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Ascended master

May 04, 2023

Ascended masters in the Ascended Master Teachings of a number of movements in the theosophical tradition[1] are held to be spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans, but who have undergone a series of spiritual transformations originally called initiations.

Both "mahatma" and "ascended master" are terms used in the Ascended Master Teachings. Ascended Master is based on the theosophical concept of the Mahatma or Masters of the Ancient Wisdom. However, Mahatmas and Ascended Masters are believed by some to differ in certain respects.

According to the Ascended Master Teachings a "Master of Light", "Healer" or "Spiritual Master" is a Divine Human Being who has taken the Fifth Initiation and is thereby capable of dwelling in a 5th dimension. The teachings hold that an "ascended master" is a human being who has taken the Sixth Initiation, also referred to as Ascension,[2] and is thereby believed to be capable of dwelling in a 6th dimension.

The term "ascended master" was first used by Baird T. Spalding in 1924 in his series of books, Life and Teachings of the Masters of the Far East (DeVorss and Co.). Godfre Ray King (Guy Ballard) further popularized this concept of spiritual masters who had once lived on the earth in his book Unveiled Mysteries.[3]

Definition

Adherents of the Ascended Master Teachings hold that this belief was partially released by the Theosophical Society beginning in 1875, by C.W. Leadbeater and Alice A. Bailey, and began to have more detailed public release in the 1930s by the ascended masters through Guy Ballard in the I AM Activity.[4][5] However, theosophists maintain that the concept of ascended master is an exaggeration and corruption of the more modest theosophical concept of "Master of the Ancient Wisdom".[6]

Guy Ballard said his work Unveiled Mysteries was dictated to him by the ascended master St. Germain.[3][7] Other Ascended Master Teachings are contained in The Bridge to Freedom (1951),[8] Mark Prophet and Elizabeth Clare Prophet's The Summit Lighthouse (1958) (reorganized as the Church Universal and Triumphant in 1975),[9] The Temple of The Presence (1995),[10] The Hearts Center (2005), the I AM University (2004), and various other organizations such as The White Eagle Lodge (1936) and the Aquarian Christine Church Universal (2006).[11][12]

Peter Mt. Shasta, who claims to be channeling the ascended master Saint Germain, has been releasing the ancient teachings in a more modern and simplified form, emphasizing the teaching that the Masters can work with those who have an open heart and the desire to benefit humanity.[13]

Beliefs about ascended masters

 
Helena P. Blavatsky

The term Ascended Master was first introduced in 1934 by Guy Ballard with the publication of Unveiled Mysteries, a book which he said was dictated to him by the Ascended Master: St. Germain.[14][15] Other Ascended Master Teachings are contained in The Bridge to Freedom (1951),[16] The Summit Lighthouse (1958), (Known also as The Church Universal and Triumphant[17] The Aetherius Society (1955),[18] The Temple of The Presence (1995),[10] the I AM University (2004), the White Eagle Lodge (1936) and the Aquarian Christine Church Universal, Inc. (2006).[19][20]

It is further claimed by various groups and teachers that the Ascended Masters serve as the teachers of mankind from the realms of spirit, and that all people will eventually attain their Ascension and move forward in spiritual evolution beyond this planet. According to these teachings, they remain attentive to the spiritual needs of humanity and act to inspire and motivate its spiritual growth. In many traditions and organizations, they are considered part of the Spiritual Hierarchy of Earth, and members of the Great Brotherhood of Light, also known as the Great White Lodge, Great White Brotherhood, or Universal White Brotherhood (per Peter Deunov).[21]

In Ascended Master teachings there is also mention of Serapis Bey, a being who was incarnated as a high priest in one of the "Temples of the Sacred Fire" on Atlantis, and who migrated to Egypt at the time of the destruction of Atlantis.[22] It is also believed that he was incarnated as the Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep III (who constructed the Temple of Luxor to the god Amon)[23] and also as Leonidas, the King of Sparta,[24] who was killed in 480 BC defending the pass of Thermopylae against the invasion of ancient Greece by Emperor Xerxes I of the Persian Empire. According to teachings of Agni Yoga,[25]

Universal All-Pervading Presence of Life

This is properly called Isness; students of the Ascended Master Teachings believe that there is One God, the "Universal All-Pervading Presence of Life", "The One", Who is the Source of all Love, Light, and Truth in existence, and that all forms of existence and consciousness emanate from this "Allness of God"—"The One". The Voice of the I AM states "All Life is One" [26] and that there is "One Substance, One Energy, One Power, One Intelligence" as the Source of all consciousness and creation.[27] This Divine Being and Mind is considered to be above and distinct from all creation (in the sense of classical theism), transcending all creation yet interpenetrating all existence. Belief in this "One God" stresses the essential unity of the spiritual and material components of the universe. God creates through Individualized Identities that have distinct Self-Consciousness and that make up the Spiritual Hierarchy of Creation, yet remain connected through the flow of the "River of Life" and "Lifestream" to the "One Undivided God" - the "All in All" - the "Good" - the "Source from which all Life, Light, and Love come." There is always an uninterrupted "Oneness" that is maintained with the "Allness" of God. From the "One God" all other realities, including hierarchy, humanity and the material universe, are the result of a process of emanation.[28]

The Individualized "I AM" Presence

Adherents of the Ascended Master Teachings believe that each person is an incarnation of an "Individualized Presence" of the "Most High Living God" - the "Mighty I AM Presence" - as part of our very Nature and Being. God (as Life and Love) manifests in the 7 octaves of the created universe through individual Divine Identities. As embodied individuals, we are the outer expression of that God Self in form. It is our unique and immortal True Identity, yet always sharing in the Allness of the ONE GOD.[28]

A characteristic of students of the Ascended Master Teachings is the use of God's Creative Name - "I AM" - in the use of Decrees, Fiats, Adorations, and Affirmations to invoke and send forth the Light of God to Bless Life, to bring forth the Perfect Divine solution for every situation, and to fulfill the Divine Plan. It is believed to be a way of externalizing more Divine Light, Divine Love, and Divine Life into the lower planes of creation through the dynamic force of sound vibration as creative energy.[28]

The Magic Presence states:

"Only the Self-conscious Individual has ALL the Attributes and Creative Power of the 'Mighty I AM Presence.' Only He can know who and what He is, and express the Fullness of the Creative Power of God whenever He decrees, by the use of the Words, 'I AM.' The outer human part of this activity is what We call the personality. It is but the vehicle through which Perfection should be expressed into the outer substance of the Universe. "Within the 'Pure God-Flame' is a Breath that pulsates constantly. This 'Great Fire-Breath' is a Rhythmic Outpouring of Divine Love, Its Three Attributes being 'Love, Wisdom, and Power in action.' These pour out constantly, into the 'Infinite Sea of Pure Electronic Light.' This Light is the Universal Substance or Spirit, out of which all forms are composed. It is intelligent, mark you, because It obeys law through the command of the Individual who says, or is conscious of, 'I AM.' These Two Words are the Acknowledgment and Release of the Power to Create and bring forth into outer existence, whatever quality follows That Acknowledgment. For Intelligence to act there must be Intelligence to be acted upon, and the Universal Substance, being like a photographic film, takes the record of what-ever quality the Individual imposes upon It through his thought, feeling, and spoken word. The Words 'I AM' whether thought, felt, or spoken, release the Power of Creation instantly. Make no mistake about this. Intelligence is Omnipresent, and It is within the Electronic Light."[4]

Ascended Master Saint Germain, believed by those adherent to the Ascended Master Teachings to have previously been embodied as Plato, Proclus, Roger Bacon, Francis Bacon, and numerous others, was quoted as saying:

"When one individualizes within the Absolute, All-Pervading Life, he chooses of his own free will to become an intensified individual focus of Self-Conscious Intelligence. He is the conscious director of his future activities. Thus, having once made his choice, he is the only one who can fulfill that Destiny — which is not inflexible circumstance but a definitely designed Plan of Perfection."[29] When You, the 'Mighty I AM Presence,' will to come forth into an Individualized Focus of Conscious Dominion and use the Creative Word, 'I AM,' Your First Individual Activity is the Formation of a Flame. Then you, the 'Individualized Focus' of the 'Mighty I AM Presence,' begin your Dynamic Expression of Life. This Activity, We term Self-consciousness, meaning the Individual who is conscious of his Source and Perfection of Life, expressing through himself."[4]

Within The "I AM" Activity, contact and cooperation with the Ascended Masters became a central part of each member's life. Through the Ballards as "Messengers", the Ascended Masters were believed to have regularly communicated with the students of The "I AM" Activity. Those Addresses (known as "Dictations") were delivered before gatherings of members in Conclaves held throughout the United States of America, published in the monthly periodical, The Voice of The "I AM", and some were collected and reprinted in the books of The Saint Germain Series. In all, 3,834 Dictations from the Masters were received through Guy and Edna Ballard. Other "Ascended Master Activities" believed that the Ascended Masters, Cosmic Beings, Elohim, and Archangels continued to present a program for both individual development and spiritual transformation in the world.[30] They believe that further instruction from the Ascended Masters and the rest of the Spiritual Hierarchy continued through new Dispensations with new Messengers, such as The Bridge to Freedom,[31] The Summit Lighthouse,[17] The Temple of The Presence, and The Hearts Center.

