters are in Their turn attempting a closer cooperation with the Great Lords in preparation for the opportunity to be presented. These twenty-three spiritual forces are banded together to act as a group channel of service on the day of the Wesak Festival and particularly at the hour of the full moon.

A call has been sent out to the entire Hierarchy of Masters to prepare Themselves for an intensive "Holy Month" of accelerated service, and all of the Masters on the Seven Rays - no matter what Their departmental work may at this time be - are getting into immediate cooperation and close contact [686] with the three Masters on Their particular Ray who are acting as the ray intermediaries. The service is new and peculiar and as to its particular nature there is no need for me to explain as I should not be understood.

In Their turn, the Hierarchy of Masters is calling to all working initiates and disciples and to all aspirants of mental focus to cooperate as fully as they can in an intensive effort to increase the receptivity of humanity to the new forces which can be released to perform their benevolent synthesizing work during the month of May.

To this intensive cooperation we are called. Should the two Great Lords and the focused and attentive Hierarchy succeed in producing what might be regarded as a form of planetary alignment and the needed open channel through which these extra-planetary energies can pour, it still remains for the disciples of the world and for the New Group of World Servers to act as the medium of transmission and communication between the world thinkers and this inner spiritual group of workers. We have, therefore, the focused Hierarchy in deep attentiveness under the group composed of the two Lords, the twenty-one chohans and the Masters of the seven rays. We have the disciples of the world and the New Group of World Servers given the opportunity to focus in their turn and act as a channel of transmission. We have also the unhappy and bewildered world of men, waiting in eager expectancy for an event which can take place if the aspirants of the world measure up to the opportunity.

One item of esoteric information is of interest here. The period of the Wesak Festival on the inner planes in 1936 and 1937 was extended to cover five days, - two preceding the Festival itself, and two succeeding the Festival. The Wesak hour is of momentous import. The two days of preparation are to be known as "days of renunciation and detachment". [687] The day of the Festival is to be known as the "day of safe guarding" whilst the two succeeding days are called the "days of distribution". These words mean something different to the Hierarchy of Masters than they do to us and it is fruitless (as well as forbidden) to elucidate them in their deepest meaning. They mean, however, five days of a most intensive effort in service, leading to the renunciation of all which could hinder our usefulness as channels of spiritual force. It means that after due preparation, dedication and upward striving for the first two days, on the day of the Festival itself we simply regard ourselves as the recipients of, or the custodians of, as much of that inflowing spiritual force as we can possibly hold. As channels, we must be prepared to forget ourselves in the service of touching, containing and holding force for the rest of humanity. We must regard the Festival itself as a day of silence (I refer to an inner peace and silent solemnity that can be preserved unbroken though the outer man may be serving with his speech and spoken interest), a day of service carried forward entirely on esoteric levels, and of complete self-forgetfulness in the remembrance of humanity and its need. During that period, two thoughts only will hold our constant attention, - the need of our fellow men and the necessity of providing a group channel whereby the spiritual forces can be poured through the body of humanity under the expert guidance of the chosen members of the Hierarchy.

Remember, no matter who we are or where we may be placed or what is the nature of our environment, no matter how isolated we may feel or apart from those who may share our spiritual vision, each of us can that day and for the period immediately following and preceding it, work and think and act in group formation, and function as a silent distributor of force.

For two days prior to the full moon, we will hold the attitude [688] of dedication and service and seek to assume that attitude of receptivity to that which our soul will impart which will make us of use to the Hierarchy. The Hierarchy works through groups of souls, and the potency of this group work is to be tested out. These groups in their turn contact and feed the waiting dedicated attentive personalities. On the day of the full moon, we attempt to hold ourselves steadily in the light. We will not formulate to ourselves what will happen nor will we look for results or for tangible effects.

On the two succeeding days, the focus of our attention will be steadily turned away from ourselves but also from the inner subjective planes to the outer world, and our efforts will be to pass on, or to pass through, that measure of spiritual energy that may have been contacted. Our work then in this particular and peculiar field of cooperation will then be ended.

This effort of the Hierarchy is a five days effort, preceded by a most intensive period of preparation. The work of getting ready for the opportunity starts for the Hierarchy exactly at the hour when "the sun began to move northward." But They tire not as do human beings and it is not possible for the human aspirant to keep up so long a period of preparation, no matter how deep his devotion.

When the Great Lord was on Earth, He told His disciples that successful spiritual effort of a healing nature went not forth except by prayer and fasting. Will you ponder on these words? This is a group effort towards a vast group healing and by prayer (sanctified desire, illumined thought and intense aspirational longing) and by the discipline of the physical body for a short period and for a definite objective, the work can be done.

What is it that should be accomplished at each momentous full moon in May? I shall state the objectives sequentially and [689] in the order of their importance, and with as much clarity and brevity as this abstruse subject permits.

1. The releasing of certain energies which can potently affect humanity, and which will, if released, stimulate the spirit of love, of brotherhood and of good will on the earth. These energies are as definite and as real as those energies with which science occupies itself and calls the "cosmic rays". I am speaking of real energies and not of emotionally desired abstractions.
2. The fusion of all the men of good will in the world into an integrated responsive whole.
3. The invocation and the response of certain great Beings, Whose work can and will be possible if the first of the objectives is achieved through the accomplishment of the second objective. Ponder on this synthesis of the three objectives. By what name these Living Forces are called is entirely immaterial. They can be regarded as the vice-regents of God, Who can and will cooperate with the Spirit of Life and of Love upon our planet, the One in Whom we live and move and have our being. They may be regarded by certain thinkers as the Archangels of the Most High, Whose work has been made possible through the activity of Christ and His body of disciples, the true and living Church. They may be regarded by others as the guiding heads of the planetary Hierarchy, Who stand behind our planetary evolution, and Who seldom take an active outer part in the world activity, leaving it to the Masters of the Wisdom except in the time of an emergency such as this. By whatever name we call Them, They stand ready to aid, if the call comes forth with sufficient strength and power from the aspirants and disciples at the time of the May full moon and the June full moon.
4. The evocation from the inner side of a strenuous and one-pointed activity on the part of the Hierarchy of Masters, [690] those illumined Minds to Whom has been confided the work of world direction. A responsiveness is desired and can be effective between the following three groups:
   1. The waiting and (at this time) anxious Hierarchy - anxious because even They cannot tell how humanity will react and whether men will be wise enough to avail themselves of the proffered opportunity. They stand, organized under the direction of the Christ, the Master of all the Masters, and the Teacher alike of angels and of men. He has been constituted the direct intermediary between the earth and the Buddha, Who is, in His turn, the consecrated intermediary between the entire waiting Hierarchy and the attentive Forces.
   2. The New Group of World Servers, composed at this time of all those sensitive and consecrated servers of the race whose objective is world peace, who aim at the establishing of good will on earth as the basis for future living and world expansion. Originally, this group was composed of a handful of accepted disciples and consecrated aspirants. Its ranks have been opened during the past ten months to all those men of good will who are working actively for real understanding, who are willing to sacrifice themselves for the helping of humanity, and who see no separating bar of any kind, but feel alike to the men of all races, nationalities and religions.
   3. The masses of men and women who have responded to the ideas which have been set forth, and who react favorably to the objectives of international understanding, economic interdependence and religious unity. [691]

When these three groups of thinkers and servers are brought en rapport with each other, and when the three groups can be aligned, even momentarily, much can be accomplished; the gates of the new life can be opened, and the inflow of the new spiritual forces can take place. Such is the Group objective and idea.

May I now make an inquiry? Of what importance is this full moon of May to you personally? Does it seem to you of sufficient importance to warrant your utmost effort? Do you really believe that on that day there can truly come a release of spiritual energy of sufficient potency to change world affairs, provided the sons of men play their part? Do you really believe, and can you stand practically by that belief, that the Buddha on that day, in cooperation with the Christ, and with the Hierarchy of Illumined Minds, plus the proffered aid of some of the Thrones, Principalities and Powers of Light, Who are the higher correspondence of the powers of darkness, stand waiting to carry out God's plans, when given the right and the permission of men? Your major job at this time is not to wrestle with the powers of evil and the forces of darkness, but to awaken an interest in and mobilize the forces of light and the resources of men of good will, and of right inclination in the world today. Resist not evil, but so organize and mobilize the good, and so strengthen the hands of the workers on the side of righteousness and love, that evil will find less opportunity.

If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed in what I have told you, if you have staunch belief in the work of the spirit of God and in the divinity of man, then forget yourselves and consecrate your every effort, from the time you receive this communication, to the task of cooperating in the organized effort to change the current of world affairs by an [692] increase in the spirit of love and good will in the world during the month of May.

In your effort to help the world at this time there are three things of a practical nature that can be done. I touch not upon the task of preparation which each one of you, as an individual, will carry on within yourselves. Purification, sacrifice, clear thinking, and an increased sensitivity must be actively desired and worked for by each of you, alone in the secret place of your own heart. The arranging of your affairs so that the week of the full moon can yield to you the fullest opportunity to cooperate must be your effort, and the use of a sane judgment and the expression of a real skill in action must be your attempted demonstration, as you seek to awaken your immediate circle to the importance of the moment. This I take for granted. I speak here of the general effort that you can make. This falls into three categories:

1. The active instruction and mobilizing of the known aspirants and disciples of the world, no matter in what group they work, so that they may make due preparation, working in their own groups as they see fit.
2. The call to participate of all who can be reached advising them of the day of opportunity, mobilizing them for a vast world effort to arouse afresh a spirit of good will, and calling for a united use of the Great Invocation on the day of the Wesak full moon. Every possible effort must be made by the workers in every country to increase the numbers of those who use this Invocation, and to familiarize the public with the ideals for which the New Group of World Servers stands. All whom you can reach in the countries of the world must be instructed and helped to spread the use of the Invocation in their own language, and with the wording that [693] will make it acceptable, and a widespread effort must be made to organize its simultaneous use on the day of the May full moon. Those who use it must be instructed to say the words aloud, thus making a volume of sound of real potency, and they must say it with all the power of their wills behind it. It is the invocation of the "will to good" that is the objective of the Forces Who can aid at this time. This realization is of paramount importance.
3. The arranging of public meetings on as large a scale as possible, to be held on the day of the full moon of May. I mean by this that meetings should be held for the public at some time during the eighteen hours which precede and include the time of the full moon. The exact hour is immaterial, provided as many people as possible participate at some time during the preceding eighteen hours, thus laying the foundation for and aiding in the work which will take place at the time of the full moon. Those aspirants who can arrange to do so must, however, arrange to be in meditation, in group formation if possible, at the exact time, and their work will then be to capitalize on the energy then available, and to take advantage of the vortex of force generated earlier at the public meetings, and so throw the weight of the public demand for peace and light on the side of the effort of the Hierarchy.

