CHAPTER III
THE WORK OF THE HIERARCHY

Though the subject of the occult Hierarchy of the planet is of such a profoundly momentous interest to the average man, yet its real significance will never be understood until men realise three things in connection with it.  First, that the entire Hierarchy of spiritual beings represents a synthesis of forces or of energies, which forces or energies are consciously manipulated for the furtherance of planetary evolution.  This will become more apparent as we proceed.  Secondly, that these forces, demonstrating in our planetary scheme through those great Personalities Who compose the Hierarchy, link it and all that it contains with the greater Hierarchy which we call Solar.  Our Hierarchy is a miniature replica of the greater synthesis of those self-conscious Entities who manipulate, control, and demonstrate through the sun and the seven sacred planets, as well as the other planets, greater and smaller, of which our solar system is composed. 

1. Why would the subject of the occult Hierarchy of the planet be of such profoundly momentous interest to the average man? Perhaps because Hierarchy stands for all that we, as humanity, hope to achieve — all that far transcends the possibilities of our normal life, promising the freedom, joy, and power of expression of which we can only dream.

2. We are likely to think of the members of the Spiritual Hierarchy as a collection of eminent Personalities of a most extraordinary kind. While this may be true, they are even more a synthesis of planetary forces or energies expressing certain rays and astrological qualities, and who function together in exemplary group harmony under the directorship of the Christ and the forces of Shamballa. An impersonal understanding of the Hierarchy and its members is more realistic.

3. Great energies and forces, therefore, are demonstrating through certain great Personalities. These Personalities (i.e., the various Masters of the Wisdom) are expressions of forces and energies far greater than Themselves. According to H.P. Blavatsky, every human spirit has a special star to which it is intimately related, and perhaps the Masters (and Those of rank beyond) are aware of Their “Father Star”.

4. We need not however travel to the distant, cosmic heavens to find those superior energies and forces of which our the Members of our Planetary Hierarchy are the representatives. It will be sufficient to consider the Solar Hierarchy which expresses itself through our solar system — though in fact, humanity knows little about that Hierarchy (greater than the Spiritual Hierarchy of our planet).

5. In this greater Hierarchy, the Solar Logos assumes a governing position in relation to our solar system similar to the one that our Planetary Logos holds in relation to our planet, and the various Logoi of the planetary schemes are as the Seven Ray Lords are to a Planetary Logos. The three Great Lives surrounding the Solar Logos are higher correspondences of three Great Buddhas within our planetary Scheme. Probably each planetary scheme has its correspondences to these Buddhas. These are Beings even greater than those Beings we usually call Buddhas of Activity. (c.f., TCF page 873 for some fascinating possibilities.)

6. A Solar Logos must have His correspondence to our planetary Shamballa. It is sometimes call the “Council of the Solar Logos” (TCF page 843).

7. In a way, the seven major Planetary Logoi of our solar system are the higher correspondences to the Seven Ray Lords within our planet. In a higher way, the Planetary Logoi are Ray Lords.

8. A Solar Logos must also contain His correspondence to our Planetary Hierarchy.

9. Just as there are three Great Beings surrounding our Planetary Logos and three lesser Beings (the Manu, the Christ and the Mahachohan) who reflect these three, so in the Solar Hierarchy, there are three Great Beings (let us call them the solar systemic Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma) who are reflected through the highest of our planetary Buddhas (great “EXISTENCES” the Tibetan calls Them, Who function in relation to the entire planetary scheme of Earth).

10. The seven Ashrams of our Planetary Logos are lower expressions of the soul nature of the seven sacred planets.

11. The seven planetary chains found in each planetary scheme are higher correspondences to the seven Ashrams which compose the Spiritual Hierarchy of our planet.

12. The seven Sub-Ashrams found within each major Ashram, have their higher correspondence in the seven globes which are found within each planetary chain.

13. Just as our Spiritual Hierarchy (and the Spiritual Hierarchy of all planets) reflects the Solar Spiritual Hierarchy, so that Solar Spiritual Hierarchy is, in some measure, a reflection of an even greater sevenfold Hierarchy connected to the star Sirius (and, probably, six other major stars which are associated with Sirius).

14. All Hierarchies are really syntheses of purposeful, harmoniously related energies and forces. When we think of the Masters of the Wisdom, we should not think of them so much as individual personalities, as group members who uphold certain energetic functions within the Spiritual Hierarchy.

A Tabulation of Possible Correspondences
between the Solar Hierarchy and Our Planetary Hierarchy
(and by extension — many Planetary Hierarchies).

The analogies cannot be complete in detail but, hopefully, they are suggestive
(For some hints concerning these comparisons, see the Chart in IHS on pp 48-49)

Note that at a certain point, the Solar and Planetary Hierarchies begin to overlap. Planetary factors are also of solar significance. For instance, a planetary scheme is the expression of a particular Planetary Logos, but it is also Solar-Logoic chakra. A planetary chain is a major planetary chakra, but also a minor solar chakra. All depends upon the perspective.

Probably each planetary scheme has its own Planetary Hierarchy. The Beings Who are the Heads of these Hierarchies (as the Christ is the Head of ours) can be considered as holding the relation to the Solar Logos that the Masters of the Wisdom hold to the Planetary Logoi. The analogy may not be exact, but is suggestive.Thirdly, that this Hierarchy of forces has four pre-eminent lines of work: —

To develop self-consciousness in all beings

The Hierarchy seeks to provide fit conditions for the development of self-consciousness in all beings.  This it produces primarily in man through its initial work of blending the higher three aspects of spirit with the lower four; through the example it sets of service, sacrifice, and renunciation, and through the constant streams of light [page 21] (occultly understood) which emanate from it.  The Hierarchy might be considered as the aggregate on our planet of the forces of the fifth kingdom in nature.  This kingdom is entered through the full development and control of the fifth principle of mind, and its transmutation into wisdom, which is literally the intelligence applied to all states through the full conscious utilisation of the faculty of discriminative love.

