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| The Externalization of the Hierarchy - Section II - The General World Picture |
| This is no idle and visionary dream. It is already happening.
Embryonic movements toward this world synthesis are already being made. There is a dream
of federation, of economic interdependence and of religious unity, plus social and
national interrelation which is rapidly taking form, first in the minds of men, and then
in experiments. There is a tie of united purpose, felt by many in the political and
economic fields, which is no wish fulfilment or fantasy but indicative of an emerging
reality. It is felt and recognized by thinkers everywhere, and has worked out in the field
of government through the medium of the federation of the British Dominions and their
relation to Great Britain, and in the federation of the United States of America. It finds
itself distorted and parodied in the concept of the superstate with which the dictators of
the world glamor their peoples. But the links are being forged which will draw down the
vision and precipitate on earth the pattern of things as they should be in this next world
cycle. When this vision of the new world order has been grasped by the men and women of goodwill throughout the nations, and has become part of the life and mind of every disciple and aspirant, then the next stop will be to study the factors which are hindering its materialization. For this a broad tolerance and an unprejudiced mind are essential, and these qualities are rare in the average student and the small town man. Past national mistakes must be faced; [243] selfishness in the spheres of both capital and labor must be recognized; blindness, nationalistic ambitions, adherence to ancient territorial demands and assumed rights, inherited possessiveness, the refusal to relinquish past gains, disturbances in the religious and social areas of consciousness, uncertainty as to the realities of subjective and spiritual life, and the insincerities which are based on glamor and fear - all these factors are woven into the life pattern of every nation, without exception, and are exploited by the evil forces and evaded by the well-meaning but weak people of the world. These must all be seen in their true perspective. The eyes of the people who seek to work under the Forces of Light must be lifted from the world of effects into the realm of causes; there must be appreciation of the factors which have made and conditioned the modern world, and these predisposing factors must be recognized for what they are. This sizing up of the situation and this recognition of blame and responsibility must preface every attempt to bring down into active being the new world order. This new world will not come as an answer to prayer or by the passive wishful thinking and expectation of the peace-loving idealist and mystical visionary. They point the way and indicate the needed objective. It will come when the mystic and the man of vision awakens to the need of the hour and comes down from the world of dreams, of theories, and of words into the hard arena of daily and public life. He must be willing to fight for that which he desires and knows to be good and true and right, and must stand firm against those who seek to distort the vision and to arrest its appearance, arming for battle so that final disarmament may be possible. A clear vision of the future world order (in broad and general outline but not in detail), an intelligent recognition of the hindrances and impediments which block its appearance, and a willingness to take the necessary steps upon the physical plane and to pay the required price and tender the demanded sacrifices are essential attitudes, prior to the elimination of the hindrances which stand in the way of the [244] coming new world. It is a practical vision - long desired, much discussed and clearly outlined. The hindrances appear to be many, but they can all be summed up in the one word Selfishness - national, racial, political, religious and individual selfishness. The practical aspect of the mode of elimination of the hindrances can also be simply stated. The vision will appear as fact on Earth when individuals willingly submerge their personal interests in the good of the group; when the group or groups merge their interests in the national good, when nations give up their selfish purposes and aims for international good, and when this international right relation is based upon the total good of humanity itself. Thus the individual can play his part in the bigger whole, and his help is needed, and thus the sense of individual futility is negated. To the most unimportant man in the most unimportant national unit there comes the call for sacrifice and service to the group of which he is part. Eventually humanity itself is thus swung - again as an integral unit - into the service of the Planetary Life. In the above you have an attempt to portray the wider vision with its demanded, practical, effort, and also an indication of the larger possibility which faces humanity. It is in truth for this the Allies fight and against which Germany today rallies her war machine. |
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