The way in which these three objectives must be brought about, and the world be swept into an organized effort for world peace and cooperation, is to be decided upon by the exigencies of the time, the necessities of the occasion, and the varying circumstances of place, country and environing conditions. [694]

The representatives of the various Units of Service in the different countries must be called upon to cooperate, and may receive this instruction in the cases where you know them and their interests. It is the general, widespread and intelligent use of the Great Invocation which is desired. The general public must be urged, through all possible agencies, to employ it. The radio, the press, must all be utilized, and all men of good will must be contacted, even if unenlightened from the occult angle, and even if they do not realize the guiding presence of the Hierarchy and the opportunity now offered by the united effort of the Buddha and the Christ.

Let all who seek to help consider with care what they can do and what is the contribution which they can make. Let them weigh up, after due thought, what they can sacrifice, and in what manner they can submerge their normally selfish personalities in this great "push" on the part of the Hierarchy, of the New Group of World Servers, and of the men of good will throughout the world. The barriers which separate man from man and nation from nation can go down. The spirit of peace can become so potent that naturally and sweetly the necessary adjustments can be made. The illumination of men's minds and the renewed organization of man's efforts to brotherhood can be stimulated into fresh and increased activity.

Out of this quite possible great effort at integration which can be focused at the time of the Wesak Festival, and intensified during the twenty four hours preceding the full moon, there can grow the real germ of the new age group, and of the new world and the new ideals. This group will function under no name, and will remain perfectly fluid and a free organization, directed by no committee, but governed through the means of the intelligent cooperation of a group, representing [695] the New Group of World Servers. These will belong to all nations and religions.

The call for the help of the world disciples and aspirants, who constitute the New Group of World Servers, has gone forth from the side of the Hierarchy and it has been made abundantly clear that no one is too weak or too unimportant to have something to offer; all can do something to bring to an end this present impasse, and thus make it possible for us to inaugurate a new era of peace and of good will. I would like to make clear, however, that it is no millennium for which we are working, and that our prime objective at this time is twofold:

1. To break an ancient rhythm and to establish a new and better one. To do this, Time is a paramount factor. If we can delay the crystallization of an evil necessity, and so prevent that which might occur of a calamitous nature, it will give time for the processes of transmutation, for the dissipation of that which must precipitate in some form or other, and for the applied activities of the New Group of World Servers, who constitute our instrument in the world today.
2. To fuse and blend the united aspiration of all peoples at each May full moon - so that a channel can be cleared, opened and established between the New Group of World Servers (composed of all true disciples, aspirants, and men of real good will, no matter what their nationality or faith) and the waiting Hierarchy. Once this channel is permanently established and a large enough number of thinking men and women realize its function and possibilities, it will be easier for the Guides of the race to impress the public consciousness, and so sway public opinion. Thus humanity can be more [696] definitely guided, for there will emerge some conscious cooperation. The establishing of such a channel by the world aspirants is possible.

This is a scientific program of work with which I have presented you. It is more than organized aspirational longing on the part of a large group of people. It is a strenuous mental endeavor, and involves the working with certain laws of the spiritual realm which are only just in process of becoming known.

There is a law called the Law of Magnetic Impulse or Polar Union which plays an active part here. This law governs the relation of the soul of a group to the soul of other groups. It governs the interplay, vital but unrealized yet as a potency, between the soul of the fourth kingdom in nature, the human, and the soul of the three subhuman kingdoms, and likewise of the three superhuman kingdoms. It is, owing to the major part which humanity has to play in the great scheme or Plan of God, the law which will be the determining law of the race. This will not, however, be the case until the majority of human beings understand something of what it means to function as souls. Then, under obedience to this law, humanity will act as a transmitter of light, energy and spiritual potency to the subhuman kingdoms, and will constitute a channel of communication between "that which is above and that which is below." Such is the high destiny before the race.

It is just here that I can perhaps best illustrate this law and aid our work at the coming Wesak Festivals.

Just as certain human beings have, through meditation, discipline and service, most definitely made a contact with their own souls, and can therefore become channels for soul expression, and mediums for the distribution into the world of [697] soul energy, so these same men and women, in their aggregate, form a group of souls, en rapport with the source of spiritual supply. They have, as a group, and from the angle of the Hierarchy, established a contact and are "in touch" with the world of spiritual realities. Just as the individual disciple stabilizes this contact and learns to make a rapid alignment and then, only then, can come into touch with the Master of his group and intelligently respond to the Plan, so does this group of aligned souls come into contact with certain greater Lives and Forces of Light, such as the Christ and the Buddha. The aggregated aspiration, consecration and intelligent devotion of the group carries the individuals of which it is composed to greater heights than would be possible alone. The group stimulation and the united effort sweep the entire group to an intensity of realization that would otherwise be impossible. Just as the Law of Attraction, working on the physical plane, brought them together as men and women into one group effort, so the Law of Magnetic Impulse can begin to control them when, again as a group and only as a group, they unitedly constitute themselves channels for service in pure self-forgetfulness.

This thought embodies the opportunity immediately before all groups of aspirants and allied men of good will in the world today. If at the time of the May full moon they work together as a group of souls, they can accomplish much. This thought illustrates also the significance of this law which does produce polar union. What is needed to be grasped is that in this work, there is no personal ambition implied (even of a spiritual nature) and no personal union sought. This is not the mystical union of the scriptures or of the mystical tradition. It is not alignment and union with a Master's group or fusion with one's inner band of pledged disciples, nor even with one's own Ray life. All these factors constitute preliminary [698] implications and are of an individual application. Upon this sentence I beg you to ponder. This union is a greater and more vital thing because it is a group union.

What we are seeking to do is to carry forward a group endeavor which is of such moment that, it the right time, it will produce, in its growing momentum, such a potent magnetic impulse that it will reach those Lives Who brood over humanity and our civilization, and Who work through the Masters of the Wisdom and the assembled Hierarchy. This group endeavor will call forth from Them a responsive magnetic impulse which will bring together, through the medium of the aspiring group, the over-shadowing beneficent Forces. Through the concentrated effort of these groups in the world today (who constitute subjectively One group) light and inspiration and spiritual revelation can be released in such a flood of power that it will work definite changes in the human consciousness and ameliorate conditions in this needy world. It will open men's eyes to the basic realities, which are as yet only dimly sensed by the thinking public. Then humanity itself will apply the necessary correctives, believing it can do so in the strength of its own sensed wisdom and strength; yet all the time, behind the scenes, stand the grouped world aspirants, working silently, in unison with each other and the Hierarchy, and thus keeping the channel open through which the needed wisdom, strength and love can flow.

There are, therefore, to be found in this great task the following relations and groupings. These must be considered and are as follows:

1. The Forces of Light and the Spirit of Peace, embodied Lives of tremendous group potency.
2. The Planetary Hierarchy.
3. The Buddha. [699]
4. The Christ.
5. The New Group of World Servers.
6. Humanity.

You will note that the Buddha focuses in Himself the downpouring forces, whilst the Christ focuses in Himself the outgoing demand and the spiritual aspiration of the entire planet. This makes a planetary alignment of great potency. Should the needed work be accomplished at the Wesak Festivals, the needed adjustments in the world can be made. The success or failure lies largely in the hands of the New Group of World Servers.

In this tabulation, I have portrayed for you a little of what is implied in the words "The Law of Polar Union". The whole process concerns consciousness, and the results are to work out in consciousness, with the subsequent physical plane happenings, dependent upon the conscious realization of the men of good will in, or out of, the New Group of World Servers.

Carried forward successfully and intelligently, it should be possible to inaugurate a new relation between the Hierarchy and mankind. This effort could, and let us hope it will, mark the beginning of a new type of mediator work, - a work carried forward this time by a salvaging group of Servers, who are in training for the establishing of that group which will eventually save the world. This mediator work involves the recognition of the Law of Magnetic Impulse, and with a desire to understand it, and to cooperate with Those Who wield it. Through its medium and the right understanding of the Law, it should be possible to establish the needed union between souls, who are in themselves the symbol of the Soul in all forms, and souls in prison. Much of the success of this endeavor will depend upon the intellectual grasp of the [700] members of the New Group of World Servers of the implied technique. It will depend also upon their willingness to accept the idea of the opportunity present each full moon period, and also upon their readiness to work along the indicated lines. As yet they have no guarantee as to the accuracy of the claims regarding the importance of the full moon period, nor have they any personal knowledge of the situation as outlined. Some do not even know that there is a watching Hierarchy, but they are consecrated and selfless souls, and as such, belong to the New Group of World Servers. If they can aspire, pray, meditate and serve, focusing in unison with all other servers at the time of the May full moon, the salvaging of humanity can go forward with much greater speed than heretofore, and the results will be appreciably apparent.

For the individual disciple, the significance of this Law of Magnetic Impulse and the corresponding relationships in his own life, might also be tabulated:

1. The world of souls on the higher mental levels.
2. The Master of his group.
3. The solar angel.
4. The aspiring disciple on the lower mental levels.
5. The personality, integrated and often troublesome.
6. The aspirant's environing associates.

It is useful for students to have these analogies in mind, for they can often arrive at release from the limitations of their lives and true comprehension of the larger issues, when they see that their little unimportant lives are only the reflection of greater and more important factors.

It is wise always to remember that on the plane of soul existence there is no separation, no "my soul and thy soul". It is only in the three worlds of illusion and maya that we [701] think in terms of souls and bodies. This is an occult platitude and well known to you, but the re-emphasis of the well known truth may eventually bring home to you its exactitude.

C.III. The Great Approaches (The Coming New Religion)

C.III.1. The Soul of Humanity

It can be seen, therefore, that a very difficult interlude is now taking place in the world today. It is one wherein a process is being undergone by humanity which is similar to that which takes place so frequently in the life of an individual. The soul of the world is taking cognizance of outer affairs, preparatory to taking hold of the world situation. In the life of an aspirant, such interludes frequently occur. The personality is aware of conditions of difficulty and of turmoil. It has, however, had in the past moments of high spiritual revelation and of divine impulsation. It has been sure of its goal temporarily and it has known that the soul is the directing factor; some dim idea of the goal and of the purposes underlying those impulses which have been granted to it by the soul have been vouchsafed. But, for the moment, all that lies in the past. It seems as if the soul has retreated; that the period of contact and of surety has ended; and that nothing remains except difficulty, a sense of futility, and an urge to be freed from conditions. This is frequently of such intensity that all other interests seem dwarfed.

