Let Purpose Guide the Little Wills of Men:
The Spiritual Impulse Behind the United Nations

Ida Urso, Ph. D.*
Founder/President, Aquarian Age Community

[Note: This year, 2005, marks the 60th anniversary of the United Nations. Ten years have passed since the following address was given. The spiritual energies impacting and affecting the United Nations are even greater today than they were in 1995. For one thing, the energies of Shamballa left their imprint in the year 2000. As a result, the dividing line between the Planetary Dweller and the Angel of the Presence, as these are reflected within the work of the United Nations is becoming ever more stark and clear. The work of the Angel and those who support this energy are increasing and intensifying, and thus, as is obvious on the world stage, the Dweller is fighting mightily for its very life.

Today, we have many individuals and groups within and around the United Nations who refer to the work of the United Nations as being fully spiritual in nature and as being part of the Plan of Love and Light for our times. It is recognized that the ideals and objectives of the United Nations are very Aquarian in scope and speak to the brotherhood of humanity.

The Tibetan Master’s wisdom as expressed in the following quotation from The Externalisation of the Hierarchy today seems more pragmatic and understandable than ever before: “Speaking symbolically-when the United Nations has emerged into factual and actual power, the welfare of the world will then be assured. What is that welfare but love in action? What are right human relations but love among men, groups and nations? What is international cooperation but love on a world scale?" (p. 603).

This 60th year anniversary of the United Nations is a pivotal year. Heads of state from more than 175 nations will come together for the 2005 World Summit—the largest gathering of world leaders in history, providing a once-in-a-generation opportunity. This World Summit will address three major events/issues: 1) The fifth anniversary of the signing of the Millennium Declaration, establishing the 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs,) will assess the progress made in achieving those goals; 2) The report of the High Level Panel on the Future of the United Nations and the International System will be discussed; and, (3) The 60th birthday of the United Nations will be celebrated. As Shashi Tharoor, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, has significantly pointed out, whereas many contemplate retirement at age 60, the UN instead, will contemplate RENEWAL.

As we recollect the Tibetan Master’s description of the need for the support and work of the New Group of World Servers and the men and women of goodwill who were so instrumental in the founding of the United Nations, as described below, we now call on each spiritually motivated disciple and man and woman of goodwill who reads this address to once again lend your support and help at this pivotal opportunity in the planetary life so that the intended planetary initiations, the externalization of the Hierarchy and the Reappearance of the World Teacher may indeed take place.]

"Let Purpose guide the little wills of men". It is not a coincidence that we are celebrating both the 50th anniversary of the Great Invocation and the United Nations. Both in different ways are pivotal to the Plan and much as yet remains to be done before the purpose of either can be fully realized. Let us therefore utilize our opportunity today and continue to hold and deepen the group's spiritual tension. Let us together, complete the triangle of light, love and power and from this vantage point, let us contemplate that world body—"the hope of humanity"—which was conceived just 50 years ago under the impulse of the three spiritual Festivals.

As the dream that arose from a nightmare, it gave hope to the world at a time when people were in despair. Pronouncing an end to the scourge of war and envisioning a world of justice, peace and progress for all peoples of the earth, the United Nations has been called humanity's most far-sighted and significant undertaking.

It was on April 25, 1945 two days previous to the full moon of Taurus and the Festival of Wesak that delegates from 50 nations, met in San Francisco for a conference known officially as the United Nations Conference on International Organization.

Appalled at the atrocities they had witnessed and the hell they had undergone, their mission was to create an organization that would forever end the scourge of war and serve as a mechanism for future peace.

Of this period, in the book, The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, the Tibetan Master tells us: "Not for nothing is this conference being held during the five days of the Wesak Full Moon. It will be a time of supreme difficulty, in which the Forces of Light will face...'the forces of selfishness and separativeness.'"