1. The first prerequisite of Wisdom is to fulfill the ancient injunction — “Know Thyself”. Disciples have far to go before they achieve complete self-knowledge, which would entail accurate knowledge of their previous incarnations, and knowledge of their own causal nature (the structure and dynamics of their causal body — Egoic Lotus).

2. Individualization is the blending of the higher three principle projected from the spirit/monad (namely, atma, buddhi, manas) with the lower four principles (represented in various ways, but principally by the three lower elemental lives — body, emotions, mind and personality). The Spiritual Hierarchy facilitates the blending of the higher and lower triads. The Solar Angels (Beings still higher than those Who comprise our Spiritual Hierarchy) engineered this initial blending of the triad with the quaternary.

3. Hierarchy sets an example. If we did not see the higher kind of human beings serving, sacrificing, renouncing and illumining, we might not think it was possible — or desirable.

4. Hierarchy represents the Fifth Kingdom of Nature — the “Kingdom of Souls”. The nature and laws of this kingdom are very different from the nature of the human kingdom and the natural laws which govern it.

5. The cultivation of mind (the fifth principle) is important for all those who seek to enter the Fifth Kingdom.

6. Only if the mind is developed and controlled, can its separative, distinguishing quality be overcome, and unity perceived. Otherwise, mind slays the real through divisiveness.

7. How is knowledge transmuted into wisdom? Reference to this type of transmutation is frequently made, but how, really, does it occur?

   1. Knowledge has to be accurate

   2. Patterns of knowledge have to be frequently perceived.

   3. The method of applying knowledge in the best possible way has to be learned by insightful observation of life, plus surety in relation to knowledge.

   4. The question should always be asked: “What is the best possible application of that which I know?” So many applications are possible, but perhaps only one application will produce the best possible results in a given situation.

8. An excellent definition of Wisdom is given in the text: Wisdom “is literally the intelligence applied to all states through the full conscious utilisation of the faculty of discriminative love.”

   1. We see immediately that there is no wisdom without love and discrimination.

   2. Without discrimination, intelligence could not be applied skillfully.

   3. Without love, intelligence could be applied destructively and without consideration for the integrity and beauty of the Divine Plan.

   4. Wisdom thus requires the simultaneous activity of heart and mind — not just one or the other, but both.

   5. When the wise one thinks, his/her heart is active.

   6. When the wise one feels, his/her mind is active.

   7. The wise one has much life experience. This enables him/her to select the best method of applying knowledge.

   8. The wise one seeks that knowledge and intelligence may produce the best possible results in any circumstances. The best results (for the member of the fourth or human kingdom) always lead in the direction of soul-union, and thus, the exercise of love is required.

To develop consciousness in the three lower kingdoms.

As is well known, the five kingdoms of nature on the evolutionary arc might be defined as follows: — the mineral kingdom, the vegetable kingdom, the animal kingdom, the human kingdom, and the spiritual kingdom.  All these kingdoms embody some type of consciousness, and it is the work of the Hierarchy to develop these types to perfection through the adjustment of karma, through the agency of force, and through the providing of right conditions.  Some idea of the work may be gained if we briefly summarize the different aspects of consciousness to be developed in the various kingdoms.

1. It is only man’s selfishness which makes him think that Hierarchy is concerned only, or principally, with the cultivation of humanity.

2. All kingdoms of nature are necessary, and all must be raised to a level of development in which the fulfillment of their function becomes possible.

3. We sometimes think that only humanity is conscious (and, of course, the members of kingdoms higher than humanity), but the three lower kingdoms have their distinctive quality of consciousness as well.

4. Humanity is much in need of decentralization, if it is to find its true place within the planetary whole.

5. The lower kingdoms have their “karma’ also. Forces can be manipulated (by those who know) to bring forth their best development. Already, accomplished workers with the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms can be noted, and the results of their labors appreciated. Such workers are inspired by Hierarchy.

In the mineral kingdom the work of the Hierarchy is directed toward the development of the discriminative and selective activity.  One characteristic of all matter is activity of some kind, and the moment that activity is directed towards the building of forms, even of the most elemental kind, the faculty of discrimination will demonstrate.  This is recognised by scientists everywhere, and in this recognition, they are approximating the findings of the Divine Wisdom.

1. Discrimination and selection suggest a primitive and, in this case, unconscious sense of choice.

2. There is an archetypal energy-pattern ‘behind’ the activity of chemical affinity. This energy-pattern is, in a way, governed by the Law of Attraction and Repulsion. Bonding, for instance, between certain kinds of atoms is ‘allowed’ in some cases and ‘disallowed’ in other cases. Certain types of atoms ‘select’ each other for relationship; other types of atoms ‘avoid’ or repel each other; and still other types of atoms are magnetically neutral or indifferent to each other.

3. Although the mineral kingdom functions under the third cosmic law, the Law of Economy, the attraction and repulsion between atoms of the various elements functions according to the second aspect of this third Law.

4. If there were no instinctual discriminativeness in the mineral kingdom, there would be no laws of chemical bonding. The various familiar and prominent forms of molecular matter recognized by the scientist would not exist. The natural world would be chaotic and amorphous (formless). Many would be the purposeless combinations.

5. The laws of chemical affinity or bonding (based on discriminative attraction) ensure that the archetypal pattern in the Mind of God is enacted within the field of matter.

In the vegetable kingdoms, to this faculty of discrimination is added that of response to sensation, and the rudimentary condition of the second aspect of divinity is to be seen, just as in the mineral kingdom a similar rudimentary [Page 22] reflection of the third aspect of activity is making itself felt.

1. In the vegetable kingdom, the indwelling consciousness has made an advance when compared to the consciousness indwelling the mineral kingdom. It is more sensitive.