But the soul has not retreated and the inner spiritual conditions remain essentially unchanged. The divine impulses are still there and the soul is but gathering itself for a fresh effort and for a stronger and more determined preoccupation with the affairs of its shadow, its dim reflection, the personality.

What is true of the individual aspirant is equally true of [702] humanity, the world aspirant. In May, 1936, a great forward moving effort of the world soul took place and definite and unchangeable progress was made. This had a threefold effect:

1. The lives of all true aspirants and disciples were subjected to a stimulating process, with definite and specific results of the desired nature.
2. The stimulation of the masses of men also took place so that they could be enabled to respond more easily and truly to the impact of ideas. This also was uniquely successful.
3. The Hierarchy of souls who have achieved freedom and whom you call the planetary Hierarchy were able to approach closer to humanity and to establish a more definite relationship and a closer contact than had been possible at any time since mid-Atlantean times. This result was more universal than had been anticipated. This was the third of the "Great Approaches" made by the Hierarchy towards humanity. The success of these approaches is largely based on the intensity of the desire found in the world aspirants and among those who have, on their side, established also a "way of approach" through meditation and service. Their numbers being phenomenally greater than at any previous time, the year 1936 saw the Hierarchy make a step forward that was unprecedented (I had almost said, unexpected) in its experience. This was due to the worldwide activity of the New Group of World Servers.

I would like here to call your attention to the phrase I used above: "the Hierarchy of souls who have achieved freedom." I am not using that phrase in the ordinary sense. The aspirants and the disciples of the world employ it to signify the achieving of that liberty and that freedom which will [703] release them from the three worlds of human endeavor and make them free citizens of the Kingdom of God. With that point of view you are quite familiar, and you will recognize that in it there lies a large measure of selfish purpose - inevitable and some day to be eliminated, but at this stage definitely present and perhaps desirable because it provides the adequate incentive towards the needed effort. The freedom, however, to which I refer, is the achieved success of the soul to move and act, and manifest with freedom in the three worlds, as well as on its own high plane. This is a point seldom if ever emphasized. The soul itself, the Ego, has its own task to do, which might be expressed as being the reverse of that with which the personality is familiar. It has to learn to be at home and to function effectively in the world of human living and there to carry forward the plan. Such is the task of the Hierarchy and I felt that a statement of their peculiar problem and the difficulty of free activity which it necessarily involves, would prove both of interest and of enlightenment to those who read these papers.

From this highest standpoint, the Hierarchy was enabled to make a definite step forward in 1936 as the result of the work done in the last fifty years; having made it, it became necessary to stabilize the position and from the point then reached to lay plans for the next move to be taken on behalf of humanity.

Thus we find the interlude with which we have been almost distressingly familiar. You may have been led to expect some great onward sweep, some clear time of reaping, or some spectacular climax of happenings. When all that occurred was an interim of relative silence and a period wherein nothing seemed to occur, it was natural for the majority to experience a sense of disappointment, a reaction which was almost equivalent, in some cases, to loss of faith, and a feeling [704] of emotional fatigue and mental futility which tried many to the utmost. It is wise to remember that these reactions do not affect the issue and in no way retard the event, though they may make the task of the approaching helpers more difficult and draw almost unnecessarily upon their spiritual resources.

These interludes of apparent silence, of inertia and of inactivity are part of the great preservative and constructive activity of the Hierarchy; they are both individual, group and planetary in nature. Aspirants must learn to work intelligently and understandingly with the law of cycles. They must not forget that they live in a world of seeming and have no real freedom in the world of reality.

In May, 1938, at the time of the full moon, the Council of the Hierarchy to which I have several times referred in the past, convened and the plans for the immediate future were laid down. I would remind you of something we are very apt to forget. The plans for humanity are not laid down, for humanity determines its own destiny. The plans to meet the immediate human emergency and the plans to make possible a closer relationship between humanity and the Hierarchy were established. The problem before the Hierarchy of Masters (speaking in a large and general sense) is to intensify the activity and the consequent potency of that hidden power. By thus bringing it to the fore in human lives, the needed changes in our civilization can be produced. The average man works from the organization angle and having visioned some illuminating idea, he begins to build the outer physical form which will house and express it. The planetary Hierarchy, working under the inspiration of the Divine vision as it is embodied in the Plan, seeks to evoke a response to that Plan in every human heart, and by fostering and fanning that response, to evoke not only a mental understanding but also an [705] aspirational desire. These together will produce finally the emergence of the Plan upon the earth and thus express a conditioning factor in human affairs.

When there are a sufficient number of people who are in conscious touch with their souls, then the sheer weight of their numbers, plus the clarity of their intentions and their widespread distribution over the face of the earth, must necessarily become effective. These people will then bring about changes of such far-reaching importance that the culture of the future will be as far removed from ours today, as ours in its turn is removed from that of the red Indians who roamed for centuries over the American continent and of whose possessions the white race took charge.

This then is the task of the Workers in the field of human affairs: to awaken the soul ray to potency in the life of each human being, beginning with those whose mental equipment and achieved integration would warrant the belief that - once awakened - they would use the new forces at their disposal with a measure of wisdom and planned constructive intention.

The questions we shall first discuss are as follows: What are the psychological advantages of somewhat understanding the nature of the egoic ray? What intelligent use can be made by psychologists of the fact, if the soul ray is determined and recognized?

Early in this treatise we dealt with the general proposition of the value to psychology of a knowledge of the rays. We have considered the possibility of there being a scientific acceptance of the hypothesis of their existence, even if this recognition is only tendered provisionally. We must not forget that aspirants are increasing all over the world. Perhaps the simplest way to proceed is to state some of the developments [706] which will manifest when the ray of the soul is admitted and recognized and developed. These will be:

1. The solution of the present world conflict. This conflict now amounts in the material sense almost to an impasse. The results of soul contacts on human beings and the effect to be seen in the personality life might be stated to be as follows:

1. Conflict, turmoil, opposed loyalties, inner warfare and a collision of divergent views.
2. A sensitivity to ideas. This amounts in the earlier stages to a flexibility of response, amounting almost to instability, and producing constant change of viewpoint. This leads eventually to a sensitivity to the intuition which will enable an individual to distinguish promptly between the unreal and the real.
3. A process of detachment. This is the difficult and painful process of laying down the lines of demarcation between the soul and the personality. This inevitably produces at first separation and divided interests, leading later to a submergence of personality interests in those of the Plan, and the absorption of personal desire in the aspects of the soul.
4. A period of creativity, due to the third aspect of the soul which is the creator aspect. This development will produce definite habit changes in the physical plane life of the aspirant. It will lead to the consecration of the disciple to certain types of endeavor summed up in the words "artistic career".

These four effects of soul activity, which are in reality only the pouring in of soul force, through the channel of contact which the man has opened, will give to psychology the four [707] major causes of the present world difficulty. Each of these causes holds latent within itself its own solution. The present conflict, the widespread response to widely different ideologies, the economic pressure leading to material depredation, a most certain creativity of all the arts in the world today, and a new standard of values, are all problems confronting the trained thinker and psychologist. These conditioning effects are all of them to be seen among men today.

2. The emergence of world government. This emergence will be the result of these "five areas of difficulty", and the consequence of a more general understanding of:

1. The causes of unrest.
2. The point in evolution reached by humanity.
3. The crises which must inevitably occur when man, the integrated human being, meets man, the spiritual reality.
4. The moment of opportunity which is upon us. This is the result of certain astronomical happenings, such as the pouring in of energy from a new sign in the zodiac, and the shift of the earth's pole.

3. The development of the new art. This will be expressive of a sensitive response to ideas. The art of the past expressed largely man's understanding of the beauty of God's created world, whether it was the phenomenal wonder of native or the beauty of the human form. The art of today is as yet almost a childish attempt to express the world of feeling and of inner moods and those emotionally psychological reactions which govern the bulk of the race. They are, however, to the world of feeling - expression what the drawings of the cave man are to the art of Leonardo da Vinci. It is in the realm of words [708] today that this new art is most adequately expressing itself. The art of music will be the next approach nearer to the truth, and to the revelation of the emerging beauty; the art of the painter and of the sculptor will follow later. None of this is the art of expressing ideas creatively, which will be the glory of the Aquarian Age.

4. The understanding of the diseases of mystics, or the physical ills of the highly developed people of the world. These are predominantly psychological in character and may remain submerged in the realm of the mind and of sensitivity or they may work out as physiological effect with a definite psychological basis. These forms of physical disease are the most difficult to handle and are at present little understood. What do modern scientific investigators know of the distinction between those neurotic and psychological troubles which are based on personality integration, or on excessive soul stimulation, and those which are the result of wrong polarization? On these matters we may not here enlarge as the theme is too vast. It can, however, be noted that a recognition of the soul ray (as it makes its presence felt in the personality), will very frequently lead to definite psychological trouble. It might be well to add here a word of warning. We must be careful not to let our desire for soul contact fool us at this time into believing that our present physical difficulties (if there are any) are the result of this soul contact. It would be quite surprising if this were so. They are far more apt to be the result of astral polarization, of physical unwisdom and experimentation, and perhaps of the too rapid integration of the three aspects of the personality.

In these four points there is probably indicated enough to [709] make clear, or at least to suggest two important things. First, that much, if not all that can be seen going on in the world today, is caused by a greatly increased soul stimulation, to which the entire human family is reacting, even though, as individuals, they have not made a soul contact. This increased stimulation is due to two things

1. A great many men, and the number is rapidly increasing, are making contact with their souls through an intense aspiration and - in many cases - very real desperation.
2. The Hierarchy of Masters is exceedingly active today, and this is due to two things:
   1. The demand on the part of humanity which has reached Their attention continuously for the past few decades, and which is calling out an inevitable response.
   2. A stimulation of the planetary Hierarchy itself. This leads many in the ranks of the Hierarchy to pass through one of the higher initiations. They therefore become much more potent and their influence is much more magnetic and radiating.

If we take the four points above enumerated and apply them both to the individual and to the race, we will find the answers to many questions, and the potency of the effects can be noted.

A study of the egoic ray, when rightly understood, will give the clue to all that is happening today. It might be stated that, in the initial stage of this study, the theme should be approached as follows: A close analysis of the life, quality and characteristics of the aspirants in the world should be made from the standpoint of modern, academic, psychological research, but the fact of the soul should be accepted as a hypothetical possibility. From that premise, the investigator [710] can seek to understand the complexity of the nature of the men and the women under observation.

