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| The Externalization of the Hierarchy - Section III - Forces behind the Evolutionary Process |
| The New World Religion All past divine revelations have brought humanity to the point where (spiritually speaking) man's essential divinity is theologically recognized, where the brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood of God are recognized ideals and where science has demonstrated the fact of an unfolding purpose and the existence of a fundamental, intelligent Agent behind all phenomena. Step by step man has been led through prayer, the voice of desire, through worship, the recognition of deity, through affirmation of the fact of human identity of nature with the divine, to a belief in the divinity of man. Orthodox religion emphasizes the divinity of the Christ, and He Himself has told us (and the New Testament in many places emphasizes it) that we also are divine, all [401] of us are the Sons of God and that as He is so are we in this world and that we are able to do still greater things than Christ did because He has shown us how. Such is the religious background of the spiritual thinking in the world. Therefore, taking our stand on these truths, acknowledging the fact of our divinity and recognizing the glory of all past revelations and the still more glorious promise of the future, we can begin to realize that the time has now come for the presentation of the new step in this unfolding revelation. We can realize that to our past programs of prayer, worship and affirmation, the new religion of Invocation and Evocation can be added, in which man will begin to use his divine power and come into closer touch with the spiritual sources of all life. This new form of the one religion will be in fact the Religion of the Great Approaches - approaches between mankind and the great spiritual Centers which operate behind the scenes, between groups of workers on the physical plane and in the three worlds of human evolution and spiritual groups upon the inner planes, such as the Ashrams of the Masters and the egoic groups with which all human beings are in subjective - though usually unknown - relation. The new religion will be one of Invocation and Evocation, of bringing together great spiritual energies and then stepping them down for the benefiting and the stimulation of the masses. The work of the new religion will be the distribution of spiritual energy and the protecting of humanity from energies and forces which they are not, at the particular time, fitted to receive. A little careful thought will show you how, at the coming Full Moon Festivals, these thoughts are present: the protection and liberation of humanity and the stimulation of mankind through the distribution and the transference of spiritual energy so that the right steps can be taken in any given period, leading mankind cut of darkness into light, from death to immortality and from the unreal to the Real. I would have you, therefore, add to your mental and spiritual activity the recognition that you are participating [402] in the task of anchoring the basic tenets of the new world religion - the flower and fruition of the past and the hope of the future. More along this line, I may not write at this time. Later I will elaborate for you the greater and the lesser festivals of the spiritual year as they will gradually supersede the festivals of the present world religions in the East and in the West. (See: The Reappearance of the Christ, Chapter VI.) Much that you have learnt and gradually absorbed will then be seen fitting into the general spiritual plan. You will find that the spiritual year is divided into two periods (symbolic of spirit and matter); the period in which the Sun moves northward and the period when it travels on the southern way. You will find that the month divides itself into two periods likewise, that of the waxing and the waning moon and you will find the future emphasis laid throughout the world upon the Easter Festival, the Festival of the Risen Christ; upon the Wesak Festival, the Festival of the Buddha or of Illumination; and the June Full Moon, the Festival of Unification carried forward by the Christ, the Master of all the Masters and the Teacher alike of angels and of men. Today, however, I seek to focus your attention upon the immediate task of cooperation with the Hierarchy and strengthen you to play your part in world salvage. |
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