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Masters of
Wisdom
Enlightened beings in Theosophy

The Masters of Wisdom are reputed to be enlightened beings identified by the

Theosophists Helena Blavatsky, Henry S. Olcott, Alfred Percy Sinnett, and others.
These Theosophists claimed to have met some of the so-called Masters during
their lifetimes in different parts of the world. Sometimes they are referred to by
Theosophists as Elder Brothers of the Human Race, Adepts, Mahatmas, or simply
as The Masters.

In all great movements you have some thought, or aggregation of thoughts cast into the minds of the
so-called idealists by... [The Masters]. ~Alice Bailey

Quotes

To accept any man as a chela does not depend on my personal will. It can only be
the result of one’s personal merit and exertions in that direction. Force any one of
 the “Masters” you may happen to choose; do good works in His name and for the
love of mankind; be pure and resolute in the path of righteousness [as laid out in
Our rules]; be honest and unselfish; forget your Self but to remember the good of
other people – and you will have forced that “Master” to accept you.
Mahatma K.H, in a Letter (http://www.cwlworld.info/html/letters_from_master.html) to
C.W. Leadbeater, (1884)
You ask me – “what rules I must observe during this time of probation, and how
soon I might venture to hope that it could begin”. I answer: you have the making of
your own future, in your own hands as shown above, and every day you may be
weaving its woof. If I were to demand that you should do one thing or the other,
instead of simply advising, I would be responsible for every effect that might flow
from the step and you acquire but a secondary merit. Think, and you will see that
this is true. So cast the lot yourself into the lap of Justice, never fearing but that
its response will be absolutely true. Chelaship is an educational as well as
probationary stage and the chela alone can determine whether it shall end in
adeptship or failure. Chelas from a mistaken idea of Our system too often watch
and wait for orders, wasting precious time which should be taken up with personal
effort. Our cause needs missionaries, devotees, agents, even martyrs perhaps.
But it cannot demand of any man to make himself either. So now choose and
grasp your own destiny, and may our Lord’s the Tathagata’s memory aid you to
decide for the best.
Mahatma K.H, in a Letter (http://www.cwlworld.info/html/letters_from_master.html) to
C.W. Leadbeater, (1884)

They have many ways of working in the world... sending out floods of blessing over the whole world...
the great Teacher is not only a spiritual Presence, He is a human though divine Being, who can be
specifically and personally known. ~Annie Besant
Many await My Coming with reverence and also with some fear. This is inevitable. My Coming will
mean the end of the old order of things. All that is useless, no longer serving the purposes of man,
can now be discarded. (Maitreya's Message No. 4)

Go back as far as we may... we find... Such candidates were initiated into "The Mysteries"—a name
that covers in antiquity, as we have seen, all that was most spiritual in religion, all that was most
profound in philosophy, all that was most valuable in science. ~Annie Besant
People like Hercules and Hermes, Rama, Mithra, Vyasa, Zoroaster, Confucius, Krishna,
Shankaracharya, the Buddha, the Christ, Mohammed... are all Masters who have come from the same
spiritual centre of the planet, called the Spiritual, or Esoteric, Hierarchy, which is made up of the
Masters and Their... disciples of various degrees... ~Benjamin Creme

The only difference between the Christ... the Buddha or Krishna and ourselves, is that They have
manifested Their divinity. They know that They are Sons of God, and They demonstrate it...
~Benjamin Creme
Just as we do not put university professors to teach beginners, so the Masters Themselves work not
individually with men until they have attained a certain stage of evolution, and are ready to profit by
Their instruction.~Alice Bailey

Two thousand years ago He [the Christ] overshadowed His disciple Jesus for three years, and Jesus
became...Jesus the Christ. The Christ Himself is Maitreya... Jesus taught through Mohammed... The
Buddha taught through the Prince Gautama and Mithra, and Maitreya also taught through Krishna
and Shankaracharya... ~Benjamin Creme
The Masters are not here to tell us what to do at all. The Masters will only advise and teach in the
sense of revealing the results of actions... They leave the choice to us. If we are intelligent we take
Their advice... ~Benjamin Creme

Theosophical Society Seal + There is no religion higher than truth

Wayfarer, friend, let us travel together. Night is near, wild beasts are about, and our
campfire may go out. But if we agree to share the night watch, we can conserve
our forces. Tomorrow our path will be long and we may become exhausted. Let us
walk together. We shall have joy and festivity. I shall sing for you the song your
mother, wife and sister sang. You will relate for me your father’s story about a hero
and his achievements. Let our path be one. Be careful not to step upon a scorpion,
and warn me about any vipers. Remember, we must arrive at a certain mountain
village. Traveler, be my friend.
Morya, in New Era Community Agni Yoga, (1926)
We are dissipating superstition, ignorance and fear. We are forging courage, will
and knowledge. Every striving toward enlightenment is welcome. Every prejudice,
caused by ignorance, is exposed. Thou who dost toil, are not alive in thy
consciousness the roots of cooperation and community? If this flame has already
illumined thy brain, adopt the signs of the Teaching of Our mountains. Thou who
dost labor, do not become wearied puzzling over certain expressions. Every line is
the highest measure of simplicity. Greeting to workers and seekers!
Family, clan, country, union of nations—each unit strives toward peace, toward
betterment of life. Each unit of cooperation and communal life needs perfecting.
No one can fix the limits of evolution. By this line of reasoning a worker becomes
a creator. Let us not be frightened by the problems of creativeness. Let us find for
science unencumbered paths. Thus, thought about perfectionment will be a sign
of joy.
Morya, in New Era Community Agni Yoga, (1926)
On all continents Our healing solicitude is often felt. People receive help and
sense a sudden recovery but do not understand whence came the help... a
conscious acceptance of Our help increases the beneficial effect... We have tried
many times to prevent murder and destruction. Brother Rakoczy himself fulfilled
the highest measure of love for humanity and was rejected by those whom He
tried to save. His actions were recorded in well-known extant memoirs, but still
certain liars call him the father of the French Revolution... Our warning was
rejected; nevertheless, it is Our duty to warn the nations... Eventually, people will
recall and compare the facts. One can mention events from the history of various
countries—recall Napoleon, the appearance of the Advisor to the American
Constitutional Convention, the manifestation in Sweden, and the Indication given
to Spain. Remember that ten years ago the ruin of Spain was foretold. The sign of
salvation had been given, but, as usual, it was not accepted. We hasten to send
help everywhere and rejoice when it is accepted. We sorrow to see what destiny
nations prepare for themselves.
Mahatma K.H., in Supermundane Agni Yoga, (1938)
When He comes... and makes His power felt, He will come as the Teacher of Love
and Unity, and the keynote He will strike will be regeneration through love poured
forth on all. As He will work primarily on the astral plane, this will demonstrate on
the physical plane in the formation of active groups in every city of any size, and in
every country, which will work aggressively for unity, co-operation and
brotherhood in every department of life – economic, religious, social and
scientific.
The Tibetan Master, Djwhal Khul, in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire (1925)
Suffice it to say, that I am a Tibetan disciple of a certain degree, and this tells you
but little, for all are disciples from the humblest aspirant up to, and beyond, the
Christ Himself. I live in a physical body like other men, on the borders of Tibet... I
am a brother of yours, who has traveled a little longer upon the Path than has the
average student, and has therefore incurred greater responsibilities. I am one who
has wrestled and fought his way into a greater measure of light than has the
aspirant who will read this article, and I must therefore act as a transmitter of the
light, no matter what the cost... I have told you much; yet at the same time I have
told you nothing which would lead you to offer me that blind obedience and the
foolish devotion which the emotional aspirant offers to the Guru and Master
Whom he is as yet unable to contact. Nor will he make that desired contact until
he has transmuted emotional devotion into unselfish service to humanity...
The books that I have written are sent out with no claim for their acceptance...
Neither I nor A.A.B. is the least interested in having them acclaimed as inspired
writings... If the statements meet with eventual corroboration, or are deemed true
under the test of the Law of Correspondences, then that is well and good. But
should this not be so, let not the student accept what is said.
The Tibetan Master, Djwhal Khul, in ...Extract from a Statement by the Tibetan (htt
ps://www.lucistrust.org/books/alice_bailey_books/extract_from_statement_by_th
e_tibetan) [one page intro at the start of all AAB books] (1934)
He will come unfailingly when a measure of peace has been restored, when the
principle of sharing is at least in process of controlling economic affairs, and
when churches and political groups have begun to clean house. Then He can and
will come; then the Kingdom of God will be publicly recognised, and will no longer
be a thing of dreams and of wishful thinking and orthodox hope.
The Tibetan Master, Djwhal Khul, in The Reappearance of the Christ, Lucis
Publishing (https://www.lucistrust.org/online_books/the_reappearance_the_chris
t/chapter_seven_preparation_for_the_reappearance_the_christ) , p. 163 (1947)
Force any one of the “Masters” you may happen to choose; do good works in His name and for the
love of mankind; be pure and resolute in the path of righteousness [as laid out in Our rules]; be honest
and unselfish; forget your Self but to remember the good of other people – and you will have forced
that “Master” to accept you. ~Mahatma K.H

The problems confronting us should be faced with courage, with truth and
understanding; as well as with the willingness to speak factually, with simplicity
and with love in the effort to expose the truth and clarify the problems which must
be solved. The opposing forces of entrenched evil must be routed before He for
Whom all men wait, the Christ, can come.
The Tibetan Master, Djwhal Khul, in The Reappearance of the Christ, Lucis
Publishing (https://www.lucistrust.org/online_books/the_reappearance_the_chris
t/chapter_seven_preparation_for_the_reappearance_the_christ) , p. 164 (1947)
The knowledge that He is ready and anxious publicly to appear to His loved
Humanity only adds to the sense of general frustration, and another very vital
question arises: For what period of time must we endure, struggle and fight? The
reply comes with clarity: He will come unfailingly when a measure of peace has
been restored, when the principle of sharing is at least in process of controlling
economic affairs, and when churches and political groups have begun to clean
house. Then He can and will come; then the Kingdom of God will be publicly
recognised and will no longer be a thing of dreams and of wishful thinking and
orthodox hope.
The Tibetan Master, Djwhal Khul, in The Reappearance of the Christ, Lucis
Publishing (https://www.lucistrust.org/online_books/the_reappearance_the_chris
t/chapter_seven_preparation_for_the_reappearance_the_christ) , p. 164 (1947)
He (the Risen Christ) will not this time demonstrate the perfected life of a Son of
God, which was His main mission before; He will appear as the supreme Head of
the Spiritual Hierarchy, meeting the need of the thirsty nations of the world –
thirsty for truth, for right human relations, and for loving understanding. He will be
recognised this time by all, and in His Own Person testify to the fact of the
resurrection, and hence demonstrate the paralleling fact of the immortality of the
soul, of the spiritual man. The emphasis during the past two thousand years has
been on death; it has coloured all the teaching of the orthodox churches; only one
day in the year has been dedicated to the thought of the resurrection. (9 – 151).
The Tibetan Master, Djwhal Khul, in The Destiny of Nations (1949)
When He comes Whom angels and men await, and Whose work it is to inaugurate
the New Age and so complete the work He began in Palestine two thousand years
ago, He will bring with Him some of the great Angels, as well as certain of the
Masters.
The Tibetan Master, Djwhal Khul, in The Externalization of the Hierarchy, p. 508,
(1957)
It can be expected that the orthodox Christian will at first reject the theories about
the Christ which occultism presents; at the same time, this same orthodox
Christian will find it increasingly difficult to induce the intelligent masses of people
to accept the impossible Deity and the feeble Christ, which historical Christianity
has endorsed. A Christ Who is present and living, Who is known to those who
follow Him, Who is a strong and able executive, and not a sweet and sentimental
sufferer, Who has never left us but Who has worked for two thousand years
through the medium of His disciples, the inspired men and women of all faiths, all
religions, and all religious persuasions; Who has no use for fanaticism or
hysterical devotion, but Who loves all men persistently, intelligently and
optimistically, Who sees divinity in them all, and Who comprehends the
techniques of the evolutionary development of the human consciousness (mental,
emotional and physical, producing civilisations and cultures appropriate to a
particular point in evolution) – these ideas the intelligent public can and will
accept.
The Tibetan Master, Djwhal Khul, in The Externalization of the Hierarchy, p.
589/90, (1957)
You who gave the Ashram,
And you who gave two lives,
Proclaim.
Builders and warriors, strengthen the steps.
Reader, if you have not grasped—read again, after a while.
The predestined is not accidental,
The leaves fall in their time.
And winter is but the harbinger of spring.
All is revealed; all is attainable.
I will cover you with My shield, if you but tend to your labors.
I have spoken. (Intro)
The Lord Maitreya, Leaves of Morya’s Garden Book One, The Call (http://agniyoga.
org/ay_en/Leaves-of-Moryas-Garden-I.php) , Agni Yoga, (1924)
Water cannot extinguish the Fire that will purify the world,
Nor wash away the rivers of blood.
By new scourges will the world be purged of its evil.
I expound happiness.
I shall designate the path for the battle against the bazaar that is the present
world.
People have reached a dead end, but lightning will reveal the way out,
And thunder will arouse the slumberers.
Mountains have crashed to earth.
Lakes have been drained of their waters.
Cities have been engulfed by floods.
Hunger shows its face.
Yet has the spirit of humanity remained unmoved.
Go, teach, stretch out the hand of aid! (29)
The Lord Maitreya, Leaves of Morya’s Garden Book One, The Call, Agni Yoga,
(1924)
Seek happiness and exalt the spirit.
Faith in self and the search for truth create harmony. (30)
The Lord Maitreya, Leaves of Morya’s Garden Book One, The Call, Agni Yoga,
(1924)
They will ask: Who gave you the Teaching? Answer: The Mahatma of the East.
They will ask: Where does He live? Answer: The abode of the Teacher not only
cannot be made known but cannot even be uttered...
They will ask: When can I be useful? Answer: From this hour unto eternity.
When should I prepare myself for labor?... Lose not an hour!
And when will the call come? ...Even sleep vigilantly.
How shall I work until this hour?... Enhancing the quality of labor.
The Master Morya, in Leaves of Morya’s Garden, II, Illumination, (1925)
One must manifest discipline of spirit; without it one cannot become free. To the
slave discipline of spirit will be a prison; to the liberated one it will be a wondrous
healing garden. So long as the discipline of spirit is as fetters the doors are
closed, for in fetters one cannot ascend the steps.
The Master Morya, in Leaves of Morya’s Garden, II, Illumination, Agni Yoga, (1925)
We never pretended to be able to draw nations in the mass to this or that crisis in
spite of the general drift of the world's cosmic relations. The cycles must run their
rounds. Periods of mental and moral light and darkness succeed each other as
day does night. The major and minor yugas must be accomplished according to
the established order of things. And We, borne along on the mighty tide, can only
modify and direct some of its minor currents. If We had the powers of the
imaginary personal God, and the immutable laws were but toys to play with, then,
indeed, might We have created conditions that would have turned this earth into
an Arcadia for lofty souls.
Unidentified Master quoted in Echoes From The Orient: A Broad Outline of
Theosophical Doctrines, (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/57292) by William
Q. Judge, Theosophical Publishing House, (1910)
Many people await the return of the Christ with trepidation and fear. They sense
that His appearance will promote great changes in all departments of life. His
values, they rightly assume, will necessarily alter their ways of thinking and living
and they blanch at such a prospect. Besides, so mystical has been the view of the
Christ presented down the centuries by the churches that many fear His
judgement and omnipotent power; they await Him as God come to punish the
wicked and reward the faithful.

It is sadly to be regretted that such a distorted vision of the Christ should so have
permeated human consciousness. No such being exists. In order to understand
the true nature of the Christ it is necessary to see Him as one among equal Sons
of God, each endowed with full divine potential, differing only in the degree of
manifestation of that divinity.
Unidentified Master, 'The Son of Man, A Master Speaks, Share International
Foundation, (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/i_articles.htm)
(1985)
Let us look at His priorities: the establishment of peace; the inauguration of the
system of sharing; the removal of guilt and fear; the cleansing of the hearts and
minds of men; the education of mankind in the laws of life and love; an
introduction to the Mysteries; the beautification of our cities; the removal of
barriers to travel and interchange of peoples; the creation of a pool of knowledge
accessible to all.