Some study of the psychology of the mystics (mostly those of the Middle Ages and therefore of the past), and some understanding of the phenomena which they experienced, has been carried forward. Little, however, has been done in connection with the mystics of modern times, with their higher mental equipment and their wider knowledge of the world. Nothing has been done really as yet in relation to the psychology of the occultist, who is only the mystic functioning on a higher plane - that of the mind. These are the brilliant people, normal in most of their expressions of life but possessing that something plus which differentiates them from the rank and file of their fellow men. They rise to the top of their profession, whatever it may be; they have outstanding creative ability in some department of the creative arts; they are phenomenally magnetic and influential in their effect on others; they unify and blend and gather around them groups of people.

This group of advanced people is coming increasingly under the influence of, and responding to, the energy of their souls. They do this either consciously through aspiration, meditation and service, or unconsciously, simply expressing their point in evolution and demonstrating the work done in other lives. This group might be regarded in many ways as supernormal. Its members are frequently misunderstood and it is difficult to account for all that they are and do. They dominate in world affairs, in the realm of art or in the world of business and are the guiding group in the world today. They are found active in government and in churches. They express predominantly a sense of responsibility, or a sense of synthesis, or a sense of God, or a sense of beauty, and modern psychology must answer the question: What is it that [711] differentiates these people from their fellowmen? Heredity, opportunity, environment and the state of the glandular equipment, are some of the reasons brought forth today, but the question really remains unanswered, and will so remain until some understanding is gained of egoic unfoldment, and of soul contact, with its consequences: - stimulation, integration, the inflow of energy, and the use of that energy, according to the predisposition of the man and his group response.

Much has been given in this Treatise on the Seven Rays which should serve to clarify the problem. The soul ray of an individual, the soul ray of a nation, the potency in time and space of an incoming or an outgoing ray - all these give hints and clues to the understanding of the problem and should eventually lead to a better handling of the human being and his equipment, both by himself and by those who are endeavoring to handle him.

Sometimes I ask myself what real use can be made of this teaching and whether the wealth of information is of real service. Knowledge when given must be used; it must be made of practical application in the daily life. Upon all of you who read these words, as they come fresh from my heart, my mind and lips, rests a duty of doing three things, which I give to you in the order of their importance:

1. The moulding of your daily lives upon the basis of the imparted truth, if it is to you indeed a truth. It is perhaps to you simply interesting, a fascinating side line of study; perhaps it is something which it pleases you to get because of its novelty and because it is a little different from the general run of teaching; perhaps it pleases you to get these instructions a little ahead of the rest of humanity. All these reactions are of small importance, [712] being those of the personality. They are perhaps the most probable reactions for the majority. If there is nothing deeper in your reaction than those I have mentioned, then these teachings are not for you, for the responsibility upon your shoulders is thereby very great; but if you are attempting, no matter in how small a way, to apply the truth as you see it to your own life, then they are for you.
2. The building of that structure of thought which will embody this newer teaching. You can - if you so desire - help construct the thought form of the New Age teaching. You do this, above all, by your thought; by your practical application of any truth, which you may have understood, to your personal life at any cost; by your sacrifice and your service to your fellow men and by the constant dissemination of any knowledge which you may possess.
3. Distribution of the teaching over a long period of time. Have you done anything along this line, thus shouldering your responsibility?

C.III.2. The Precipitation of the Crisis

The plans as established by the Hierarchy concern primarily two things:

• first, the plans for bringing about world stabilization. This is essential if the human being is to find adequate time for the unfoldment of his consciousness, and for the recognition of his soul. In these two latter requirements all successful hierarchical work is covered, as far as humanity is concerned.
• Secondly, the program for the immediate future, with its definite physical plane adjustments and its tentative suggestion for world cooperation. Why do we use the word "tentative"? We use it because (as has oft been stated) even the advanced members of the Hierarchy [713] do not know finally the manner in which humanity will react, or the quality or the capacity of its ultimate achievement.

I have endeavored above, carefully and simply, to express the immediate purpose of the hierarchical effort, as the Council met to prepare for the future. Is it possible for us to conceive the import of that phrase "for the future"? The past is gone, beyond recall; that fleeting moment which we call the present time is determined by that past of which it becomes a part in the flash of a second. It was the preparation for the future and the laying of those plans which will cover the coming destiny of humanity during the immediate decade which was of significant and engrossing importance to the assembled Masters, and also of basic interest to any student of the Ageless Wisdom and to the disciples of the Great Ones.

Only that is of importance to us which provides a needed momentum for action, and which will also give to the working disciple of the world a vision of sufficient clarity and an adequate incentive to enable him to work with sincerity and understanding. This is often forgotten. So much is said and written these days which purports to come from the Great Ones and which is stated to embody Their will and Their intention. It is based on astral sensitivity and astral reaction to the many thought forms found upon the astral plane; these include among their number many thought forms of the Great Ones. These thought forms necessarily exist, and are built by the devotion of the aspirants of the world, and by the selfish spiritual ambition of those aspirants. They are not constructed by the disciples of the world, for no man is admitted to the status of accepted discipleship until he has at least overcome the worst aspects of personal ambition. This freedom from ambition is proved or expressed by personal reticence and by freedom from the publicity-making activities of the aspirants of the world, and also by freedom from the [714] making of statements as to relationship or status. It might be well for us to ponder on these words.

The preliminary plans which the members of the hierarchical Council considered might be stated to be as follows, regarding those plans as spheres of cooperation for the Masters implicated and for those among men who are minded to serve in cooperative. activity:

1. The reduction of the pressure upon humanity by the means of a steady stabilizing of world thought. Today it is the fears of man - expressed in thought, and therefore frequently backed by action - which lead them into the impasse of war and into any form of destructive activity. The pressure is created by man's desire for betterment as well as by the spiritual downpouring of the soul. It is this dual activity of the higher and of the lower which produces the crisis. When these two meet there is, of course, no conflict; but there is, however, a sense of strain, a pressure which seems past endurance, and an impasse from which there appears no exit. This may be a difficult truth to grasp, but the present world crisis is largely brought about by the bringing together of these two types of energy. It is with this problem that the Masters are today grappling. A human aspiration and a condition of struggle towards improvement brings about a period in which the spiritual urge on the part of masses of men shows itself in three ways:

1. The urge to betterment already noted.
2. The organization of the minds of men, so that new ideas can be gripped and understood.
3. The recognition by the spiritually minded that today is the day of opportunity. [715]

Will it be of any assistance and any incentive towards renewed effort if we observe the words "the day", and not "a day?" This is a period of immense cyclic importance.

2. The renewed organization of the New Group of World Servers. How far have we really yet grasped the task of this group, or the significance of its membership? It is a group of men and women who are upon the Path of Discipleship or upon the Path of Probation, and it is divided into two major divisions:

1. A group composed of disciples who are consciously working with the Plan and of those who, instructed by them, are consciously and voluntarily cooperating. In this latter category we can find ourselves if we so desire and if we are willing to make the necessary sacrifices.
2. A group composed of aspirants and world-conscious men and women, who are working unconsciously under the guidance of the planetary Hierarchy. There are many such, particularly in high places today, who are fulfiling the part of destroyers of the old form or of builders of the new. They are not conscious of any inner synthetic plan, but are selflessly occupied in meeting world need as best they may, with playing parts in the national dramas, or with persistently working in the field of education. The first group is in touch with the planetary Hierarchy and it works, if we might so express it, under hierarchical inspiration. The second is in closer touch with the masses of men and works more definitely under the inspiration of ideas.

The first group is occupied with the Plan as its [716] members can vision and grasp its essentiality, whilst the second works more definitely with the ideas which are today slowly emerging in the consciousness of the more sensitive members of the human family. These ideas are gradually instilled into humanity by the Hierarchy and by the senior workers in the first group. This first group is relatively small, and when first the information was communicated about the New Group of World Servers, (which was later embodied in the pamphlet, "The Next Three Years"), the number of conscious disciples was given as being under two hundred. Since then this number has materially increased owing to two causes:

• First: certain men and women are arriving at maturity. This has developed in them a recognition of their hierarchical status as disciples.
• Secondly: the unfolding of other human beings and their spiritual development as a result of the stimulation and the relatively successful work of the previous three years.

The number of conscious disciples in the world today (1939), is nearly one thousand. We are here considering those disciples who are definitely working in the groups of those Masters Who are pledged to the present experiment.

It should perhaps be pointed out here that the entire planetary Hierarchy, though cognizant of the present endeavor and therefore participating in the plans of the Council, are not all occupied with the problem of humanity in this present moment of crisis. There are many other lines of activity and of evolutionary expediency and undertaking which must parallel the present endeavor. Work in relation to other kingdoms in nature (both subhuman and superhuman), and work in preparation for the period [717] which must succeed this present time of crisis must be continued as usual. In the higher levels of the New Group of World Servers, the many divisions of hierarchical effort are represented, but there are, nevertheless, a large number of disciples in the world today who are in no way associated with the present plans. This is a point to be remembered.

3. The awakening of the intelligentsia in all countries to the recognition of humanity as a prelude to the establishment of brotherhood. The unity of the human family is recognized by many, but before that unity can take form in constructive measures, it is essential that more and more of the thinking men and women throughout the world should break down the mental barriers existing between races, nations and types, and that the New Group of World Servers should itself repeat in the outer world that type of activity which the Hierarchy expressed when it developed and materialized the Group. Through the expression and impression of certain great ideas, men everywhere must be brought to the understanding of the fundamental ideals which will govern the New Age. This is the major task of the New Group of World Servers.

One of the objectives considered by the Council in May, 1937, was the method of deepening the hold these new ideas must have on members of the New Group of World Servers. Thus the stimulation of the spiritual life of the group members, and consequently their sensitivity to the Plan will be carried forward. They will then be not only consciously in touch with the plans, but they will be occultly imbued by them, and in this way the radiating influence of the Group will be greatly enhanced. This will bring about an outer expression of real [718] group importance and of such vital necessity that, during the next few years, the new ideas must become the ideals of the thinking level of the race. If this does not take place, the immediate salvaging of humanity will have to be postponed and a further period of distress and of widespread disciplining must then inevitably result. It is this urgency that is discussed in these pages, and it is this immediate need, and this momentous crisis with which the Hierarchy had to deal in its May Council of 1937.

4. The final aspect of the situation with which the Masters concerned dealt, is in fact, the precipitation of an imminent crisis. This precipitation is inevitable and its effects must be foreseen and dealt with in such a manner that its catastrophic results will be offset, and its subjective significances utilized to the full.