The Threefold Flame of Life is the Immortal Flame within the Heart of the children of Light and Sons and Daughters of God, and is an actual extension of the Heart of the I AM Presence of each Lifestream in embodiment on Earth.[28]

Other beliefs about Ascended Masters

Belief in the Brotherhood and the Masters is an essential part of the beliefs of various organizations that have continued and expanded the concepts released in the original Saint Germain instruction in the 1930s through The "I AM" Activity.[32][33][34][35][36] Examples of those believed by the ones proposing these teachings to be Ascended Masters would be the Master Jesus, Confucius, Gautama Buddha, Mary the mother of Jesus, St. Paul of Tarsus (aka Hilarion), Megha Alcorn also known as Miss Megan Sebastian, Ashtar Sheran, Merku, Sanat Kumara, Aaron as known as Alaje, Aleph, Hatton, Melchizedek, Archangel Michael, Metatron, Kwan Yin, St. Germain and Kuthumi, as well as dozens of others.[37]

It is believed that Ascended Masters are individuals who were once embodied on Earth and learned the lessons of life in their incarnations. They gained mastery over the limitations of the matter planes, balanced at least 51% of negative karma, and fulfilled their Dharma (Divine Plan). An Ascended Master has become God-like and a source of unconditional Love to all life, and through the Ascension has united with his or her own God Self, the "I AM" Presence. It is claimed that they serve as the teachers of mankind from the realms of Spirit, and that all people will eventually attain their Ascension and move forward in spiritual evolution beyond this planet. According to these teachings, they remain attentive to the spiritual needs of humanity, and act to inspire and motivate its spiritual growth. In many traditions and organizations, they are considered part of the Spiritual Hierarchy for Earth, and members of the Great Brotherhood of Light, also known as the Great White Lodge or Great White Brotherhood.[28]

Unveiled Mysteries says:[29]

"Truly the Great Ascended Masters are Gods. It is no wonder in the mythology of the ancients that their activities have been brought down to us in the guise of myth and fable. They wield Tremendous God Power at all times because they hold with unwavering determination to the Great God Presence and hence all Power is given unto them for they are All-Perfection. "'When Jesus said, All these things I have done, ye shall do and even greater things shall ye do, he knew whereof he spoke,' continued Saint Germain. 'He came forth to reveal the Conscious Dominion and Mastery that it is possible for every human being to attain and express while still here on Earth."

Spiritual hierarchy

Adherents of these Ascended Master Teachings believe that the All-Pervading Presence of God does not act nor create except through Its Individualizations and that all creation comes forth through these Individual Identities and is sustained by them.[citation needed] According to Elizabeth Clare Prophet, this Spiritual Hierarchy is a "Universal Chain" of Individualized God Free Beings fulfilling Attributes and Aspects of God's Infinite Selfhood.[citation needed] Included in this Cosmic Hierarchical scheme are Solar Logoi, Elohim, Sons and Daughters of God, Ascended Masters, Cosmic Beings, the Twelve Solar Hierarchies, Archangels, Angels, Beings of the Elements, and Twin Flames of the Alpha-Omega Polarity sponsoring Systems of Worlds and entire Galactic Systems.[citation needed]

Adherents believe that Saint Germain explained the following through Guy Ballard:

"The 'Almighty God Flame,' breathing within Itself, projects Two Rays into the 'Great Sea of Pure Electronic Light.' This Intelligent Light-substance becomes the clothing, as it were, for these Rays of the 'Mighty I AM Presence.' Each Ray has all the Attributes of the Godhead within It, and no imperfection can ever enter into or register upon It. The Individualized Flame sends down into each Ray a Focal Point, or Spark, forming a Heart Center upon which gathers the 'Electronic Light Substance,' creating the Electronic Body."[4]

In 1937, The Voice of the I AM article on this subject elaborated:

"When the Ascension of both has taken place, each is the complete balance of all masculine and all feminine qualities within himself. Then the Threefold Flame of Life is completely unfolded, the individual becomes Master at Cosmic Levels of creation and does work with systems of worlds, as well as in this physical world. Thus, that which came out of the Great Central Sun as One Flame becomes Three complete Flames, each of the same full Limitless Power and Activity as the Great Central Sun. This becomes the Cosmic Activity of the Power of the 'Three times Three'. "When both Rays have made the Ascension, then the individual works with systems of worlds instead of just in one world. This is the way the Godhead is ever expanding the Perfection of Itself throughout Infinity and keeping order throughout interstellar space."[38]

Use of the "Violet Flame of Divine Love" is considered to be the 7th Ray aspect of the Holy Spirit and the "Sacred Fire" that transmutes and consumes the "cause, effect, record, and memory" of sin or negative karma. Also called the "Flame of Transmutation", the "Flame of Mercy", the "Flame of Freedom", and the "Flame of Forgiveness". "Our God is a Consuming Fire" in Deuteronomy 4:24 (KJV) and Hebrews 12:29 (KJV) is believed to be refer to this "Sacred Fire of God".

The "Violet Fire" is held to be a raising, transforming, purifying action of "Divine Love" from the "Heart of God" in the "Great Central Sun". It is believed to act to transmute and consume human creation that is not worthy of becoming Immortal, and all negative karmic causes, effects, records, and memories, without the need to individually balance that karma face-to-face with each person back to the earliest beginning of one's individualized manifestation on this or any other world.[28]

Jesus

Main article: Master Jesus

Jesus is believed to be one of the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom in Theosophy and is one of the Ascended masters in the Ascended Master Teachings. The Master Jesus is regarded by Theosophists, was regarded by Alice Bailey and was later regarded by students of the "Ascended Master Teachings" as the Master of the Sixth Ray.[39]

It is believed by Ascended Master Teachings organizations that the Master Jesus was "Chohan of the Sixth Ray" until December 31, 1959, when, according to Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Lady Master Nada fully took on that Office in the Spiritual Hierarchy. According to Prophet, Jesus became World Teacher, along with Kuthumi, on January 1, 1956, succeeding Maitreya, who took the Office of "Planetary Buddha" and "Cosmic Christ".[40][41] This belief is not accepted by adherents of traditional Theosophy and the followers of Alice Bailey and Benjamin Creme - they believe that the Master Jesus is still the Chohan of the Sixth Ray and that Maitreya is still the World Teacher.[citation needed]

According to Elizabeth Clare Prophet, the Prophet of the Church Universal and Triumphant, the largest Ascended Master Teachings religion, the Master Jesus incarnated twice as the Emperor of Atlantis, once in 33,050 BC and again in 15,000 BC.[42] She states that this was to aid the white magicians in the war of the white magicians and the black magicians that was going on in Atlantis at that time.[citation needed]

According to Alice Bailey, the Master Jesus was previously incarnated as Joshua, the Hebrew military leader in the 13th century BC, and Joshua the High Priest in the sixth century BC.[43]

According to the Ascended Master Teachings,[44][45][46][47][48] Jesus was also incarnated as Joseph of the Coat of many colors in the 17th century BC/16th century BC (approximately between 1650 BC and 1550 BC), as well as King David (who lived c. 1037 BC until around 970 BC), and Elisha in the 9th century BC.[49]

Sanat Kumara

Main article: Sanat Kumara

According to the post-1900 publications of Theosophy (specifically, the writings of Charles W. Leadbeater, Alice Bailey, and Benjamin Creme, as well as the Ascended Master Teachings of Guy Ballard, Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Geraldine Innocente, Joshua David Stone, and other Ascended Master Teachings teachers), Sanat Kumara[50][51] is an "advanced being" of the Ninth Initiation (the highest Initiation possible on planet Earth) who is regarded as the Lord or Regent of Earth and of humanity, and the head of the Spiritual Hierarchy of Earth who dwells in Shamballah, a city said by Theosophists and those adherent to the Ascended Master Teachings to be a floating city on the etheric plane above the Gobi Desert.[citation needed]

It is believed by these authors that he is the founder of the Great White Brotherhood, which is composed of Masters of the Ancient Wisdom (Fifth Initiation), Ascended Masters (Sixth Initiation), Chohans and Bodhisattvas (Seventh Initiation), Buddhas (Eighth Initiation), and highly spiritually-evolved volunteers from other worlds, who have all joined to advance spiritual evolution on Earth.[52]