That such a task is not an easy one, not even for the Son of Man, is clear. Ancient
habits of division and separation have strong roots, while fear and superstition
cast their spell over millions of mankind. But never before, in the history of the
world, has a Teacher come better equipped for His task. Maitreya has come to do
battle with ignorance and fear, division and want. His weapons are spiritual
understanding, knowledge and love; His shining armour is Truth Itself.
Unidentified Master, 'The Son of Man, A Master Speaks, Share International
Foundation, (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/i_articles.htm)
(1985)
We are nearing a time of major change in the world: before long, the
transformation of all structures will begin, commencing with the dissolution of the
stock markets as they now function. This will release the pressures now being
imposed on governments by currency speculation, and allow a fair and equitable
trading system to be developed. Short-term measures must recognize the special
and urgent need of poorer nations for succour. In particular, the problems of
hunger and disease must be addressed without delay. New methods of
distribution of resources, based on sharing and need, will supplant the present
chaotic modes which so divide the world. The blind following of market forces,
whose myopic rule causes such misery today, will give way to an enlightened and
just consideration for the needs of all.
Unidentified Master, 'The unfolding Plan, A Master Speaks, Share International
Foundation, (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/i_articles.htm)
(1985)
There will come a time when humanity will look back on this time as the
'barbarian age'. So far from the possible ideal is the present dying civilization that
future men will wonder how, and for so long, were we able to sustain it. There are
many causes and factors involved in this sad situation: the long, slow, decline in
man's relation to man runs parallel to, and reflects, the growing sophistication of
his weaponry. His present, triumphant ability to kill from places continents apart
sets the seal on his progress to self-destruction. War has been made clinical and
impersonal: no longer need the warrior witness the look of terror on his victim's
face.
In this situation, it is small wonder that man's institutions, political and economic,
reflect, in their turn, this growing alienation of men from the wellsprings of their
lives. Commercialization, that burgeoning but stealthy and often hidden menace,
controls now the lives and destiny of countless millions, and reduces to a cypher
 the God-given individuality of man. People are now statistics without purpose or
needs, pawns on the chess-board of market forces and company profits.
Unidentified Master, 'The end of the 'barbarian age, A Master Speaks, Share
International Foundation, (https://www.share-international.org/archives/social-jus
tice/sj_mas-barbarian.html) (1985)

Mahatma K.H., quoted in The Occult World, by Alfred Percy Sinnett,

(1888) E…

(Full text online) (https://www.theosophy.world/resource/occult-world-p-sinnett)

True, we have Our schools and teachers, our neophytes and 'Shaberons' (superior
adepts) and the door is always opened to the right man who knocks. And We
invariably welcome the newcomer; only, instead of going over to him, he has to
come to Us. More than that, unless he has reached that point in the path of
occultism from which return is impossible by his having irrevocably pledged
himself to our Association, We never - except in cases of utmost moment visit him
or even cross the threshold of his door in visible appearance.
Is any of you so eager for knowledge and the beneficent powers it confers, as to
be ready to leave your world and come into Ours? Then let him come, but he must
not think to return until the seal of the mysteries has locked his lips even against
the chances of his own weakness or indiscretion. Let him come by all means as
the pupil to the master, and without conditions, or let him wait, as so many others
have, and be satisfied with such crumbs of knowledge as may fall in his way. And
supposing you were thus to come... supposing you were to abandon all for the
truth; to toil wearily for years up the hard, steep road, not daunted by obstacles,
firm under every temptation; were to faithfully keep within your heart the secrets
entrusted to you as a trial; had worked with all your energies and unselfishly to
spread the truth and provoke men to correct thinking and a correct life...
I hope that at least you will understand that We (or most of Us) are far from being
the heartless morally dried-up mummies some would fancy Us to be..., few of us
would care to play the part in life of a desiccated pansy between the leaves of a
volume of solemn poetry. We may not be quite 'the boys' to quote -----'s irreverent
expression when speaking of Us, yet none of Our degree are like the stern hero of
Bulwer's romance. While the facilities of observation secured to some of Us by
our condition certainly give a greater breadth of view, a more pronounced and
impartial, a more widely spread humaneness- for answering Addison, we might
justly maintain that it is the business of "magic " to humanize our natures with
compassion' -for the whole mankind as all living beings, instead of concentrating
and limiting our affections to one predilected race- yet few of Us (except such as
have attained the final negation of Moksha) can so far enfranchise Ourselves from
the influence of our earthly connection as to be unsusceptible in various degrees
to the higher pleasures, emotions, and interests of the common run of humanity.
Of course the greater the progress towards deliverance, the less this will be the
case, until, to crown all, human and purely individual personal feelings, blood-ties
and friendship, patriotism and race predilection, will all give way to become
blended into one universal feeling, the only true and holy, the only unselfish and
eternal one - Love, an Immense Love for humanity as a whole.
 For it is humanity which is the great orphan, the only disinherited one upon this
earth, my friend. And it is the duty of every man who is capable of an unselfish
impulse to do something, however little, for its welfare. It reminds me of the old
fable of the war between the body and its members; here, too, each limb of this
huge 'orphan', fatherless and motherless, selfishly cares but for itself, The body,
uncared for, suffers eternally whether the limbs are at war or at rest. Its suffering
and agony never cease; and who can blame it-as your materialistic philosophers
do - if, in this everlasting isolation and neglect, it has evolved gods into whom 'it
ever cries for help, but is not heard.' Thus - 'Since there is hope for man only in
man, I would not let one cry whom I could save. ' Yet I confess that I individually
am not yet exempt from some of the terrestrial attachments. I am still attracted
toward some men more than towards others, and philanthropy as preached by our
great Patron

The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (1923)

E…
Esteemed Brother and Friend, Precisely because the test of the London
newspaper would close the mouths of the skeptics—it is unthinkable. See it in
what light you will—the world is yet in its first stage of disenthralment if not
development, hence—unprepared. Very true, we work by natural not supernatural
means and laws. But, as on the one hand Science would find itself unable (in its
present state) to account for the wonders given in its name, and on the other the
ignorant masses would still be left to view the phenomenon in the light of a
miracle; everyone who would thus be made a witness to the occurrence would be
thrown off his balance and the results would be deplorable. Believe me, it would
be so—especially for yourself who originated the idea, and the devoted woman
who so foolishly rushes into the wide open door leading to notoriety. This door,
though opened by so friendly a hand as yours, would prove very soon a trap—and
a fatal one indeed for her. Ch. I
You say—half London would be converted if you could deliver them a Pioneer on
its day of publication. I beg to say that if the people believed the thing true they
would kill you before you could make the round of Hyde Park; if it were not
believed true,—the least that could happen would be the loss of your reputation
and good name,—for propagating such ideas. Ch. I
Experimental knowledge does not quite date from 1662, when Bacon, Robert
Boyle and the Bishop of Chester transformed under the royal charter their
"Invisible College" into a Society for the promotion of experimental science. Ages
before the Royal Society found itself becoming a reality upon the plan of the
'Prophetic Scheme' an innate longing for the hidden, a passionate love for and the
study of nature had led men in every generation to try and fathom her secrets
deeper than their neighbours did. Ch. I
Roma ante Romulum fuit—is an axiom taught to us in your English schools.
Abstract enquiries into the most puzzling problems did not arise in the brain of
Archimedes as a spontaneous and hitherto untouched subject, but rather as a
reflection of prior enquiries in the same direction and by men separated from his
days by as long a period—and far longer—than the one which separates you from
the great Syracusian. The vril of the "Coming Age" was the common property of
races now extinct. (Note: Roma ante Romulum fuit is Latin for "Rome existed
before Romulus/the founder of Rome). Ch. I
And, as the very existence of those gigantic ancestors of ours is now questioned—
though in the Hiniavats, on the very territory belonging to you we have a cave full
of the skeletons of these giants—and their huge frames when found are invariably
regarded as isolated freaks of nature, so the vril or Akds—as we call it—is looked
upon as an impossibility, a myth. Ch. I
We doubt not but the men of your science are open to conviction; yet facts must
be first demonstrated to them, they must first become their own property, have
proved amenable to their own modes of investigation, before you find them ready
to admit them as facts. If you but look into the Preface to the "Micrographia" you
will find in Hooke's suggestions that the intimate relations of objects were of less
account in his eyes than their external operation on the senses —and Newton's
fine discoveries found in him their greatest opponent. The modern Hookeses are
many. Like this learned but ignorant man of old your modern men of science are
less anxious to suggest a physical connexion of facts which might unlock for
them many an occult force in nature, as to provide a convenient 'classification of
scientific experiments' so that the most essential quality of an hypothesis is not
that it should be true but only plausible—in their opinion. Ch. I
As for human nature in general, it is the same now as it was a million of years ago:
Prejudice based upon selfishness; a general unwillingness to give up an
established order of things for new modes of life and thought—and occult study
requires all that and much more—; pride and stubborn resistance to Truth if it but
upsets their previous notions of things,—such are the characteristics of your age,
and especially of the middle and lower classes. Ch. I
In common with many, you blame us for our great secrecy. Yet we know
something of human nature for the experience of long centuries—aye, ages—has
taught us. And, we know, that so long as science has anything to learn, and a
shadow of religious dogmatism lingers in the hearts of the multitudes, the world's
prejudices have to be conquered step by step, not at a rush. Ch. I
As hoary antiquity had more than one Socrates so the dim Future will give birth to
more than one martyr. Enfranchised science contemptuously turned away her
face from the Copernian opinion renewing the theories of Aristarchus Samius—
who "affirmeth that the earth moveth circularly about her own centre" years before
the Church sought to sacrifice Galileo as a holocaust to the Bible.Ch. I
For a larger collection of quotations, see: The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett
(1923)
My plan is to show you that the way out of your problems is to listen again to the true voice of God
within your hearts, to share the produce of this most bountiful of worlds among your brothers and
sisters everywhere. ~ Maitreya

Messages from Maitreya the Christ (1981)

E…
Index of Messages, published by Share International (https://share-international.o
rg/maitreya/messages/message_index.htm)

The Messages are relayed by me to the audience. No trance or mediumship is

involved, and the voice is mine, strengthened in power and altered in pitch by the
overshadowing energy of Maitreya. They are transmitted simultaneously on all the
astral and mental planes, while I supply the basic etheric-physical vibration for this
to take place. From these subtle levels, the Messages impress the minds and
hearts of countless people who are gradually made aware of the thoughts and the
Presence of the Christ. He releases in this way fragments of his Teaching, to
prepare the climate of hope and expectancy which will ensure his being accepted
and followed, quickly and gladly. (Foreward by Benjamin Creme)
It is an enormous, and embarrassing, claim to have to make ― that the Christ is
giving messages through oneself. But if people can rid their minds of the idea of
the Christ as some sort of spirit, sitting in "heaven" at God's right hand; if they can
begin to see Him as indeed He is, as a real and living man (albeit a divine man)
who has never left the world; who descended, not from "heaven," but from His
ancient retreat in the Himalayas, to complete the task he began in Palestine; as a
great Master; an Adept and Yogi; as the chief actor in a Gospel Story which is
essentially true, but much simpler than hitherto presented; if people can accept
that possibility, then the claim to receive telepathic communications from such a
closer and more knowable Being is also, perhaps, more acceptable. In any case, I
leave it to a study of the quality of the messages themselves to convince or
otherwise. For many people, the energies, which flow during the overshadowing,
convince. Many who come to these meetings are clairvoyant in various degrees,
and their visions of the overshadowing as it takes place is for them the most
convincing evidence of all. (Foreward by Benjamin Creme)
In this coming time, I shall show you beauties and wonders beyond your
imaginings, but which are your birthright as sons of God. My children, My friends, I
have come more quickly, perhaps, than you expected. But there is much to do,
much that needs changing in the world. Many hunger and die, many suffer
needlessly.
Message No. 1 (https://share-international.org/maitreya/messages/message_1.htm)
My Brothers, the Masters of Wisdom, are scheduled to make Their group return to
the everyday world. As Their Leader, I, as one of Them, do likewise. Many there are
throughout the world who call Me, beg for My return. I answer their pleas. Many
more are hungry and perish needlessly, for want of the food which lies rotting in
the storehouses of the world. Many need My help in other ways: as Teacher,
Protector; as Friend and Guide. It is as all of these I come.
Message No. 2
I come to take you with Me into the New Country -- the Country of Love, the
Country of Trust, of Beauty and Freedom. I shall take you there if you can follow
Me, accept Me, let Me lead and guide. And, if this be so, together we shall build a
New World: a world in which men can live without fear, without mistrust, without
division; sharing together the Earth's bounty, knowing together the Bliss of Union
with our Source... Allow Me to help you. Allow Me to show you the way -- forward,
into a simpler life where no man lacks; where no two days are alike; where the Joy
of Brotherhood manifests through all men.
Message No. 3
Many await My Coming with reverence and also with some fear. This is inevitable.
My Coming will mean the end of the old order of things. All that is useless, no
longer serving the purposes of man, can now be discarded. This will cause many
to grieve but so it must be. My friends, My children, I am here to show you that
there exists for man a most marvelous future.
Message No. 4
My plan is to release into the world a certain Teaching, which will show men that
there exists a new approach to living, a new way forward into the future time.
Message No. 5
When the world is ready to receive Me, I shall speak to men everywhere as the
One Who is awaited, the One they have called, the One Who comes to lead them
into the New Age... When I make Myself known, I shall express the hope of all
mankind for a new life, a new start, a readiness to change direction; to see the
construction of a New World in which men can live in peace; can live free from
fear of themselves or their brothers; free to create from the joy in their hearts; free
to be themselves, in simple honesty.
Message No. 8
I am the Stranger at the Gate. I am the One Who knocks. I am the One Who will not
go away. I am your Friend. I am your Hope. I am your Shield. I am your Love. I am
All in All.
Message No. 10 (https://share-international.org/maitreya/messages/message_10.htm)
My plan is to show you that the way out of your problems is to listen again to the
true voice of God within your hearts, to share the produce of this most bountiful of
 worlds among your brothers and sisters everywhere.
Message No. 11 (https://share-international.org/maitreya/messages/message_11.htm)
Man's problem today, as always, is of his own making... By the misuse of his
divine freewill, man has placed his future, and that of all the kingdoms, in jeopardy.
Many today are beginning to realise this and are taking such steps as they can to
avert catastrophe. This is good. But not all men see the danger which faces
mankind in increasing potency. Time is short indeed for the reconstruction of our
world along lines more befitting man's true role and purpose.
Message No. 12 (https://share-international.org/maitreya/messages/message_12.htm)
Mankind has lost its way, has strayed far from the path prepared for it by God.
Many there are now in the world who know this, who search and pray, and work
towards the light; but many more are blind and would rush towards disaster. My
plan is to halt this headlong plunge and to turn the tide. My Presence, already, is
effecting changes in men's thinking, in men's hearts, and causing them to wonder.
Message No. 13 (https://share-international.org/maitreya/messages/message_13.htm)
Will you be among those who pave the way? Will you take part now in this Great
Work and fulfil the world’s need? There is no higher call than that to serve the
world. There is no greater commitment than to serve your brother.
Message No.14
Many will see Me soon and at first may be surprised at My appearance, for I am
not the Preacher of Old, but have come simply to point the way, to show the path
which must be trodden, back to the Source and into Harmony, Beauty, and Justice.
My task is a simple one: to show you the way. You, my friends, have the difficult
task of building a New World, a New Country, a new Truth; but together we shall
triumph.
Message No. 15

A Master Speaks, Benjamin Creme (1985)