Having stated the four major points of consideration (which came before the Council in May, 1937, and which are all related to the impending world crisis), it is needful that we should point out two things:

1. That this crisis is imminent and of epoch-making effects for two reasons.

1. The work carried forward during the previous five years along spiritual lines had been definitely successful. This has caused a vital spiritual awakening in every land, and was the result of the activity and work of the first division of the New Group of World Servers.
2. The strenuous efforts of the second division in the New Group of World Servers have also been successful. These people are far more the instruments of divine activity rather than conscious cooperators with the Plan. [719]

2. That the Masters are not primarily concerned with the prevention of disaster to the form aspect of humanity, desirable as human beings might consider that objective. The salvaging of the form is but incidental to the Plan. The work of the Hierarchy is concerned with the expansion and awakening of the human consciousness, and that, in its turn, has an effect upon the form. It is possible (and so the Masters regard it) to lay such an emotional strain and mental stress upon the mechanism of human expression on the physical plane that the lessons cannot be adequately learned because the immediate physical stress is too great to permit the recognition and the assimilation of the significance of the event. Therefore the Masters, when meeting at the Council of May, 1937, had to consider the offsetting of the strain. Humanity can get too tired to react, and this fact constituted a definite problem with which the Hierarchy had to deal.

It will be apparent, therefore, if we have read the above intelligently and have endeavored to synthesize it with the state of world affairs as far as we know it, that the problems before the assembled Council were three in number. More than these three, humanity cannot grasp nor do the facts concern them. There were necessarily many other problems, but they are of such a nature that we could not comprehend them, and it would not be possible to express these problems in words which would convey intelligible meaning to us. The three problems which came under consideration were:

1. The right resolution of the present crisis, so that equilibrium could be restored.
2. The stimulation of the New Group of World Servers so that they could
   1. Recognize the emergency [720]
   2. Define the plan more clearly
   3. Become more sensitive to inner, subjective, spiritual impression
   4. Make the necessary sacrifices demanded for the success of the plan
   5. Radiate more effectively out into the world of humanity.
3. How to keep the forces which had been set in motion since 1914 within certain definite limits.

These forces are many in number and it is possible to indicate the nature of some of them. This is done, however, more for the sake of future understanding and future rational comprehension than because we can specifically do anything in particular in relation to them. Let me simply list them, and if we read with the eye of the inner vision open, and with our intuition alert and awake, perhaps some apprehension of the problems before the Council may dawn upon our minds. It is not possible to enlarge upon these forces, nor may we interpret them. We can simply state what are facts to the Hierarchy but which may only be an interesting supposition, hypothesis or chimera to us:

1. The cumulative forces of the great Piscean Age - powerful, fundamental and, at this time, destructive. To these forces the unenlightened masses react; for them they are the line of least resistance. When we say masses, we refer to all who do not truly think, but who believe and who accept on the lower or ordinary levels of consciousness.
2. The incoming forces of the Aquarian Age. These are having a wide and general effect upon the ethers around the earth, upon the vegetation everywhere, upon the waters of the planet, and upon all human beings in the world today who are learning to think. The Aquarian inspiration is being registered by all who come under the influence [721] of the new "schools of thought", so-called. The interpretation of the sensed ideals may be in error, but the power to respond to the new forces is there, and the effect upon the mind and brain is real and lasting. One of the first effects is the stabilizing of emotional reaction.
3. Influential and potent forces pouring in at this time from the great stars Betelgeuse and Sirius. To these two influences, the disciples of the world in the senior ranks of the New Group of World Servers definitely react, and they produce a stimulation of the heart center (Betelgeuse) and the head center (Sirius). The secondary effect of these energies is upon the mineral kingdom, particularly upon that peculiar product, gold, and that enigma, money.
4. Venusian forces of great potency are also playing upon our planet. In this connection, I would suggest that astrologers would be well advised to pay more attention to the activity and the influence of Venus. Much emphasis has been laid upon Saturn and Mars in the charts now considered. In the future, equal emphasis will have to be paid to the planet Venus, which in the Aquarian age will supersede Mars as a basic influence.
5. The forces of the planetary entity who is beginning to stir in his long sleep, and is therefore causing much of the physical, cataclysmic phenomena of the present time. With this we have naught to do except to register the fact.
6. The energy of the united Hierarchy of the planet which has lately made one of its "Great Approaches" to the physical plane. This necessarily entails a more potent and significant and rapid pouring forth of the force of the Hierarchy with the subsequent stimulation of the higher centers in those sons of men who have reached the [722] point of their evolution where they are close enough to their own souls to be affected. They are then mentally polarized, and consequently react potently to this influence.
7. The energy of the New Group of World Servers, which (up to ten years ago) was a relatively negligible factor even though present, but which is now increasingly a force with which to reckon. From certain angles, the energy of this group constitutes the hope of the world, and the task of increasing that potency is the task which is being laid before us today.
8. There is also the powerful vibratory influence of those important men and women in the world who are today active in world affairs. From the side of the Hierarchy and the use of spiritual energy, these men and women are regarded as doors into human life, because through them the energy of certain great world souls, world potencies and Masters can be expressed. There are many such, and one of the tasks before the Council is to balance these forces in such a manner that they do not upset world equilibrium beyond the point of the re-establishment of balance. Students need to remember that a Master inevitably takes certain risks and chances when He "occultly inspires" a soul and drives a man to unconscious cooperation with the Plan. We must remember, however, that there is no infringing of human freedom, even by a Master. Sometimes a disciple or a member of the New Group of World Servers will (metaphorically speaking) take the bit between his teeth, and this will produce disaster and frequently a temporary destruction of that part of the Plan with which he has been entrusted. [723]
9. Certain forces which we (in our ignorance and lack of perspective), may call evil or black forces. In worldly parlance, these forces are connected, with what is regarded as the black side of nature and of energy. They are wielded by great and powerful human beings, the majority of whom are out of physical incarnation. They work from the astral plane and primarily through the agency of groups. These groups - being composed of ignorant, unstable, selfish and ambitious men - provide an easy field for their efforts. For this so-called evil work, the average individual in the group is not responsible, though there is usually to be found in the group those who are willfully ambitious and selfish. Though the individual penalty is light, and the individual responsibility is small, yet the effectiveness of this method is very great. The result is in the nature of group obsession, which is a relatively new thing, but also is today becoming increasingly frequent.

These are some of the forces which are bringing about and constituting the world problem, and with these the Council has had to deal. All these forces are today playing upon humanity, and this whirlpool of energies is sweeping humanity into a period of definitely chaotic destruction, unless the Masters of the Wisdom, working through the New Group of World Servers in both its divisions, can arrest the process and bring order into a distressed and agonizing world.

Therefore, the May full moon Council of 1937 was one of real import and of vital significance. Just as the full moon of May, 1936, saw an effort of the Masters and of the world of disciples to approach nearer to each other and thus establish a closer rapport, so the full moon of May, 1937, witnessed the laying down of certain lines of activity which, if rightly [724] apprehended, and worked out into physical manifestation, could definitely change the present exoteric world situation. It also saw the restimulation of the New Group of World Servers, so that their group integration might constantly become more effective, and the personal lives of the group members become definitely more consecrated, more dedicated to humanity, and more influential in service. At the full moon of May, 1936, there was in evidence an inner, subjective, spiritual effort. This was definitely successful. The full moon of May, 1937, saw the establishing and the stabilizing of the exoteric outer effect, of which the earlier effort was naturally and automatically the cause. Yet the problem remains ever the same: - can the inner condition, spiritual, potential, idealistic, subjective and sensed, be so clearly formulated and considered that nothing whatever can stop its materializing through the medium of some constructive and living form upon the physical plane? Can the inner integration of the New Group of World Servers find exoteric expression?

A prolonged period of such moments and points of danger can, nevertheless, in itself constitute a momentous crisis. The fanning of the hot embers (if persisted in long enough) must eventually bring about a conflagration. What then can be done to institute those arrangements and outer understandings (based on the inner inspiration) which will end this cycle of danger points, and permit the racial consciousness to subside into a period of quiet and of freedom?

The Hierarchy is doing all that is possible, but under the plan of unfoldment for the Aryan Race, the activity needed for the creative work must be inaugurated and carried forward by disciples, working in the outer world and by aspirants to the path of discipleship, who register the world need and earnestly seek to cooperate. This is, therefore, a matter [725] for our consideration and for clear and skillful action in the immediate future.

As one contemplates the New Group of World Servers in its many departments - scattered all over the world and embracing the true and earnest seekers in every nation - there can be seen a body of men and women whose numbers and spheres of influence are entirely adequate to bring about the desired changes, if they care enough, are ready enough to make the needed sacrifices, and are willing to sink their organization differences in the needed activity which would salvage the world, educate the race in a few simple and basic essentials, and so cooperate with each other that there would emerge a united inner movement - working out through the separated outer groups.

The Hierarchy held its Council during the week of the full moon of May, 1937. It could and did lay its plans for the helping of humanity. It could, and did mobilize and bring together every possible subjective agency and form of available energy for the stimulating of the human consciousness along right lines. It could, and did impress upon the disciples and aspirants everywhere the necessity of renewed and fresh efforts. But the development and actual functioning of the plans laid down and the actual working out into detailed expression of the intended ameliorative measures must be carried out by the New Group of World Servers, and by the men of good will throughout the world. Only by the united effort of the people of peaceful intention and of innate freedom from hatred can the forces of destruction be offset. These forces have been needed and useful, but the task they were intended to carry out has been accomplished, and that which is no longer required becomes, in its turn, a menace and a source of trouble. [726]

C.III.3. Stepping Down of Hierarchical Methods

One of the first things which should be accomplished is the working out upon the physical plane of some of the achievements of the Hierarchy upon the inner side of life. For instance, each department and section of the Hierarchy is working together today as one unit. Though not all of the Masters and Their groups are occupied - as was earlier said - with the immediate problem of the human crisis, yet subjectively, all are engaged with the task of bringing order out of chaos and are working together (each in His own sphere and in the closest mental understanding), so that there are really no divided interests, no separate groups and no difference of opinion - no matter what Their diverse activities may be or Their specific undertakings. This condition must be duplicated, if possible, on the outer plane of physical life also.

Complete unanimity cannot be possible; complete subordination of individual and group interest to the general movement towards world understanding and stabilization cannot as yet be achieved, owing to the selfish ambitions of group leaders, and the separative instincts of the senior workers in any group, who unduly influence the rank and the file of the membership. Yet a definitely closer rapprochement is far more possible today than at any previous time, and some real progress could be made towards mutual understanding if a sufficiently large number of the world aspirants and disciples desired it, if they were willing to participate in such an effort, and made the attempt to organize such a closer coming together and movement towards spiritual understanding. This would entail a restatement of the ideal on the part of each individual aspirant and disciple. It would involve a rededication of each of them to the immediate urgency of the Plan and to the demand coming to their ears of the world distress. [727] It would require the individual formulation of the ideals - sensed dimly or clearly - in terms of sacrifice and the resultant activity. These last few words indicate the attitude requisite and its needed consequences.

