THE STEPS IN PREPARATION FOR THE CHRIST

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THE STEPS IN PREPARATION FOR THE CHRIST

WHAT ARE THE STEPS TO TAKE IN PREPARATION FOR THE REAPPEARANCE OF CHRIST? " Therefore I say that you can freely aid in the reconstruction work which the Christ proposes, if you will familiarise yourselves and all men whom you can contact with the following facts: 1. That the return of Christ is imminent. 2. That the Christ, imminent in every heart, can be evoked in recognition of His appearance. 3. That the circumstances of His return are only symbolically related in the world Scriptures; this may produce a vital change in the preconceived ideas of humanity. 4. That the major required preparation is a world at peace; however, that peace must be based on an educated goodwill, which will lead inevitably to right human relations, and therefore to the establishment (figuratively speaking) of lines of light between nation and nation, religion and religion, group and group, and man and man. If you can succeed in presenting these four ideas to the world at large, thus overcoming the intelligent criticism that all that is said is too vague, prophetic, and visionary, you will do much. " (The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, p. 611) " First, teach the law of evolution and its inevitable corollary, perfected men. Men must be taught that such Great Souls exist, and exist entirely to serve Their fellow men. The public must be familiarized with Their names and attributes, with Their work and purpose, and men must be told that They are coming forth for the salvation of the world. Secondly, disciples and aspirants must on every hand live harmoniously and love. The violent vibrations of our surroundings must be stilled by a strong counter vibration of love, remembering ever that as we work on the side of evolution, the power of the Godhead itself is with us, available for use. Naught can withstand the steady pressures of love and harmony when they are applied long enough. It is not spasmodic efforts that count. It is the long-sustained, unvarying pressure which eventually breaks down opposition and the walls of separativeness. " " Thirdly, esoteric organisations must stand for all that tends to unity. All types of work, all the exterior efforts of the many organizations must meet with loving co-operation and assistance. We stand in a world of endeavour as focal points for love. Our objective is the helping of the Great Ones and the rendering to Them of that intelligent assistance which will make Their plans for humanity materialise. Through us, They choose to work for the uplift of the world, and through the esoteric groups there must be the putting forth of that intensified spiritual effort which will stem the tide of evil and avert the possible difficulties that lurk in the darkness of the present chaos. The living organism of aspirants and disciples can provide a center of peace, power and love, of practical help and spiritual uplift such as the world has not hitherto seen. Such is the hope. See you to it. " " Definite work must also be done in healing, in exorcising, in curing mental and astral diseases, and it must be demonstrated to the world that the ancient power to heal still lies in the hands of those who consistently follow the Christ. Those who use this power only for the sake of the little ones, taking and seeking no personal reward, can manifest the ancient way to heal which has small resemblance to the modern methods of the mental schools. " " Preparation too must be given to the developing of the higher psychic powers, and through the trained expression of those powers can proof be given to the scientists of the world of the latent forces in man which can be utilised by those who wisely and sanely follow in the footsteps of the Christ, the greatest Psychic of all time. Hospitals and schools will appear under the direct guidance of the Masters; Teachers Who can heal will come forth, and others will appear who will train the minds of the pupils to be responsive to direct inspiration from above. The faculty of the intuition must be developed scientifically. " " Finally, Church members and members of the Masonic Fraternities must familiarise themselves with the inner significance of the various rites, ceremonies, colours and rituals, and with the work performed upon the floor of the temple. They must know why such and such things are done in due order and the reason for the various precedences, the words, gestures and acts. " (The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, p. 515-517) " There is no question therefore that the work to be done in familiarizing the general public with the nature of the Mysteries is of paramount importance at this time. These Mysteries will be restored to outer expression through the medium of the Church and the Masonic Fraternity, if those groups leave off being organizations with material purpose, and become organisms with living objectives. " (The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, p. 514) " The awakening of the intelligentsia in all countries to the recognition of humanity is a prelude to the establishment of brotherhood. The unity of the human family is recognized by man, 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; it is essential 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 New Group of World Servers. Through the impression and expression 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. " (The Reappearance of the Christ, pp. 184-185) " Much has already been done in familiarizing the general public with the concept of the Hierarchy. Much of it has been done in such a manner as to bring the whole subject into disrepute, as well you know. The groups now occupied with the dissemination of occult teaching would be well-advised to change their methods if—beneath their pronounced ignorance and their love of the spectacular—there lies a true belief and a real humanitarian desire. Information anent the Hierarchy should take the following lines: 1. Emphasis should be laid on the evolution of humanity with peculiar attention to its goal, perfection. This is not the idealistic perfection of the visionary mystic, but the control of the instrument, man in incarnation, by the indwelling and overshadowing soul. The constitution of man should be increasingly taught. 