Sanat Kumara was mentioned briefly by the theosophist Helena Blavatsky.[53] She claimed he belonged to a group of beings, the "Lords of the Flame", whom Christian tradition have misunderstood as Lucifer and the fallen angels.[54]

Sanat Kumara gained greater prominence when her follower Charles W. Leadbeater wrote that Sanat Kumara was the "King" or Lord of the World, and the head of the Great White Brotherhood of Mahatmas who had revealed the principles of theosophy.[55]

Later theosophists such as Alice Bailey and Elizabeth Clare Prophet have embellished the story with further details. He is usually depicted as having the appearance of a 16-year-old boy.[citation needed]

Comparison with Masters of Wisdom

There is considerable difference between the concept of Masters of the Ancient Wisdom in Theosophy (as described by Blavatsky, Olcott, Sinnett, and others) and the current concept of Ascended Masters, developed by Guy Ballard and Elizabeth Clare Prophet fifty-five years after the Theosophical Society was founded.[citation needed]

They added more than 200 new "Ascended Masters" that they claimed to receive dictations from in addition to receiving dictations from the original Masters of the Ancient Wisdom of Theosophy.[56]

The Ascended Masters, as their name suggests, are supposed to be Masters who have experienced the miracle of ascension, as it is said Jesus did. The original teaching, channeled by Guy Ballard, was that a new Ascended Master would not die but would take the body up with him. This teaching of ascension is in direct opposition to the Theosophical teachings. Mahatma K.H. refers to the idea disparagingly in one of his letters to Sinnett:

There was but one hysterical woman alleged to have been present at the pretended ascension, and ... the phenomenon has never been corroborated by repetition.[57]

Blavatsky also rejects ascension as a fact, calling it "an allegory as old as the world."[58] In the Theosophical view, the Masters of Wisdom retain their physical bodies.

The Masters of the Wisdom are not like the Ascended ones, who are said to become Godlike, all-powerful beings beyond the laws of nature. In their teachings, the Theosophical Masters even denied that such beings exist. Mahatma K.H. wrote:

If we had the powers of the imaginary Personal God, and the universal and 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.[59]

In their letters, the Mahatmas constantly talk about the "immutable laws" of the universe, and that they can help humanity only within the limits of these laws.[citation needed]

Proponents of the Ascended Masters sometimes attempt to account for these discrepancies by claiming that when the Theosophical Society (TS) was founded most of the Theosophical Mahatmas were still "unascended Masters". This leaves room to detach the Ascended Masters from the limitations. However, the Mahatma K.H. wrote: "We are not infallible, all-foreseeing 'Mahatmas' at every hour of the day."[60] As he explained: "An adept—the highest as the lowest—is one only during the exercise of his occult powers."[61] In fact, according to the Theosophical teachings, the higher the adept, the less we are likely to hear from him:

The more spiritual the Adept becomes, the less can he meddle with mundane, gross affairs and the more he has to confine himself to a spiritual work ... The very high Adepts, therefore, do help humanity, but only spiritually: they are constitutionally incapable of meddling with worldly affairs.[62]

In the Theosophical view the Masters do not pay attention to personal desires. Theosophy teaches that the psychological ego is false, that the idea that we are this body, emotions, and mind is a mistake of perception and the source of sorrow. It says that real happiness comes only as an unsought by-product of reducing rather than increasing our attachment and identification with the personal. Blavatsky wrote that "Occultism is not . . . the pursuit of happiness as man understands the word; for the first step is sacrifice, the second renunciation."[63] K.H. agreed with this when he wrote: "We—the criticized and misunderstood Brothers—we seek to bring men to sacrifice their personality—a passing flash—for the welfare of the whole humanity."[64] During the early times of the Theosophical Society, some members, misunderstanding the nature of the Mahatmas, would bring HPB some personal requests to ask of them. In a letter Blavatsky explained:

The Masters would not stoop for one moment to give a thought to individual, private matters relating but to one or even ten persons, their welfare, woes and blisses in this world of Maya [illusion], to nothing except questions of really universal importance. It is all you Theosophists who have dragged down in your minds the ideals of our Masters; you who have unconsciously and with the best of intentions and full sincerity of good purpose, desecrated Them, by thinking for one moment, and believing that They would trouble Themselves with your business matters, sons to be born, daughters to be married, houses to be built, ...[65]

This kind of interest is a very marked feature of the Ascended Masters. The Ascended Masters Teachings teach ways to attract material or emotional possessions to a person's life, and also how to dissolve unpleasant karma, a conception that the Theosophical Mahatmas emphatically opposed. For example, K.H. wrote: "Bear in mind that the slightest cause produced, however unconsciously, and with whatever motive, cannot be unmade, or its effects crossed in their progress—by millions of gods, demons, and men combined."[66] In fact, the Ascended Masters are portrayed as cosmic fathers who will take care of their followers' problems. In contrast, Mahatma M. said: "We are leaders but not child-nurses."[67]

Maitreya

Main article: Maitreya (Theosophy)

Maitri is Sanskrit for "loving kindness." The historical Buddha was reported to have said near the time of his death in the 4th century BC that many Buddhas (awakened ones) had come before him, and that in the future another Buddha would come who would be greater than him, and who would embody "Maitri." This prophecy created the expectation of a Buddha Maitreya, which was probably fulfilled in the advent of the being now called "Jesus," likely Apollonius of Tyanna, who on his travels in India and the Far East was reported in many texts to have been called, "Issa," probably short for "Rishi" (great sage). His teachings embody that principle of loving kindness. Maitreya or Lord Maitreya is described in Theosophical literature of the late 19th-century and subsequent periods as an advanced spiritual entity and high-ranking member of a hidden Spiritual Hierarchy, the so-called Masters of the Ancient Wisdom. According to Theosophical doctrine, one of the Hierarchy's functions is to oversee the evolution of mankind; in accord with this function Maitreya is said to hold the so-called Office of the World Teacher. Theosophical texts posit that the purpose of this Office is to facilitate the transfer of knowledge about the true constitution and workings of Existence, thereby helping humanity in progression on a cyclical, but ever progressive, evolutionary path. This knowledge transfer is sometimes said to occur through Maitreya occasionally manifesting or incarnating in the physical realm, then assuming the role of World Teacher of Mankind.

The Theosophical concept of Maitreya has many similarities to the earlier Maitreya doctrine in Buddhism. However, they differ in important aspects, and developed differently. The Theosophical Maitreya has been assimilated or appropriated by a variety of quasi-theosophical and non-theosophical New Age and Esoteric groups and movements. These have added, and advanced, their own interpretations and commentary on the subject.

Development of the concept

The first mention of Maitreya in a Theosophical context occurs in the 1883 work Esoteric Buddhism by Alfred Percy Sinnett (1840–1921), an early Theosophical writer. The concepts described by Sinnett were amended, elaborated on, and greatly expanded in The Secret Doctrine, a book originally published 1888. The work was the magnum opus of Helena Blavatsky, one of the physical founders of the Theosophical Society and of contemporary Theosophy. In it, the messianic Maitreya is linked to both Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions. In the same work Blavatsky was to assert that there have been, and will be, multiple messianic (or messianic-like) instances in human history. These successive appearances of "emissarie[s] of Truth" are according to the Blavatsky writings part of the unceasing oversight of Earth and of its inhabitants by a physically hidden Spiritual Hierarchy, called Masters of the Ancient Wisdom. The Theosophist, Alice Bailey, who broke with the Indian branch of the Theosophical Society, and who was heavily influenced by orthodox Christianity, started the expectation that the ""Maitreya" would actually be reborn on the earth as a physical being, fulfilling the Christian ideal of a Second Coming, rather than the New Age ideal of the Christ being reborn in the heart of each individual.[citation needed]

Initiation

Main article: Initiation (Theosophy)

Initiation is a concept in Theosophy that there are nine levels of spiritual development that beings who live on Earth can progress upward through. Within these levels, there are four basic levels of spiritual development that human beings on Earth progress through as they reincarnate, although evil acts may cause bad karma which may cause one to temporarily regress. It is believed[by whom?] that when souls have advanced to the fourth level of initiation, they have reached enlightenment and have no further need to reincarnate. At the fifth level of initiation and beyond, souls have the opportunity to become members of the Spiritual Hierarchy. This concept was developed by both C.W. Leadbeater and Alice Bailey beginning in the 1920s.[citation needed]

According to C.W. Leadbeater, Initiation is a process by which "we try to develop ourselves not that we may become great and wise, but that we may have the power and knowledge to work for humanity to the best effect."[68] According to Alice Bailey, Initiation is the "process of undergoing an expansion [toward higher levels] of consciousness"[69] It is believed by Theosophists that all souls that have reached the fourth level of initiation and evolved beyond the necessity to reincarnate. Those who do not elect to become pratyeka buddhas and go directly into Spiritual Hierarchy governing nirvana, gradually evolving upward through all of these six higher levels of consciousness over thousands or millions of years, and later over billions or trillions of years, with other higher levels beyond.[citation needed]