2. Of the three Rays of Aspect (the first, second and third rays), the second ray is the most sensitive. The vegetable kingdom is closely related to the second ray, just as the mineral kingdom is to the first ray and the animal kingdom to the third ray. There are also other ways of relating the kingdoms to the rays. The Rays of Attribute cannot be excluded. In another useful assignment of rays, the mineral kingdom is related to the seventh ray, the vegetable kingdom to the sixth ray and the animal kingdom — in which a rudimentary form of mind is in process of development — to the fifth ray.

3. Imbued with sensation and responsive to the second divine aspect, the beings in the vegetable kingdom ‘retreat’ from each other or from different factors in their environment, or ‘advance’ according to their rudimentary sensations. We see this principle at work in the growth of trees and other plant forms towards the light. As well, the response of plants to such subtle influences as music is increasingly noticed.

4. Such response to sensation in the vegetable kingdom shows them ‘discriminating’ between that which is pleasant and unpleasant (i.e., promotive of their integrity or disruptive of it).

5. In the next paragraph, the Tibetan relates what He here calls rudimentary “sensation” to rudimentary “feeling”. We can see within the vegetable kingdom (ruled by the second, fourth and sixth rays) a kind of primitive desire taking shape.

In the animal kingdom this rudimentary activity and feeling are increased, and symptoms (if it might be so inadequately expressed) are to be found of the first aspect, or embryonic will and purpose; we may call it hereditary instinct, but it works out in fact as purpose in nature.

1. The primitive mind of the members of the animal kingdom is responsive to will and purpose.

2. Among mobile creatures, purpose works out through a sense of direction; for instance, purpose is manifest in migratory patterns.

3. Will and purpose manifest through law, and law through pattern; hereditary instinct ensures the preservation of certain patterns of relationship between animal and environment as well as between animal and animal.

4. Minerals are relatively inert, and to all intents and purposes, immobile. Most plants have severely limited mobility. But animals are mobile and could (unless guided by instinct) wander anywhere and become ‘lost’ (to the frustration of the divinely intended Plan for relationship). Thus, a sense direction guided by hereditary instinct (though not infallible) is so important in the animal kingdom. This sense of direction promotes the enactment of the purpose-intended Divine Pattern (for these beings, at least).

It has been wisely stated by H. P. Blavatsky that man is the macrocosm for the three lower kingdoms, for in him these three lines of development are synthesised and come to their full fruition.  He is verily and indeed intelligence, actively and wonderfully manifested; He is incipient love and wisdom, even though as yet they may be but the goal of his endeavour; and he has that embryonic, dynamic, initiating will which will come to a fuller development after he has entered into the fifth kingdom.

1. Man is a synthesis of the three lower kingdoms. He is the “greater world” or macrocosm to these kingdoms, each of which, relatively and compared to him, is a microcosm — a “little world”.

2. To think in this “holistic” manner (to think of “wholes within greater wholes”) promotes a hierarchical understanding of nature and cosmos. It is way of thinking which is characteristic of a truly educated person.

3. It must be clear that wherever one aspect of divinity is to be found, the other two aspects are also present (even if in a manner much reduced). The fundamental Trinity of intelligence, love and will are inescapably present in all beings; their relative strengths will usually vary, however.

4. From the way D.K. describes man, we see that intelligence has come into relatively full flower; love and wisdom are still a goal for most, though a beginning has been made, as these qualities are “incipient” in man. As for will (in its dynamic and initiating demonstration) a man must be a member of the fifth kingdom of nature (the Kingdom of Souls) before it really emerges. This may surprise supposedly willful human beings who are members only of the fourth or human kingdom of nature.

5. We might say that with the beginning of participation in the fifth kingdom, man begins to sense the direction whither all things tend. In short, he has his first glimpse of the Will of God — that great directing force.

6. Our conclusion must be that present day humanity has a long way to go before it demonstrates with any degree of fulness the virtues of the fifth kingdom of nature.

In the fifth kingdom, the consciousness to be developed is that of the group, and this shows itself in the full flowering of the love-wisdom faculty.  Man but repeats on a higher turn of the spiral, the work of the three lower kingdoms, for in the human kingdom he shows forth the third aspect of active intelligence.  In the fifth kingdom, which is entered at the first initiation, and which covers all the period of time wherein a man takes the first five initiations, and that wherein he works as a Master, as part of the Hierarchy, the love-wisdom, or second aspect, comes to its consummation.  At the sixth and seventh initiations the first, or will, aspect shines forth, and from being a Master of Compassion and a Lord of Love the adept becomes something more.  He enters into a still higher consciousness than that of the group, and becomes God-conscious.  The great will or purpose of the Logos becomes his.

1. It is impossible to separate the manifestation of love-wisdom from an appreciation of the group. Love is the principle of relationship, and wisdom knows the way of right relationship. The term “group” as applied to man, signifies ‘man-in-relationship’.

2. An important picture of evolutionary stages is here offered, and that particular aspect of divinity which is principally active at each stage.

3. The human kingdom (as the macrocosm of the three lower kingdoms) shows forth, principally, the third aspect of divinity in the intelligence, which is characteristic of man.

4. Sometimes students may wonder about the real meaning of the fifth kingdom of nature. In this paragraph a very clear definition is given. The fifth kingdom of nature is entered at the first initiation and includes even that advanced stage called “Mastership”, during which the man is an initiate of the fifth degree, or a Master of Wisdom.

5. We note that at the fifth degree the man is not only a Master of Wisdom, but also a “Master of Compassion” (sometimes called a “Lord of Compassion”) and a “Lord of Love”.

6. This suggests that from the time he/she enters the fifth kingdom of nature, he/she is working upon the masterful expression of those qualities or aspects of divinity which pertain to the second ray — namely, love, wisdom, and compassion. As well, a Master of the Wisdom is the complete master of the third aspect of divinity as it expresses through humanity.