The Hierarchy kept a keen vigilance over the events of this period and especially over the conference in San Francisco, which was of such significance that it called forth the attention of those great lives in Shamballa. We are told, "Year after year, ever since the Buddha achieved His goal of illumination, an effort has been made to increase the flow of enlightenment into the world and to throw the light of wisdom, experience and understanding into the minds of men. At each Full Moon of May this has been the effort of the spiritual Forces which are working out the Will of God." In 1945, a supreme effort was made during the five days of the Full Moon from April 25 to April 30. At that time a great Triangle of Force was created as the nucleus through which the Forces of Enlightenment could work. The three Lives controlling that released energy were:

1. The Light of Life Itself; the Lord of the World,
2. The Buddha, the Lord of Wisdom, bringing spiritual light to the Hierarchy and revealing what is the divine purpose; and,
3. The Christ, the Lord of Love, presenting the demand of humanity and acting as the distributing Agent for the Forces of Enlightenment. (The Externalisation of the Hierarchy)

The conference was also under the subjective influence of the Hierarchy who we are told were facing a major test of Their Hierarchical power—not a test of their love, but of their power. The consequent stimulation, which affected both the unselfish as well as the selfish aspects of humanity was of such potency that it would determine the destiny of humanity for centuries to come.

For almost nine weeks the Conference went on—nine weeks of intensive work, day and night, by hundreds of delegates, advisors, translators, and more; and, at the end, the mission was accomplished: the final version of the 10,000-word Charter of the United Nations was approved and passed unanimously late in the evening of June 25th. Four months later, on October 24th, after the necessary ratification signatures, the United Nations officially came into existence.

Uncertainty about the outcome of the conference gripped both the Center of Light and the Center of Love: could the little wills of men and women and the love-wisdom of Hierarchy be aligned with the purpose of Shamballa? Would the disciples of the world and the members of the New Group of World Servers be able to call forth the will-to-good sufficiently so that the Forces of Light would predominate? Would the energy of goodwill swell within the hearts of men and women so as to significantly impact public opinion?

The precarious, touch and go nature of the event is described by a U.S. delegate to that conference who tells us that, "the cynics, the negators, the doubters,[and] the Armageddonites, among the public and...the media, were strident in their assertions that the 50 nations could never be brought to agreement and that a third world war by 1970 or 1975 was inevitable." He then gives the following account of how the tide was turned:

"As we began...regular explanations to the media and to nongovernmental representatives who increasingly came to San Francisco, public sentiment began to swing in a hopeful manner. Virginia Gildersleeve, one of the eight-member delegation from the United States, came forward with the preamble concept of 'We the People'. [From then on] progress in our work and in public opinion accelerated to the point where all 50 delegations agreed unanimously and signed on June 26. (Harold Stassen, New Realities Conference, 1993)

So it was that divine purpose was able to guide the little wills of men.

Fifty years into its existence, what can we say about the working out of that purpose through the UN today? I'm reminded here of a passage from the first volume of the Agni Yoga book, Supermundane, wherein Master Morya refers to the ceaseless Battle the Hierarchy leads against the forces of darkness. Therein he says: "We may receive communications that a conspiracy against constructiveness has developed and We hasten to prevent it, but you yourself know how few listen to Us." (45)

So it seems to me is the plight of the United Nations today. So many good works, so many enlightened intentions, so many fine achievements and so few people to sing its praises or appreciate the significance and potential of this world body.

Yet, the accomplishments are there and they are many. For our purposes here, I'd like to have us consider just a fractional sampling of these. First on that list has to be the fact of its sheer existence: a synthetic global body where the center, humanity, under one roof, is represented in its great diversity and multiplicity—one synthetic body which over the years has increasingly recognized the interdependent nature of not only humanity, but of all life on our planet.

Next on that list must be The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which declares that all people should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Via this Declaration, the United Nations has provided humanity for the first time ever with a collective, global conscience.

Often without attracting attention, the UN and its family of agencies are engaged in a vast array of work that touches every aspect of peoples' lives around the world. For example, it works at alleviating chronic hunger and rural poverty in developing countries. It has generated a worldwide commitment in support of the needs of especially children and refugees. It is the eyes and ears of our global environment. It works to strengthen international law and it was a major factor in bringing about the downfall of the apartheid system in South Africa; it works to reduce the effects of natural disasters and fights drug abuse, it promotes worker's rights and the UN even makes possible our international mail.

Is the UN perfect? Has it fulfilled the purpose for which it was founded? Of course, the answer is a resounding "NO".

Recognizing, for example, that about 1.3 billion of us live in absolute poverty, that only 10% of us participate fully in the institutions that shape our lives and that close to one trillion dollars a year are spent for military purposes, we can plainly see that our world is neither just nor at peace and progress for all the peoples of the earth as the Charter promises—is yet at best, a remote dream.