The concept of Initiation is also recognized in the Ascended Master Teachings, a group of religions based on Theosophy. In the Ascended Master Teachings, the Sixth Initiation is referred to as Ascension. The first six initiations were named by Charles W. Leadbeater and Alice Bailey after the six most important events in the life of Jesus[citation needed]

The Ascension is believed to be the returning to complete "Oneness with God" - "raising the outer atomic structure of the physical, emotional, and mental bodies into the Electronic Structure of the I AM Consciousness", becoming an Ascended Master, eventually a Cosmic Being, and beyond. The Ascension into Immortality through reunion with the God Self requires the consuming of at least 51% of the records and memories of "negatively qualified karma" as well as:[citation needed]

Mastery of the matter planes

It is believed that the "Individualized Flames of Perfection", emanating as lifestreams taking physical embodiment, can develop further attributes that express a unique Identity, and attain the fullness of the use of Light. This is done by mastery over matter planes that have a slower vibratory action, thus requiring more energy and concentration to externalize form. This allows for the development of greater skills of creation and "Causal Body Momentums" of various "Divine Qualities". Physical embodiment gives each individual the opportunity to expand these attributes and faculties through matter substance, and to become a "master of energy" through thought and feeling. This allows for accomplishments and added power which one who does not ever embody on a planet does not possess. Thus an individual may expand the "Flame in the Heart", and expand the "Perfection of the Allness of God's Love" in the created universe, eventually becoming an Ascended Master and later a Cosmic Being.[citation needed]

According to the Ascended Master Teachings, gaining "mastery over matter planes" means learning to consciously use 100% of one's Creative Power of thought, feeling, and spoken word to create greater perfection, joy, and love in the world, as opposed to using thoughts, feelings, and words to create greater limitations, bondage, and chaos in one's own experience and in the world at large through carelessness and lack of awareness of the extent of one's influence in the world. "Matter planes" refers to the differentiations of atomic and molecular structure in which evolution takes place, the lower planes (dimensions / wavelength frequency resonance) sometimes correlated with physical solids, liquids, and gases; the higher subplanes of the Physical Octave are sometimes referred to as "etheric" and are not normally perceivable by the physical senses. The emotional and mental octaves are also made up of electrons and atoms of feeling and thought substance and differentiated into levels of density and vibratory rate.[28]

"To understand the above explanation concerning the electron and the conscious control the individual has through his thought and feeling to govern the atomic structure of his own body is to understand the One Principle Governing form throughout Infinity. When man will make the effort to prove this to himself or within his own atomic flesh body, he will then proceed to Master Himself. When he has done that, all else in the Universe is his willing co-worker to accomplish whatsoever he wills through Love."[29]

Fulfillment of the Divine Plan

"Within the Life of every human being is the Power by which he can express all that the Ascended Masters express every moment — if he but chooses to do so. All Life contains Will but only Self-Conscious Life is free to determine upon its own course of expression. Hence, the individual has free choice to express either in the human, limited body or the Super-Human, Divine Body. He is the chooser of his own field of expression. He is the Self-determining Creator. He has willed and chosen to live as Self-Conscious Life. . . . When one individualizes within the Absolute, All-Pervading Life he chooses of his own free will to become an intensified individual focus of Self-Conscious Intelligence. He is the conscious director of his future activities. Thus, having once made his choice, he is the only one who can fulfill that Destiny - which is not inflexible circumstance but a definitely designed Plan of Perfection.[29]

Periodization

The fall of man

It is believed that since the "fall of man" during the time of the incarnation of the Fourth Root Race, imperfection, limitations and discord increasingly entered into our world. The memory body is considered to have become known as a "soul", and this temporary personality has taken on the sense of a self that is separated and not connected to God. It is believed that a "Dictation" from Maitreya further clarified this matter through the "Messenger", Geraldine Innocente, on September 27, 1954, when what occurred during the time of the "Fourth Root Race" was described:

"Curiosity, rebellion against holding true to the Divine Pattern and the use of thought and feeling in creation of imperfection, began the building of what you call the 'soul'. It is a consciousness apart from the full Purity of God. The first thought a man had that was imperfect and impure, energized by a secret feeling, was a cause and that, sent out into the atmosphere, created an effect. Like a boomerang, the effect came back into the consciousness and made a record. That record was the beginning of an impression. Energy sent out in a certain manner returned to affect the lifestream who had sent it forth and there began to be created a shadow between the I AM Presence and the human consciousness. Endeavoring to contact the Presence, the individual would find these 'tramp' thoughts and feelings flowing through that line of contact until more and more imperfect was the conscious use of them. Finally, those centers got completely away from the control of the ego and acted independently.[70]

Dawning Golden Age

Students of the Ascended Master Teachings believe that this world is destined to again have a Golden Age, a "Heaven on Earth", that will be permanent, unlike previous Golden Ages millions of years ago.[28]

"In your beloved America, in the not so far distant future, will come forth a similar recognition of the Real Inner Self, and this her people will express in high attainment. She is a Land of Light, and Her Light shall blaze forth, brilliant as the sun at noonday, among the nations of the Earth. She was a Land of Great Light, ages ago, and will again come into her spiritual heritage, for nothing can prevent it."[29] "The Divine Plan for the future of North America is a condition of intense activity in the greatest peace, beauty, success, prosperity, spiritual illumination, and dominion. She is to carry the Christ Light and be the Guide for the rest of the Earth, because America is to be the Heart Center of the 'Golden Age' that is now dimly touching our horizon. The greater portion of the land of North America will stand for a very long time."[29]

The Great White Brotherhood

The Great White Brotherhood, in belief systems akin to Theosophical and New Age, are said to be supernatural beings of great power who spread spiritual teachings through selected humans.[71] The members of the Brotherhood may be known as the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom or the Ascended masters.[71] Various people have said they have received messages from these beings, including most notably Helena Blavatsky (Theosophy), Aleister Crowley (Thelema), Alice Bailey (New Group of World Servers), Guy Ballard ("I AM" Activity), Geraldine Innocente (The Bridge to Freedom), Mark L. Prophet & Elizabeth Clare Prophet (Church Universal and Triumphant) and Benjamin Creme (Share International).[71]

The Masters are collectively called the "Great White Brotherhood" by various theosophists and esotericists. The use of the term "white" refers to their advanced spirituality (in other words, that they have a white colored aura) and has nothing to do with race. Blavatsky described many of the Masters as ethnically Tibetan or Indian (Hindu), not European.[72] She did, however, describe them as being from all cultures and races, such as the "Greek gentleman" known as Hilarion.[73]

Belief in the Brotherhood and the Masters is an essential part of the syncretistic teachings of various organizations that have taken the Theosophical philosophical concepts and added their own elements.[74] Examples of those believed to be Ascended Masters by these organizations are: Jesus, Sanat Kumara, Buddha, Maitreya, Confucius, Lord Lanto (Confucius' historical mentor), Mary the mother of Jesus, Lady Master Nada, Enoch, Kwan Yin, Saint Germain, and Koot Hoomi (Kuthumi), to name but a few.[32] It is believed that all of these put aside any differences they might have had in their Earthly careers, and unite instead to advance the spiritual well-being of humanity.[75]

Dictations

Within "The I AM Activity" (founded by Guy Ballard in the early 1930s), claimed contact and cooperation with the Ascended Masters became a central part of each member's life. Through the Ballards as "Messengers", the Ascended Masters were believed to have regularly communicated with the students of "The I AM Activity." Those supposed Addresses (known as "Dictations") were delivered before gatherings of members in Conclaves held throughout the United States of America, and published in the monthly periodical The Voice of The "I AM", and some were collected and reprinted in the "green books" of The Saint Germain Series. In all, 3,834 claimed Dictations from the Masters were received through Guy and Edna Ballard. Other "Ascended Master Activities" believed that the Ascended Masters, Cosmic Beings, Elohim, and Archangels continued to present a program for both individual development and spiritual transformation in the world.[30] They believe that further instruction from the Ascended Masters and the rest of the Spiritual Hierarchy continued through new Dispensations with new Messengers, such as The Bridge to Freedom,[31] The Summit Lighthouse, and The Temple of The Presence.