E…
The Master – is a senior member of the Hierarchy of the Masters of Wisdom; His
name, well-known in esoteric circles, is not yet being revealed for various reasons.
Benjamin Creme is in constant telepathic contact with this Master Who
[telepathically] dictates His articles to him. (preface)
The purpose of these articles is, in the Master’s own words, “to present to the
readers of this magazine a picture of the life ahead, to inspire a happy and
positive approach to that future and to equip them with the tools of knowledge to
deal correctly with the problems which daily arise upon the way. From My vantage
point of experience and insight, I have sought to act as ‘look-out’ and guard, to
warn of approaching danger, and to enable you, the reader, to act with courage
and conviction in service to the Plan.”
Today, large numbers of people live deeply unfulfilled lives, dedicated only to
"earning a living"... Through no fault of their own they remain passive on-lookers of
a life which passes them by... On all sides today can be seen bafflement,
confusion and anger... Freed by machines from the burden of unnecessary work,
millions will find within themselves a creativity absent up till now, and will
contribute their share to the glowing tapestry of joyful living which will become
the hallmark of the new age.
A new approach to social living (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_-
-/Mas-newapproach.htm) (March 1982)
The solution to the problem of hunger and starvation in the midst of plenty will be
His primary concern. To focus world opinion on the need to end this blasphemy
will be His aim, giving voice therefore to the aspirations of millions for a better,
more just world. Thereafter, His plans concern the stabilization of the world's
political imbalances; the restructuring of the economic order along more rational
lines... When the alternatives before the race for peace through sharing; or war
and self-destruction are clearly understood, millions will align themselves with the
advocacy of the Christ, and call for an end to injustice, misery and war.
The return of the Christ (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/Mas-re
turn.htm) (April 1982)
The outstanding attitude of the new time will be the attempt to create right
relationships, to express goodwill. A massive shift in emphasis from the individual
to the group will re-orientate humanity... Stage by stage, century following century,
man will build a civilization which will demonstrate his growing manifestation of
divinity...
The new civilization (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/Mas-newc
ivilization.htm) (August 1982)
Until now, man's attention has been focused on the dense physical plane while the
causes of disease are to be found in the misappropriation of the energies flowing
through the subtler bodies. Man is on the verge of a great discovery: that disease
is the result of imbalance; that correct balance is maintained by correct thought
and action and that such correct thought and action involves his brothers and
sisters everywhere.
Health and healing, part 1, (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/Ma
s-healing1.htm) (October 1982)
Present day political structures are of three main types... Each of these forms
today is characterized by a spirit of intense rivalry and exclusiveness. The
followers of each are convinced that they alone have the answers to man's need
for structure and organization and are ready, if need be, to plunge the world into
catastrophic war to uphold their particular system... A true Democracy in which all
men participate will take the place of the present sham.
Political forms in the New Age (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/
Mas-politicalforms.htm) , (December 1982)
Little by little, a new consciousness is awakening humanity to its inner needs. The
old, competitive spirit dies hard, but nevertheless a new spirit of Cooperation is
likewise to be seen. This augurs well for the future, for it is by Cooperation alone
that mankind will survive; by Cooperation alone that the new civilization will be
built; by Cooperation only that men can know and demonstrate the inner truth of
their divinity... Competition has led man to the precipice; Cooperation alone will
help him find the path.
Cooperation, (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/Mas-cooperat.
htm) (December 1984)
An understanding of the continuity of all life, incarnate or not, will replace the
present fear; the old phobia of death as the end of everything will vanish in the
new light which will illumine the minds of men. Into the darkest corners of
superstition and ignorance this new light will shine, awakening men to an
awareness of their divinity as immortal souls... The true understanding of the
maxim of the Christ, that what we sow we reap, will transform human existence in
all its aspects. Tolerance and harmlessness not known before will replace the
present separation, as men recognize the justice and the logic of the Law.
The Law of Rebirth (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/Mas-law-re
birth.htm) (January 1985)
All outer events notwithstanding, the forces of Light are in the ascendant and
steadily inculcate a new and higher rhythm and purpose in men's lives. This being
so, naught can disturb the plan for the rehabilitation of the world. The outer signs
of turmoil and violence, of hatred and fear, are but the death-throes of a dying
civilization under the impact of the new. When the smoke of battle has cleared
humanity will find itself entering into a dispensation unlike aught known before,
into, as Maitreya has said, "a simpler life where no man lacks, where no two days
are alike, where the Joy of Brotherhood manifests through all men".
Maitreya's call (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/Mas-Maitreyas_
call.htm) (July 1985)
Throughout the world today there is a growing sense that great changes are
necessary if humanity is to survive. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the
political and economic fields... The divisions between the nations yawn wide, yet
somehow, men know, they must be bridged. The tensions of the present can be
supported for little longer.
A question of priorities (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/Mas-pr
iorities.htm) (December 1986)
Within humanity today a growing number of people are achieving continuity of
consciousness and are thus retaining the experiences of the sleep state. This
makes for faster evolution as no time is lost in waiting for the filtering down of
information to the brain to take place. It also ensures the reception of more
accurate information leading to more correct action and results.
Continuity of consciousness (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/
Mas-continuity.htm) (November 1987)
Without doubt, the greatest hindrance to change is the present state of mass
consciousness. The masses of humanity are deeply fearful of changes the
outcome of which they cannot foresee... Nowhere is this more obvious than in the
political field. Millions today live in conditions of abject misery and abuse,
exploited by tyrants masquerading as their leaders. Yet the people, for the most
part, suffer in silence, fearful that resistance will make the unbearable even worse.
Fear of change (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/Mas-fear-chan
ge.htm) (December 1987)
In today's sense, education is a feeble thing indeed, ensuring only the minimum
requirements for an understanding and control of man's environment... Few there
are who learn more than the rudiments of life's meaning and purpose, caught up,
as most people are, in the daily struggle for existence... Education for jobs has
replaced education for life while, more and more, the stresses and strains of such
imbalance erupt in violence of all kinds.
The new education (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/Mas-newe
du.htm) (January 1988)
The growing strength of the people's voice and the growing determination to
make that voice be heard... is the most important political event of our time.
 Throughout the world, the peoples of the nations are taking control of their
destiny and demanding their rights. The inner call for freedom, intrinsic to their
divinity, unites people of all races and creeds, and, in growing crescendo, will echo
and re-echo until the last bastions of tyranny crumble and men can inherit their
birthright.
The people's voice (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/Mas-people
s.htm) (July 1992)
The question arises: why, in a world so well endowed, does hunger exist to such
degree? Why, with food enough and more for all, do millions still sadly starve and
bring disgrace on man's divinity? By what law do men assume the right to mark
those who shall live and those who must die? From what complacent depths are
such judgements made? ...Man, of his own free will, must choose the path to
future glory: the path of brotherhood and love, justice and sharing... The signs are
there for all to see: the signs of the new time, when hunger will be no more.
The end of hunger (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/Mas-endhu
nger.htm) (March 1993)
The sickness at the heart of the present dispensation is selfishness, complacency
and fear. Where these three reign, separation and exploitation, handmaidens to
ruthless greed, inevitably flourish. Only a rethinking of the meaning and purpose of
life will suffice to steer men from the edge of disaster... When man's erstwhile
temples, the stock markets of the world, crumble and crash, that key will turn and
reveal a new beauty waiting to be born.
The Teachers are ready (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/Mas-teachers-
ready.htm) (April 1993)
There will come a time when humanity will look back on this time as the
'barbarian age'. So far from the possible ideal is the present dying civilization that
future men will wonder how, and for so long, were we able to sustain it.
The end of the 'barbarian age' (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/
Mas-end-barbarian.html) (April 1999)
Since mankind has, for the most part, rejected the rule of Law, it has experienced
a series of disasters which it has interpreted as 'acts of God'. These 'acts of men'
bear little resemblance to the planned evolution of this Earth. When men realize
this, they will make a concerted effort to readjust their thinking and actions, and
thus set to rights the 'Rule of Law'. Gradually, the rhythm of the Law will impose
itself on life and a new harmony and greater equilibrium will result.
The Rule of Law (https://share-international.org/archives/Master_--/Mas-rule-la
w.htm) (June 1999)

Quotes about

(alphabetical by author/source)

The Master Jesus

E…
The historical Christ, then, is a glorious Being belonging to the great spiritual
hierarchy that guides the spiritual evolution of humanity, who used for some three
years the human body of the disciple Jesus; who spent the last of these three
years in public teaching... who was a healer of diseases and performed other
remarkable occult works; who gathered round Him a small band of disciples
whom He instructed in the deeper truths of the spiritual life; who drew men to Him
by the singular love and tenderness and the rich wisdom that breathed from His
Person; and who was finally put to death for blasphemy, for teaching the inherent
Divinity of Himself and of all men. p.141
Annie Besant in Esoteric Christianity: Or, The Lesser Mysteries (1914)
Two thousand years ago He [the Christ] overshadowed His disciple Jesus for
three years, and Jesus became Jesus the Messiah, or, translated into the Greek,
Jesus the Christ. The Christ Himself is Maitreya. His consciousness, from the
baptism to the crucifixion, manifested through Jesus and inaugurated the Piscean
age which is now coming to an end. Maitreya has come back into the world now
to carry on what He began through Jesus, and will complete in the age of
Aquarius which is now beginning... Jesus taught through Mohammed. As
Maitreya had taught through Him, so He taught through Mohammed. The Buddha
taught through the Prince Gautama and Mithra, and Maitreya also taught through
Krishna and Shankaracharya at previous times.
Benjamin Creme, The Ageless Wisdom Teaching (https://share-international.org/b
ooks_AWT.html) (1996)
The Master Jesus... in Palestine was a very advanced disciple, a fourth-degree
initiate, just short of a Master. He took the fourth initiation, the Crucifixion, openly,
on the outer plane. Normally you are not expected to die on a cross when you take
the fourth initiation. He did that to symbolize for us, dramatically, that great
experience of renunciation. He is now a Master, becoming a Master in His
immediate next life as Appolonius of Tyana, who opened an ashram in north India,
where He is buried. From that fact has come the legend that somehow Jesus did
not die on the cross, that He was secreted out of Palestine and went to India and
is buried there. It was the Being who was Jesus, but in His next incarnation as
Appolonius. Jesus is now a very advanced Master. In the seventh to eighth
century He went to America and taught the Indian populations, then went out into
the Pacific and taught the Polynesians. They all have the legend of a white man
who came and taught, and the names are all related to the word `Jesus'.
Benjamin Creme, The Ageless Wisdom Teaching (https://share-international.org/b
ooks_AWT.html) (1996)
The first step (initiation) is the birth of the Christ principle. The whole thing is
reenacted in the Gospel story, the life of Jesus symbolizing this path of initiation.
(Of course, it is much older than Christianity. It is almost as old as humanity itself,
and it has been presented to humanity over and over again, in different ways, in
the past.) In the gospel story, the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem is the symbol for the
first initiation, which is called `The Birth at Bethlehem', the birth of the Christ in the
cave of the heart. That takes the man or woman into the Spiritual Hierarchy for the
first time, and demonstrates control over the physical body.
Benjamin Creme, The Ageless Wisdom Teaching (https://share-international.org/b
ooks_AWT.html) (1996)
The second initiation is called `The Baptism', and is symbolized by the baptism of
Jesus at Jordan by John the Baptist. This demonstrates control over the
emotional-astral vehicle. The third initiation is called `The Transfiguration', and is
symbolized by the transfiguration of Jesus on the Mount of Olives. For the initiate,
this is the culmination of the lower process that integrates the three lower
vehicles — physical, astral, and mental. From the Masters' point of view this is
really the first initiation, because it is the first soul initiation. Then you go on to the
fourth initiation, which is symbolized by Jesus dying on the cross. It is called `The
Crucifixion'. In the East it is called `The Great Renunciation', where everything is
renounced, even life itself if necessary, to demonstrate the lifting of the initiate out
of matter into the radiance of the light of Spirit. Jesus went through it on the cross
to demonstrate it for us, physically to set this great experience of renunciation
before the world.
Benjamin Creme, The Ageless Wisdom Teaching (https://share-international.org/b
ooks_AWT.html) (1996)
People will soon see the Master Jesus, Who is in a body over 650 years old. Some
are in the bodies in which They became Masters. Others are in bodies which are
literally thousands of years old. They do not sleep or eat. They live directly off
prana, energy direct from the sun. They are spotless in Their robes or, if They wear
Western clothes, very well-cut suits. But they create them by thought.
Benjamin Creme, The Ageless Wisdom Teaching (https://share-international.org/b
ooks_AWT.html) (1996)
The present responsibility of Master Jesus is to raise Western thought life out of
the existing morass of uncertainty and fear, where mankind has landed itself
through fraud, treachery, cruelty, hate and covetousness, and a constant striving
for dominance and power. It will be his task to bring about a change of heart.
There are already many who through suffering have come to see that the old way
of life cannot lead to peace and happiness, that selfish grasping should make way
for selfless giving and service, and that hate and fear should be superseded by
loving cooperation, wisdom and compassion.

All this is the responsibility of the Master J — and what a task! But there is no
doubt that progress is being made, and he hopes to achieve greater success
through a new approach from the Christian Churches, paving the way in both
Europe and America for the return of the Christ.
Aart Jurriaanse in The Master Jesus, Share International (https://www.share-inter
national.org/archives/AgelessWisdom/aw_ajJesus.htm) Excerpted from the
book Bridges by Aart Jurriaanse, ISBN 3-929345-11-0 (April 1999)
With regard to that well-known biblical era when the Christ made his fateful
appearance in Palestine, man cannot yet understand that when mention is made
of Jesus Christ, this refers to two separate entities temporarily functioning as one.
Firstly, there was Jesus the disciple and initiate, whose personality was born of
Mother Mary, and secondly, there was the Entity whom we know as the Christ and
whose spirit temporarily overshadowed and took complete charge of the
personality of Jesus, whose soul during that period withdrew from the body and
stood aside. With the crucifixion, it was merely the physical body of Jesus that
was crucified.

It is forecast that the Master Jesus will yet occupy the chair of the Pope of Rome,
and that from that seat he will then be able to re-inspire and re-orient the whole
field of Christian religion, diverting it from its present political and temporal trends,
towards a more spiritual approach.
 Aart Jurriaanse in The Master Jesus, Share International (https://www.share-inter
national.org/archives/AgelessWisdom/aw_ajJesus.htm) Excerpted from the
book Bridges by Aart Jurriaanse, ISBN 3-929345-11-0 (April 1999)
The disciple Jesus of 2,000 years ago has by now become one of the most senior
Masters in the Hierarchy: the Master Jesus. He reached his state of perfection in
the course of His next life as Apollonius of Tyana. Many of those who followed
him during His life as Jesus were still alive during this subsequent incarnation --
and many of them became convinced that Jesus had reappeared in their midst. It
was Apollonius who undertook a journey to India which became the basis for the
story, which many believe, that Jesus did not die on the cross but went to India
and died in Kashmir, having lived to a venerable old age.

The Master Jesus has been incarnate in a Syrian body for about 640 years. He is
described in Initiation, Human and Solar by Alice A. Bailey (published by Lucis
Publishing Co.) as follows: He is rather a martial figure, a disciplinarian and a man
of iron rule and will. He is tall and spare with rather a long thin face, black hair,
pale complexion, and piercing blue eyes. In the Hierarchy he is described as the
Great Leader, the General and the Wise Executive. No one is so closely in touch
with the people who stand for all that is best in the Christian teachings and no-one
is so well aware of the needs of the present moment...
Peter Liefhebber in Maitreya the Christ, Share International Magazine (https://shar
e-international.org/archives/AgelessWisdom/aw_pl-JnM.htm) (April 1999)
He will try to raise the Christian churches out of their state of crystallization and
rivalry and, if invited to do so, to lead a newly united church. By doing so he hopes
to resolve the many contradictions and misunderstandings which have arisen
during the course of the centuries about his historic role and the teachings which
he then disseminated as a vehicle for Maitreya.

With the emergence of Maitreya, the Master Jesus is playing a major role for the
second time, as also are the Apostles Peter and John. Two thousand years ago
they were third-degree initiates; now they have been entrusted with a significant
aspect of completing the Plan as the Master Morya, and the Master who will
succeed Maitreya as the Christ during the next era (in about 2,500 years), Koot
Hoomi. This open collaboration, which will be visible to all, will end any lingering
doubts concerning the true relationship between Maitreya the Christ and his
disciple, the Master Jesus.
Peter Liefhebber in Maitreya the Christ, Share International Magazine (https://shar
e-international.org/archives/AgelessWisdom/aw_pl-JnM.htm) (April 1999)
An occult fraternity, which has endured from very ancient times, having a hierarchy
of officers, secret signs, and passwords, and a peculiar method of instruction in
science, religion, and philosophy. . . . If we may believe those who, at the present
time, profess to belong to it, the philosopher's stone, the elixir of life, the art of
invisibility, and the power of communication directly with the ultramundane life,
are parts of the inheritance they possess. The writer has met with only three
persons who maintained the actual existence of this body of religious
philosophers, and who hinted that they themselves were actually members. There
was no reason to doubt the good faith of these individuals -- apparently unknown
to each other, and men of moderate competence, blameless lives, austere
manners, and almost ascetic in their habits. They all appeared to be men of forty
 to forty-five years of age, and evidently of vast erudition . . . their knowledge of
languages not to be doubted. . . . They never remained long in any one country, but
passed away without creating notice.
Kenneth R. H. Mackenzie in The Royal Masonic Cyclopedia of History, Rites,
Symbolism, and Biography (http://assets.cambridge.org/97811080/44066/frontm
atter/9781108044066_frontmatter.pdf) , (~1877)