7. Further suggested in this paragraph is an evolutionary movement from —

   1. Individual consciousness

   2. To group consciousness

   3. To “God-consciousness”

8. At the sixth and seventh initiations (initiations of “Chohanship”), the initiate is possessed by the Will of the Logos (which term means, in this instance, the Planetary Logos and, to a degree, the Solar Logos).

9. What can this ‘possession’  mean? Perhaps we can understand the difference between a Master and a Chohan in terms of the sense of direction. A Master certainly, to a significant extent, knows the Divine Plan, but a Chohan is beginning to know the Divine Purpose — the why of the Plan and whither the planetary and solar creations are tending. The context has enlarged and the deeper intentions of certain higher Beings are revealed. A Master, for all His knowledge, is relatively incognizant of such deeper intentions.

10. The Master is an expert at preserving (second aspect) the divinely-intended Pattern, but a Chohan begins to understand the place of that Pattern within a still greater Pattern, and how the lesser Pattern which a Master preserves is ‘moving’ to fit itself into the still larger Pattern.

11. Every elevation of initiatory degree represents an elevation of vision. Each ascending degree offers a still ‘higher place upon which to stand’ and thus, an elevated perspective.

12. The Chohan is really beginning to see with the ‘Eye of the Planetary Logos’. Every time there is an initiation, the initiate begins to see more fully with the ‘eyes’ of the Initiator. While Sanat Kumara is the Initiator at the fifth degree, the Planetary Logos, Himself, is the Initiator at the seventh degree, and at the sixth, a Being higher than Sanat Kumara (though lower than the Planetary Logos, per se) — a kind of “Silent Watcher”. The initiate’s perspective thus both elevates and enlarges.

The fostering of the various attributes of divinity, the tending of the seed of self-consciousness in all beings, is the [Page 23] work of those Entities who have achieved, Who have entered into the fifth kingdom and Who have there made Their great decision, and that inconceivable renunciation which leads Them to stay within the planetary scheme, and thus co-operate with the plans of the Planetary Logos on the physical plane.

1. Here, in summary, we are given the work of the Spiritual Hierarchy of our planet.

2. If the Masters do these things, we want to understand how to do them on our own level.

3. How does one foster the various attributes of divinity? First one must recognize them and then draw them forth, giving them scope for expression. Thus, they will grow naturally. We might say that all divine qualities are good, and that one must learn the means of promoting the good.

4. It is the work of disciples to recognize and strengthen the good wherever they encounter it.

5. To keep the eye ‘open to the good’ is an attitude different from that which dominates many human psyches. More attention should be given to the good, and less to complaining about the perceived evil. What is the old saying? “It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness”. What a chastening aphorism, given humanity’s habit of complaint, blame and fault finding!

6. How does one tend the seed of self-consciousness in all beings? Those who train domestic animals can surely tell us much. This type of training brings the animal closer to the human stage of self-consciousness (even though true individualization may not occur until a later cycle of planetary evolution).

7. Let us focus, however, within the human family and ask the same question. A human being has always to be “thrown back on himself”, to be made responsible. In this promotion of self-determining thought, and in this cultivation of responsibility, lie the key to the growth of S/self-consciousness. Man is meant to be Self-determining. Some of this Self-determination (i.e. Soul-determination) is strengthened by following others who are good examples, but there come points in human development when a S/self-revelatory independence of thought and action must be promoted. The Masters of the Wisdom teach human beings how to become S/self-reliant and more Self-centered in a good sense. Eventual Mastership grows out of Self-reliance. A Master of the Wisdom is one who has mastered a wide variety of life-circumstances and challenges. No one makes another a Master. We might say, then, that the members of the Fifth Kingdom of Nature are teaching humanity how best to stand on its own two feet.

8. Thus it is that a Master does not merely give to another the treasures of wisdom, but evokes those treasures from within student, chela or disciple.

9. In D.K.’s paragraph above the Great Decision is mentioned. There was a time at which the Great Decision was taken at the fifth and not the sixth initiation. Perhaps that time was not so very long ago, as there have been many hierarchical changes recently (with 1925 being an important year for hierarchical change and elevation).

10. Only one of the possible decisions (taken at the moment of the Great Decision) is referenced in the paragraph above — namely, the decision to tread the Path of Earth Service and thus remain with the Planetary Logos in the service of humanity and the planet rather than tread the various Paths to other destinations and kinds of spiritual opportunity.

11. The Tibetan suggests that to stay with our Planetary Logos and with His tending of earth, is an “inconceivable renunciation”. The so-called “Great Renunciation” enacted at the fourth initiation pales in the face of this still greater renunciation at the sixth degree.

12. Sacrifice always means confinement for the sake of others. Under Saturn, one chooses to confine oneself or one’s consciousness to a smaller ‘space’ than might otherwise be possible, in order to carry forward a redemptive mission amongst those who are even more confined. In this respect, Saturn (the ‘Confiner’) is a planet of sacrifice and expansive, boundary-transcending Jupiter is not.

13. The scope of activities of Chohans Who have chosen the Path of Earth Service may seem vast and exalted to us (who are not yet liberated souls), but compared to their “higher spiritual possibilities”, they must consider Their estate as confined — except for the realizations growing from the intense love of humanity and the planet which motivates and justifies Their Self-chosen confinement.

To transmit the will of the Planetary Logos

They act as the transmitter to men and devas or angels, of the will of the Planetary Logos, and through Him of the Solar Logos.  Each planetary scheme, ours amongst the others, is a centre in the body Logoic, and is expressing some form of energy or force.  Each centre expresses its particular type of force, demonstrated in a triple manner, producing thus universally the three aspects in manifestation.  One of the great realisations which come to those who enter into the fifth kingdom is that of the particular type of force which our own Planetary Logos embodies.  The wise student will ponder on this statement, for it holds the clue to much that may be seen in the world today.  The secret of synthesis has been lost, and only when men again get back the knowledge which was theirs in earlier cycles (having been mercifully withdrawn in Atlantean days) of the type of energy which our scheme should be demonstrating, will the world problems adjust themselves, and the world rhythm be stabilised. 