From the outset it was hoped that this great "experiment"—as it is referred to—would bring about the liberation of humanity into a new era of peace, justice and cooperation; that it would demonstrate the potency of such spiritual values as practical love and understanding by insuring that the basic needs of all for food, housing and health care would be met through the collective sharing of the physical, economic and cultural resources of the planet.

Through the General Assembly of the UN, under the influence of the Avatar of Synthesis and the Forces of Reconstruction it was hoped that the theory of unity could slowly be turned into practice, and that the word "United" could come to have a true significance and meaning. (The Reappearance of the Christ, p. 93)

No, the UN has not yet realized the purpose for which it was founded.

However, with all its faults, limitations, weaknesses and nationalisms, the United Nations according to the Tibetan Master is focusing the conflict between the Angel and the Dweller. He further says that “The United Nations are...gradually and most decisively throwing the weight of their effort and aspiration on to the side of the Angel, thus restoring the lost balance and slowly producing on a planetary scale those attributes and conditions which will eventually dispel illusion, dissipate glamour and devitalize the prevalent maya. This they are doing by the increased clear thinking of the general public of all the nations...by their growing ability to conceive ideas in terms of the whole...and [by] their capacity to discriminate between the Forces of Light and the potency of materialism.” (Glamour A World Problem, p. 163)

At the time that the UN was being contemplated, The Tibetan Master emphasized how essential it was for all aspirants and disciples to throw the weight of their spiritual development and the light of their souls on the side of the Forces which were attempting to plan for the good of humanity as a whole rather than for any one particular nation. That same resounding need exists today.

It is at this juncture that our work here today and over the coming years becomes so crucial. Eleanor Roosevelt reminded the public of her day: "The United Nations is a piece of machinery and the people of the world must make it work".

That same thought has recently been expressed by the current Secretary-General of the United Nations who said: "At this moment the first words of the Charter, "We the Peoples of the United Nations" convey a meaning originally intended but perhaps never before fully comprehended. We—all of us—are the United Nations. The UN is...what we choose to make of it. " (Boutros Boutros-Ghali Message in the UN50 Press Kit)

The Tibetan Master reminds us that it is the demand of the disciples of the world, which will bring in that which the world needs. (Discipleship In the New Age, Vol. I, pp. 297/8) What is needed today is for the purpose, which the Masters know and serve to increasingly guide the little wills of men.

Purpose—the magnetized line along which the fire may travel. Purpose—the motivating life behind all that emanates from Shamballa, that which impulses all the activities of the Hierarchy and that which implements the Plan. Within Shamballa, it is the Registrants of Purpose—as they are called—who keep the channel open between our Earth, the planet Venus and the Central Spiritual Sun.

We are told that the basic purpose of Sanat Kumara is to bring about right relations in every field of His manifested Life. And, although an elementary revelation of the divine Purpose is possible only at the 3rd initiation, the encouraging factor is that the activity of humanity itself, for the first time, is concerned with the entire subject of right human relations and how to bring it about. (The Rays and the Initiations p. 394)

Through our attempts at world understanding, our demand for unity, and our intent to dynamically "force" the energy of the will-to-good into the world, we can significantly aid in the work of the UN. It is this focused will-to-good which can and must evoke the Shamballa energy—the only energy that can overcome the opposing forces, which would obstruct the spiritual progress of humanity. As it is manifested, the average man and woman responding unconsciously will then express the energy of goodwill.

The particular genius of each nation within the United Nations can then be evoked for the enriching of the entire human family and human brotherhood can become a realized accomplishment.

I would like to end by having us reflect on the following thought from The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, which underlines this role of the United Nations:

“When the United Nations has emerged into factual and actual power, the welfare of the world will then be assured. What is that welfare but love in action? What are right human relations but love among men, groups and nations? What is international cooperation but love on a world scale? Those are the things, which the love of God in Christ expressed, and those are the things, which we are working here today to bring into being. We are attempting to do it on a vast scale, and this in spite of opposition—an opposition, which can only temporarily succeed, such is the potency of the awakened spirit of man. These are the things, which the Hierarchy, in its already successful procedures, is aiding and will continue to aid.” (p. 603)

So let us once again affirm the invocation: "Let purpose guide the little wills of men".

*Transcript of a talk given at the Arcane School Conference, Saturday, May 13, 1995, New York City; for further information on the work of the United Nations, the reader is referred to the United Nations Section of the web site of the Aquarian Age Community