The Masters
E…
A Master of the Wisdom is One Who has undergone the fifth initiation. That really
means that His consciousness has undergone such an expansion, that it now
includes the fifth or spiritual kingdom. He has worked His way through the four
lower kingdoms: the mineral, the vegetable, the animal and the human - and has,
through meditation and service, expanded His centre of consciousness till it now
includes the plane of the spirit.
Alice Bailey, Letters on Occult Meditationr, Lucis Trust, 1922. ISBN 978-0-85330-
111-0.
A Master can at any time find out anything on any possible subject without the
slightest difficulty... Every expenditure of force on the part of a Master or Teacher
is subjected to wise foresight and discrimination. Just as we do not put university
professors to teach beginners, so the Masters Themselves work not individually
with men until they have attained a certain stage of evolution, and are ready to
profit by Their instruction.
Alice Bailey, Initiation, Human and Solar, Lucis Trust, (1922) ISBN 978-0-85330-
110-3.
The Yoga Sutras are the basic teaching of the Trans-Himalayan School to which
many of the Masters of the Wisdom belong, and many students hold that the
Essenes and other schools of mystical training and thought, closely connected
with the founder of Christianity and the early Christians, are based upon the same
system and that their teachers were trained in the great Trans-Himalayan School.
Alice Bailey, The Light of the Soul: Its Science and Effect: a paraphrase of the
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, by Alice A. Bailey, (1927)
In all great movements you have some thought, or aggregation of thoughts cast
into the minds of the so-called idealists by... [the Masters].
Alice Bailey, A Treatise on W.M, Lucis Trust, (1934) ISBN 978-0-85330-123-3.
One lesson all aspirants need to learn and to learn early, and that is, that
concentration upon the personality of the Teacher, hoping for personal contact
with Him, and constant visioning of that condition called "accepted chelaship"
serves to postpone that contact and delay the acceptance. p. 129
Alice Bailey, A Treatise on W.M, Lucis Trust, (1934) ISBN 978-0-85330-123-3.
Platitudinously, the aspirant is told that "when the pupil is ready, the Master will
appear". He then settles comfortably back and waits, or focusses his attention
upon an attempt to attract the attention of some Master, having apparently settled
in his mind that he is ready, or good enough. He naturally gives himself a spiritual
prod at intervals, and attends spasmodically to the work of discipline and of
purification. But steady and prolonged, undeviating effort on the part of aspirants,
is rare indeed. It is indeed true that at the right moment the Master will appear, but
the right moment is contingent upon certain self-induced conditions. p. 594
Alice Bailey, A Treatise on W.M, Lucis Trust, (1934) ISBN 978-0-85330-123-3.
You need ever to remember that at this time the main technique of the Hierarchy
is that of conveying inspiration. The Masters are not openly lecturing or teaching
in the great cities of the world; They work entirely through Their disciples and
initiates. It will, however, be possible for Them to appear increasingly among men,
and evoke recognition, as the influence of Aquarius is more firmly established.
The Masters, in the meantime, must continue to work "within the silence of the
universal Ashram", as it has been called, and from there They inspire Their
workers, and these latter in their time and way, inspire the New Group of World
Servers. p. 230
Alice Bailey, A Treatise on the Seven Rays, Volume 5: The Rays and the Initiations,
(1960)
The Masters are also subject to limitation. The general idea of all aspirants is that
They represent Those Who have achieved freedom, have been liberated, and are
therefore held by no limiting circumstances whatsoever. This is not true, though -
speaking relatively, or so far as humanity is concerned - it is a fact that the
limitations by which They were held as human beings, are no longer present. But
one achieved freedom only opens the door to another and wider freedom ahead,
and the ring-pass-not of our planetary Life itself constitutes a powerful limitation.
Speaking symbolically, somewhere in that great dividing wall of our planetary
circumference, the Master must find an exit, and discover a door which will permit
him to enter the Way of the Higher Evolution in its more cosmic stages. p. 389
Alice Bailey, A Treatise on the Seven Rays, Volume 5: The Rays and the Initiations,
(1960)
What is it, when all is accomplished, that still binds the Masters to the world of
men ? Not anything that the world can offer Them. There is no knowledge on
earth They have not; there is no power on earth that They wield not; there is no
further experience that might enrich Their lives; there is nothing that the world can
give Them, that can draw Them back to birth. And yet They come, because a
divine compulsion that is from within and from without sends Them to the earth —
which otherwise They might leave for ever — to help Their brethren, to labour
century after century, millennium after millennium, for the joy and service that
make Their love and peace ineffable with nothing that the earth can give Them,
save the joy of seeing other Souls growing into Their likeness, beginning to share
with them the conscious life of God.
Annie Besant, Karma (https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/karma-anni
e-besant) , (1895) p. 75
How should I put that to convey exactly what I mean in clear and definite
language? I must put it, I think, by giving a general principle with regard to these
great Beings whom we speak of as Masters, divine men, men made perfect, which
works through the whole of that great Brotherhood. They have many ways of
working in the world; through Their own subtle, spiritual bodies they work, sending
out floods of blessing over the whole world; but, in addition to that spiritual
impulse and spiritual blessing which flow into every heart that opens itself to
receive Them... the great Teacher is not only a spiritual Presence, He is a human
though divine Being, who can be specifically and personally known.
Annie Besant, The Changing World and Lectures to Theosophical Students (http
s://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/57667) (1909)
There is a great office above all those whom we Theosophists speak of as
Masters—a Master of Masters, so to speak—the one Supreme Teacher. In
Christendom you speak of him by the Greek name, a name which, as you know,
was taken from the Grecian mysteries, of which a particular grade of initiation
bore the name of the Christos, and the Adept who reached that grade was spoken
of as the Christos. That was the name which was adopted in the early Church,
according to the account in the Acts, to designate this great Teacher who had
come to the world, and we should say, rightly adopted.
Annie Besant, [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/57667 The Changing World
and Lectures to Theosophical Students' (1909)
And there, in our own Society, is a point we ought to pause upon. The Catholic
type amongst us will be one that will readily respond to the idea of the Masters,
the Puritan less quickly. The Catholic mind in the Theosophist will not only
recognise the ideal of the Masters, but will be fired with a desire to tread the path
that They have trodden. There will be a looking up of reverence, an outstretching
of the hand for guidance; a realisation that by that dependence more rapid
progress may be made than along any other line.
Annie Besant, The Changing World and Lectures to Theosophical Students (http
s://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/57667) (1909)
It must not be supposed that the work of the Christ for His followers was over
after He had established the Mysteries, or was confined to rare appearances
therein. That Mighty One who had used the body of Jesus as His vehicle, and
whose guardian care extends over the whole spiritual evolution of... humanity,
gave into the strong hands of the holy disciple who had surrendered to Him his
body the care of the infant Church. Perfecting His human evolution, Jesus
became one of the Masters of Wisdom...
Annie Besant in Esoteric Christianity, or The Lesser Mysteries, Theosophical
Publishing Society (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26938) , (1905)
His the Form which stood beside the rack and in the flames of the burning pile,
cheering His confessors and His martyrs, soothing the anguish of their pains, and
filling their hearts with His peace. His the impulse which spoke in the thunder of
Savonarola, which guided the calm wisdom of Erasmus, which inspired the deep
ethics of the God-intoxicated Spinoza. His the energy which impelled Roger
Bacon, Galileo, and Paracelsus in their searchings into nature. His the beauty that
allured Fra Angelica and Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci, that inspired the genius
of Michelangelo... His the melody that breathed in the masses of Mozart, the
sonatas of Beethoven, the oratorios of Handel, the fugues of Bach, the austere
splendour of Brahms.
Annie Besant in Esoteric Christianity, or The Lesser Mysteries,The Theosophical
Publishing Society (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26938) , (1905)
His the Presence that cheered the solitary mystics, the hunted occultists, the
patient seekers after truth. By persuasion and by menace, by the eloquence of a S.
Francis and by the gibes of a Voltaire, by the sweet submission of a Thomas à
Kempis, and the rough virility of a Luther, He sought to instruct and awaken... He
has never left uncared for or unsolaced one human heart that cried to Him for
help.
 Annie Besant in Esoteric Christianity, or The Lesser Mysteries, Theosophical
Publishing Society (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26938) , (1905)
We have seen that, go back as far as we may into antiquity, we find everywhere
recognised the existence of a hidden teaching, a secret doctrine, given under strict
and exacting conditions to approved candidates by the Masters of Wisdom. Such
candidates were initiated into "The Mysteries"—a name that covers in antiquity, as
we have seen, all that was most spiritual in religion, all that was most profound in
philosophy, all that was most valuable in science.
Annie Besant in Esoteric Christianity, or The Lesser Mysteries, Theosophical
Publishing Society (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26938) , p. 171, (1905)

In August, 1851... on a moonlight night, as her diary tells us, beside the Serpentine,
" I met the Master of my dreams." He then told her that he had chosen her to work
in a society, and some time afterwards, with her father's permission, she went into
training for her future mission, passing through seven and ten years of probation,
trial and hard work....
Annie Besant in H. P. Blavatsky and the Masters of Wisdom (https://archive.org/d
etails/hpblavatskymaste00besa?q=annie+besant) (1907)
Madame Fadeeff: "...my niece spoke to me about them (the Masters of Wisdom),
and that very fully, years ago. She wrote to me that she had seen and reknitted her
connection with several of them before she wrote her Isis. Why should she have
invented these personages? With what object ? and what good could they do her if
they did not exist? Your enemies are neither wicked nor dishonest, I think; they are,
if they accuse you of that, only idiotic.
Annie Besant in H. P. Blavatsky and the Masters of Wisdom (1907)
Of this same visit to Lahore, November, 1883, Damodar himself gives many
details. Of the Mahatma K.H. he says: "There I was visited by Him in body, for
three nights consecutively, for about three hours every time, while I myself
retained full consciousness, and in one case even went to meet Him outside the
house. Him whom I saw in person at Lahore was the same I had seen in astral
form at the Headquarters of the Theosophical Society, and the same again whom
I, in visions and trances, had seen at His house, thousands of miles off, to reach
which in my astral Ego I was permitted, owing, of course, to His direct help and
protection. In those instances, with my psychic powers hardly developed yet, I had
always seen Him as a rather hazy form, although His features were perfectly
distinct, and their remembrance was profoundly graven on my soul's eye and
memory. While now at Lahore, Jammu, and elsewhere, the impression was utterly
different. In the former cases, when making pranam (salutation) my hands passed
through His form, while on the latter occasions they met solid garments and flesh.
Here I saw a living man before me, the same in features, though far more
imposing in His general appearance and bearing than Him I had so often looked
upon in the portrait in Mme. Blavatsky's possession, and in the one with Mr.
Sinnett...
Annie Besant in H. P. Blavatsky and the Masters of Wisdom (https://archive.org/d
etails/hpblavatskymaste00besa?q=annie+besant) (1907)
The work now submitted to public judgment is the fruit of a somewhat intimate
acquaintance with Eastern adepts and study of Their science. It is offered to such
as are willing to accept truth wherever it may be found, and to defend it, even
looking popular prejudice straight in the face.
Helena Blavatsky, in Isis Unveiled: A Master-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and
Modern Science and Theology (1877) Vol. I Preface
What the hermetic adept claims to demonstrate is, that simple common sense
precludes the possibility that the universe is the result of mere chance. Such an
idea appears to him more absurd than to think that the problems of Euclid were
unconsciously formed by a monkey playing with geometrical figures.... the
universal Kabala['s}... adepts are few; but these heirs elect of the sages who first
discovered "the starry truths which shone on the great Shemaia of the Chaldean
lore"(Bulwer's "Zanoni") have solved the "absolute" and are now resting from their
grand labor.... Travellers have met these adepts on the shores of the sacred
Ganges, brushed against them in the silent ruins of Thebes, and in the mysterious
deserted chambers of Luxor. Within the halls upon whose blue and golden vaults
the weird signs attract attention, but whose secret meaning is never penetrated by
the idle gazers, they have been seen but seldom recognized. Historical memoirs
have recorded their presence in the brilliantly illuminated salons of European
aristocracy. They have been encountered again on the arid and desolate plains of
the Great Sahara, as in the caves of Elephanta. They may be found everywhere,
but make themselves known only to those who have devoted their lives to
unselfish study, and are not likely to turn back. p. 18
H. P. Blavatsky in Isis Unveiled: A Master-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and
Modern Science and Theology (1877)
Maimonides, the great Jewish theologian and historian, who at one time was
almost deified by his countrymen and afterward treated as a heretic, remarks, that
the more absurd and void of sense the Talmud seems the more sublime is the
secret meaning. This learned man has successfully demonstrated that the
Chaldean Magic, the science of Moses and other learned thaumaturgists was
wholly based on an extensive knowledge of the various and now forgotten
branches of natural science. Thoroughly acquainted with all the resources of the
vegetable, animal, and mineral kingdoms, experts in occult chemistry and physics,
psychologists as well as physiologists, why wonder that the graduates or adepts
instructed in the mysterious sanctuaries of the temples, could perform wonders,
which even in our days of enlightenment would appear supernatural? It is an insult
to human nature to brand magic and the occult science with the name of
imposture. To believe that for so many thousands of years, one-half of mankind
practiced deception and fraud on the other half, is equivalent to saying that the
human race was composed only of knaves and incurable idiots. Where is the
country in which magic was not practised? At what age was it wholly forgotten? p.
19
H. P. Blavatsky in Isis Unveiled: A Master-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and
Modern Science and Theology (1877)
All this points undeniably to the fact, that except a handful of self-styled
Christians who subsequently won the day, all the civilized portion of the Pagans
who knew of Jesus honored him as a philosopher, an adept whom they placed on
the same level with Pythagoras and Apollonius. Whence such a veneration on
their part for a man, were he simply, as represented by the Synoptics, a poor,
unknown Jewish carpenter from Nazareth? As an incarnated God there is no
single record of him on this earth capable of withstanding the critical examination
of science; as one of the greatest reformers, an inveterate enemy of every
theological dogmatism, a persecutor of bigotry, a teacher of one of the most
sublime codes of ethics, Jesus is one of the grandest and most clearly-defined
figures on the panorama of human history. His age may, with every day, be
receding farther and farther back into the gloomy and hazy mists of the past; and
his theology — based on human fancy and supported by untenable dogmas may,
nay, must with every day lose more of its unmerited prestige; alone the grand
figure of the philosopher and moral reformer instead of growing paler will become
with every century more pronounced and more clearly defined. It will reign
supreme and universal only on that day when the whole of humanity recognizes
but one father — the unknown one above — and one brother — the whole of
mankind below.
H. P. Blavatsky in Isis Unveiled: A Master-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and
Modern Science and Theology (1877) Jesus in the Garb of a Magician, p/150
Let people think what they like. We affirm they do (exist)...Many people, even
some Theosophists and ex-Theosophists, say that they have never had any proof
of their existence... If the knowledge supposed to have been imparted by them is
good intrinsically, and it is accepted as such by many persons of more than
average intelligence, why should there be such a hullabaloo made over that
question? The fact of her being an impostor has never been proved, and will
always remain sub judice; whereas it is a certain and undeniable fact that, by
whomsoever invented, the philosophy preached by the “Masters” is one of the
grandest and most beneficent philosophies once it is properly understood. Thus
the slanderers, while moved by the lowest and meanest feelings—those of hatred,
revenge, malice, wounded vanity, or disappointed ambition,—seem quite unaware
that they are paying the greatest tribute to her intellectual powers. So be it, if the
poor fools will have it so. p. 236-237
H. P. Blavatksy Isis Unveiled: A Master-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and
Modern Science and Theology (1877)
The Masters do not guide the Society, not even the Founders; and no one has ever
asserted that they did: they only watch over and protect it. This is amply proved by
the fact that no mistakes have been able to cripple it, and no scandals from within,
nor the most damaging attacks from without, have been able to overthrow it. The
Masters look at the future, not at the present, and every mistake is so much more
accumulated wisdom for days to come... Each must acquire wisdom by his own
experience and merits. The Christian Churches, who claim a far higher “Master,”
the very Holy Ghost itself, have ever been and are still guilty not only of “mistakes,”
but of a series of bloody crimes throughout the ages. Yet, no Christian would deny,
for all that, his belief in that “Master,” I suppose? although his existence is far
more hypothetical than that of the Mahatmas; as no one has ever seen the Holy
Ghost, and his guidance of the Church, moreover, their own ecclesiastical history
distinctly contradicts.
People have seen the Christ and written about Him and the Masters. There are
many books in the world which are available. Some, unfortunately, are already out
of print. There is one by Macdonald-Bayne called Beyond the Himalayas (http://w
ww.healsa.co.za/PDF%20Files/Beyond_the_Himalayas.pdf) ... there is a
wonderful description of certain Masters. There are examples, for instance, in The
Teachings of the Masters of the Far East by (http://www.horuscentre.org/images/
Life_and_Teaching-Vol_1.pdf) Baird Spalding, of descriptions of the Christ and
the Masters, and the Buddha, as They are, as They exist. There are many such
people who have seen the Christ. He is available to those people who have the
right and the need to see Him. We do not have the right but there are those who
do see Him and they have written about Him. The average journalist would tend
not to be one with that right.
Benjamin Creme, The Reappearance of the Christ and the Masters of Wisdom.
Tara Press, (1980)
To my mind, the Agni Yoga teachings constitute one of the major attempts of
Hierarchy to prepare humanity for the new age. They are entirely relevant to the
present----and future time. The first book of the series, The Call, was given by
Maitreya Himself, and was intended to alert disciples to the fact of His imminent
return. The Master Morya, as I have said elsewhere, is one of the first group of
Masters to be seen by humanity, and is the stimulus behind the occult groups of
all kinds. His immediate task is to regenerate and purify the teaching of these
groups... [The Teachings were given] by mental telepathy through Helena Roerich
(a disciple of the Master Morya) in Russian... My information is that The Call is His
[Maitreya's] sole personal contribution to the Agni Yoga series. The Call is also
titled: Leaves of Morya’s Garden, I.
Benjamin Creme, Maitreya's Mission Vol. I (1986)
People like Hercules and Hermes, Rama, Mithra, Vyasa, Zoroaster, Confucius,
Krishna, Shankaracharya, the Buddha, the Christ, Mohammed... are all Masters
who have come from the same spiritual centre of the planet, called the Spiritual,
or Esoteric, Hierarchy, which is made up of the Masters and Their initiates and
disciples of various degrees... The only difference between the Christ and
ourselves, the Buddha or Krishna and ourselves, is that They have manifested
Their divinity. They know that They are Sons of God, and They demonstrate it...
Gradually, through the process of incarnation and reincarnation, we do, indeed,
create a body through which the spirit aspect can, to a very full degree, manifest.
When that happens we become perfected Masters.
Benjamin Creme, The Ageless Wisdom, An Introduction to Humanity's Spiritual
Legacy, Share International, (https://share-international.org/books_AWT.html)
(1996)
The Tibetan Master Djwhal Khul... between 1919 and 1949... dictated, by mental
telepathy, a series of 19 books through Alice A. Bailey. (Bailey herself wrote five
additional volumes.) These 19 very profound, and to my mind very practical,
teachings are the intermediate phase of the teachings given out by the Masters
for the new age of Aquarius now beginning. The Secret Doctrine was the
preparatory phase of the teachings, given through Madame [Helena] Petrovna
Blavatsky, who lived and worked for some years with a group of Masters in the
Himalayas. One of them was the Master Morya, her own Master, and another the
Master Koot Hoomi, both very advanced Masters. These two Masters are deeply
involved with humanity and, with the Master Jesus...
 Benjamin Creme in The Ageless Wisdom Teachings, Share International (https://s
hare-international.org/books_AWT.html) (1996)
It is due to the fact that so many disciples are nearing the first initiation, and
therefore entering the Hierarchy, that sets up a magnetic pull, a conduit, through
which the Masters are magnetically drawn into the world. They have been ready to
do this for over 500 years; the only question has been when would it be possible.
It was thought probable that it would be another 12 or 13 hundred years. But in
1945, at the end of the war, Maitreya announced His intention to return at the
earliest moment and to bring His group, the Masters, into the world with Him. That
is what is happening now.
Benjamin Creme Maitreya's Mission Vol. III,, p. 383 (1997)
The Masters have gone through this evolutionary process in which we are still
engaged and have learned how it works, what evolution is about. They are
Masters not in any authoritarian sense, but masters of Themselves and the forces
of nature. They have full consciousness and complete control on all planes of this
planet.
Benjamin Creme in Maitreya's Mission Vol. III, p. 347 (1997)