The Aquarian Church

The Aquarian Christine Church Universal, Inc. (ACCU) is a denomination founded in 2006 based on The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ said to be transcribed from the Akashic Records by Levi H. Dowling. The Aquarian Christine Church actively promotes Ascended Master Teachings and shares many beliefs in common with the I AM Movement, White Eagle Lodge and New Thought and Theosophical groups. The book "Initiations of the Aquarian Masters: The Theosophy of the Aquarian Gospel" by ACCU founder Jacob L. Watson, expounds on the church's teachings which draw heavily from the writings of A.D.K. Luk (pen-name of Alice Beulah Schutz) (April 10, 1905 - Jan. 14, 1994), the Saint Germain Series published by the Saint Germain Press (The Saint Germain Foundation), and especially from "The Lost Years of Jesus" compiled by Elizabeth Clare Prophet and published by The Summit Lighthouse.[76]

Skeptical views

René Guénon wrote a detailed critique of Theosophy titled Theosophy: history of a pseudo-religion (1921). In the book Guenon speculated that Blavatsky had acquired all her knowledge naturally from other books not from any supernatural masters. Guenon points out that Blavatsky spent a long time visiting a library at New York where she had easy access to the works of Jacob Boehme, Eliphas Levi, the Kabbala and other Hermetic treatises. Guenon also speculated that Blavatsky had borrowed passages from extracts of the Kanjur and Tanjur, translated by the eccentric orientalist Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, published in 1836 in the twentieth volume of the Asiatic Researchers of Calcutta.[77]

K. Paul Johnson suggests in his book The Masters Revealed: Madam Blavatsky and Myth of the Great White Brotherhood that the Masters that Madam Blavatsky claimed she had personally met are idealizations of certain people she had met during her lifetime.[78]

Also see the article “Talking to the Dead and Other Amusements” by Paul Zweig, New York Times October 5, 1980, which speculates that Madame Blavatsky's revelations were fraudulent.[79]

Robert Todd Carroll in his book The skeptic's dictionary (2003) speculates that Blavatsky used trickery into deceiving others into thinking she had paranormal powers. Carroll further speculates that Blavatsky had faked a materialization of a tea cup and saucer as well as written the messages from her masters herself.[80]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Ascended Master". Encyclopedia.com.
  2. ^ Partridge, Christopher ed. New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities, Oxford University Press, USA, 2004. Describes the Theosophical Society and religious organizations based on a belief in Ascended Masters, such as The I AM Activity, The Bridge to Freedom and The Summit Lighthouse. pp. 330–334.
  3. ^ a b King, Godfre Ray. Unveiled Mysteries. Chicago, Illinois: Saint Germain Press, 1934, p. vii: "The time has arrived, when the Great Wisdom, held and guarded for many centuries in the Far East, is now to come forth in America, at the command of those Great Ascended Masters who direct and protect the evolution of mankind upon this Earth."
  4. ^ a b c d King, Godfre Ray. The Magic Presence. Saint Germain Press 1935. page 89, 95
  5. ^ Luk, A.D.K. Law of Life - Book I (Pueblo, Colorado: A.D.K. Luk Publications, 1989), pp. 1–78, 91–102, 120–143, 215–216. The name "A. D. K. Luk" was the pseudonym of Alice Beulah (Schutz) Booras (April 10, 1905 – Jan. 14, 1994)
  6. ^ . Archived from the original on 2016-03-07.
  7. ^ Saint Germain Foundation. The History of the "I AM" Activity and Saint Germain Foundation. Schaumburg, Illinois: Saint Germain Press, 2003.
  8. ^ The Bridge to Freedom Journal (1951-1961) Reprinted by Ascended Master Teaching Foundation, 1989.
  9. ^ Lewis, James R. Church Universal and Triumphant in Scholarly Perspective Center For Academic Publication 1994.
  10. ^ a b White Paper - Wesak World Congress 2002. Acropolis Sophia Books & Works 2003
  11. ^ Braden, Charles S. These Also Believe, MacMillan Publishing Company 2000, pp. 257–307.
  12. ^ Watson, Jacob L. "Initiations of the Aquarian Masters: The Theosophy of the Aquarian Gospel" Outskirts Press, 2009. ISBN 978-1-4327-4598-1
  13. ^ "Adventures of a Western Mystic: Apprentice to the Masters" (Church of the Seven Rays, 2010)
  14. ^ King, Godfre Ray. Unveiled Mysteries. Chicago, Illinois: Saint Germain Press 1934 page vii: "The time has arrived, when the Great Wisdom, held and guarded for many centuries in the Far East, is now to come forth in America, at the command of those Great Ascended Masters who direct and protect the evolution of mankind upon this Earth."
  15. ^ Saint Germain Foundation. The History of the "I AM" Activity and Saint Germain Foundation. Schaumburg, Illinois: Saint Germain Press 2003
  16. ^ The Bridge to Freedom Journal (1951-1961) Reprinted by Ascended Master Teaching Foundation, 1989
  17. ^ a b Melton, J. Gordon (1994). Church Universal and Triumphant in Scholarly Perspective. Stanford, Calif. : Center for Academic Publication. pp. 1–2. ISBN 978-0-8191-9634-7.
  18. ^ "Ascended Masters & The Spiritual Hierarchy Of Earth". The Aetherius Society. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  19. ^ Braden, Charles S. These Also Believe Macmillan Publishing Company 2000, pp. 257-307
  20. ^ Watson, Jacob L. "Initiations of the Aquarian Masters: The Theosophy of the Aquarian Gospel" Outskirts Press 2009 ISBN 978-1-4327-4598-1
  21. ^ Luk, A.D.K.. Law of Life - Book I. Pueblo, Colorado: A.D.K. Luk Publications, 1989, pp. 23-27.
  22. ^ Prophet, Mark L. and Elizabeth Clare Lords of the Seven Rays. Summit University, Livingston, Montana, USA, 1986, p. 149.
  23. ^ Prophet, Mark L. and Elizabeth Clare Lords of the Seven Rays, p. 153.
  24. ^ Prophet, Mark L. and Elizabeth Clare Lords of the Seven Rays, p. 150.
  25. ^ Roerich, Elena Ivanovna. Letters to America. In 4 Vols (1923–1952). T. 4. Moscow: Sfera, 1999.
  26. ^ The Voice of the I AM. Saint Germain Press December 1940 page 32
  27. ^ The Voice of the I AM, Saint Germain Press, July 1942, p. 7.
  28. ^ a b c d e f g h Luk, A.D.K.. Law of Life - Book I. Pueblo, Colorado: A.D.K. Luk Publications 1989, pages 1 - 78, 91 - 102, 120 - 143, 215 - 216
  29. ^ a b c d e f King, Godfre Ray. Unveiled Mysteries. Saint Germain Press 1934. pages 42, 97, 136 - 137, 142, 167 - 168, 171 - 172, 225 - 226, 228, 236
  30. ^ a b Partridge, Christopher ed. New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities Oxford University Press, USA 2004. Describes the religious organizations based on a belief in the Ascended Master Teachings, such as The I AM Activity, The Bridge to Freedom and The Summit Lighthouse. pages 330 - 334
  31. ^ a b The Bridge to Freedom Journal 1951 - 1961 Reprinted by Ascended Master Teaching Foundation 1989
  32. ^ a b I AM Ascended Master Dictation List, Saint Germain Press Inc., 1995, Listing of those who are claimed to be Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity
  33. ^ Schroeder, Werner Ascended Masters and Their Retreats Ascended Master Teaching Foundation 2004, Listing of those who are believed to be Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity and The Bridge to Freedom
  34. ^ Luk, A.D.K. Law of Life - Book II. Pueblo, Colorado: A.D.K. Luk Publications, 1989. Listing of those who are claimed to be Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity and The Bridge to Freedom
  35. ^ Booth, Annice The Masters and Their Retreats, Summit Lighthouse Library June 2003, Listing of those who are believed to be Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity, The Bridge to Freedom, and The Summit Lighthouse
  36. ^ Shearer, Monroe & Carolyn. I AM Adorations, Affirmations & Rhythmic Decrees, Acropolis Sophia Books and Works, 1998. Listing of those who are claimed to be Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity, The Bridge to Freedom, The Summit Lighthouse, and The Temple of The Presence
  37. ^ Prophet, Mark L. and Elizabeth Clare. Lords of the Seven Rays, "Profiles of the Ascended Masters", pp. 13-394. Lists more than 250 Ascended Masters.
  38. ^ The Voice of the I AM. Saint Germain Press July 1937 pages 9 - 17
  39. ^ Bailey, Alice A, A Treatise on Cosmic Fire (Section Three - Division A - Certain Basic Statements), 1932, Lucis Trust, 1925, p. 1237.
  40. ^ Luk, A.D.K. The Law of Life: Book II, Pueblo, Colorado: A.D.K. Luk Publications, 1989; pages 267–272.
  41. ^ Prophet, Mark L. and Elizabeth Clare Lords of the Seven Rays Livingston, Montana: Summit University Press 1986 page 225
  42. ^ Prophet, Elizabeth Clare and Prophet, Mark (as compiled by Annice Booth) The Masters and Their Retreats Corwin Springs, Montana:2003 Summit University Press Pages 142-143
  43. ^ Bailey, Alice A. Initiation, Human and Solar New York: Lucis Publishing, 1922, p. 56.
  44. ^ I AM Ascended Master Dictation List, Saint Germain Press Inc., 1995, Listing of Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity
  45. ^ Schroeder, Werner. Ascended Masters and Their Retreats, Ascended Master Teaching Foundation, 2004. Listing of those who are believed to be Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity and The Bridge to Freedom
  46. ^ Luk, A.D.K. Law of Life - Book II. Pueblo, Colorado: A.D.K. Luk Publications, 1989, Listing of Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity and The Bridge to Freedom
  47. ^ Booth, Annice. The Masters and Their Retreats Summit Lighthouse Library, June 2003. Listing of those who are believed to be Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity, The Bridge to Freedom, and The Summit Lighthouse
  48. ^ Shearer, Monroe & Carolyn. I AM Adorations, Affirmations & Rhythmic Decrees, Acropolis Sophia Books and Works, 1998. Listing of Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity, The Bridge to Freedom, The Summit Lighthouse, and The Temple of The Presence
  49. ^ Prophet, Elizabeth Clare and Prophet, Mark (as compiled by Annice Booth) The Masters and Their Retreats Corwin Springs, Montana: Summit University Press, 2003, p. 143.
  50. ^ Sanat Kumara at ascension-research.org
  51. ^ A Progress Report On Our Ascension at luisprada.com
  52. ^ Schroeder, Werner. Ascended Masters and Their Retreats, Ascended Master Teaching Foundation 2004. Describes the founding of Shamballah by Sanat Kumara
  53. ^ Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna. The Secret Doctrine: The Synthesis of Science, Religion, and Philosophy, Theosophical Publishing House, 1888. Sanat Kumara - Volume I: pp. 89, 457–458; Volume II: pp. 106, 140, 319, 584.
  54. ^ Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna. The Secret Doctrine: The Synthesis of Science, Religion, and Philosophy, Theosophical Publishing House, 1888. Volume II, pp. 243 ff.
  55. ^ Leadbeater, C.W. The Masters and the Path. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1925 (Reprint: Kessinger Publishing, 1997), pp. 296-299.
  56. ^ Prophet, Elizabeth Clare and Prophet, Mark (as compiled by Annice Booth) The Masters and Their Retreats Corwin Springs, Montana:2003 Summit University Press--See Profiles of the Ascended Masters Pages 13-394--More than 200 Ascended Masters are listed.
  57. ^ Barker, A. T., and Vicente Hao Chin Jr., eds. The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett from the Mahatmas M. and K. H. in Chronological Sequence, p. 5. Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House, 1998.
  58. ^ Blavatsky, Collected Writings vol. 8, p. 389. Wheaton: Theosophical Publishing House, 1977-91; See also CW 4:359-60.
  59. ^ Barker, A. T; Vicente Hao Chin Jr., eds. The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett from the Mahatmas M. and K. H. in Chronological Sequence, p. 474. Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House, 1998.
  60. ^ Barker, A. T; Vicente Hao Chin Jr., eds. The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett from the Mahatmas M. and K. H. in Chronological Sequence, p. 450. Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House, 1998.
  61. ^ Barker, A. T; Vicente Hao Chin Jr., eds. The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett from the Mahatmas M. and K. H. in Chronological Sequence, p. 257. Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House, 1998.
  62. ^ Blavatsky, H. P. Collected Writings vol. 6, p.247. Wheaton: Theosophical Publishing House, 1977-91.
  63. ^ Blavatsky, H. P. Collected Writings vol 8, p. 14, Wheaton: Theosophical Publishing House, 1977-91.
  64. ^ Barker, A. T., and Vicente Hao Chin Jr., eds. The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett from the Mahatmas M. and K. H. in Chronological Sequence, p. 222. Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House, 1998
  65. ^ C. Jinarajadasa, Early Teachings of the Masters p. iv. Chicago: Theosophical Press, 1923.
  66. ^ Barker, A. T., and Vicente Hao Chin Jr., eds. The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett from the Mahatmas M. and K. H. in Chronological Sequence, p. 77-78. Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House, 1998.
  67. ^ Eek, Sven, ed. Damodar and the Pioneers of the Theosophical Movement, p. 605. Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House, 1965
  68. ^ Leadbeater, Charles W. The Masters and the Path, Adyar, Madras, India, Theosophical Publishing House, 1925, p. 166.
  69. ^ Bailey, Alice A. Initiation, Human and Solar New York: Lucis Publishing, 1922, p. 12.
  70. ^ The Bridge to Freedom Journal, February 1956 (Reprinted by Ascended Master Teaching Foundation 1989) Purported address from Maitreya on September 27, 1954 "through" Geraldine Innocente
  71. ^ a b c Barrett, David (1996). Sects, 'Cults', and Alternative Religions: A World Survey and Sourcebook. London: Blandford. ISBN 0-7137-2567-2.
  72. ^ Sinnett, Alfred Percy. The Occult World. Boston: Colby & Rich, 1882.
  73. ^ Sisson, Marina Cesar. Helena Blavatsky and the Enigma of John King; originally published as Informativo HPB, No. 3, 4 and 5 English translation.
  74. ^ Melton, Gordon J.; Partridge, Christopher. New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities, Oxford University Press, 2004.
  75. ^ The Great White Brotherhood in the Culture, History and Religion of America. Summit University Press, 1975.
  76. ^ Watson, Jacob L. "Initiations of the Aquarian Masters: The Theosophy of the Aquarian Gospel"
  77. ^ Guénon, René (2004). Theosophy: history of a pseudo-religion. Alvin Moore, Jr. and Cecil Bethell (trans.). pp. 82–89. ISBN 9780900588808.
  78. ^ Johnson, K. Paul. The Masters Revealed: Madam Blavatsky and Myth of the Great White Brotherhood, Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 1994.
  79. ^ Zweig, Paul. “Talking to the Dead and Other Amusements”, The New York Times, 5 October 1980.
  80. ^ Carroll, Robert Todd. The skeptic's dictionary, 2003, p. 376.