Therefore, one of the first things which would be of the next immediate assistance to be rendered, to the Hierarchy of Masters (and this is only another way of saying, to humanity), is a widespread effort to get in touch with every group leader in the various towns, cities, and countries and continents. This refers to all those group leaders who are sensitive to what we might call the "doctrine of good will", and who can vision an ideal of group unity, carried forward without any attempt to disturb the normal outer group activity. This will entail the recognition of a common ideal; and the willingness to submerge (even if only temporarily) the points of difference and to emphasize the points of contact. Many might be willing to do this for the period of the emergency and as an interesting experiment, and thus endeavor to carry forward over a limited and stated time a united endeavor to spread good will and understanding in an effort to bring the hatreds of the world to an end. This will also entail the willingness to cooperate with all groups within a given radius of contact and the temporary relinquishing of personal ambitions and methods in order to meet the serious emergency by which humanity is faced. The basis of the possible success of such an effort consists in the fact that within each group are always to be found members of the New Group of World Servers. Upon this fact we can count, and we can depend upon the strength of the inner integration, produced by these synthesizing "points of contact".

Another reason for the presumption of success lies in the fact that such an effort will only be the normal working out into physical expression of that which the Masters of the [728] Wisdom - distinctive as to Their fields of service, specific as to Their methods, and widely different as to Their ray and background of evolutionary development - have already established. This attempt on the part of all of us will, therefore, be a duplicating or a paralleling expression of an inner subjective fact. One of the facts upon the agenda of the Council was as to how They could more effectively stimulate the New Group of World Servers so that they could in turn see this vision with clarity, work with renewed optimism, and thus produce on earth the counterpart of the inner spiritual organization.

The problem to be met by the disciples and aspirants in the world today is the possibility and right procedure, by means of a more specific and definite "push" or organized activity, to reach the leaders of groups everywhere. It would be well to discuss the ways and means to swing these leaders into a joint activity without interfering with their individual group purposes, loyalties and obligations.

Careful work must be put behind this effort. By this is meant considered mental work, subjective reflection, organized visioning and significant sacrifice. A start in this direction has already been made and the same general idea can be extended elsewhere and carefully developed. Group integrity, loyalties and purpose must be preserved, but the cooperation of the groups must be invoked in the task of spreading the healing energy of good will, which, as has been well and truly remarked, is the active principle of peace. And peace - not inert pacifism - is what is needed today.

Secondly, a plan should also be drawn up of such a nature that the various peace societies could at least temporarily be swung into an allied and paralleling activity. The leaders of the peace organizations could be approached with a definite and temporary program, and their cooperation asked. [729]

This program of unification of the efforts of the more advanced groups in the world will demand sacrifice and satisfactory compromise on both sides, ours and the leaders of such groups, but where there is sincerity of purpose (and there is much) where there is a willingness to recognize the need for change in technique and terminology, then some definite progress can be made and the ranks of the men of good will, as organized under hierarchical impulse, can be greatly increased. It is not necessary for us to discuss in detail the methods which will be needed. Those who respond to this appeal will know the methods they should pursue. It is for those of us who do recognize the validity of this appeal to cooperate and aid, or to know clearly why we will not.

The Hierarchy is working primarily during the next few years through three groups of Masters who are on the first, second and third rays. Those on the first ray are dealing with the important figures today in world government, for all of them are subject to impression from their souls and all are fulfiling their individual destiny, and influencing their respective nations along the lines of national destiny. The period of intensive and seemingly destructive readjustment has been drastic and needed. This must not be forgotten. Mistakes in techniques have necessarily been made, and oft the law of love has been infringed. Sometimes, however, the love of the form aspect of consciousness has been interpreted as synchronous and similar to the law of love by critics of the methods employed. This is understandable. But the time of the great national readjustments must soon end, and the necessary processes of realignment be completed. This should then inaugurate a period of renewed relationships on a wide scale throughout the world; it should see the beginning of the establishment of friendships and the commencement of a new era of right and constructive world contacts. Hitherto this has never been [730] possible on a large scale, owing to the fact that humanity had not suffered enough and therefore was not adequately sensitive to others. It had no inner integration such as is now possible through our developed means of communication, and the growth of telepathic sensitivity. The abuses of the law of living had not been generally recognized and known for what they are by a sufficient number of people. The work of the great first ray influences is rapidly and materially changing all this, and out of the lessons learnt, the structure of the new civilization can become possible.

The work of the second ray Masters is now intensifying, and the builders of the new civilization - working, through the religious organizations, the educational systems of every country and the great army of thinking men and women everywhere - can definitely begin to make their presence felt. It is in this department primarily that the work of the New Group of World Servers can be noted and can be developed.

The question may be raised whether we are omitting to recognize the presence of the vast millions of the unenlightened masses who hang like a heavy millstone around the neck of the leaders of the race, and who are kept down either through fear, through applied poverty (yes, that is the proper term) or through regimentation. These constitute (as may be easily recognized) a harnessed menace, but that harness is rapidly becoming worn, and when the leash slips or breaks, it is difficult to forecast what the dire results may be. The caged wild beast of the unenlightened - and therefore innocent human beings - who work without the means for pleasure or leisure, who are underfed and exploited, cannot indefinitely be held back. The one hope of the world is that the enlightened and responsible people will readjust world relations, world conditions and the world economic situation, so that contentment through the removal of abuses may succeed, [731] and there will be no necessity for the prevailing and seething misery, which is rapidly reaching boiling point. Let us not forget, if this seems to be unduly optimistic, that one light, even if small, can light up a whole area.

The second ray influences are therefore being poured through the agency of the educational institutions and groups, through the religious bodies and through all men and women who can vision the higher possibilities and the world of spiritual values and of meaning. This is being done in the hope that a united stand will be possible and will produce a synthesis of effort; that this will be productive, in its turn, of a real world stabilization.

The third ray Masters are working strenuously in the world of business and of finance through the agency of those who are animated by a spirit of selfless service - and there are many such. It is a new field for spiritual endeavor. It is not possible to enlarge within a brief space upon the methods and the plans of the Hierarchy at this time of crisis and emergency in connection with the field of money and its significance and right use. The general method employed is one of inspiration and of the presentation of moments of crisis. These moments offer opportunity for the activity of some disciple, and thus the learning of a needed lesson by the groups or nations implicated becomes possible. The technique employed by these third ray Masters is to develop the minds of aspirants and thinkers in the specific field of business so that they can think in larger terms than those of their own selfish business interests. Moments of contact are also arranged between members of the New Group of World Servers and these prominent people, working in the field of economic enterprise, and thus opportunities are provided for certain recognitions and certain definite cooperation. These are the methods which concern us. There are other subjective and spiritual [732] methods employed which concern us not. If they were outlined in detail to us, they would only serve to bewilder.

Let it be emphatically stated here that the major method with which we can concern ourselves, and the most potent instrument in the hands of the spiritual Hierarchy, is the spreading of good will and its fusion into a united and working potency. That expression is to be preferred to the words "the organization of good will". Good will is today a dream, a theory, a negative force. It should be developed into a fact, a functioning ideal, and a positive energy. That is our work and we are definitely called to cooperate in bringing it about.

The task before the New Group of World Servers is great but it is not an impossible task. It is engrossing but as it constitutes an imposed life pattern, it can be worked out in every aspect of a man or woman's daily life. We are now called to serve intensively for a period of years, to abnormal living, and to the shouldering of a responsibility about which we have known for several years, but which we have not shouldered. Our interest has been powerfully evoked, but not demonstrated as it might have been. The demand for cooperation has been clearly sounded from the inner side, and by the leaders and workers in the New Group of World Servers. We have responded with some aid but not with sacrifice; we have given some assistance but it has been the minimum and not the possible maximum (except in a few cases, whose assistance has been whole hearted and recognized). We have been told that the members of the New Group of World Servers are working in every land to spread good will, world understanding and religious unity. The idea has been reassuring and we have rested back upon their efforts - the efforts of a hard pressed few. [733]

C.III.4. Urgency of the Need and How to Meet It

Again let us recognize it - the urgency is great. The emergency is upon us and a united spiritual effort, prayerfully carried forward, wisely adjusted to environing need, widely blended with all the similar efforts which may be working cooperatively in every land with the forces of construction - national, religious and economic - can change the aspect of world affairs in the space of a few years. If there is not an appreciable change in human relations, then there will be little immediate hope of bringing about that united effort which will lead to world stabilization, interracial and international understanding, economic interdependence and universal good will. For it is the good will of the powerful groups for humanity and therefore for the masses, and the good will of the intelligentsia and of the influential middle classes which will bring about the needed intelligent changes, which can affect every human being. The hope of the world today lies in the development of good will - not peace as the word is usually interpreted, to mean merely an enforced freedom from war, and an expediently enforced pacifism, but the cultivation of a spirit of good will, intelligently applied, and worked out with purpose into the fabric of the individual and national life.

We have here presented to us two modes of approaching the problem. To the consideration of this all of us are called who now are present workers or leaders in the New Group of World Servers, or who desire to enlist ourselves among them. The next consideration is how can these ideas be intelligently understood? How can they evoke the cooperation of aspirants and disciples over the world?

Let us state what I see to be possible, and what can be done [734] if we - each and all - face the issue, deal with the opportunity presented on the basis of responsibility, and come to regard our world service in this crisis as a necessary part of our spiritual life, demanding from us, nevertheless, all that we have to give, plus that supreme extra effort which spells success in every case. This extra effort and this response to the demand for full cooperation, very few of us, have yet given. If what is here set forth is true, and if what we know of world affairs gives in any way a true picture of the present world condition (and it is understated, if anything) then any intelligent man or woman can surely see that it is going to take the united sacrificing effort of every unit in the whole body corporate to promote good will as a healing factor (perhaps the only healing factor) in humanity.

The following suggestions are offered to those who seek to join in this service:

Meditation groups could carry forward their meditations in such a manner that an inner fusion can take place, producing the awakening of the heart centers of the members, and the consequent urge to go forth into the world of daily living to love, to give and to stimulate.

Privately, and in group gatherings the Great Invocation could be said, including the final words:

"So let it be and help us to do our part".

There are those who have learned to say these words with intensity of feeling, raising the clasped hands above the head, and then - at the last word - bringing them down to the forehead and then to the heart. The raising of the hands above the head and their return in touching the forehead and the heart are simply symbolic of the lifting of heart and life and consciousness to divinity, and the subsequent and consequent downflow of spiritual life [735] into the personality - the instrument through which the loving soul must work out the expression of good will.