Paolo Veronese was a third-degree initiate. He...will powerfully affect the architecture of the next 150
years or so. ~ Benjamin Creme

Paolo Veronese was a third-degree initiate. He is now a 7th ray Master and will be
very active in the world in the New Age. He will be in charge of, and the inspiration
behind, the first 70 or 80 years of the New Age architecture and so will powerfully
affect the architecture of the next 150 years or so.
Benjamin Creme in Maitreya's Mission Vol. III, p. 409 (1997)
They (the Agni Yoga ‘Supermundane’ books) were given mainly (though not
exclusively) by the Master Koot Hoomi. Their purpose is the same as the other
books of the series — enlightenment... It was not the Hierarchical intention that
their publication should be held back until now. That is a decision of the Agni
Yoga Society.
Benjamin Creme in Maitreya's Mission Vol III, p. 420 (1997)
Contact with a Master is relatively rare, and, when real, leaves the disciple in no
doubt of its reality and source. The soul may impress its reflection’s mind without
any special experience being involved.
Benjamin Creme in Maitreya's Mission Vol. III, p. 525 (1997)
The externalization of the work of the Spiritual Hierarchy onto the physical plane
for the first time in 98,000 years... is a climactic event for the Masters
Themselves, as well as for humanity: They return to physical-plane activity, only
now in group formation, in order to re-enact Their own life expression in
preparation for the Way of the Higher Evolution. This is part of the long-term plan
of the coming together of the Masters and humanity, and the evolution of
Hierarchy Itself as a centre on this planet... The political and economic
transformation which will be initiated as a result of Maitreya’s and the Masters’
presence will free humanity from age-old inhibitions and limitations, and galvanize
it into a great leap forward in consciousness.
Benjamin Creme, in The Great Approach (2001)
As I have been at pains to say over the years, the Masters are not here to tell us
what to do at all. The Masters will only advise and teach in the sense of revealing
the results of actions. If we do this action, so and so will inevitably result, and if
we do that action, then something quite different... will result. Then They leave the
choice to us. If we are intelligent we take Their advice. They illuminate the results
of the various actions which we can take. That is an extraordinary bonus to
decision making — if you have a Master, a Teacher, a Guide Who tells you that if
you do this then such and such will come out of it, or if you do that then another
thing entirely will come out of it, then you can see which way you want to go... we
really do not understand how profound a quality free will is and why it is so
impossible for the Masters to infringe our free will. Free will is the very element of
our nature which makes evolution possible. Without free will we would not evolve.
The Masters are in charge of the Plan of Evolution so They are involved with
evolution, and human evolution is part of it.
Benjamin Creme, replying to Letters to the Editor, Share International magazine, (h
ttps://www.share-international.org/magazine/old_issues/2005/mar_05.htm#lett
ers) (March 2005)
In August, 1851... on a moonlight night, as her Blavatsky's diary tells us, beside the
Serpentine, " I met the Master of my dreams." He then told her that he had chosen
her to work in a society, and some time afterwards, with her father's permission,
she went into training for her future mission, passing through seven and ten years
of probation, trial and hard work....
N. A. Fadeeff, quoted in H. P. Blavatsky and the Masters of Wisdom (https://archiv
e.org/details/hpblavatskymaste00besa?q=annie+besant) , by Annie Besant
(1907)
I do not know if you have long known them personally, but my niece spoke to me
about them, and that very fully, years ago. She wrote to me that she had seen and
reknitted her connection with several of them before she wrote her Isis. Why
should she have invented these personages? With what object ? and what good
could they do her if they did not exist? Your enemies are neither wicked nor
dishonest, I think; they are, if they accuse you of that, only idiotic. If I, who am, I
hope, to remain to my death a fervent Christian, believe in the existence of these
men — though not in all the miracles alleged about them — why should not others
believe? I can certify to the existence of one of them, at least. Who could have
written to reassure me in the moment when I most needed such reassurance, if it
were not one of these Adepts they talk of? It is true that I do not know the writing,
but the way in which it was delivered to me was so phenomenal that no one, save
an adept in occult science, could have accomplished it. It promised me the return
of my niece, and the promise was fulfilled. Anyhow, I will send it to you in a
fortnight, and you will receive it in London.
N. A. Fadeeff, quoted in H. P. Blavatsky and the Masters of Wisdom (https://archiv
e.org/details/hpblavatskymaste00besa?q=annie+besant) , by Annie Besant
(1907)
We call them “Masters” because They are our teachers; and because from Them
we have derived all the Theosophical truths, however inadequately some of us
may have expressed, and others understood, Them. They are men of great
learning, whom we term Initiates, and still greater holiness of life. They are not
ascetics in the ordinary sense...
Geoffrey Farthing, An Outline of the Ancient Wisdom, The Blavatsky Trust, (http://
www.blavatskytrust.org.uk/html/articles/ancient%20wisdom.htm) (~December
1967)
Those known sometimes as the Masters of the Wisdom, who are very much
further along the evolutionary path than the great majority of mankind at its
present state... have discovered that the way into the knowledge of these inner
workings of Nature is by a deep knowledge of their own natures. They have given
us some specific teachings for our guidance and to help our understanding. The
road is beset with difficulties, not so much in the nature of the journey itself as in
our immaturities and defects of character.
Geoffrey Farthing, An Outline of the Ancient Wisdom, The Blavatsky Trust, (http://
www.blavatskytrust.org.uk/html/articles/ancient%20wisdom.htm) (~December
1967)
Now to other people, a myth is merely a tall story, and the myth of the Masters one
of the tallest ever told. This was the conclusion of the psychical researcher Dr.
Richard Hodgson, after an exhaustive investigation of the “phenomena” that were
claimed to be happening around the Theosophical Society’s headquarters in
Adyar, Madras. In his report to the Society for Psychical Research, published in
1886, he deflated the Theosophical bubble to his own satisfaction and to that of
many others, both outside the society and in it. Madame Blavatsky, he proclaimed,
was an ingenious impostor, her Masters a fiction, and their letters written by her
hand. Many people who had formerly been interested and even troubled by
Theosophy took this report as their cue to drop the subject, retiring into
conventional habits of through (Christian, materialist, or Spiritualist) or at least
closing the door to the pretended wonders of the East.
Joscelyn Godwin's foreword to: The Masters Revealed: Madame Blavatsky and the
Myth of the Great White Lodge, by K. Paul Johnson (https://hermetic.com/godwi
n/the-masters-revealed) (1994)
Mr. Johnson’s work occupies the middle ground. He obviously has a great respect
and admiration for HPB, but he has no illusions as to the mischievous and even
dark sides of her personality. He observes the convention without which
scholarship would be impossible, namely that of not imposing one’s own religious
beliefs on the matter to be studied. But he evidently believes that HPB and her
Masters achieved something of tremendous importance for the human race. I
happen to share his attitudes, and that is why I have followed his research for
several years with passionate interest.
Joscelyn Godwin's foreword to: The Masters Revealed: Madame Blavatsky and the
Myth of the Great White Lodge, by K. Paul Johnson (https://hermetic.com/godwi
n/the-masters-revealed) (1994)
A Mahâtma is not only an Adept, but much more. The etymology of it will make
the matter clearer, the word being strictly Sanskrit, from mahâ, great, and âtmâ,
soul—hence Great Soul. This does not mean a noble-hearted man merely, but a
perfected being, one who has attained to the state often described by mystics and
held by scientific men to be an impossibility...
William Q. Judge, Echoes From The Orient: A Broad Outline of Theosophical
Doctrines, Theosophical Publishing House, (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5
7292) (1910)
Adepts and Mahâtmas are not a miraculous growth, nor the selfish successors of
some who, accidentally stumbling upon great truths, transmitted them to
adherents under patent rights. They are human beings trained, developed,
cultivated through not only a life but long series of lives, always under evolutionary
laws and quite in accord with what we see among men of the world or of science.
Just as a Tyndall is greater than a savage, though still a man, so is the Mahâtma,
not ceasing to be human, still greater than a Tyndall. The Mahâtma-Adept is a
natural growth, and not produced by any miracle; the process by which he so
becomes may be to us an unfamiliar one, but it is in the strict order of nature.
William Q. Judge, Echoes From The Orient: A Broad Outline of Theosophical
Doctrines, Theosophical Publishing House, (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5
7292) (1910)
Some years ago a well-known Anglo-Indian, writing to the Theosophical Adepts,
queried if they had ever made any mark upon the web of history, doubting that
they had. The reply was that he had no bar at which to arraign them, and that they
had written many an important line upon the page of human life, not only as
reigning in visible shape, but down to the very latest dates when, as for many a
long century before, they did their work behind the scenes. To be more explicit,
these wonderful men have swayed the destiny of nations and are shaping events
to-day. Pillars of peace and makers of war such as Bismarck, or saviors of nations
such as Washington, Lincoln and Grant, owe their elevation, their singular power,
and their astonishing grasp upon the right men for their purposes, not to trained
intellect or long preparation in the schools of their day, but to these very unseen
Adepts, who crave no honors, seek no publicity and claim no acknowledgment.
Each one of these great human leaders whom I have mentioned had in his
obscure years what he called premonitions of future greatness, or connection with
stirring events in his native land.
William Q. Judge, Echoes From The Orient: A Broad Outline of Theosophical
Doctrines, Theosophical Publishing House, (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5
7292) (1910)
 

A Mahâtma is not only an Adept, but much more... the word being strictly Sanskrit, from mahâ, great,
and âtmâ, soul—hence Great Soul. This does not mean a noble-hearted man merely, but a perfected
being, one who has attained to the state often described by mystics and held by scientific men to be
an impossibility... ~William Q. Judge

This august body is often called the Great White Brotherhood... In many cases They continue to live
each in His own country... A few of these great Adepts, who are thus working for the good of the
world...take as apprentices those who have resolved to devote themselves utterly to the service of
mankind; such Adepts are called Masters. ~C.W. Leadbeater

There were times when she [H.P.B.] was occupied by one of the Mahâtmas, when her playing was
There were times when she [H.P.B.] was occupied by one of the Mahâtmas, when her playing was
indescribably grand. She would sit in the dusk sometimes, with nobody else in the room beside
myself, and strike from the sweet toned instrument improvisations that might well make one fancy
he was listening to the Gandhâvas, or heavenly choristers. It was the harmony of heaven... ~Henry
Steel Olcott

There are many who read the books of the Teaching... and who mentally follow the indicated path,
and because of this they consider themselves as disciples of this or that Great Teacher.... They are
partly right, for if they continue to strive, and mainly if they try to apply the Teaching in life, they will
enter the path of true discipleship, sooner or later, in this or another life. But ask yourself sincerely
and seriously—have you met many such disciples, who even partially apply in life the foundations...
of the Teaching? ~Helena Roerich