References

  • Braden, Charles S. These Also Believe MacMillan Publishing Company 1960 (Reprint 2000). The classic study of minority religions in the United States of America. ISBN 0-02-514360-3
  • Cranston, Sylvia. H. P. B. : The Extraordinary Life & Influence of Helena Blavastsky . G. P. Putnam's Sons 1993 ISBN 0-9662115-1-0
  • Godwin, Joscelyn (1994). The Theosophical Enlightenment. SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-2152-X
  • King, Godfre Ray. Unveiled Mysteries. Saint Germain Press 1934. ISBN 1878891006
  • King, Godfre Ray. The Magic Presence. Saint Germain Press 1935. ISBN 1878891065
  • Luk, A.D.K.. Law of Life - Books I & II. Pueblo, Colorado: A.D.K. Luk Publications 1989, Summary of Ascended Master Teachings from 1934 - 1958 as released through The I AM Activity and The Bridge to Freedom.
  • Milanovich, Norma & Shirley McCune. The Light Shall Set You Free. Athena Publishing 1996, 2004. ISBN 0962741752 Includes "quotes" from numerous Ascended Masters
  • Leadbeater, C.W. The Masters and the Path . The Theosophical Publishing House 1925 (Reprint: Kessinger Publishing 1997). ISBN 1-56459-686-9
  • Hall, Manly P. The Secret Teachings of All Ages "An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy Being an Interpretation of the Secret Teachings Concealed within the Rituals, Allegories and Mysteries of all Ages" H.S. Crocker Company, Inc. 1928 (Reprint: Tarcher 2003) ISBN 1-58542-250-9
  • Partridge, Christopher ed. New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities Oxford University Press, USA 2004. Describes The I AM Activity, The Bridge to Freedom and The Summit Lighthouse. ISBN 0195220420
  • Partridge, Christopher ed. New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities Oxford University Press, USA 2004. Describes the Theosophical Society, The I AM Activity, The Bridge to Freedom and The Summit Lighthouse. ISBN 0-19-522042-0
  • Saint Germain Foundation. The History of the "I AM" Activity and Saint Germain Foundation . Saint Germain Press 2003 ISBN 1-878891-99-5
  • Saint Germain. I AM Discourses . Saint Germain Press 1935. ISBN 1-878891-48-0
  • Mt. Shasta, Peter. Apprentice to the Masters: Adventures of Western Mystic, Book II ISBN 978-0692570449