2. The relation of the individual soul to all souls should be taught, and with it the recognition that the long-awaited kingdom of God is simply the appearance of soul-controlled men on earth in everyday life and at all stages of that control. 3. From a recognition of this relationship, the fact of the spiritual Hierarchy can then be deduced and the normality of its existence emphasized. The fact will appear that the Kingdom has always been present but has remained unrecognized, owing to the relatively few people who express, as yet, its quality. 4. When this recognition has become general, the idea (by this time permanently present in the human consciousness everywhere) and good sense also will testify to the fact of the presence of Those Who have achieved the goal; Their demonstration of divinity will be regarded as normal, as constituting a universal objective, and as the guarantee of humanity's future achievement; degrees of this divine expression can then be pointed out, ranging from that of the probationary disciple, through disciples, to Those Who have achieved mastery, and up to and inclusive of the Christ. 5. Thus gradually the idea or concept of the existence, in bodily presence, of the Masters will be inculcated and steadily accepted; a new attitude to the Christ will be developed which will be inclusive of all the best that the past has given to us but which will integrate men into a more sane and acceptable approach to the entire problem. 6. The time will come when the fact of the presence on earth of the Christ as Head of the Hierarchy and the Director of the Kingdom of God will be accepted; men will also realize the truth of the present revolutionary statement that at no time has He ever left the earth. 7. Emphasis will also increasingly be laid upon the unfolding Plan, and men will be brought to its recognition through a study of the evolution of the human family, through a close consideration of historical processes, and through a comparative analysis of ancient and modern civilizations and cultures. The thread of purpose will be noted and followed through, century after century, integrating not only history into one complete story of the revelation of divine qualities through the medium of humanity, but integrating with it and into it all world philosophies, the central theme of all creative art, the symbolism of architecture and the conclusions of science. " (The Externalization of the Hierarchy, p. 589) " Classes must be held by the occultists of the world in which the teaching is stepped down to meet the need of the little ones upon which the Church should stand should be proclaimed, and instruction should be given in the meaning of its ceremonies and teachings. " (The Externalization of the Hierarchy, p. 517) " People love to be saved, for it ignores their own immediate responsibility, which teaching definitely emphasizes. It must be remembered that it is the teaching given by the Christ which saves humanity—not any symbolic death upon a cross. Men must save themselves by their reaction and their response to the teaching given in its purity by the Christ; this is a point which should be forcefully instilled by all of you; it is not man-made interpretations which save a man, but his self-initiated application of his own understanding of the teaching. This must be brought today to the consciousness of as many human beings as the followers of the Christ can reach. " (The Externalization of the Hierarchy, p. 635) " 1. Prepare men for the reappearance of the Christ. This is your first and greatest duty. The most important part of that work is teaching men—on a large scale—to use the Invocation so that it becomes a world prayer and focuses the invocative demand of humanity. 2. Enlarge the work of the Triangles so that, subjectively and etherically, light and goodwill may envelop the earth. 3. Promote ceaselessly the work of World Goodwill, so that every nation may have its group of men and women dedicated to the establishing of right human relations. You have the nucleus, and expansion must be undertaken. You have the principle of goodwill present throughout the world; the task will be heavy indeed but far from impossible. 4. Undertake the constant distribution of my books, which contain much of the teaching for the New Age. In the last analysis, the books are your working tools and the instruments whereby you will train your workers. See that they are kept in steady circulation. 5. Endeavor to make the Wesak Festival (at the time of the May Full Moon) a universal festival and known to be of value to all men of all faiths. It is the festival in which the two divine Leaders, of the East and of the West, collaborate together and work in the closest spiritual union; the Christ and the Buddha use this festival each year as the point of inspiration for the coming year's work. See that you do likewise. The spiritual energies are then uniquely available. 