Most people are well acquainted with the history of Jesus Christ Who was born
nearly two thousand years ago in Palestine. There are, however, some aspects of
His life that are not so commonly known and which date back to long before the
period of His biblical life on Earth. It should be realised that the Entity who made
His appearance on Earth two millennia ago... had a long preceding course of
development to enable Him to attain such an advanced state of enlightenment. To
describe the Christ merely as a Son of God is rather meaningless and inadequate,
because we are really all children of God (even though many may not seem to act
accordingly).
Aart Juriaanse in Of Life and Other Worlds, World Unity & Service Trust (https://en.
wikiquote.org/wiki/Aart_Juriaanse#The_Christ_%22Supreme_Head_of_the_Spiritu
al_Hierarchy%22) , (1969)
The Masters are members of that group of 'Illumined Minds' which is guided by
love and understanding, and by deep compassion and inclusiveness towards
humanity. They are striving towards a comprehension and translation of the Divine
Purpose, and are illumined by knowledge of the Plan; they are also characterized
by a readiness to sacrifice their own immediate spiritual progress if thereby they
can assist humanity in its upward struggle.
Aart Juriaanse, in The Masters, by Aart Jurriaanse (https://www.share-internation
al.org/archives/AgelessWisdom/aw_ajMasters.htm) Share International
 Magazine (1999)
One of the major functions of the Masters is to convey the principles of the Plan
to their less evolved brothers. The usual technique employed for this purpose is
impression. So far the Masters have not taught from public platforms, but have
mainly worked on intuitive and mental levels, by telepathically impressing ideas on
the minds of their disciples. However, as more of these Masters make their
appearance among men, and recognition of their powers and wisdom grows, it is
possible that use will also be made of oral teachings, when they might avail
themselves of radio and television facilities.
Aart Juriaanse, in The Masters, by Aart Jurriaanse (https://www.share-internation
al.org/archives/AgelessWisdom/aw_ajMasters.htm) Share International
Magazine (1999)
Esoterically an adept is not a Master of Wisdom until He has achieved the fifth
initiation or, in other words, until He has entered the spiritual plane and His
consciousness embraces the fifth or spiritual kingdom. The Masters are members
of that group of 'Illumined Minds' which is guided by love and understanding, and
by deep compassion and inclusiveness towards humanity. They are striving
towards a comprehension and translation of the Divine Purpose, and are illumined
by knowledge of the Plan; they are also characterized by a readiness to sacrifice
their own immediate spiritual progress if thereby they can assist humanity in its
upward struggle.
Aart Jurriaanse in Bridges ISBN 3-929345-11-0, (December 2001)
In comparison with earth-bound human beings, who are still far behind on the
evolutionary path, the Masters have attained a relatively high state of
development. But, as with all else in nature, their status is only relative in
comparison with those already higher up the ladder, their own position remains
humble, and vast expansions of consciousness still lie ahead of them on the Path
of Higher Evolution, which will eventually take them beyond planetary and solar
spheres into cosmic consciousness.
Aart Jurriaanse in Bridges ISBN 3-929345-11-0, (December 2001)
A large number of men have attained the Adept level—men not of one nation, but
of all the leading nations of the world—rare souls who with indomitable courage
have stormed the fortresses of nature, and captured her innermost secrets, and
so have truly earned the right to be called Adepts. Among Them there are many
degrees and many lines of activity; but always some of Them remain within touch
of our earth as members of this Hierarchy which has in charge the administration
of the affairs of our world and of the spiritual evolution of our humanity.
C.W. Leadbeater, A Textbook of Theosophy (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1
2902) (1912)
This august body is often called the Great White Brotherhood, but its members are
not a community all living together. Each of Them, to a large extent, draws Himself
apart from the world, and They are in constant communication with one another
and with Their Head; but Their knowledge of higher forces is so great that this is
achieved without any necessity for meeting in the physical world. In many cases
They continue to live each in His own country, and Their power remains
unsuspected among those who live near Them. Any man who will may attract
Their attention, but he can do it only by showing himself worthy of Their notice.
None need fear that his efforts will pass unnoticed; such oversight is impossible,
for the man who is devoting himself to service such as this, stands out from the
rest of humanity like a great flame in a dark night. A few of these great Adepts,
who are thus working for the good of the world, are willing to take as apprentices
those who have resolved to devote themselves utterly to the service of mankind;
such Adepts are called Masters.
C.W. Leadbeater, A Textbook of Theosophy (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1
2902) (1912)
There has always been a Brotherhood of Adepts, the Great White Brotherhood;
there have always been those who knew, those who possessed this inner wisdom,
and our Masters are among the present representatives of that mighty line of
Seers and Sages. Part of the knowledge which they have garnered during
countless aeons is available to every one on the physical plane under the name of
Theosophy. But there is far more behind. The Master Kuthumi himself once said
smilingly, when some one spoke of the enormous change that the Theosophical
knowledge had made in our lives, and of the wonderful comprehensiveness of the
doctrine of reincarnation: “Yes, but we have lifted only a very small corner of the
veil as yet.” When we have thoroughly assimilated the knowledge given us, and are
all living up to its teaching, the Brotherhood will be ready to lift the veil further; but
only when we have complied with those conditions.
For those who wish to know more and to draw nearer, the Path is open. But the
man who aspires to approach the Masters can reach them only by making himself
unselfish as they are unselfish, by learning to forget the personal self, and by
devoting himself wholly to the service of humanity as they do.
C.W. Leadbeater in The Masters and the Path (https://www.theosophy.world/site
s/default/files/ebooks/MastersandthePath.pdf) , Ch. 4, (1925)
There were times when she [H.P.B.] was occupied by one of the Mahâtmas, when
her playing was indescribably grand. She would sit in the dusk sometimes, with
nobody else in the room beside myself, and strike from the sweettoned
instrument improvisations that might well make one fancy he was listening to the
Gandhâvas, or heavenly choristers. It was the harmony of heaven... she was loyal
to the last degree to her aunt, her other relatives, and to the Masters; for whose
work she would have sacrificed not only one, but twenty lives, and calmly seen the
whole human race consumed with fire, if needs be.
Henry Steel Olcott, Character Sketch of Madam Blavatsky, Old Diary Leaves,
Volume One, (1895)
The Masters are those beings who, by sore travail of soul, by vast experience,
suffering, and sacrifice, have advanced to a degree of evolution far beyond
ordinary human beings. Their consciousness is not limited to any one plane of life,
as is the case with ordinary men and women. A Master is one who has conquered
the limitations of matter, as that term is usually under stood, and is able to
function consciously and at will on more than; one plane of being, according to
the degree to which he has attained. In other words, a Master is one who has
entered the Eye of the' Triangle in the Square, and who henceforth functions in
wider spheres', of action, where he becomes and IS a conscious factor, force, and
agent in helping on the evolution of worlds and races.
 The Temple of the People, Foreword to Teachings of the Temple (https://www.tem
pleofthepeople.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/teachings_temple_1.pdf)
(1925)
The Masters are not Gods, they are men, and if necessity requires, they can work
on the physical plane in a physical body. Their greater work is done, however, in
their Nirmanakaya body, the robe of conscious immortality, which they have won
through pain and sacrifice endured age upon age. The Lodge of Masters is
synthesized in the Central Spiritual Sun, which is composed of all the Masters of
the Right-hand Path. This Central Sun is interchangeable with the Christos who is
the perfected Son (Sun) of Infinite Love.
The Temple of the People, Foreword to Teachings of the Temple (1925)
The Masters are, in a sense, the Higher Self of humanity and watch over, protect,
and guide its unfoldment. They cannot interfere with karmic law, but have the
power, at crises, to hold back to some extent the action of accumulated karma
that otherwise might destroy civilization or shatter the planet itself. But in the end
every iota of karmic law must be fulfilled. Devastating epidemics, great wars,
destruction of cities in past or present times with their toll of death, the sudden
breaking up and submergence of continents, as in the case of Atlantis, are
instances of karmic forces operating on a large scale, and where such forces
could be held back no longer by the administrators of nature's laws, the Masters
of Wisdom, lest a greater spiritual damage be done to the people of those cities,
nations, or continents affected. Where spirituality and morality have departed
beyond a certain measure, humanity can only be brought back to a recognition of
its spiritual foundations by some great shock or series of shocks driving the
personal consciousness inward to the eternal verities, to its inherent divinity, and
so preventing a further descent into the lure and glitter of outer falsities and sense
illusions.
The Temple of the People, Foreword to Teachings of the Temple (1925)
There is naught that is weird about these Great Men. They are the sanest men on
earth, the gentlest, the kindliest, the most pitiful, the most compassionate, the
most brotherly, and the most peaceful and the wisest, the strongest and the
purest, the noblest and the greatest. They do not stand, all of them, on the same
step of the ladder of evolutionary progress. Some of them are very great, very
high, others less so, others less so still.
G. de Purucker inThe Masters and the Path of Occultism (https://www.theosophy-
nw.org/theosnw/books/mas-oc/mapo-gdp.htm) (1939)
They have lived throughout the ages, each generation of Them transmitting to
succeeding generation the accumulated wisdom and knowledge that had been
gained from immemorial time. They have wonderful powers over Nature, because
they have learned to know Nature. They work entirely with Nature, with the Law.
That is the reason that they are great. They are in harmony with things as they are,
with the roots of things. They are the Servants of the Law, and in that lies their
power. They never work contrary to Nature's mandates. They warn men as far as
men will let them. They are warning continually. Every now and again they send
forth from among their own number someone to teach men, to carry a new
message of wisdom and knowledge of Nature's secrets into the world. They have
done this through the ages, warning, teaching, encouraging, consoling, constantly
saying: Come up higher; come to us.
Jesus, the Buddha, Sankaracharya: all these great men have been Messengers
from the Lodge, the great White Lodge.
G. de Purucker inThe Masters and the Path of Occultism (https://www.theosophy-
nw.org/theosnw/books/mas-oc/mapo-gdp.htm) (1939)
Now, the science of Hatha Yoga rests upon the 'suppression of breath,' or
Pranayama, to which exercise our Masters are unanimously opposed. For what is
Pranayama? Literally translated, it means the 'death of (vital) breath.' . . . Several
impatient Chelas, whom we knew personally in India, went in for the practice of
Hatha Yoga, notwithstanding our warnings. Of these, two developed consumption,
one of whom died; others became almost idiotic; another committed suicide; and
one developed into a regular Tantrika, a Black Magician, but his career, fortunately
for himself, was cut short by death.
Helena Roerich, Letters I, (8 September 1934)
There is only one Hierarchy of Light, which is of course, the Trans-Himalayan
Hierarchy. Just as Light conquers darkness, so does the Hierarchy of Light battle
against and defeat the hierarchy of darkness. The latter is very strong, since it
acts through a multitude of followers. Not one teacher, living on Earth in ordinary
earthly conditions, can be compared with the great Himalayan Masters. Those
Masters are so lofty in their spiritual achievement that they are no longer able to
accept the burden of purely earthly existence and of a personal, direct leadership
of and contact with the masses. That would constitute an unproductive
expenditure of forces.
Their tasks are planetary-cosmic to such an extent that They can allocate only a
portion of Their forces to the direct guidance of certain units of humanity, and
therefore They use Their nearest trusted ones and disciples for the purpose of
transmitting the spiritual Teaching. At the present time, Their main forces are
concentrated on the gigantic battle with the destructive dark forces in the Subtle
World and on Earth, on staying the clashing of the nations until a certain time...
Verily, frightful is the tension of Their forces for the salvation of Earth; while
humanity, in its madness, walls up dynamite everywhere. Thus, because of such
small numbers of co-workers on Earth, these selfless Guardians of ungrateful and
ignorant humanity have taken completely upon themselves the incredible burden
of discharging destructive energies.
Helena Roerich, in Letters of Helena Roerich II, (30 August 1935)
Indeed, how can the Masters, who are on watch over the world and who lead the
greatest Cosmic Battles, overburden themselves by accepting a great number of
disciples? Considering the present state of consciousness of humanity, this would
be an unproductive expenditure of the most precious energy, which is so essential
for maintaining the equilibrium of our planet. There are many who read the books
of the Teaching of the White Brotherhood and who mentally follow the indicated
path, and because of this they consider themselves as disciples of this or that
Great Teacher chosen by them. They are partly right, for if they continue to strive,
and mainly if they try to apply the Teaching in life, they will enter the path of true
discipleship, sooner or later, in this or another life. But ask yourself sincerely and
seriously—have you met many such disciples, who even partially apply in life the
foundations of the Living Ethics learned by them from the books of the Teaching?
 And without a complete application of the Teaching, or rather, without self-denial
in carrying out life's achievement, is it possible to hope for a closer approach?
Helena Roerich, in Letters of Helena Roerich II, 4 November 1935 »

The Occult World, by Alfred Percy Sinnett (1884)

E…
(Full text online) (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.264542)
Men of science in former ages worked in secret, and instead of publishing their
discoveries, taught them in secret to carefully selected pupils. Their motives for
adopting that policy are readily intelligible, even if the merits of the policy may
seem still open to discussion. At all events, their teaching has not been forgotten;
it has been transmitted by secret initiation to men of our own time, and while its
methods and its practical achievements remain secrets in their hands, it is open
to any patient and earnest student of the question to satisfy himself that these
methods are of supreme efficacy, and these achievements far more admirable
than any yet standing to the credit of modern science.
The trials through which the neophyte has to pass are no fantastic mockeries, or
mimicries of awful peril. Nor, do I take it, are they artificial barriers set up by the
masters of occultism, to try the nerve of their pupils, as a riding-master might put
up fences in his school.
For the present let us consider the position of the adepts as They now exist, or, to
use the designation more generally employed in India, of " the Mahatmas."
[Mahatma -Great Soul, or Great Spirit, derived from Maha and Atma]. They
constitute a Brotherhood, or Secret Association, which ramifies all over the East,
but the principal seat of which for the present I gather to be in Tibet. But India has
not yet been deserted by the adepts, and from that country. They still receive
many recruits.
For the great fraternity is at once the least and the most exclusive organization in
the world, and fresh recruits from any race or country are welcome, provided they
possess the needed qualifications. The door, as I have been told by one who is
Himself an adept, is always open to the right man who knocks, but the road that
has to be travelled before the door is reached is one which none but very
determined travellers can hope to pass.
The Brothers, as already described, have an unconquerable objection to showing
off. That the person who wishes Them to show off is an earnest seeker of truth,
and not governed by mere idle curiosity, is nothing to the purpose. They do not
want to attract candidates for initiation by an exhibition of wonders.
Wonders have a very spirit-stirring effect on the history of every religion founded
on miracles, but occultism is not a pursuit which people can safely take up in
obedience to the impulse of enthusiasm created by witnessing a display of
extraordinary power. There is no absolute rule to forbid the exhibition of powers in
presence of the outsider; but it is clearly disapproved of by the higher authorities
of occultism on principle, and it is practically impossible for less exalted
proficients to go against this disapproval.

The Inner Life, by C.W. Leadbeater (1917)

E…
(full text, multiple formats (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.170912) )
Nowhere else in the world at this present moment is there such a centre of
influence—a centre constantly visited by the Great Ones, and therefore bathed in
their wonderful magnetism. The vibrations here are marvellously stimulating, and
all of us who live here are therefore under a constant strain of a very peculiar kind,
a strain which brings out whatever is in us... To live at Adyar is the most glorious
of all opportunities for those who are able to take advantage of it, but its effect on
those who are constitutionally unable to harmonize with its vibrations may be
dangerous rather than helpful. If a student can bear it he may advance rapidly; if
he cannot bear it he is better away. (Introduction)
That our thought on the subject may be clear, let us first of all try to define exactly
what we mean by the term “Master.” We mean by it always one who is a member
of the Great White Brotherhood—a member at such a level that He is able to take
pupils. Now the Great White Brotherhood is an organization unlike any other in the
world, and for that reason it has often been misunderstood. It has sometimes
been described as the Himalayan or the Tibetan Brotherhood, and the idea has
been conveyed of a body of Indian ascetics residing together in a monastery in
some inaccessible mountain fastness.
Most of our students are familiar with the thought of the four stages of the Path
of Holiness, and are aware that a man who has passed through them and attained
to the level of the Asekha has achieved the task set before humanity during this
chain-period, and is consequently free from the necessity of reincarnation on this
planet or on any other. Before him then open seven ways among which he must
choose. Most of them take him away from this earth into wider spheres of activity,
probably connected with the solar system as a whole, so that the great majority of
those members of our humanity who had already reached this goal have passed
entirely out of our ken.
The limited number who are still working directly for us may be divided into two
classes—those who retain physical bodies, and those who do not. The latter are
frequently spoken of under the name of Nirmanakayas. They hold themselves
suspended as it were between this world and nirvana, and They devote the whole
of Their time and energy to the generation of spiritual force for the benefit of
mankind... He has chosen to remain upon lower planes in order to help those who
still suffer. It is quite true that to come back from the higher life into this world is
like going down from the fresh air and glorious sunlight into a dark and evil-
smelling dungeon; but the man who does this to help some one out of that
dungeon is not miserable and wretched while there, but full of the joy of helping,
notwithstanding the greatness of the contrast and the terrible feeling of bondage
and compression. Indeed, a man who refused such an opportunity of giving aid
when it came to him would certainly feel far more woe afterwards, in the shape of
remorse. When we have once really seen the spiritual misery of the world, and the
condition of those who need such help, we can never again be careless or
indifferent about it, as are those who have not seen.
Fortunately those of us who have seen and realized this have ever at our
command a means whereby we can quite really and definitely help. Tiny though
our efforts may be as compared with the splendid outpouring of force of the
Nirmanakaya, we also can add our little drops to the great store of force in that
reservoir. Every outpouring of affection or devotion produces a double result—one
upon the being to whom it is sent, and another upon ourselves, who sent it forth.
But if the devotion or affection be utterly without the slightest thought of self, it
brings in its train a third result also. Ordinary affection or devotion, even of a high
kind, moves in a closed curve, however large that curve may be, and the result of it
comes back upon the sender. But the devotion or affection of the truly unselfish
man moves in an open curve, and though some of its affects inevitably react upon
the sender, the grandest and noblest part of its force ascends to the Logos
Himself, and the response, the magnificent response of benediction which
instantly pours forth from Him, falls into that reservoir for the helping of mankind.
So that it is within the power of every one of us, even the weakest and the poorest,
to help the world in this most beautiful manner.
The still more limited number of adepts who retain physical bodies remain in even
closer touch with us, in order to fill certain offices, and to do certain work
necessary for our evolution; and it is to the latter that the names of the Great
White Brotherhood and the Occult Hierarchy have sometimes been given. They
are, then, a very small number of highly advanced men belonging not to any one
nation, but to the world as a whole... They do not live together, though They are of
course in continual communication on higher planes. Since They are beyond the
necessity of rebirth, when one body wears out They can choose another wherever
it may be most convenient for the work They wish to do, so that we need not
attach any special importance to the nationality of the bodies which They happen
to be wearing at any particular time. Just now, several of those bodies are Indian,
one is Tibetan, one is Chinese, two at least are English, one is Italian, one
Hungarian, and one Syrian, while one was born in the island of Cyprus. As I have
said, the nationality of these bodies is not a matter of importance, but I mention
these in order to show that it would be a mistake to think of the ruling Hierarchy
as belonging exclusively to one race.
The deep reverence and the strong affection felt for the Lord Gautama all over the
East are due to two facts. One of these is that He was the first of our humanity to
attain to the stupendous height of Buddhahood, and so He may be very truly
described as the first-fruits and the leader of our race. (All previous Buddhas had
belonged to other humanities, which had matured upon earlier chains.) The
second fact is that for the sake of hastening the progress of humanity, He took
upon Himself certain additional labours of the most stupendous character...
When the time came at which it was expected that humanity would be able to
provide for itself some one who was ready to fill this important office, no one
could be found who was fully capable of doing so. But few of our earthly race had
then reached the higher stages of adeptship, and the foremost of these were two
friends and brothers whose development was equal. These two were the mighty
Egos now known to us as the Lord Gautama and the Lord Maitreya, and in His
great love for mankind the former at once volunteered to make the tremendous
additional exertion necessary to qualify Him to do the work required, while His
friend and brother decided to follow Him as the next holder of that office
thousands of years later.
In those far-off times it was the Lord Gautama who ruled the world of religion and
education; but now He has yielded that high office to the Lord Maitreya, whom
western people call the Christ—who took the body of the disciple Jesus during the
last three years of its life on the physical plane; and those who know tell us that it
will not be long before He descends among us once again, to found another faith.
Anyone whose mind is broad enough to grasp this magnificent conception of the
splendid reality of things will see instantly how worse than futile it is to set up in
one’s mind one religion as in opposition to another, to try to convert any person
from one to another, or to compare depreciatingly the founder of one with the
founder of another.
They may for the time be putting forward different aspects of the truth to suit the
needs of those to whom They speak... The teaching is always fundamentally the
same, though its presentation may vary widely.
The Lord Maitreya had taken various births before He came into the office which
He now holds, but even in these earlier days He seems always to have been a
teacher or high-priest.
One of the main objects of the foundation of the Theosophical Society was that
these two Masters might gather round Them a number of men who would be
intelligent and willing co-operators in this mighty work. Round Them will be
grouped others who are now Their pupils, but will by that time have attained the
level of adeptship.
It has often been said that the characteristic of one is power, and of the other love
and compassion, and this is perfectly true, though, if it is not rightly understood, it
may very easily prove misleading. One of the Masters concerned has been a ruler
in many incarnations, and was so even in the earlier part of this one, and
unquestionably royal power shows forth in His every gesture and in the very look
of His eyes, just as surely as the face of His brother adept beams ever with
overflowing love and compassion. They are of different rays or types, having risen
to Their present level along different lines, and this fact cannot but show itself ;
yet we should mistake sadly if we thought of the first as in any degree less loving
and compassionate than His brother, or of the second as lacking anything of the
power possessed by the first.
It is probable that even the Masters who are by name best known to you are not
so real, not so clear, not so well-defined to you as They are to those of us who
have had the privilege of meeting Them face to face and seeing Them constantly
in the course of our work. Yet you should endeavour by reading and thinking of
Them to gain this realization, so that the Masters shall become to you not vague
ideals but living men—men exactly as we are, though so enormously more
advanced in every respect.
The man who stands before one of Them cannot but feel the deepest humility,
because of the greatness of the contrast between himself and the Master. Yet
with all this humility he yet feels a firm confidence in himself, for since the Master,
who is also man, has achieved, that achievement is clearly possible even for him.
In His presence everything seems possible and even easy, and one looks back
with wonder on the troubles of yesterday, unable now to comprehend why they
should have caused agitation or dismay. Now at least, the man feels, there can
never again be trouble, since he has seen the right proportion of things. Now he
will never again forget that, however dark the clouds may be, the sun is ever
shining behind them.
 The vibrations of the Masters are so strong that only those qualities in you which
harmonize with them are called out, so that you will feel the uttermost confidence
and love, and the desire to be always in His presence. It is not that you forget that
you have undesirable qualities in you, but you feel that now you can conquer them,
and you do not in the least mind His knowing all about them, because you are so
certain that He understands perfectly, and to understand all is to pardon all.
It may perhaps help us to realize the human side of our Masters if we remember
that many of Them in comparatively recent times have been known as historical
characters. The Master K. H., for example, appeared in Europe as the philosopher
Pythagoras. Before that He was the Egyptian priest Sarthon, and on yet another
occasion chief-priest of a temple at Agade, in Asia Minor, where He was killed in a
general massacre of the inhabitants by a host of invading barbarians who
swooped down upon them from the hills...
Again, in these researches into the remote past we have frequently found the
disciple Jesus, who in Palestine had the privilege of yielding up His body to the
Christ. As a result of that act He received the incarnation of Apollonius of Tyana,
and in the eleventh century He appeared in India as the teacher Ramanuja, who
revived the devotional element in Hinduism, and raised it to so high a level.