1. We note that the Spiritual Hierarchy of our planet is active not only in relation to men but in relation to the angel kingdom — not only the unselfconscious devas but those who, like humanity, are aware of themselves as self-conscious units of life.

2. The familiar idea is brought forward that planetary schemes are like chakras in the body of the Solar Logos.

3. We are told that each planetary scheme expresses some particular type of force. In fact, several forces or energies are expressing through a planetary scheme, the principle forces or energies being those of the personality and soul rays and (in some cases) the monadic rays of the particular Planetary Logos.

4. We can question whether Master D.K. is here using the term “force” in distinction to the term “energy”. When used with specificity, the term “energy” is usually associated with soul functioning, and the term “force” with personality functioning. Sometimes, however, it seems the terms are used interchangeably.

5. Each centre in the Solar Logos is said to express in a triple manner, “producing thus the three aspects in manifestation”. We are told elsewhere that the primary ray of our Planetary Logos (His monadic ray) is the first — the Ray of Will or Power. It is perhaps this energy (expressing through the planetary monad, soul and personality) which the Tibetan is referencing. Although the soul and personality rays of the Planetary Logos are other than the first ray (namely, the second and third respectively), it can still be said that the first ray expresses through them, just as the monad (being primary and fundamental) expresses itself through the other two “periodic vehicles” — the soul and personality.

6. If Master D.K. had not informed us regarding the three rays of our Planetary Logos (which He does at various points in His teaching, and especially in Esoteric Astrology, page 619), how could we ascertain them?

7. We are told that those who are entering the fifth kingdom of nature experience the great realization of the particular type of force which our Planetary Logos embodies. It is clear that the Tibetan’s books are written largely for those who are entering, or have entered, the fifth kingdom of nature — namely initiates of the first two degrees.  He does not say how such a great realization of one’s stage of evolution may come, but one of the ways is through His books.

8. The average non-aspiring individual can be told of this information, but it will not mean much to him/her. Only to the true spiritual aspirant or disciple is this information really meaningful. To the initiate, it is significant. There is an important difference between meaning and significance.

9. There are many levels of interpretation possible when considering the force that our Planetary Logos embodies. One must not only know the ray or rays, but the chakra (or chakras) with which our Planetary Logos is associated within the body of our Solar Logos. While in other of the Tibetan’s writings, the base of the spine is suggested, there may be other chakras as well, such as the spleen or the throat center.

10. A Planetary Logos may embody the force of one particular centre or chakra and be associated with others. This will have to be pondered; too little is presently known by human beings for them to make definitive statements in this regard. There are twelve major planets (of which we presently know) and seven major centers. When considering the ways to assign the various planetary schemes to Solar Logoic chakras, some minor centers may have to be considered as well as esoteric centers such as the alta major center. As the solar plexus center is considered twofold in man, perhaps it is twofold, as well, within the chakric system of the Solar Logos.

11. The Tibetan tells us that the force which our Planetary Logos embodies holds the clue to much that is happening upon this planet. Probably if we consider the relation between the second and third rays and, to some extent, the way in which the first ray may affect them (though the monadic ray of our Planetary Logos cannot yet be said to be in very noticeable expression), we would be able to interpret the processes through which humanity (and the planet) are passing. Within humanity, for instance, the energy of intelligence (the intelligent and materialistic third ray) is slowly giving place to the energy of the second ray (love-wisdom). Humanity is slowly becoming “group conscious”. Behind intelligence and love-wisdom, however, is the expression of the Divine Will through humanity, as Shamballa and humanity approach each other. How these three rays may be working out in the lower three kingdoms is more difficult for present humanity to assess, but the Masters have a clearer view.

12. The Tibetan tells us that the “secret of synthesis has been lost”. Can this mean that a holistic view of the planetary process and its relation to the Solar Logoic process has been lost? Surely the holistic view presented in the “Blue Books” is not common to ordinary human thinking. Even advanced human thinking (blind to the reality of the inner worlds) is simply groping towards some vision of the context in which humanity lives. Astronomy and astrophysics are instructing us concerning the greater context in which our planet, solar system and even our galaxy are imbedded. Such visions, though fascinating and necessarily “decentralizing” are still external and concern only the material worlds — time and space as usually understood.

13. The “secret of synthesis” may also relate to the first ray, the ray of synthesis. Given that the monadic ray of our Planetary Logos is the first, this would make sense. Yet synthesis can best be understood as the second aspect of the first ray.

14. Without the secret of synthesis, human thinking, no matter how brilliant, can never be consciously inspired by the Divine Plan and Purpose.

15. The Tibetan tells us of a certain knowledge which was “mercifully withdrawn” in Atlantean days. Knowledge is power. If desires are wrongly directed, then, to empower the possibility of fulfilling those wrong desires is to greatly increase humanity’s karmic debt. Thus, the merciful withdrawal of such knowledge from a humanity which, through its selfishness, had proven its unreadiness for the wielding of occult power.

16. It is curious that D.K. makes much of that fact that present humanity is ignorant of this type of force — the force which our Planetary Logos embodies as a chakra within the Solar Logos — and yet, in a number of His writings, goes on to tell us directly the three major rays of our Planetary Logos. Clearly, there is more to this question than meets the eye.

17. He speaks of the type of energy (not force!) which our scheme “should” be demonstrating. Perhaps here He is speaking of true spiritual energies (those of the planetary soul and monad). The word “should” seems to take the consideration towards the future and the ideal. Already, a certain type of force is demonstrating on and through our planet — namely the energy of the third ray.

18. It would seem that “knowledge … of the type of energy which our scheme should be demonstrating” is not just the knowledge which reveals which rays are involved, but knowledge concerning how to wield those rays in practical and effective ways.

