Volume 3, Number 2, Spring 2007 Editorial Articles
Poems Featured Artist
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The Emerging Avatars Whenever there is a withering of the law and an uprising of lawlessness on all sides, then I manifest Myself. For the salvation of the righteous and the destruction of such as do evil, for the firm establishing of the Law, I come to birth age after age. The Bhagavad Gita, Book IV, Sutra 7, 8 According to the wisdom tradition a number of teachers, sometimes called Avatars, are now preparing to return to outer manifestation. These Avatars have been defined as extraordinary teachers who from time to time appear to change the face of the world.(1) During periods of difficulty and apparent darkness, when humanity has lost its way, great teachers have come forward to lead us into the light. They help to ease suffering and restore a sense of order and balance in the world. They work to bring to an end the old and undesirable ways of living and being and to make way for the new forms that will more adequately house the incoming light. They come in times of excess and apparent darkness—when the problems confronting us seem beyond our capacity to adequately resolve. And for this reason, if for no other, such teachers may be looked for at this time. It is unlikely, however, that the coming teachers will step forward under the guise of any one particular religion, as this would only limit the effectiveness of the work they come to undertake. We live in a largely secular world in which many people no longer adhere to established faiths, and the presentation of these teachers as religious figures would leave many people out. The wisdom teachings are attempting to convey a new and broader interpretation of these concepts, one that moves beyond religion and into the more inclusive realm of spirituality. What we are preparing for is a planetary awakening of such magnitude that it will transcend—at the same time that it includes—all the world’s faiths. The problem is that we have as yet little understanding of how contemporary spiritual teachers would look and act. They will have to meet the needs of people today and not be throwbacks to another time. More often than not we tend to imagine them through the lens of the historical Jesus. The picture of a sorrowful and submissively sweet-natured individual, however, is said to have little resemblance to the facts.(2) The coming teachers have much more accurately been described as “supreme spiritual executives,” men and women of extraordinary capacities who will be able to implement sweeping changes in the direction of our planetary civilization. These teachers are different from the way they have been presented by many of the spiritual and religious groups active in the world at this time. They do not head these groups or run any of the outer, physical-plane ashrams, spiritual communities or esoteric organizations that are so widespread today. Within the lineages of the different religious and/or spiritual traditions the world has been blessed with the grace of countless teachers such as Lahiri Mahasaya, Sri Yukteswar, Paramahansa Yogananda, Ramana Maharshi, Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekanada, Master Nan, the many Tibetan teachers and many, many others who worked to bring forward spiritual truths. These teachers have done so much to prepare the way and they stand within the ranks of the Hierarchy but the coming teachers will not necessarily present themselves as gurus and sages as we live in a different time. They will come forward as contemporary individuals, seemingly ordinary, who will however be exceedingly accomplished and powerful in the work that they do. The coming teachers form an integral part of humanity itself, and under the Law of Rebirth they have transcended our present limitations and emerged into a condition of liberation. They have all passed through the human stage of development. As a result, they know full well the difficulties and triumphs, the joys and sorrows of the human experience in its many dimensions. Their point of departure lies in the realm of consciousness. Through their own efforts they were able to achieve a release from the confines of life that we experience and consequently have attained a greatly enhanced ability to serve. They form part of what is known as the spiritual Hierarchy of our planet, the fifth kingdom, the kingdom of souls. At the present time they live quietly behind the scenes, unrecognized and unknown, in different nations, scattered throughout the magnetized areas of the world that provide them with the right conditions for their subjective work. Each one of them stands as a focal point for the distribution for the energy of love and wisdom.(3) Quite a number of them have lived in and around the borders of Tibet and northern India—within the protection and sanctity provided by those sacred lands. The Chinese invasion and rape of the “land of the snows” has, however, surely forced them to relocate to more remote areas within the Himalayan range. As they emerge from their retreats they will make no claims or call themselves Masters or the like. In some cases they may pass unnoticed, but they will be respected and recognized for the vast and sweeping changes they set in motion. It is the “false prophets” and the fanatics of all faiths and spiritual traditions (who are so widespread at this time) who proclaim the greatness of their lives and work, malign the whole concept of these teachers, and hamper the educational work that needs to be done with their false claims and distorted messages.(4) One of the principal problems in attempting to present these ideas to the public is the wrong intellectual focus of so many people, a condition in which the mind has become “the slayer of the Real.”(5) We live in a culture—particularly in the Western world—characterized by strong individualism and a rational, scientific, often materialistic mindset. But we are fortunate in that we stand on the verge of discoveries that will help to shatter the dogmas that have perpetrated this limited worldview. The challenges that will surely confront the teachers as they move outward will be considerable, to say the least. Some people look for a Messiah to solve all problems and alleviate all suffering. That is not what happened two thousand years ago, and we shouldn’t think that the situation will be much different today. More often than not, great teachers upset the established order of things. They have always been revolutionaries, and these teachers will be no exception. Their mere presence in the world, with the powerful energy that emanates from both their ideas and their very being, cannot help but upset the status quo. Much as happened two thousand years ago, many people will not accept these teachers and will do all they can to silence the message they come to bring. And while we should not look to a Messiah to solve our problems, the Ageless Wisdom teachings do state that the coming teachers, or Masters, are setting the stage and paving the way for the eventual reemergence of a great World Teacher—a Christ, a Messiah, a Maitreya, an Imam Mahdi—who comes to unite the people of the world, to fulfill the prophecy, and to establish a rule of law upon our planet. According to the Ageless Wisdom teachings, the teacher who is on the way is the Christ. He has not yet completed the mission he began in Palestine two thousand years ago and so he comes again, at this dawning of the Aquarian age, to fulfill the prophecy. But there is a lot of confusion concerning the word Christ. The Greek “christos” means anointed and, “in the Greek Mysteries, was applied to a candidate who had passed the last degree and become a full initiate.”