A Textbook of Theosophy by C.W. Leadbeater, (1912)

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(Full text online, multiple formats) (http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12902)
A large number of men have attained the Adept level—men not of one nation, but
of all the leading nations of the world—rare souls who with indomitable courage
have stormed the fortresses of nature, and captured her innermost secrets, and
so have truly earned the right to be called Adepts. Among Them there are many
degrees and many lines of activity; but always some of Them remain within touch
of our earth as members of this Hierarchy which has in charge the administration
of the affairs of our world and of the spiritual evolution of our humanity. Ch. II
This august body is often called the Great White Brotherhood, but its members are
not a community all living together. Each of Them, to a large extent, draws Himself
apart from the world, and They are in constant communication with one another
and with Their Head; but Their knowledge of higher forces is so great that this is
achieved without any necessity for meeting in the physical world. In many cases
They continue to live each in His own country, and Their power remains
unsuspected among those who live near Them. Any man who will may attract
Their attention, but he can do it only by showing himself worthy of Their notice.
None need fear that his efforts will pass unnoticed; such oversight is impossible,
for the man who is devoting himself to service such as this, stands out from the
rest of humanity like a great flame in a dark night. A few of these great Adepts,
who are thus working for the good of the world, are willing to take as apprentices
those who have resolved to devote themselves utterly to the service of mankind;
such Adepts are called Masters. Ch. II
One of these apprentices was Helena Petrovna Blavatsky—a great soul who was
sent out to offer knowledge to the world. With Colonel Henry Steel Olcott she
founded The Theosophical Society for the spread of this knowledge which she
had to give. Among those who came into contact with her... Mr. A.P. Sinnett... his
keen intellect at once grasped the magnitude and the importance of the
teaching... Although Madame Blavatsky herself had previously written Isis
Unveiled, it had attracted but little attention, and it was Mr. Sinnett who first made
the teaching really available for western readers in his two books, The Occult
World and Esoteric Buddhism. Ch. II
It was through these works that I myself first came to know their author, and
afterwards Madame Blavatsky herself; from both of them I learned much. When I
asked Madame Blavatsky how one could learn still more, how one could make
definite progress along the Path which she pointed out to us, she told me of the
possibility that other students might be accepted as apprentices by the great
Masters, even as she herself had been accepted, and that the only way to gain
such acceptance was to show oneself worthy of it by earnest and altruistic work.
She told me that to reach that goal a man must be absolutely one-pointed in his
determination; that no one who tried to serve both God and Mammon could ever
hope to succeed. One of these Masters Himself had said: "In order to succeed, a
pupil must leave his own world and come into ours." Ch. II
My attention was first called to this by watching the effect produced by the
celebration of the Mass in a Roman Catholic church in a little village in Sicily... the
quite ordinary celebration of the Mass was a magnificent display of the
application of occult force.... At the moment of consecration the Host glowed with
the most dazzling brightness it became in fact a veritable sun to the eye of the
clairvoyant, and as the priest lifted it above the heads of the people I noticed that
two distinct varieties of spiritual force poured forth from it, which might perhaps
be taken as roughly corresponding to the light of the sun and the streamers of his
corona. The first rayed out impartially in all directions upon all the people in the
church; indeed, it penetrated the walls of the church as though they were not
there, and influenced a considerable section of the surrounding country. Ch. 8
C.W. Leadbeater, in The Hidden Side of things (1913)
The light which I have just described poured forth impartially upon all, the just and
the unjust, the believers and the scoffers. But this second force was called into
activity only in response to a strong feeling of devotion on the part of an
individual. At the elevation of the Host all members of the congregation duly
prostrated themselves— some apparently as a mere matter of habit, but some
also with a strong feeling of deep devotional feeling. The effect as seen by
clairvoyant sight was most striking and profoundly impressive, for to each of
these latter there darted from the uplifted Host a ray of fire, which set the higher
part of the astral body of the recipient glowing with the most intense ecstasy. Ch.
8
C.W. Leadbeater, in The Hidden Side of things (1913)
Clearly one of the great objects, perhaps the principal object, of the daily
celebration of the Mass is that everyone within reach of it shall receive at least
once each day one of these electric shocks which are so well calculated to
promote any growth of which he is capable. Such an outpouring of force brings to
each person whatever he has made himself capable of receiving; but even the
quite undeveloped and ignorant cannot but be somewhat the better for the
passing touch of a noble emotion, while for the few more advanced it means a
spiritual uplifting the value of which it would be difficult to exaggerate. Ch. 8
C.W. Leadbeater, in The Hidden Side of things (1913)
 

Knead love into the bread you bake; wrap strength and courage in the parcel you tie for the woman
with the weary face; hand trust and candour with the coin you pay to the man with the suspicious
eyes. ~ C.W. Leadbeater

The Masters and the Path by C.W. Leadbeater, (1925)