This cannot be as yet, for this knowledge is of a dangerous kind, and at present the race as a whole is not group conscious, and therefore cannot be trusted to work, think, plan, and act for the group.  Man is as yet too selfish, but there is no cause for discouragement in this fact; group consciousness is already somewhat more than a vision, whilst brotherhood, and the recognition of its obligations, is beginning to permeate [Page 24] the consciousness of men everywhere.  This is the work of the Hierarchy of Light, — to demonstrate to men the true meaning of brotherhood, and to foster in them response to that ideal which is latent in one and all.

1. Some type of knowledge (possessed in Atlantean times) is being withheld from present-day humanity. D.K.’s teaching, however, gives us much. We are given the rays of the three periodical vehicles (monad, soul and personality) of Earth’s Planetary Logos. We are also told that Earth is a kind of base of the spine chakra within the etheric manifestation of the Solar Logos. We are also told that Earth is closely associated with both Mars and Saturn (all three expressing in some manner the third ray and the principle of pain), and that two other triangle (Earth, Mars and Venus, and Earth, Mars and Mercury) are of vital importance. We are also given a number of revelatory diagrams showing the earth in relation to other planetary, stellar and zodiacal sources. Thus, the kinds of energies and forces which Earth both emits and transmits are rather clearly elucidated.

2. It would seem that it is not so much the cosmological knowledge which is dangerous to man, but rather the ability to manipulate the devic life associated with the rays of the planet. Great powers to change the face and form of the planet come to the one who can do this, and thus far (as proven in man’s ignominious past) humanity cannot be trusted.

3. The requirements for possessing this type of knowledge are, however, presented. The principle requirement is unselfishness — the ability “to work, think, plan and act for the group”. When the second ray soul of our planet emerges into greater prominence, a beneficial change will come about within the psyche of humanity, and the human race will become trustworthy in the eyes of the Hierarchy.

4. Already we are on our way, as the power of group consciousness and the realization of brotherhood are growing.

5. Hierarchy is Brotherhood, and Their presence among men will demonstrate this fact, and set the necessary example.

6. Within every human being, the seeds of brotherhood are latent. These seeds have to germinate, sprout and grow. Hierarchy sees to this task.

7. In a way, the monad itself is the seed of brotherhood.

8. Practical occultism must be based upon a sound morality. A sound morality exists when the welfare of the group is constantly considered before any human behavior (external or internal) is undertaken.

9. In many ways, the planetary pair of Jupiter and Saturn are the planets of morality, giving us the broad and inclusive vision and the self-restraint upon which a true morality may be founded. Occult powers are simply a menace to the individual or the society for whom this foundation of morality does not exist. Because of this, the Spiritual Hierarchy is determined that the Divine Plan will not be too quickly revealed to humanity, lest the powers which would be conferred with that revelation be misused.

To set an example to humanity.

The fourth thing that men need to know and to realise as a basic fact is that this Hierarchy is composed of those Who have triumphed over matter, and Who have achieved the goal by the very self-same steps that individuals tread today.  These spiritual personalities, these adepts and Masters, have wrestled and fought for victory and mastery upon the physical plane, and struggled with the miasmas, the fogs, the dangers, the troubles, the sorrows and pains of everyday living.  They have trodden every step of the path of suffering, have undergone every experience, have surmounted every difficulty, and have won out.  These Elder Brothers of the race have one and all undergone the crucifixion of the personal self, and know that utter renunciation of all which is the lot of every aspirant at this time.  There is no phase of agony, no rending sacrifice, no Via Dolorosa that They have not in Their time trodden, and herein lies Their right to serve, and the strength of the method of Their appeal.  Knowing the quintessence of pain, knowing the depth of sin and of suffering, Their methods can be exquisitely measured to the individual need; yet at the same time Their realisation of the liberation to be achieved through pain, penalty, and suffering, and Their apprehension of the freedom that comes through the sacrifice of the form by the medium of the purificatory fires, suffices to give Them a firm hand, an ability to persist even when the form may seem to have undergone a sufficiency of suffering, and a love that triumphs over all [Page 25] setbacks, for it is founded on patience and experience.

1. In this paragraph is discussed the victorious humanity of the members of the Spiritual Hierarchy.

2. Perhaps there are those who emphasize the privileged position the Masters of the Wisdom, without giving due regard to how They arrived at that position.

3. The Masters are victorious over matter; They have conquered the third aspect of divinity by means of the second (and aided by the first).

4. The Tibetan emphasizes that the path that They have trodden is the very same path which we now are treading. It would be dangerous for us to think that They achieved their victory by strange or unusual means. We are now as they were. Their victory is the promise of our victory.

5. Every Master has passed through the “crucifixion of the personal self”, whatever form that crucifixion may have taken (for crucifixion or renunciation upon the different rays occurs in different ways).

6. The Masters (in a sense) ‘have everything’ because they have sacrificed, renounced, given up everything — everything usually held dear in the worlds of form.

7. Note that Their “right to serve” depends upon the sacrifices They have made and the pains They have endured.

8. D.K. speaks of the “strength of the method of Their appeal”. Having passed through so much, They know how to appeal to present humanity, how to reach that humanity, offering an approach or a method of progress which is irresistibly attractive because it is based upon proven, triumphant living.

9. D.K. emphasizes the Masters’ deep identification with all phases of human living — the heights as well as the depths. The Masters know the nature of human sin because They have experienced it — deeply and personally. Having passed through the very thing the aspirant or disciple is now enduring, they know how to approach them with helpful methods which are exquisitely measured to real need. They know exactly what to say and how to act so that Their students may make the swiftest progress into greater freedom — if these students attend and act in accordance with wise suggestion.

10. This is really a beautiful paragraph. There is so much of love, wisdom and encouragement in it.

11. The Masters know what liberation is; They understand freedom. They know that no cost to the form is too great when compared with the spiritual benefit awaiting the one who renounces all for the sake of the Divine Plan and Purpose. For this reason the Masters are firm in their insistence that Their chelas triumph — no matter what the personal cost.