Further reading

  • Campbell, Bruce F. Ancient Wisdom Revived: A History of the Theosophical Movement Berkeley: 1980 University of California Press ISBN 9780520039681
  • Johnson, K. Paul The Masters Revealed: Madam Blavatsky and Myth of the Great White Brotherhood Albany, New York: 1994 State University of New York Press ISBN 978-0791420645
  • Melton, J. Gordon Encyclopedia of American Religions 5th Edition New York:1996 Gale Research ISBN 0-8103-7714-4 ISSN 1066-1212
    • Chapter 18--"The Ancient Wisdom Family of Religions" Pages 151–158; see chart on page 154 listing Masters of the Ancient Wisdom;
    • Section 18, Pages 717-757 Descriptions of various Ancient Wisdom religious organizations
  • Melton, Gordon American Religious Creeds (Detroit: Gale, 1988; republished in three volumes, New York: Triumph Books, 1991) See chapter on the Ancient Wisdom group of religions. ISBN 978-0800730147

External links

  • Ageless Wisdom Teachings
  • The Saint Germain Foundation , Original publisher of Ascended Master Teachings beginning in 1934

May 04, 2023
ascended, master, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, relies, excessively, references, primary, sources, please, improve, this, article, addi. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article relies excessively on references to primary sources Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources Find sources Ascended master news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia s quality standards You can help The talk page may contain suggestions November 2020 This article may be too technical for most readers to understand Please help improve it to make it understandable to non experts without removing the technical details October 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Ascended masters in the Ascended Master Teachings of a number of movements in the theosophical tradition 1 are held to be spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans but who have undergone a series of spiritual transformations originally called initiations Both mahatma and ascended master are terms used in the Ascended Master Teachings Ascended Master is based on the theosophical concept of the Mahatma or Masters of the Ancient Wisdom However Mahatmas and Ascended Masters are believed by some to differ in certain respects According to the Ascended Master Teachings a Master of Light Healer or Spiritual Master is a Divine Human Being who has taken the Fifth Initiation and is thereby capable of dwelling in a 5th dimension The teachings hold that an ascended master is a human being who has taken the Sixth Initiation also referred to as Ascension 2 and is thereby believed to be capable of dwelling in a 6th dimension The term ascended master was first used by Baird T Spalding in 1924 in his series of books Life and Teachings of the Masters of the Far East DeVorss and Co Godfre Ray King Guy Ballard further popularized this concept of spiritual masters who had once lived on the earth in his book Unveiled Mysteries 3 Contents 1 Definition 2 Beliefs about ascended masters 2 1 Universal All Pervading Presence of Life 2 2 The Individualized I AM Presence 3 Other beliefs about Ascended Masters 4 Spiritual hierarchy 5 Jesus 6 Sanat Kumara 7 Comparison with Masters of Wisdom 8 Maitreya 8 1 Development of the concept 9 Initiation 9 1 Mastery of the matter planes 9 2 Fulfillment of the Divine Plan 10 Periodization 10 1 The fall of man 10 2 Dawning Golden Age 11 The Great White Brotherhood 12 Dictations 13 The Aquarian Church 14 Skeptical views 15 See also 16 Notes 17 References 18 Further reading 19 External linksDefinition EditAdherents of the Ascended Master Teachings hold that this belief was partially released by the Theosophical Society beginning in 1875 by C W Leadbeater and Alice A Bailey and began to have more detailed public release in the 1930s by the ascended masters through Guy Ballard in the I AM Activity 4 5 However theosophists maintain that the concept of ascended master is an exaggeration and corruption of the more modest theosophical concept of Master of the Ancient Wisdom 6 Guy Ballard said his work Unveiled Mysteries was dictated to him by the ascended master St Germain 3 7 Other Ascended Master Teachings are contained in The Bridge to Freedom 1951 8 Mark Prophet and Elizabeth Clare Prophet s The Summit Lighthouse 1958 reorganized as the Church Universal and Triumphant in 1975 9 The Temple of The Presence 1995 10 The Hearts Center 2005 the I AM University 2004 and various other organizations such as The White Eagle Lodge 1936 and the Aquarian Christine Church Universal 2006 11 12 Peter Mt Shasta who claims to be channeling the ascended master Saint Germain has been releasing the ancient teachings in a more modern and simplified form emphasizing the teaching that the Masters can work with those who have an open heart and the desire to benefit humanity 13 Beliefs about ascended masters Edit Helena P Blavatsky The term Ascended Master was first introduced in 1934 by Guy Ballard with the publication of Unveiled Mysteries a book which he said was dictated to him by the Ascended Master St Germain 14 15 Other Ascended Master Teachings are contained in The Bridge to Freedom 1951 16 The Summit Lighthouse 1958 Known also as The Church Universal and Triumphant 17 The Aetherius Society 1955 18 The Temple of The Presence 1995 10 the I AM University 2004 the White Eagle Lodge 1936 and the Aquarian Christine Church Universal Inc 2006 19 20 It is further claimed by various groups and teachers that the Ascended Masters serve as the teachers of mankind from the realms of spirit and that all people will eventually attain their Ascension and move forward in spiritual evolution beyond this planet According to these teachings they remain attentive to the spiritual needs of humanity and act to inspire and motivate its spiritual growth In many traditions and organizations they are considered part of the Spiritual Hierarchy of Earth and members of the Great Brotherhood of Light also known as the Great White Lodge Great White Brotherhood or Universal White Brotherhood per Peter Deunov 21 In Ascended Master teachings there is also mention of Serapis Bey a being who was incarnated as a high priest in one of the Temples of the Sacred Fire on Atlantis and who migrated to Egypt at the time of the destruction of Atlantis 22 It is also believed that he was incarnated as the Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep III who constructed the Temple of Luxor to the god Amon 23 and also as Leonidas the King of Sparta 24 who was killed in 480 BC defending the pass of Thermopylae against the invasion of ancient Greece by Emperor Xerxes I of the Persian Empire According to teachings of Agni Yoga 25 Universal All Pervading Presence of Life Edit This is properly called Isness students of the Ascended Master Teachings believe that there is One God the Universal All Pervading Presence of Life The One Who is the Source of all Love Light and Truth in existence and that all forms of existence and consciousness emanate from this Allness of God The One The Voice of the I AM states All Life is One 26 and that there is One Substance One Energy One Power One Intelligence as the Source of all consciousness and creation 27 This Divine Being and Mind is considered to be above and distinct from all creation in the sense of classical theism transcending all creation yet interpenetrating all existence Belief in this One God stresses the essential unity of the spiritual and material components of the universe God creates through Individualized Identities that have distinct Self Consciousness and that make up the Spiritual Hierarchy of Creation yet remain connected through the flow of the River of Life and Lifestream to the One Undivided God the All in All the Good the Source from which all Life Light and Love come There is always an uninterrupted Oneness that is maintained with the Allness of God From the One God all other realities including hierarchy humanity and the material universe are the result of a process of emanation 28 The Individualized I AM Presence Edit Adherents of the Ascended Master Teachings believe that each person is an incarnation of an Individualized Presence of the Most High Living God the Mighty I AM Presence as part of our very Nature and Being God as Life and Love manifests in the 7 octaves of the created universe through individual Divine Identities As embodied individuals we are the outer expression of that God Self in form It is our unique and immortal True Identity yet always sharing in the Allness of the ONE GOD 28 A characteristic of students of the Ascended Master Teachings is the use of God s Creative Name I AM in the use of Decrees Fiats Adorations and Affirmations to invoke and send forth the Light of God to Bless Life to bring forth the Perfect Divine solution for every situation and to fulfill the Divine Plan It is believed to be a way of externalizing more Divine Light Divine Love and Divine Life into the lower planes of creation through the dynamic force of sound vibration as creative energy 28 The Magic Presence states Only the Self conscious Individual has ALL the Attributes and Creative Power of the Mighty I AM Presence Only He can know who and what He is and express the Fullness of the Creative Power of God whenever He decrees by the use of the Words I AM The outer human part of this activity is what We call the personality It is but the vehicle through which Perfection should be expressed into the outer substance of the Universe Within the Pure God Flame is a Breath that pulsates constantly This Great Fire Breath is a Rhythmic Outpouring of Divine Love Its Three Attributes being Love Wisdom and Power in action These pour out constantly into the Infinite Sea of Pure Electronic Light This Light is the Universal Substance or Spirit out of which all forms are composed It is intelligent mark you because It obeys law through the command of the Individual who says or is conscious of I AM These Two Words are the Acknowledgment and Release of the Power to Create and bring forth into outer existence whatever quality follows That Acknowledgment For Intelligence to act there must be Intelligence to be acted upon and the Universal Substance being like a photographic film takes the record of what ever quality the Individual imposes upon It through his thought feeling and spoken word The Words I AM whether thought felt or spoken release the Power of Creation instantly Make no mistake about this Intelligence is Omnipresent and