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Full text online (https://www.theosophy.world/sites/default/files/ebooks/MastersandthePath.
pdf)
Also see The Masters and the Path for a larger collection of quotations from this
book.
Foreword
E…
The rapid changes in the world of thought, arising from the nearness of the
Coming of the World-Teacher, render useful some information as to a part of the
world in which He lives, information which may, perhaps, to some extent prepare
the public mind for His teachings.... Be that as it may, I desire to associate myself
with the statements made in this book, for the accuracy of nearly all of which I can
personally vouch; and also to say on behalf of my colleague as well of myself, that
the book is issued as a record of observations carefully made and carefully
recorded, but not claiming any authority, nor making any demand for acceptance.
It makes no claim to inspiration, but is only an honest account of things seen by
the writer.
Annie Besant
Ch. I. The Existence of the Masters
E…
General Considerations. The Testimony of the Religions. Recent Evidence.
Personal Experience. The Evolution of Life. Superhuman Life. The Brotherhood of
Adepts. The Powers of Adept.
The existence of perfected men... follows logically from the other great
Theosophical teachings of karma and evolution by reincarnation. As we look
round us we see men obviously at all stages of their evolution—many far below
ourselves in development, and others who in one way or another are distinctly in
advance of us....
There may well be others who are very much further advanced; indeed, if men are
steadily growing better and better through a long series of successive lives,
tending towards a definite goal, there should certainly be some who have already
reached that goal.
Some of us... have already succeeded in unfolding some of those higher senses
which are latent in every man... and... are enabled to see the ladder of evolution
extending far above us as well as far below us, [with] ...men standing upon every
rung of that ladder.
 There is a considerable amount of direct testimony to the existence of these
Perfected Men whom we call Masters, but I think that the first step which each
one of us should take is to make certain that there must be such men...
The historical records of every nation are full of the doings of men of genius in all
the different departments of human activity, men who in their special lines of work
and ability have stood far above the rest— indeed, so far that at times... their
ideals were utterly beyond the comprehension of the people...
Is it not logical to say that we cannot see the bounds of human attainment, and
that there may well have been, and even now may be, men far further developed
even than they, men great in spirituality as well as knowledge or artistic power,
men complete as regards human perfections—men precisely such as the Adepts
or Supermen whom some of us have had the inestimable privilege to encounter?
There is much direct and recent evidence for the existence of these Great Ones. In
my earlier days I never needed any such evidence, because I was fully persuaded
as a result of my studies that there must be such people. To believe that there
were such glorified Men seemed perfectly natural, and my only desire was to meet
them face to face Yet there are many among the newer members of the Society
who, reasonably enough, want to know what evidence there is. There is a
considerable amount of personal testimony Madame Blavatsky and Colonel
Olcott, the co-founders of The Theosophical Society, Dr. Annie Besant, our present
President, and I myself—all of us have seen some of these Great Ones, and many
other members of the Society have also been privileged to see one or two of them,
and there is ample testimony in what all these people have written.
Ch. II. The Physical Bodies of the Masters
E…
Their Appearance. A Ravine in Tibet. The House of the Master Kuthumi. The
Master' s Activities. Other Houses. The First Ray Adepts. The Second Ray Adepts.
The Others Rays. Perfect Physical Vehicles. Borrowed Vehicles.
There is no one physical characteristic by which an Adept can be infallibly
distinguished from other men, but he always appears impressive, noble, dignified,
holy and serene, and anyone meeting him could hardly fail to recognize that he
was in the presence of a remarkable man. He is the strong but silent man,
speaking only when he has a definite object in view, to encourage, to help or to
warn, yet he is wonderfully benevolent and full of a keen sense of humour—
humour always of a kindly order, used never to wound, but always to lighten the
troubles of life.
Most of Them are distinctly fine-looking men; Their physical bodies are practically
perfect, for They live in complete obedience to the laws of health, and above all
They never worry about anything. All Their evil karma has long been exhausted...
To know that a certain man is an Adept it would be necessary to see His causal
body, for in that His development would show by its greatly increased size, and by
a special arrangement of its colours into concentric spheres, such as is indicated
to some extent in the illustration of the causal body of an Arhat (Plate xxvi) in
Man, Visible and Invisible.
Ch. III. The Way to the Master
E…
The Entrance to the Path. The Magnitude of the Task. The Importance of Work.
The Ancient Rules. `At the Feet of the Master.' The Disciple's Attitude. The Three
Doors. The Master' s Work. Making the Link. None is Overlooked. The
 Responsibility of the Teacher. Wrong Ideas. The Effect of Meditation. Common
Hindrances. Devotion must be Complete.
There has always been a Brotherhood of Adepts, the Great White Brotherhood;
there have always been Those who knew, those who possessed this inner
wisdom, and our Masters are among the present representatives of that mighty
line of Seers and Sages. Part of the knowledge which They have garnered during
countless aeons is available to every one on the physical plane under the name of
Theosophy. But there is far more behind.
The Master Kuthumi Himself once said smilingly, when some one spoke of the
enormous change that the Theosophical knowledge had made in our lives, and of
the wonderful comprehensiveness of the doctrine of reincarnation: “Yes, but we
have lifted only a very small corner of the veil as yet.” When we have thoroughly
assimilated the knowledge given us, and are all living up to its teaching, the
Brotherhood will be ready to lift the veil further; but only when we have complied
with those conditions.
For those who wish to know more and to draw nearer, the Path is open. But the
man who aspires to approach the Masters can reach Them only by making
himself unselfish as They are unselfish, by learning to forget the personal self, and
by devoting himself wholly to the service of humanity as They do.
Ch. IV. Probation
E…
The Living Image. Younger Probationers. Effect of Cruelty to Children. The Master
of Children. Entering upon Probation. Advice from the Master. Become as little
Children. Effects of Irritability. Selfishness. Worry. Laughter. Idle Words. Forms
Made by Speech. Fuss. The Value of Association.
Out of the ranks of earnest students and workers of the kind I have already
described, the Master has on many occasions selected His pupils. But before He
definitely accepts them He takes special precautions to assure Himself that they
are really the kind of people whom He can draw into intimate contact with
Himself; and that is the object of the stage called Probation.
When He thinks of a man as a possible pupil, He usually asks one who is already
closely linked with Him to bring the candidate to Him astrally. There is not
generally much ceremony connected with this step; the Master gives a few words
of advice, tells the new pupil what will be expected of him, and often, in His
gracious way, He may find some reason to congratulate him on the work that he
has already accomplished.
We should often like to give opportunities to people, but we hesitate, because
although if they take them it will do them much good, if they do not take them it
will be a little harder to do so next time.
The link of the pupil on probation with his Master is chiefly one of observation and
perhaps occasional use of the pupil. It is not the custom of the Adepts to employ
special or sensational tests, and in general, when an adult is put on probation, he
is left to follow the ordinary course of his life, and the way in which the living
image reproduces his response to the trials and problems of the day gives quite
sufficient indication of his character and progress. When from this the Master
concludes that the person will make a satisfactory disciple, he will draw him
nearer and accept him. Sometimes a few weeks is sufficient to determine this;
sometimes the period stretches into years.
Younger Probationers. Because the time is exceptional many young people have
been put on probation in recent years, and their parents and the older members of
The Society have sometimes wondered how it is that, notwithstanding their own
sincere sacrifices and labours, often extending over twenty, thirty or even forty
years, they are passed over and the young people are chosen. The explanation is
simple. It has been your karma to work all this time preparing yourself and
preparing the way for the coming of the World-Teacher; and just because you are
good old members you have attracted some of the souls who have been working
up to a high level of development in previous incarnations, so that they have been
born to you as children; and you must not be surprised if you sometimes find that
those who in the physical body are your children are in other and higher worlds far
older in development than you are... you should rejoice with exceeding great joy...
It is... abundantly clear that nothing but evil can ever follow from... cruelty. Our
members should certainly work wherever possible for its suppression, and should
be, as I said in the beginning, most especially careful to make certain that no
children for whom they are in any way responsible shall be in any danger from this
particular form of crime.
We found the Master Kuthumi seated on the veranda of his house, and as I led the
young ones forward to him, he held out his hands to them. The first boy dropped
gracefully on one knee and kissed his hand, and thenceforward remained
kneeling, pressing against the Master’s knee. All of them kept their eyes upon his,
and their whole souls seemed to be pouring out through their eyes. He smiled on
them most beautifully and said: “I welcome you with peculiar pleasure; you have
all worked with me in the past, and I hope you will do so again this time. I want
you to be of us before the Lord comes, so I am beginning with you very early.
Remember, this that you wish to undertake is the most glorious of all tasks, but it
is not an easy one, because you must gain perfect control over these little bodies;
you must forget yourselves entirely and live only to be a blessing to others, and to
do the work which is given us to do.” Putting his hand under the chin of the first
boy as he knelt, he said with a bright smile: “Can you do that?” And they all replied
that they would try... “Then I take you as my pupil on probation, and I hope that
you will soon come into closer relationship with me, and therefore I give you my
blessing, in order that you may pass it on to others.”
In the case of elder people put upon probation, they are left to a large extent to
find the most suitable work for themselves; but with the younger people he
sometimes quite definitely puts a piece of work in the way of one of them and
watches to see how he does it.
Advice from the Master. I know that your one object in life is to serve the
Brotherhood; yet do not forget that there are higher steps before you, and that
progress on the Path means sleepless vigilance. You must not only be always
ready to serve; you must be ever watching for opportunities—nay, making
opportunities to be helpful in small things, in order that when the greater work
comes you may not fail to see it.
Do not rest on your oars. There are still higher peaks to conquer. The need of
intellectual development must not be forgotten; and we must unfold within
ourselves sympathy, affection, tolerance. Each must realize that there are other
points of view than his own, and that they may be just as worthy of attention.
 Never speak without first thinking whether what you are going to say is both kind
and sensible.
He who tries to develop love within himself will be saved from many mistakes.
Love is the supreme virtue of all, without which all other qualifications water but
the sand.
Thoughts and feelings of an undesirable kind must be rigorously excluded; you
must work at them until they are impossible to you.
Touches of irritability ruffle the calm sea of the consciousness of the
Brotherhood. Pride must be eliminated, for it is a serious bar to progress.
Exquisite delicacy of thought and speech is needed—the rare aroma of perfect
tact which can never jar or offend. That is hard to win, yet you may reach it if you
will.
Definite service, and not mere amusement, should be your aim; think, not what you
want to do, but what you can do that will help someone else; forget about yourself,
and consider others.
When you see certain evils in yourself, take them in hand manfully and effectively.
Persevere, and you will succeed. It is a question of willpower. Watch for
opportunities and hints; be efficient. I am always ready to help you, but I cannot do
the work for you; the effort must come from your side. Try to deepen yourself all
round and to live a life of utter devotion to service.
...the disciple’s speech should be refined and evolved. Remember how it is said in
The Light of Asia that the King, the Self, is within you, and that whatever comes
out of your mouth in his presence should be a golden thought expressed in golden
words:
Govern the lips
As they were palace doors, the King within;
Tranquil and fair and courteous be all words Which from that presence win.
Especially is it necessary for the aspirant to avoid all fidgetiness or fussiness.
Many an energetic and earnest worker spoils most of his efforts and makes them
of no effect by yielding to these failings; for he sets up around him such an aura of
tremulous vibrations that no thought or feeling can pass in or out without
distortion, and the very good that he sends out takes with it a shiver that
practically neutralizes it. Be absolutely accurate; but attain your accuracy by
perfect calmness, never by hurry or fuss.
Another point that it is necessary to impress upon our students is that in
occultism we always mean exactly what we say, neither more or less. When a rule
is laid down that nothing unkind or critical must be said about another, just that is
exactly what is meant—not that when we happen to think of it we should slightly
diminish the number of unkind or critical things that we say every day, but that
they must definitely altogether cease.
Ch. V. Acceptance
E…
Thought the acceptance of the pupil by the Master produces so great a difference
in his life, there is but little more of external ceremony attached to it than there
was in the case of probation.
Your work and your determination have enabled me to shorten the period of your
Probation, and I am pleased that you have chosen the shortest of all roads to
progress, that of bringing others with you along the Path.
Absolutely unselfish love is the strongest power in the world, but few are they who
can keep it pure from exaction or jealousy, even if it be for one object alone. Your
advancement is due to your success in keeping that flame burning ardently for
several objects simultaneously. You have done much to develop strength, but you
need still more of it. You must acquire discrimination and alertness, so that you
see what is wanted at the right moment, instead of ten minutes afterwards.
Before you speak or act, think carefully what the consequences will be.
He drew each in turn into his aura, so that for a few moments the pupil
disappeared in him, and then emerged looking inexpressibly happy and noble,
showing forth the special characteristics of the Master as he had never done
before.
He entered their names in the imperishable record, showing them the columns
opposite their names which had still to be filled, and expressing a hope that he
might soon have other entries to make for them.
In approaching the physical body of the Master, the pupil advances into that
glowing globe of finer material, and when he finally reaches the feet of his Master
he is already in the heart of that splendid sphere; and when the Master embraces
the neophyte as described above, and expands himself to include the aura of the
pupil, it is really the central heart of fire which so expands and includes him, for all
through the ceremony of acceptance he is already far within the outer ring of that
mighty aura. Thus for a few moments they two are one, and not only does the
Master’s aura affect that of the pupil as described above, but any special
characteristics attained by the latter act upon the corresponding centres of the
Master’s aura, and that flashes out in response.
He is all the time being tuned up, and thus growing gradually more and more like
his Master, however remote the resemblance may have been in the beginning; and
thus he becomes of great service in the world as an open channel by means of
which the Master’s force may be distributed on the lower planes.
By constant meditation upon his Guru, and ardent aspiration towards him, the
pupil has so affected his own vehicles that they are constantly open towards his
Master and expectant of his influence. At all times they are largely preoccupied
with that idea, waiting the word of the Master and watching for something from
him, so that while they are keenly and sensitively open to him they are to a
considerable extent closed to lower influences. Therefore all his higher vehicles,
from the astral upwards, are like a cup or funnel, open above but closed at the
sides, and almost impervious to influences touching him at the lower levels.
The accepted pupil thus becomes an outpost of the Master’s consciousness—an
extension of him, as it were. The Adept sees, hears and feels through him, so that
whatever is done in his presence is done in the Master’s presence. This does not
mean that the Great One is necessarily always conscious of such events at the
time when they are going on, though he may be so. He may be absorbed in some
other work at the time; nevertheless the events are in his memory afterwards.
When a pupil sends a thought of devotion to his Master, the slight flash which he
sends produces an effect like the opening of a great valve, and there is a
tremendous downflow of love and power from the Master. If one sends out a
thought of devotion to one who is not an Adept, it becomes visible as a fiery
stream going to him; but when such a thought is directed by a pupil to his Master,
 the pupil is immediately deluged by a stream of fiery love from the Master. The
Adept’s power is flowing outwards always and in all directions like the sunlight;
but the touch of the pupil’s thought draws down a prodigious stream of it upon
him for the moment.
So perfect is the union between them that if there is any serious disturbance in
the lower bodies of the pupil it will affect also those of the Master; and, as such
vibration would interfere with the Adept’s work on higher planes, when this
unfortunately happens he has to drop a veil that shuts the pupil off from himself
until such time as the storm settles down. It is of course sad for the pupil when he
has to he cut off in this manner; but it is absolutely his own doing, and he can end
the separation at once as soon as he can control his thoughts and feelings.
Usually such an unfortunate incident does not last longer than forty eight hours;
but I have known cases much worse than that, in which the rift endured for years,
and even for the remainder of that incarnation. But these are extreme cases, and
very rare, for it is little likely that a person capable of such defection would be
received as a pupil at all.
No one is likely to become an accepted pupil unless he has acquired the habit of
turning his forces outwards and concentrating his attention and strength upon
others, to pour out helpful thoughts and good wishes upon his fellow-men.
Opportunities for doing this are constantly offering themselves, not only among
those with whom we are brought into close contact, but even among the strangers
whom we pass in the street. Sometimes we notice a man who is obviously
depressed or suffering; in a flash we can send a strengthening and encouraging
thought into his aura.
Knead love into the bread you bake; wrap strength and courage in the parcel you
tie for the woman with the weary face; hand trust and candour with the coin you
pay to the man with the suspicious eyes.
People often say: “I can deal with things on the physical plane, but on the astral
and mental I can do very little; it is so difficult.” That is the reverse of the truth.
They are not accustomed to thinking and working in that finer matter, and so they
believe that they cannot. But as soon as their will is set, they will find that things
will follow the direction of that will in a way impossible in the physical world.
Ch. VI Other Presentations
E…
The Masters and the Brotherhood. All this while, the Adept, besides using his pupil
as an apprentice, has been preparing him for presentation to the Great White
Brotherhood for Initiation. The whole object of the existence of that Brotherhood
is to promote the work of evolution, and the Master knows that when the pupil is
ready for the stupendous honour of being received as a member of it, he will be of
very much more use in the world than before. Therefore it is His wish to raise his
pupil to that level as soon as possible.
In the Oriental books on the subject, written thousands of years ago, are to be
found many accounts of this preparatory period of instruction; and when
reference has been made to it in the earlier Theosophical literature it has been
called the Probationary Path—the term referring not to being put upon probation
by any individual Adept, but to a course of general training preparatory to
Initiation. I myself used the term in Invisible Helpers, but have lately avoided it on
 account of the confusion caused by the employment of the same word in two
distinct senses.
The method really adopted is readily comprehensible, and is in fact much like that
of some of our older Universities. If a student wishes to take a degree at one of
those, he must first pass the entrance examination of the University and then be
admitted to one of the Colleges.The Head of that College is technically
responsible for his progress, and may be regarded as his tutor-in-chief. The man
will have to work to a large extent by himself, but the Head of his College is
expected to see that he is properly prepared before he is presented to take his
Degree. The Head does not give the Degree; it is conferred by that abstraction
called the University—usually at the hands of its Vice- Chancellor. It is the
University, not the Head of the College, that arranges the examination and confers
the various Degrees; the work of the Head of the College is to see that the
candidate is duly prepared, and generally to be to some extent responsible for
him. In the process of such preparation he may, as a private gentleman, enter into
whatever social or other relations with his pupil he may think proper; but all that is
not the business of the University. p. 129
Four Ways to the Path. In the books we are told that there are four ways, any one
of which may bring a man to the commencement of the Path of development.
It happens that, in lands which have the European culture, almost the only way in
which we can get the inner teaching put clearly before us is by coming into The
Theosophical Society, or by reading Theosophical works. There have been
mystical or spiritualistic works which have given some information, which have
gone a long way, but there are none, so far as I know, which state the case so
clearly, so scientifically, as the Theosophical literature has done. I know of no
other book which contains such a wealth of information as The Secret Doctrine. p.
130
Blessings. Under this heading should come the various types of blessings such as
are given in the Church, in Freemasonry, and by the pupils of our Masters.
Blessings may be arranged in two sections—those which a man gives from
himself, and those which are given through him as an official by a higher power.
The first kind of blessing is merely an expression of an earnest good wish... this
will depend upon the earnestness of the good wish and the amount of spiritual
force put into it... If the words were uttered... without much feeling or intention
behind them, the effect would be slight and transient; on the other hand, if they
came from a full heart and were uttered with definite determination, their effect
would be deep and lasting. The second type of blessing is that which is uttered by
an official appointed for the purpose, through whom power flows from some
higher source... the power of giving a definite blessing is one of those conferred
upon the Priest at his ordination... he is simply a channel for the power from on
high, and if it should unfortunately happen that he speaks it merely as a matter of
course and as part of his ritual, that would make no difference to the spiritual
power outpoured. The blessing flows equally over all, but the amount of the
influences which any individual can obtain from it depends upon his receptivity. p.
142-143
Ch. XIII. The Trinity and the Triangles
E…
 The Divine Trinity. The Triangle of Agents. The World-Mother Limits of the Rays.
Change of Ray. Perfect Unity.
In the Christian system we have the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost; and it is
interesting in this connection to note that in some of the old books the Holy Ghost
is definitely mentioned as being feminine. Apart from this, the instinctive need of
man to recognize the Divine Motherhood has in Christianity found expression in
the cult of the Blessed Virgin, who, though not a Person of the Holy Trinity, is
nevertheless the Universal Mother, the Queen of the Angels, the Star of the Sea.
Students should understand that a great department of Motherhood exists, and
has an important place in the Inner Government of the world. Just as the Manu is
the head of a great department which looks after the physical development of
races and sub-races, just as the Bodhisattva is the head of another which attends
to religion and education, so is the great Official who is called the Jagat-Amba or
World-Mother the head of a department of Motherhood. Just as the Lord
Vaivasvata is at present filling the office of the Manu, and the Lord Maitreya that
of the World-Teacher, so is the great Angel who was once the mother of the body
of Jesus filling the post of World-Mother.
It is the work of this department to look especially after the mothers of the world.
From the occult standpoint the greatest glory of woman is not to become a leader
in society, nor is it to take a high university degree and live in a flat in scornful
isolation, but to provide vehicles for the egos that are to come into incarnation.
And that is regarded not as something to hide and to put away, something of
which one should be half-ashamed; it is the greatest glory of the feminine
incarnation, the grand opportunity which women have and men have not. Men
have other opportunities, but that really wonderful privilege of motherhood is not
theirs. It is the women who do this great work for the helping of the world, for the
continuance of the race; and they do it at a cost of suffering of which we who are
men can have no idea.
Ch. XIV. The Wisdom in the Triangles
E…
The Buddha. The Supplementary Acts. The Wesak Festival. The Valley. The
Ceremony. The Greatest Blessing. The Predecessors of the Buddha. The
Bodhisattva Maitreya. The Asala Festival. The Four Noble Truths. The Noble
Eightfold Path.
The Bodhisattva Maitreya
E…
The Bodhisattva Maitreya. The Lord Maitreya, whose name means kindliness or
compassion, took up the office of Bodhisattva when the Lord Gautama laid it
down, and since then He has made many efforts for the promotion of Religion.
One of His first steps on assuming office was to take advantage of the
tremendous magnetism generated in the world by the presence of the Buddha, to
arrange that great Teachers should simultaneously appear in many different parts
of the earth; so that within a comparatively short space of time we find not only
the Buddha Himself, Shri Shankaracharya and Mahavira in India, but also Mithra in
Persia, Laotse and Confucius in China, and Pythagoras in ancient Greece.

What is now called Christianity was undoubtedly a magnificent conception as He

originally taught it, sadly as it has fallen away from that high level in the hands of
ignorant exponents since.
 It must not be assumed, of course, that the teaching of brotherly and neighbourly
love was new in the world... The identical thing that we now call the Christian
religion existed among the ancients, and has not been lacking from the
beginnings of the human race...

The Bodhisattva also occupied occasionally the body of Tsong-ka-pa, the great
Tibetan religious reformer, and throughout the centuries He has sent forth a
stream of His pupils... who founded new sects or threw new light upon the
mysteries of religion, and among these was one of His pupils who was sent to
found the Muhammadan faith.

He is thus the Head of all the faiths at present existing, and of many others which
have died out in the course of time, though He is of course responsible for them
only in their original form, and not for the corruption which man has naturally and
inevitably introduced into all of them as the ages have rolled by.

He will attain the great Initiation of the Buddha, and thus gain perfect
enlightenment; at that time these pupils of His, without physically knowing or
remembering Him, will all be strongly attracted towards Him, and under His
influence great numbers of them will enter the Path, and many will advance to the
higher stages, having already in previous incarnations made considerable
progress.
The Four Noble Truths
E…
The sermon begins with a proclamation that the Middle Path is the safest, and
indeed the only true Path. To plunge on the one hand into the sensual excesses
and pleasures of the ordinary worldly life is mean and degrading, and leads a man
nowhither. On the other hand, extravagant asceticism is also evil and useless.
The Noble Eightfold Path
E…
The Way which leads to the Escape from Sorrow. This is given to us in what is
called the Noble Eightfold Path-- another of the Lord Buddha' s wonderful
tabulations or categories. It is a very beautiful statement, because it can be taken
at all levels. The man in the world, even the uneducated man, can take it in its
lowest aspects and find a way to peace and comfort through it. And yet the
highest philosopher may also take it and interpret it at his level and learn very
much from it.
Ch. XV. The Power in the Triangles
E…
The Lord of the World. The Highest Initiations. The Goal for All.
Far above us as is all the splendour of these great heights at present, it is worth
our while to lift our thought towards them and try to realize them a little. They
show the goal before every one of us, and the clearer our sight of it the swifter and
steadier will be our progress towards it...
In the course of this great progress every man will some day reach full
consciousness on the highest of our planes, the Divine plane, and be conscious
simultaneously at all levels... so that having in Himself the power of the highest,
He shall yet be able to comprehend and function on the very lowest, and help
where help is needed.
“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into heart of man to
conceive the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him,” for the love
 of God, the wisdom of God, the power of God, and the glory of God pass all
understanding, even as does His peace.

See also

Ageless Wisdom teachings

The Agni Yoga Teachings

Alice Bailey

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

Christ

Comte de St. Germain

The Reappearance of the Christ and the Masters of Wisdom, by Benjamin Creme

The Master Djwhal Khul

The Master Jesus

The Master Koot Hoomi

The Master Morya

Maitreya Buddha

Maitreya (Theosophy)

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