The emphasis is laid upon the heart center and upon the necessity to hold the forces there (symbolized by the clasped hands resting upon the heart) because the heart is the center of loving, giving energy, and the distributor of life.

It should not be necessary to restate any further what should be done, how anyone should give of himself, or in what way he could contribute for the aiding of humanity. The case has been presented clearly and most definitely. The responsibility now rests upon those who have received the message. One can only observe that until those who know and who have the way out presented to them, consecrate themselves and all that they have without reservation to the helping of the world in its hour of need, the work will not be done and the plans of the Hierarchy cannot then materialize. Should that not eventuate within the near future, then new and perhaps more drastic ways will have to be found.

At a gathering of the Great Ones not so long ago, the question was asked: "What can we do? for this emergency must be met." A silence fell upon the assembled group. This lasted quite a long time and then they, one and all, simultaneously voiced the reply, speaking as if they were one person, such was the unanimity:

"Let us touch the hearts of men anew with love, so that those who know will love and give. Let us give love ourselves."

The above may be a statement of fact, or it may be simply a symbolic and allegorical way of helping us to grasp our need. That is for us to decide. However, there may be those who will wish to say each morning in their morning meditation or at the noon day recollection the following words: [736]

"I know, Oh Lord of Life and Love, about the need. Touch my heart anew with love that I too may love and give."

Let us in full surrender of our personal desires and wishes join in the common task of leading humanity into the fields of peace!

I approach you therefore, the conscious aspirants to whom I can speak with freedom and with no attempt to choose my words with care, to ask you, first of all two questions:

1. Do you, in truth, accept the situation as I have outlined it?
2. Where, at this time, do you place your life emphasis?

The answering of these two questions in the light of your soul and your personal earnestness will greatly clarify your minds and your way of living and working. It will also indicate to Those who are serving the Plan of God upon the subjective side of life, or along the lines of spiritual understanding and meaning, who are the servers, the aspirants and disciples upon whom it is possible to count at this moment of world crisis, for a world crisis is upon us. If the urgency of the hour is as indicated, and if the next few years are decisive years which will determine and condition the world situation till 1975, then it is necessary for everybody to take stock of himself and turn his spiritual theories and his humanitarian longings into Facts demonstrated in the life of everyday.

The lines of world cleavage are becoming more clearly defined and humanity is slowly forming itself into three camps or groups, as seen from the subjective side of life. These are:

1. The group of those who violently and actively and sincerely are partisans of certain basic and well-known ideologies which we can roughly divide into the fascist-nazi group, the democratic group and the communistic group. Such are the major ideas to which the leading [737] nations of the world are pledged and for which they are ready to fight if need arises.
2. The relatively acquiescent masses who, under the regimes endorsing the three above ideologies, live, love and seek to understand a little of what is happening to them and who accept the familiar or the newly imposed rule with acquiescence and oft quite unintelligently, provided they can eat and sleep and reproduce and the ordinary affairs of life can proceed along the usual lines.
3. A rapidly growing group of those who are aware of the other groups, who appreciate the idealism and effort of the first group and also recognize the helplessness of the masses. They stand ready to do what is possible to help restore world equilibrium and so bring understanding and cooperation and unity into play on a world wide scale. These are the men and women of good will throughout the world about whom I have so often written.

Behind these three groups, equally interested in them all, stands another group. It is numerically smaller but spiritually potent and is composed of those whose work it is to further God's plans consciously on earth; they work in touch with the Plan and have a deep knowledge of the general trend of the evolutionary urge; they are directing world force into the desired channels and are assisted in their efforts by the New Group of World Servers. They are all pledged to establish the kingdom of God on earth, for which the world is ripe and whose coming was foretold by all the great world religions. Nothing can stop the emergence of that kingdom.

I have briefly restated this line-up of the forces, prevalent in humanity today. A little thought will show how practically [738] every human being can be placed under one or other of these groupings or categories.

It might be of value here if we endeavored for a few minutes to get the point of view of the spiritual leaders of the race, of the planetary Hierarchy, of Christ and His Church.

These Workers look out upon a world distressed and full of pain. The economic problem looms large and is a determining factor in many cases. In a world of plenty, men are starving on every hand, or subsisting on a deplorable insufficiency whilst others of their fellowmen, in the same country, have too much and hold on to it, and frequently commit crimes to keep it. In a world full of activity, men are forced into a hated inertia through unemployment, and millions of men and women have nothing to do, but exist upon relief, through the charity of the well-intentioned, or upon crime, yet eating their hearts out (consciously or unconsciously) because the right of every human being to live and work and be self-supporting is denied them. In a world where all men desire peace and the opportunity to live in happiness at home or abroad, the nations everywhere are arming or are fortifying their frontiers in an effort to achieve that security which will enable them to live safely within their borders, free from attack, or to impose their ideas upon their fellowmen or nations. In a world of organized religions, the same condition of chaos is to be seen. The Churches in all lands are endeavoring frantically to keep their hold - spiritual, mental or financial - over the people and are playing a losing game, because the days of control by the priestly caste is in reality over, just as is the control of an autocratic dynasty. The work of the great world religions has been eminently successful and has been carried through to the desired consummation and now the new world religion, which is that of the kingdom of God, is definitely upon the way. [739]

Such is the dark side of the picture and it is dark indeed and men are troubled and feel that there is no sure ground to be found anywhere. The present world situation has in it the seeds of dire trouble and catastrophe faces the people, as it has three times before, though on a much lesser scale. This can all be averted, however, if those who know the goal and see the vision and the emerging possibilities rally their force and - by the strength of love and sacrifice - offset the forces of hate and of death. As those who guide and teach upon the inner side of life look out upon the world they see in every country, in every race and in every religious body, thus coloring every ideology or school of thought (economic, political and religious) those who are moved by love of their fellowmen and are actuated by an earnest desire for their true welfare. I would like at this time to emphasize the following point:

A man's political and religious affiliations can be strongly held and inspire his true loyalty, and yet need in no way prevent his being an active part of the New Group of World Servers. They need not deter him from being actively on the side of world good will or provide a barrier to that spiritual sensitivity which makes him susceptible to the higher inner spiritual impression.

The servants of the spiritual Hierarchy and the world disciples are found in every nation; they are loyal to that nation's ideology or political trend of thought or government; the members of the New Group of World Servers embrace every political creed and recognize the authority of every imaginable religion. Men and women of good will can be discovered functioning in every group, no matter what its ideology or creed or belief. The Hierarchy does not look for cooperators in any one school of thought, political creed, or national government. It finds them in all and cooperates with [740] all. This I have frequently said, yet you find it difficult to believe, so convinced are many of you that your peculiar belief and your particular acceptance of truth is the best undoubtedly and the most true. It may be for you, but not for your brother of another persuasion, nation or religion.

Thus we find, as well you know, members of the New Group of World Servers scattered everywhere. They are the only agents which the Hierarchy chooses to employ at this time and to them is committed the task of doing the following things:

1. Restoring the world balance through understanding and good will.
2. Bringing harmony and unity among men and nations by the revelation of the widespread good will everywhere existent.
3. Precipitating, through spiritual perception and correct interpretation, the kingdom of God on earth.

This is a gigantic task but not an impossible one, provided that there is united aspiration, united sacrifice and the interrelating of the three groups:

1. The planetary Hierarchy, which is the spiritual Hierarchy called in the West, the kingdom of God.
2. The New Group of World Servers or the disciples and aspirants and the spiritual intelligentsia of the world.
3. The men and women of good will found everywhere.

The task, therefore, in the coming year of climax for which preparation must be made is,

• first of all, to bring about this interrelation on a large scale through discovering those who respond to this message and idea;
• secondly, to educate such people in the laws of love and of right understanding, which are in truth the laws of the kingdom of God which Christ [741] came to initiate;
• thirdly, to reach and awaken the men and women of good will through the wide use of the radio, using it with wisdom and discretion, and the use of correct words and phrases;
• next, to discover men of like ideas and so organize their minds that each will approach the problem in his own way but with the same world wide objective of spreading understanding and bringing about harmonious adjustments.

This will be done through the agency of the awakened world aspirants, the intelligent statesmen who love humanity and work self-sacrificingly for the general good, the men and women of good will (working each in his own place, city and nation) and the quiet work of the Units of Service cooperating with all the above.

This is a simple program but of such a practical potency that, if you once worked it out and made the needed sustained effort, in 1942 there would be no question but that success had crowned your efforts. The coming of God is the coming or emerging fifth kingdom in nature whose citizens always bring beauty into the world, thus glorifying that Intelligence to Whom we give the name of "God" for want of a better term; whose citizens are distinguished by the quality of good will which must, in the long run, bring the right kind of peace, but not pacifism, on earth. It is a program of such simplicity that the over-active minds of many will reject it on the ground that it is too simple, and yet the great and controlling factors in the world are always simple. Simple ideas work out when complex and complicated ones fail in their objective. The Hierarchy of Masters is governed by simplicity and this, which is one of Their plans, must be distinguished by it also. What are the plans today, and in what manner can you aid in the task of saving the world?

It can be greatly helped by the discovery, registering and education of the men and women of good will in the world. [742] This is the major line of activity. Their united good will (at present latent, unused and unorganized) can become a world force and through sheer weight of numbers, these people can make their presence effectively felt. It will be a force which can mould public opinion through the expression of intelligent love (with the emphasis upon the word intelligent) but which will employ no separative devices, no armed force, no coercion and no political scheming and manipulation. Is it not possible so to evoke the spirit of good will, present but oft inactive in the hearts of all men, that there will be such a vast number of men and women of good will in the world - consciously in touch with each other throughout the planet - that their voice will not be negligible, nor their expressed desires impotent? It is this particular method of straightening out the world which the spiritual hierarchy has, at this time, determined to use. It is a somewhat slower method from your point of view, but the effects will be more lasting and it has in it dynamic possibilities. This method is based upon two premises:

• First, the proven fact of the success of the work which Christ instituted. He came to demonstrate in His Own Person the love of God. Prior to His time, there was little expression of that love objective in the world and little philanthropy or sense of responsibility for one's brother extant.
• Secondly: it is a method which has in it a long range success, and yet which can have, at the same time, an immediate reaction. This success and this reaction are dependent upon all of you who are aware of these facts and set in to do the desired work.