12. We see here a picture of great compassion, profound understanding, and firm insistence on the triumph of the spirit/soul in the face of all that form may suffer.

13. Well might we remember Their “love which triumphs over all setbacks”, for the setbacks in the life of the disciple are many. Often the individual disciple will experience the thought of defeat, thinking there is no possibility of victory. But the spirit is, at length, always victorious and defeat, an illusion.

14. On our planet and in our solar system, Love is the greatest of all energies. Nothing can withstand it. Through deep experience, the Masters know this to be true. Therefore, where others of lesser rank would give up, they patiently endure, knowing the triumphant end is sure. They know that humanity is ruled by Scorpio, and that Scorpio is the astrological sign of inevitable triumph.

15. Well might we ponder on how it is that love triumphs through the methods of patience and endurance.

These Elder Brothers of humanity are characterised by a love which endures, and which acts ever for the good of the group; by a knowledge which has been gained through millennia of lives, in which They have worked Their way from the bottom of life and of evolution well nigh to the top; by an experience which is based on time itself and a multiplicity of personality reactions and interactions; by a courage which is the result of that experience, and which, having itself been produced by ages of endeavour, failure, and renewed endeavour, and having in the long run led to triumph, can now be placed at the service of the race; by a purpose which is enlightened and intelligent, and which is co-operative, adjusting itself to the group and hierarchical plan and thus fitting in with the purpose of the Planetary Logos; and finally…

1. Note the term “Elder Brothers”; it is important. Everywhere Master D.K. seeks to show the similarity between the Master of the Wisdom and the human being. They are different from us only in the potency of Their achievement; our inner natures, however, are the same.

2. The impression is strong that there is no “free ride” to the “top”. Everything the Masters are in manifestation, They have earned.

3. From the bottom to the top they have lifted themselves, and this has taken time — much time. Many of us may be “in a hurry” to be free of painful experience in the three lower worlds. We may be “in a hurry” to become high initiates and Masters, forgetting that it is by right orientation to life in the three worlds that we earn our way ‘out’ of those worlds.

4. There are no vicissitudes of life They have not experienced. Earth-school is a school of polarities, or contrasts, of light and dark, high and low, victory and defeat. They, however, have learned deep lessons from Their apparent defeats, and used these lessons to achieve victory.

5. They have worked through many personalities, have cycled through the zodiac time and time again, learning in and under all the astrological signs and planets. Their education has been thorough. What for us is, merely, theory, is for Them proven fact.

6. In every way, the Masters are our ideal. They are what we seek to become — and They earned Their way ‘there’.

7. What shall be our attitude toward Them? They do not need our devotion or worship (as some worship the Master Jesus). Rather, They need our deep understanding. They want us to know Their work so that we may more successfully cooperate with it and with Them. In such cooperation lies our success and the furtherance of the Plan (which is Their work).

8. The Masters are as They are because They did not give up in the face of matter. Many are the times when we may ‘feel’ like giving up, but we cannot if we wish to be one day as They are now.

9. Their very existence is a great source of inspiration to us. When one feels low and beaten, just thinking in Their direction is a great revival. As They are to us, let us (while respecting our limitations) seek to be for those we serve.

They are distinguished by a knowledge of the power of sound.  This final fact is the basis of that aphorism which states that all true occultists are distinguished by the characteristics of knowledge, dynamic will, courage, and silence.  "To know, to will, to dare, and to be silent."  Knowing the plan so well, and having clear, illuminated vision, They can bend Their will unflinchingly and unswervingly to the great work of creation by the power of sound.  This leads to Their silence where the average man would speak, and Their speaking where the average man is silent.

1. Sound is a most occult demonstration. On one hand, it is such a common factor in our lives that we may fail to appreciate its occult significance. Yet, every day (through the words we think and speak) we are constantly presented with the opportunity to work with a most occult creative and destructive factor — a potency which builds and destroys worlds.

2. D.K. presents us with an ancient mantram which defines the way of every disciple’s progress as well as their final achievement. “To know, to will, to dare, and to be silent”.

3. In this mantram, the will serves certain knowledge, and the creative power of sound serves that will (which is motivated by ascertained knowledge).

4. When should man speak and when be silent? Surely speech should not simply be motivated by emotional reaction. Speech is meant to be purposeful, offered in the service of the soul’s plan (which, ultimately, is an aspect of the Divine Plan).

5. The three aspects of divinity are presented through this fourfold mantram. Knowing relates to consciousness and the second ray. Willing and daring convey the first ray in the service of the second. Speech or silence relate to the creative power of the third ray. That which ‘appears’ must represent, faithfully, that which is ‘known’.

6. This mantram has also been presented as “To Will, to Know, to Dare and to Be Silent”.
   
   “The occult aphorism:  ‘To will, to know, to dare, and to be silent’, has a special significance not hitherto revealed and at which it is only possible for me to hint.  Those of you who have the inner knowledge will comprehend at once.” (TWM 286 and following.)
   
   In this ordering of the four terms, the monad wills, the soul knows, the personality dares and the lunar vehicles are made to keep their obedient silence in the face of greater energies.

7. We see, do we not, that as aspirants and disciples, we are on our way to certain spiritual knowledge and to a surety of action which stems from such knowledge.

When men have grasped the four facts here enumerated, and they are established as acknowledged truths in the consciousness of the race, then may we look for a return of that cycle of peace and rest and righteousness which is foretold in all the Scriptures of the world.  The Sun of Righteousness will then arise with healing in His wings, and the peace which passeth understanding will reign in the hearts of men.

1. The four lines of work in which the Spiritual Hierarchy engages are:

   1. to develop self-consciousness in all beings

   2. to develop consciousness in the three lower kingdoms.

   3. to transmit the will of the Planetary Logos

   4. to set an example to humanity

2. Peace, rest and righteousness are on their way and depend upon right understanding and assimilation of the four approaches of the Hierarchy to humanity, and humanity’s cooperation in these processes. We have to respond rightly.