(6) In the Ageless Wisdom teachings, the term Christ refers to the name of an office, the head of the spiritual Hierarchy. These distinctions help us come to a deeper understanding of who this great teacher was and is. Quite a number of people today, especially within the new age movement, feel a greater connection and appeal for the Buddha, yet in the fullest sense of the word, the Buddha and the Christ are the deepest of brothers. The many distorted perceptions of this great teacher are understandable. The evangelical Christian movement (particularly in the United States), is exceedingly active--attracting vast numbers of people and undertaking much good humanitarian work. But in many ways their teachings have grossly distorted Christ’s message, particularly in regard to his reappearance. It is understandable, therefore, that many people view Christian teachings as out-of-touch with progressive living and thinking. Another picture emerges of this teacher if we read books such as Huston Smith’s, The World’s Religions, which gives a fascinating portrait of Jesus the man. Smith’s depiction of Christ’s life and work is powerful and conveys a measure of the effect that the actual physical plane presence of an avatar can have. The facts that we do know are that he was a “little known Jewish carpenter who was born in a stable, died at 33 as a criminal rather than a hero, never traveled more than 90 miles from his birthplace, owned nothing, attended no college, marshaled no army, and instead of producing books did his only writing in the sand.” Smith wrote that Christ’s greatest influence was upon those closest to him—his disciples, the poor, the prostitutes and the common people. Christ taught that the harlot and the publican may get into heaven before the many who are more outwardly righteous. He empowered the powerless. And we can only speculate about what will happen after his reappearance as the poor still have scant power or sense of entitlement. Surely this is one of the reasons why so many of the disenfranchised people of the world still respond so strongly to his message—for he speaks to them, and few others do. Christ spoke out against the hypocrisy of his time; he upset the status quo with his words, actions and his very being. And if this was true 2,000 years ago in the relatively isolated world of his ministry in Palestine, can we imagine what an effect his vibration will carry in today’s world with its instantaneous global communications network? Due to advances in technology the world has become a much smaller place. People everywhere are being made aware of situations that in the past remained isolated events. The Biblical prophecy that “every ear shall hear and every eye shall see” could easily become a reality in our time. The coming Teacher will take full advantage of this situation, which, by the time he returns, will be even more sophisticated, less expensive, and global in scope. Part of the preparatory work for his return, therefore, involves a stemming of the digital divide so that there will be widespread access to global communications technology. The World Teacher is the great Lord of Compassion. He is sustained by the energy of cosmic love that pours through him. Ever since he died and supposedly left us two thousand years ago he has stayed with us. He has lived in a physical body, dwelling in the Himalayas, and works in close cooperation with the other teachers who also reside there. The Tibetan wrote of him: “Daily He pours out His blessing on the world, and daily He stands under the great pine in His garden at the sunset hour with hands uplifted in blessing over all those who truly and earnestly seek to aspire.”(7) As people throughout the world link up with him and reach out to touch his aura, a great quickening will occur, creating a powerful chain reaction throughout the world. His appearance at this dawning of the Aquarian Age will be different than his work in Palestine two thousand years ago. Today he will appear as the supreme Head of the Spiritual Hierarchy, as the “Water-Carrier,” meeting the need of the people of the world. People today are thirsty for truth, for right human relations and for loving understanding, and he will satisfy that need. He will choose to work among the group of individuals that has done the most effective preparatory work. As stated earlier, it is unlikely that he will emerge in the field of religion – it is much more likely that he will work through the field of education or diplomacy, broadly defined. He could be French, South African, or Indian; we just don’t know. What we do know is that when he emerges he will found a “focal point,” a type of heart center within the planet through which the love energy of the Hierarchy will ceaselessly flow. For centuries, the people of the world have looked for the return of a World Teacher, but still He has not come. It is the time for which the spiritual Hierarchy has been preparing for 17.5 million years. St. Paul wrote, “The whole creation groaneth and travaileth together in pain until now, waiting for the manifestation of the Sons of God.” This book has attempted to show why this time is different from all other times within the long history of the planet in terms of its importance and opportunity. The World Teacher, along with the Hierarchy, wait—having done all they can. It is now up to humanity to take the lead; everything now depends upon the right action of the men and women of goodwill. We are asked to take heart in the recognition that the Hierarchy “stands,” that the World Teacher is attentive to the voice of humanity, and that both are drawing closer each year to the time of return. The collective demand of humanity has gone forth to on high, the teacher must respond, and “in such an hour as you think not, He will come.” The timing of the coming flowering of events is not for us to know, but if our work is rightly done, the teacher will come at the set and appointed time. How, where, or when He will come is not our concern. Our work is to do what we can, on as large a scale as possible, to bring about right conditions—for his appearance depends upon that. The prospect of entering this world, with its massive distortions of living and thinking and the coarseness of its vibrations, can surely hold little joy for these teachers. They know the weight of human ignorance and arrogance, but they also know the basic goodness of the human heart. Their intention is to serve humanity, no matter the cost to themselves. (8)
* This article is adapted from “A Planetary Awakening: Reflections on the Teachings of the Tibetan in the Works of Alice A. Bailey,” a book by Kathy Newburn. Blue Dolphin Publishing, 2007.
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