6. Discover the members of the new group of world servers, whenever possible, and strengthen their hands. Look for them in every nation and expressing many lines of thought and points of view. Remember always that in doctrine and dogma, and in techniques and methods, they may differ widely from you, but in love of their fellowmen, in practical goodwill and in devotion to the establishing of right human relations they stand with you, they are your equals, and can probably teach you much. " (The Externalization of the Hierarchy, p. 641) " I beg you to shoulder the responsibility of distributing the Invocation on as large a scale as possible and in every country. It is of great potency, and when used by men of all faiths can aid in the process of averting war. I ask you also to make possible the wide distribution of the book The Problems of Humanity which I have written, for they strengthen the hands of those who are already seeking to deal with these problems and they bring the need to the attention of the unawakened. This will require sacrifice, for it calls for the expenditure of money; even the Hierarchy works through normal channels and needs money, and even the Christ has need of financial resources in order to reach the needy sons of men. I ask your aid and I await your decision. " (The Externalization of the Hierarchy, p. 558) " In giving you these two meditations, I would remind all who undertake to use these meditative forms that they will not prove effective and of the needed vital potency unless the one who thus meditates identifies himself with the purpose and objective of the meditation, dedicates himself to co-operation with this objective and redeems all aspects of his own life in conformity with the focused desire expressed in this spiritual appeal. It is useless, my brothers, to meditate along lines which will aid in preparing the world for the coming of the Hierarchy and for the reappearance of the Christ unless, again, that preparation is an integral part of your own constant daily endeavor, and is not just simply wishful thinking and the formulation of a hopeful theory anent the future of humanity. It is useless for you to meditate in order to reorient money, for instance, towards spiritual work (and by " spiritual work " I do not here refer to the work of the churches and of the world religions) unless all the monies which you individually have to handle are dedicated to right usage, the fulfillment of your right obligations and the covering of your karmic responsibilities, plus the constant recognition of the relation of all money to the spiritual future of the race and the requirements of the hierarchical Plan. There must always be, in your consciousness recognition of the needs of all men, and this must be true of all spiritually-minded people, of all true esoterically and of the religiously inclined man whose heart and understandings are more divinely inclusive than are the hearts of the average followers of any religious doctrine, enunciated by the theologians of any faith. " " It must be realised that money is the energy which can set in motion and make possible the activities of the New Group of World Servers- no matter what their colour, caste or church. Money does not yet lie in their hands. Their need for it is great. Millions are needed to spread the required knowledge of the hierarchical Plan; millions are needed to further the work of men of goodwill; millions are needed to educate the masses in the fact that He for Whom all men wait is on His way back to ordinary visibility. The billions which are spent at present on luxuries, on expensive and unnecessary objects of desire, the billions (and, my brother, it is billions, as world statistics show) which go towards the purchase of candy, liquor, tobacco, jewellery and expensive furs, the millions which go in the violent search for excitement and for ceaseless nightly pleasure and, finally, the billions which go the way of armed conflict in all nations must be deflected towards those expenditures which will make the plans of the Hierarchy possible, which will aid humanity in its search for the new, spiritual and free way, and which will therefore bring into being the new civilization. Billions are required to overcome the materialism which has dominated mankind for untold aeons; billions are also needed to bring about the reconstruction of human affairs and thus purify and beautify our modern world to such an extent that the Christ can appear among men; through the wise expenditure of the financial resources of the world in the many fields of human betterment and uplift, the Christ will be enabled to " see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied. " " I ask you, therefore, to follow these two meditations at least once a week and upon different days. These two forms of invocative appeal can be used by all who are willing, to participate in the indicated service. " (Discipleship in the New Age, Vol. II, p. 224) " This is no mystical or visionary dream with which I am I presenting you. It involves hard business sense on the physical plane, a practical commonsense, a cessation of the constant presentation of a beautiful future in a mythical heaven of idleness and uselessness. The bringing in of the Kingdom of God, the preparation for the coming of the Christ and the salvaging of mankind demand courage, organization, business acumen, psychology and persistence; it needs trained workers and much money; it calls for carefully considered programmes, possessing long range vision, plus sensible modern procedures. It is to this that all with true vision and a love of humanity are called today; it means the spreading of an intelligently cultivated goodwill and the fostering of those conditions, attitudes and points of view which will inevitably bring about right human relations. " (The Externalization of the Hierarchy, p. 650-651) " I advise all disciples who seek to co-operate with the impending activity of the Hierarchy to study with care the seventeenth chapter of the Gospel of St. ; this was written by that disciple of love, under the influence of the energy emanating from the buddhic vehicle of the Christ, which is also—as you have been told—identical with the buddhic vehicle of the Buddha. The identity of the two vehicles is symbolic of the entire teaching anent " isolated unity " and divine participation, which the Masters in Their Ashrams are teaching Their disciples of all grades, these days, as the first step toward the externalization of Their