The New Group of World Servers provides a channel through which the power of God, focused in the Planetary Brotherhood, can flow and that power is not intended (as is sometimes necessary under the evolutionary plan) to be destructive. The destructive forces of the planet are doing [743] their directed and needed work, but the effects must be balanced and offset by the work of the World Servers. The power to be released can and will heal humanity's wounds and will bind all men together in a planned synthesis.

As you know, the New Group of World Servers has its members in every land. A vast number are known. They are practical intelligent people, not visionary idealistic mystics, working towards an object which may appear inaccessible, but towards one which is capable of immediate and practical application. They are talking of understanding and cooperation in all fields of human thought and life, and are emphasizing the future and unavoidable expression of such love - unavoidable under the evolutionary law. It is the next great human development.

Behind, in the distant past of the race, humanity faced such a crisis as is now upon us. The race was then fecundated with intellect, if I may use such a phrase, and the human or fourth kingdom came into being. The great latent power of self-consciousness was born, and men became individuals. Now the race faces another fecundation, this time with Love and the fifth kingdom in nature, the kingdom of God can be born and can function upon the outer world of manifestation. Group consciousness will be seen and the power to identify oneself with the group and not with one's own selfish interests. The New Group of World Servers, standing at a midway point between the spiritual Hierarchy and the world of men, are the agents of this process and can lead men out of the crisis which it has brought about. They are expressions of the intended good will and a leavening force in their environment. They do and say nothing which could increase the existing cleavages among people, races and religions. Let us leave it at that, for it is a simple statement of a simple way to lay the ground for needed changes. [744]

C.III.5. Immediate Plan of the Hierarchy

What, therefore, is the Hierarchy seeking to do today? Let me briefly state the immediate plan.

1. To make the lines of cleavage, already existing, so apparent that the issue is clear. This you can see happening every day if you read the world news intelligently and separate the spectacular and untrue details from the broad and true issues. These lines of cleavage fall into three general lines.
   1. Between the three major ideologies: the Fascists, the Communistic and the Democratic.
   2. Between the reactionary and fundamentalist groups and the liberal minded people who react to the newer spiritual impression and the emerging ways of approach to God.
   3. Between the old cultures and civilizations and the new incoming ways of living and thinking; between the Piscean way of life and the Aquarian attitude of thought and life; between the laws of the kingdom of God, the fifth kingdom and those of humanity, the fourth; between the self-conscious individualistic way of life and the way of brotherhood, of love and of group consciousness.
2. To heal those divisions and bridge these cleavages through the agency of the world group, which we call the New Group of World Servers, and the men of good will. These Servers and men of good will belong to all the nations, groups, ideologies and religions on both sides of the different cleavages, and yet hold firmly to the principles of good will and understanding. They are, therefore, non-partisan and inactive in the present [745] process of differentiation and separative trends. They hold out the hands of love and understanding to each other across the gulf of differences. They meet in thought upon the subjective level of the true realities - which are synthetic and eternal - and ignore all outer barriers, and separative differences in mental ideas and material ways of living.
3. To approach nearer to humanity and become a known and forceful fact in the consciousness of Their disciples, of the world aspirants and the New Group of World Servers. Then these can work with greater confidence, knowing for themselves, past all controversy, that the kingdom of God is emerging upon earth, that the inner world of light, love and meaning is fusing in a realizable sense with the objective world, and that the world of spiritual realities is now recognized on such a large scale that the precipitation of that which is spiritual is discovered to be present in everything that can be known. This realization and this approach to life through God is the herald of the new world religion. I have already given you much concerning it in these instructions and if you will reread it you will be preparing yourself for right participation in the coming Wesak Festival.
4. To bring about the "Day of Crisis" to which I have referred before. Through this crisis, in which the aspiration of humanity for peace, understanding, good will and truth can be raised to its highest possible expression, there will be brought about, at a given moment of fusion, the downpouring desire of the spiritual forces of the Hierarchy, of the Christ and of all associated with Him (call Them by what name you please) and thus there will be precipitated upon earth that spiritual [746] stimulation and that healing force which will end the present period of strife and misery.

It is for this "Day of Crisis" that we are called to work. It can be brought about in 1942; if all of us put ourselves and all our resources - spiritual, mental and material - into the meeting of the present opportunity and emergency. It can be brought about if the New Group of World Servers and the massed men and women of good will in every land use intelligence, plus good business technique and methods (which are spiritual faculties; not dedicated, as yet, on a large scale to the things of the kingdom of God). Practical utilization of every possible agency - the press, correspondence, personal contacts and above all the radio - the avoidance of all the old methods such as attack on persons, peoples, nations and ideologies of force and coercion and of separative techniques must be strenuously inculcated. The forces existent today, directed by the spiritual agencies of the incoming New Age, have made the field of service clear. It is the bridging of the separative cleavages, and the harmonizing of the warring schools of thought.

The workers on the inner side and the disciples who are responsible for the working out of the Plan have made great efforts to reach and stimulate the New Group of World Servers. They have been successful. Such success is in no way dependent upon any recognition of the Hierarchy on the part of the Servers. Where that exists it is a help, but it is dependent upon receptivity to spiritual impression, which means responsiveness to the new ideas which are expressive of the spirit of fusion, of synthesis, of understanding, and of cooperative good will. Look out for such people and work with them. Do not hold the prevalent attitude that they must work with you. It is for us, who perhaps know a little bit [747] more about the Plan than they do, to do the moving forward. It is for us to evidence intelligent understanding and to set the needed example by submerging our own ideas and personal desires in the good of the whole.

There must be on our part, if we react to all this, the reorientation of our entire lives for the next few years, to the urgency of the things to be done. This will necessarily involve the readjustment of our lives to the new impulses; it will entail the elimination of the non-essentials so that we can find time for the task; it will mean the cultivation of that spiritual sensitivity which will render us aware of the impressions and impulses coming from the inner side of life, and will make us quick also to recognize our brothers who are pledged to the same life of good will and who are awake - as we are - to the urgency of human need, and the immediacy of the day of opportunity; it will require the development in all of the spirit of silence, for silence is the best method whereby spiritual force is both generated and stored for use, and it will bring about the training of ourselves to see clearly the issues involved in any situation (personal, national or international) and then enable us to bring to bear upon it the interpretative light of expressed good will.

For the members of the New Group of World Servers and for the men and women of good will, the Hierarchy of spiritual Leaders have laid down the following rules:

1. That they must aim at achieving peaceful relationships with, and harmonious acquiescence in, as well as cooperation with the government or state to which they owe allegiance or loyalty. This does not mean endorsing all policies and lines of activity undertaken by such governments but it does mean the refraining from all that could cause difficulty. There is always scope for much [748] constructive activity within any governmental policy or regime and it is to these constructive and peaceful enterprises that the servers of the Great Ones and of humanity will direct their attention.
2. They must refrain from all interference in the affairs of any political or religious group.
3. They must endeavor to express practical good will in the environment where their lot may be cast.
4. They must strive after harmlessness in speech and in life in relation to their family, community, nation or group of nations. This means a consistent policy of non-attack. No leader or nation or race must be attacked or defamed.

This is a matter of practical import and is not at all an easy thing to attain. It lays the foundation for the rapid formation and definite emergencies of the New-Group of World Servers, and for the discovery and organizing of the men of goodwill throughout the world, wherever they may be found. The spiritual Hierarchy cannot work through people whose tongues are critical, whose ideas and attitudes are separative and who are violently partisan in their beliefs and comments. This is a statement of fact. I seek to have you train yourselves in such right activity, beginning with your own lives and your personal expression in the world.

As regards the required united work, I can but indicate the following lines of activity, and it is for you to follow them, if you will, or make it possible for others to do so:

1. Discover the men and women of good will. These you will not recognize if you are full of racial, national or religious prejudice.
2. Put these people in touch with the Units of Service in the countries where they live. [749]
3. Educate them in the following ideas:
   1. The principles of good will and the medium and methods of their true expression in the daily life.
   2. The necessity of their being active and practical and consistent workers in the spread of good will in the world.
   3. The usefulness of building up live mailing lists (I think you call it) of those who see life from the angle of the spiritual values and who seek to build for the future.
4. The authorities of any and every nation should be kept in touch with your activities, so that they are aware of all that you are seeking to do and can, therefore, realize that there is nothing subversive in the planned activities, and nothing that has in it the seeds of trouble for any ruler or national government.
5. Keep constantly in touch with the Units of Service and use care in choosing those who represent the work you have all undertaken.
6. Let the meditation groups be carefully handled and have about them nothing that could be regarded as secret or might bring them under suspicion of being secret organizations. This they are not. This non-secrecy must be emphasized in connection with all the work.
7. As far as the use of the press and the radio is concerned, go forward as actively and earnestly as possible in preparation for the work planned in 1942 and its great united effort. Upon these two lay the emphasis, for by them the majority of human beings are reached.
8. Let each Wesak Full Moon be a period of intensive effort, preceded by personal preparation and purification and lay the force of the emphasis upon: [750]
   1. The producing of sensitivity to the inner spiritual impression, emanating from the Hierarchy and the Group.
   2. The achieving of an intelligent appreciation of the steps to be taken during the coming twelve months, and the laying of careful plans so that they may indeed materialize.
   3. The correct distribution of your time and resources so that you do become an active worker in the cause of good will.
   4. The effort to cooperate with all that is being done along these lines, which entails the discovery of all groups and persons working with similar objectives.
   5. The submergence of your temporary interests in the good of the whole and through love of humanity.

I will say no more at this time. I have sought to indicate that which should be possible. If my suggestions are followed, and if the work is carried forward diligently, there is every indication that the work of the Hierarchy and of the Christ will be tremendously expedited. The need and the opportunity call for right understanding, and they demand also a joyful cooperation and the sacrifice of yourselves and of your time and money, in the attempt to make our work possible.

I make no further appeal for your help. I have been endeavoring to educate you in the new ideals and in the work of the New Group of World Servers. The responsibility for right action and for the effort to reach the public rests upon the aspirants and disciples of the world who read my words. There is nothing that I, personally, can do. It is your time (and all of you, without exception, can give some) for which Christ and humanity are today calling. It is your activity and skill in reaching those you can reach for which we make [751] demand. It is your money that is needed to enable us to reach the interested public. It is your meditation and intense inner cooperation which will construct that channel through which the spirit of peace can work and the forces of Light enter. The Hierarchy waits. It has done all that is possible from the angle of Its opportunity. The Christ stands in patient silence, attentive to the effort that will make His work materialize on earth and enable Him to consummate the effort He made 2000 years ago in Palestine. The Buddha hovers over the planet, ready to play His part if the opportunity is offered to Him by mankind. I beg you to note what I here have said. Everything now depends upon the right action of the men of good will.