3. Peace, rest and righteousness are Libran virtues, and that sign, Libra, is now growing in power in the planetary horoscope, we are told.

4. A prophecy is here given — the “Sun of Righteousness will then arise with healing in His wings”.  Its fulfillment may very well depend upon the successful issue of the Externalization of the Hierarchy and the Reappearance of the Christ.

5. The Christ is the “Prince of Peace”, and already He is approaching humanity in preparation for His Reappearance.

6. The healing will be the harmonizing of humanity. Christ represents potently the energy of the buddhic plane — the plane of harmony and of healing.

7. The “peace which passeth understanding” is not a thing of the mind. It depends upon intuitive realization, and upon the ‘descent’ of love-wisdom from the buddhic levels of realization.

8. The promise is very great, very beautiful. It will not be fulfilled properly without our cooperation. Many dissonances must be resolved before the era of harmony supervenes.

9. It is the task of each of us to bring buddhi into our lives, flooding the astral plane with love and freeing the mind from separative illusion.

10. One way toward this fulfillment is to act on our own level as Hierarchy would act. They have set the example; we emulate Them. We attempt to evoke S/self-consciousness in all beings, we help with the development of consciousness in the three lower kingdoms, we seek to transmit (within our limitations) the will of the Planetary Logos and., also, we attempt to set an example for those we serve and influence.

11. Humanity must earn the coming period of peace, rest and justice — righteousness. When one thinks of the Aquarian Age, it is the last 700 years which are ruled by Venus and perhaps by Libra (in which Venus is the ruler). It may take that long before the promise stated above is fulfilled and the era of brotherhood supervenes.

[Page 26] In dealing with this matter of the work of the occult Hierarchy, in a book for the general public, much must be left unsaid.  The average man is interested and his curiosity is aroused by reference to these Personalities, but men are not yet ready for more than the most general information.  For those who, from curiosity, pass on to desire and seek to know the truth as it is, more will be forthcoming, when they themselves have done the necessary work and study.  Investigation is desired, and the attitude of mind which it is hoped this book will arouse might be summed up in the following words: — These statements sound interesting and perchance they are true.  The religions of all nations, the Christian included, give indications that seem to substantiate these ideas.  Let us therefore accept these ideas as a working hypothesis as to the consummation of the evolutionary process in man and his work upon the attainment of perfection.  Let us therefore seek for the truth as a fact in our own consciousness.  Every religious faith holds out the promise that those who seek with earnestness shall find that which they are seeking; let us, therefore, seek.  If by our search we find that all these statements are but visionary dreams, and profit not at all, leading us only into darkness, time will nevertheless not have been lost, for we shall have ascertained where not to look.  If by our search, on the other hand, corroboration comes little by little, and the light shines ever more clearly, let us persist until that day dawns when the light which shineth in darkness will have illuminated the heart and brain, and the seeker will awaken to the realisation that the whole trend of evolution has been to bring him this expansion of consciousness and this illumination, and that the attainment of the initiatory process, and the entrance into the fifth kingdom is no wild chimera or phantasm, but an established fact in the consciousness.  This each man must ascertain for himself.  Those [Page 27] who know may state a fact to be thus and so, but the dictum of another person and the enunciation of a theory do not aid beyond giving to the seeker confirmatory indication.  Each soul has to ascertain for himself, and must find out within himself, remembering ever that the kingdom of God is within, and that only those facts which are realised within the individual consciousness as truths are of any real value.  In the meantime, that which many know, and have ascertained within themselves to be truths of an incontrovertible nature for them, may here be stated; to the intelligent reader will then arise the opportunity and the responsibility of ascertaining for himself their falsity or truth.

1. The Tibetan offers a sane and wise approach to the evaluation of the information which He is imparting in this book. If more of us could remember the approach He suggests, and live according to it, the spiritual aspirants and disciples of the world would be less beset by glamor and illusion.

2. He well realizes that what He says may be regarded by many simply with curiosity.

3. But for those who pass beyond curiosity into a sincere investigation, there are greater possibilities — above all the possibility of confirming for oneself the truth or falsity of what is said.

4. We can see that, in this instruction at least, the Tibetan’s main appeal is not to faith but, at first, to reason and then, eventually, to the confirmatory intuition.

5. He promises no rapid realization of the truth, only the gradual dawning of the light, “little by little”.

6. He surely suggests that there are “those who know”, but wisely understands that the assertions of even the most knowledgeable are only useful to a point in the task of brining light to those who do not know.

7. The Buddha enjoined “Self-reliance” upon His followers, and the Tibetan does the same. Only the one who can “ascertain for himself” truly knows.

8. The line between theory and true knowledge is, thus, clearly drawn. Facts are of “real value” when they are “realised within the individual consciousness” and not otherwise.

9. Finally we are told that for the “intelligent reader” (and let us, hopefully, number ourselves among them) there will “arise the opportunity and the responsibility of ascertaining for himself their falsity or truth” — i.e., the truth or falsity of that which is presented as truth.

10. We discover, therefore, that we are not simply reading a book which presents interesting information, but are being challenged to enter more deeply into the subject by attempting to verify the truth and value of that which has been presented.

11. Remembering that a Master has earned His way into Mastership, we should think twice before rejecting the opportunity to “find out for ourselves”, the mysteries of the “Kingdom of Heaven”.

12. Since that Kingdom lies “within”, it is always with us. The opportunity for investigation is ever present and, in fact, one day becomes inevitable.

In this chapter we have been presented with a very clear picture of the experience of the members of the Spiritual Hierarchy and Their work for humanity, the sub-human kingdoms and the planet. The presence of these Elder Brothers is a great fact in nature (and ‘super-nature’) and must be remembered frequently by the earnest disciple. Because of the link which They represent to the higher worlds, our spiritual success is eventually assured. Without Them, the road, already supremely difficult, would be far harder.

 

To Commentary IV