activities. " (The Externalization of the Hierarchy, p. 687) " He gave to the world (for the use of the " man in the street " ) one of the oldest prayers ever known, but one which hitherto had not been permitted to be used except by the most exalted, spiritual Beings. He used it Himself for the first time, we are told, at the time of the Full Moon of June, 1945, which is recognized as the Full Moon of the Christ, just as the Full Moon of May is that of the Buddha. It was not easy to translate these ancient phrases (so ancient that they are without date or background of any kind) into modern words, but it has been done, and the great Invocation, which may eventually become the world prayer, was pronounced by Him and taken down by His disciples. " " Its extraordinary potency can be seen in the fact that hundreds of thousands of people are already using it day by day and many times a day; it is (1947) translated into eighteen different languages and used by people in all those languages; in the jungles of Africa, groups of natives are using it and it can be seen on the desks of great executives in our major cities; it goes forth over the radio in Europe and in America and there is no country or island in the world where its use is unknown. All this has taken place in the space of eighteen months. This new Invocation, if given widespread distribution, can be to the new world religion what the Lord's Prayer has been to Christianity and the 23rd Psalm has been to the spiritually minded Jew. " (The Reappearance of the Christ, p. 31) " My considered advice is that in its presentation to a definitely Christian public (as for instance to the ecclesiastics of all denominations) the third verse in the stanza be changed and that its last line should read: " The Purpose which the Master knows and serves, " or perhaps " which disciples know and serve. " The word " disciple " is an inclusive word, in the hierarchical sense; it is, at the same time, one easily recognized by the orthodox but offers no limitation to the esotericist. It covers every grade of human aspirant from the newly accepted disciple up to and inclusive of the Christ Himself. " (Discipleship in the New Age, Vol.II, p. 157) " It is essential that today there should be a measure of fuller knowledge concerning the " center where the will of God is known. " The public should possess some understanding of this highest spiritual centre to which— if we believe the Gospel story—Christ Himself was always attentive. Frequently we read in The New Testament that " the Father spoke to Him " or that " He heard a Voice, " unheard by others, or that the words were heard, " this is my beloved Son. " Several times, we read, the seal of affirmation (as it is spiritually called) was given to Him. Only the Father, the planetary Logos, the " One in Whom we live and move and have our being " (Acts XVII.28), the Lord of the World, the Ancient of Days (Dan. VII.9) can speak this final affirmative word. " (The Reappearance of the Christ, p. 39) " Therefore, another answer to the question posited is that Christ and the spiritual Hierarchy never—no matter how great the need or important the incentive—infringe upon the divine right of men to make their own decisions, to exert their own free will and to achieve freedom by fighting for freedom—individually, nationally and inter- nationally. When true freedom covers the earth, we shall see the end of tyranny—politically, religiously and economically. I am not here referring to modern democracy as a condition which meets the need, for democracy is at present a philosophy of wishful thinking and an unachieved ideal. I refer to that period which will surely come in which an enlightened people will rule; these people will not tolerate authoritarianism in any church or totalitarianism in any political system; they will not accept or permit the rule of any body of men who undertake to tell them what they must believe in order to be saved or what government they must accept. When the people are told the truth and, when they can freely judge and decide for themselves, we shall then see a much better world. " " It is not essential or necessary that all these desirable objectives should be accomplished facts upon Earth before Christ again moves amongst us. It is, however, necessary that this attitude to religion and politics is generally regarded as desirable and that steps have been successfully taken in the direction of right human relations. It is along these lines that the New Group of World Servers and all men of goodwill are working, and their first effort must be to offset the widespread sense of frustration and individual futility. " (The Reappearance of the Christ, p. 164) " The Festival of June which is so uniquely Christ's, and which emphasises His relationship to humanity, in reality covers three whole days, each with a different keynote: 1. The keynote of Love in its hierarchical sense—free from sentiment, emotion and personal emphasis— a love that sacrifices and understands, that acts with strength and decision, and that works on behalf of the whole and not in the interests of any group or individual. 2. The keynote of Resurrection, emphasizing the new note of livingness, of the living Christ and of that " life more abundantly " which the war has made possible by forcing a return to the real values. 3. The keynote of Contact, of a closer relation between Christ and His people, between the Hierarchy and Humanity. " (The Externalization of the Hierarchy, p. 555) " The teaching planned by the Hierarchy to precede and condition the New Age, the Aquarian Age, falls into three categories: 1. Preparatory, given 1875-1890…written down by H.P.B. 2. Intermediate, given 1919-1949…written down by A.A.B. 3. Revelatory, emerging after 1975…to be given on a worldwide scale via the radio. (The Rays and the Initiations, p. 255) Please click here FOR MORE . Please click here for more on the BOOKS of ALICE A. BAILEY .