It is within the Electronic Light 4 Ascended Master Saint Germain believed by those adherent to the Ascended Master Teachings to have previously been embodied as Plato Proclus Roger Bacon Francis Bacon and numerous others was quoted as saying When one individualizes within the Absolute All Pervading Life he chooses of his own free will to become an intensified individual focus of Self Conscious Intelligence He is the conscious director of his future activities Thus having once made his choice he is the only one who can fulfill that Destiny which is not inflexible circumstance but a definitely designed Plan of Perfection 29 When You the Mighty I AM Presence will to come forth into an Individualized Focus of Conscious Dominion and use the Creative Word I AM Your First Individual Activity is the Formation of a Flame Then you the Individualized Focus of the Mighty I AM Presence begin your Dynamic Expression of Life This Activity We term Self consciousness meaning the Individual who is conscious of his Source and Perfection of Life expressing through himself 4 Within The I AM Activity contact and cooperation with the Ascended Masters became a central part of each member s life Through the Ballards as Messengers the Ascended Masters were believed to have regularly communicated with the students of The I AM Activity Those Addresses known as Dictations were delivered before gatherings of members in Conclaves held throughout the United States of America published in the monthly periodical The Voice of The I AM and some were collected and reprinted in the books of The Saint Germain Series In all 3 834 Dictations from the Masters were received through Guy and Edna Ballard Other Ascended Master Activities believed that the Ascended Masters Cosmic Beings Elohim and Archangels continued to present a program for both individual development and spiritual transformation in the world 30 They believe that further instruction from the Ascended Masters and the rest of the Spiritual Hierarchy continued through new Dispensations with new Messengers such as The Bridge to Freedom 31 The Summit Lighthouse 17 The Temple of The Presence and The Hearts Center The Threefold Flame of Life is the Immortal Flame within the Heart of the children of Light and Sons and Daughters of God and is an actual extension of the Heart of the I AM Presence of each Lifestream in embodiment on Earth 28 Other beliefs about Ascended Masters EditBelief in the Brotherhood and the Masters is an essential part of the beliefs of various organizations that have continued and expanded the concepts released in the original Saint Germain instruction in the 1930s through The I AM Activity 32 33 34 35 36 Examples of those believed by the ones proposing these teachings to be Ascended Masters would be the Master Jesus Confucius Gautama Buddha Mary the mother of Jesus St Paul of Tarsus aka Hilarion Megha Alcorn also known as Miss Megan Sebastian Ashtar Sheran Merku Sanat Kumara Aaron as known as Alaje Aleph Hatton Melchizedek Archangel Michael Metatron Kwan Yin St Germain and Kuthumi as well as dozens of others 37 It is believed that Ascended Masters are individuals who were once embodied on Earth and learned the lessons of life in their incarnations They gained mastery over the limitations of the matter planes balanced at least 51 of negative karma and fulfilled their Dharma Divine Plan An Ascended Master has become God like and a source of unconditional Love to all life and through the Ascension has united with his or her own God Self the I AM Presence It is claimed that they serve as the teachers of mankind from the realms of Spirit and that all people will eventually attain their Ascension and move forward in spiritual evolution beyond this planet According to these teachings they remain attentive to the spiritual needs of humanity and act to inspire and motivate its spiritual growth In many traditions and organizations they are considered part of the Spiritual Hierarchy for Earth and members of the Great Brotherhood of Light also known as the Great White Lodge or Great White Brotherhood 28 Unveiled Mysteries says 29 Truly the Great Ascended Masters are Gods It is no wonder in the mythology of the ancients that their activities have been brought down to us in the guise of myth and fable They wield Tremendous God Power at all times because they hold with unwavering determination to the Great God Presence and hence all Power is given unto them for they are All Perfection When Jesus said All these things I have done ye shall do and even greater things shall ye do he knew whereof he spoke continued Saint Germain He came forth to reveal the Conscious Dominion and Mastery that it is possible for every human being to attain and express while still here on Earth Spiritual hierarchy EditAdherents of these Ascended Master Teachings believe that the All Pervading Presence of God does not act nor create except through Its Individualizations and that all creation comes forth through these Individual Identities and is sustained by them citation needed According to Elizabeth Clare Prophet this Spiritual Hierarchy is a Universal Chain of Individualized God Free Beings fulfilling Attributes and Aspects of God s Infinite Selfhood citation needed Included in this Cosmic Hierarchical scheme are Solar Logoi Elohim Sons and Daughters of God Ascended Masters Cosmic Beings the Twelve Solar Hierarchies Archangels Angels Beings of the Elements and Twin Flames of the Alpha Omega Polarity sponsoring Systems of Worlds and entire Galactic Systems citation needed Adherents believe that Saint Germain explained the following through Guy Ballard The Almighty God Flame breathing within Itself projects Two Rays into the Great Sea of Pure Electronic Light This Intelligent Light substance becomes the clothing as it were for these Rays of the Mighty I AM Presence Each Ray has all the Attributes of the Godhead within It and no imperfection can ever enter into or register upon It The Individualized Flame sends down into each Ray a Focal Point or Spark forming a Heart Center upon which gathers the Electronic Light Substance creating the Electronic Body 4 In 1937 The Voice of the I AM article on this subject elaborated When the Ascension of both has taken place each is the complete balance of all masculine and all feminine qualities within himself Then the Threefold Flame of Life is completely unfolded the individual becomes Master at Cosmic Levels of creation and does work with systems of worlds as well as in this physical world Thus that which came out of the Great Central Sun as One Flame becomes Three complete Flames each of the same full Limitless Power and Activity as the Great Central Sun This becomes the Cosmic Activity of the Power of the Three times Three When both Rays have made the Ascension then the individual works with systems of worlds instead of just in one world This is the way the Godhead is ever expanding the Perfection of Itself throughout Infinity and keeping order throughout interstellar space 38 Use of the Violet Flame of Divine Love is considered to be the 7th Ray aspect of the Holy Spirit and the Sacred Fire that transmutes and consumes the cause effect record and memory of sin or negative karma Also called the Flame of Transmutation the Flame of Mercy the Flame of Freedom and the Flame of Forgiveness Our God is a Consuming Fire in Deuteronomy 4 24 KJV and Hebrews 12 29 KJV is believed to be refer to this Sacred Fire of God The Violet Fire is held to be a raising transforming purifying action of Divine Love from the Heart of God in the Great Central Sun It is believed to act to transmute and consume human creation that is not worthy of becoming Immortal and all negative karmic causes effects records and memories without the need to individually balance that karma face to face with each person back to the earliest beginning of one s individualized manifestation on this or any other world 28 Jesus EditMain article Master Jesus Jesus is believed to be one of the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom in Theosophy and is one of the Ascended masters in the Ascended Master Teachings The Master Jesus is regarded by Theosophists was regarded by Alice Bailey and was later regarded by students of the Ascended Master Teachings as the Master of the Sixth Ray 39 It is believed by Ascended Master Teachings organizations that the Master Jesus was Chohan of the Sixth Ray until December 31 1959 when according to Elizabeth Clare Prophet Lady Master Nada fully took on that Office in the Spiritual Hierarchy According to Prophet Jesus became World Teacher along with Kuthumi on January 1 1956 succeeding Maitreya who took the Office of Planetary Buddha and Cosmic Christ 40 41 This belief is not accepted by adherents of traditional Theosophy and the followers of Alice Bailey and Benjamin Creme they believe that the Master Jesus is still the Chohan of the Sixth Ray and that Maitreya is still the World Teacher citation needed According to Elizabeth Clare Prophet the Prophet of the Church Universal and Triumphant the largest Ascended Master Teachings religion the Master Jesus incarnated twice as the Emperor of Atlantis once in 33 050 BC and again in 15 000 BC 42 She states that this was to aid the white magicians in the war of the white magicians and the black magicians that was going on in Atlantis at that time citation needed According to Alice Bailey the Master Jesus was previously incarnated as Joshua the Hebrew military leader in the 13th century BC and Joshua the High Priest in the sixth century BC 43 According to the Ascended Master Teachings 44 45 46 47 48 Jesus was also incarnated as Joseph of the Coat of many colors in the 17th century BC 16th century BC approximately between 1650 BC and 1550 BC as well as King David who lived c 1037 BC until around 970 BC and Elisha in the 9th century BC 49 Sanat Kumara EditMain article Sanat Kumara According to the post 1900 publications of Theosophy specifically the writings of Charles W Leadbeater Alice Bailey and Benjamin Creme as well as the Ascended Master Teachings of Guy Ballard Elizabeth Clare Prophet Geraldine Innocente Joshua David Stone and other Ascended Master Teachings teachers Sanat Kumara 50 51 is an advanced being of the Ninth Initiation the highest Initiation possible on planet Earth who is regarded as the Lord or Regent of Earth and of humanity and the head of the Spiritual Hierarchy of Earth who dwells in Shamballah a city said by Theosophists and those adherent to the Ascended Master Teachings to be a floating city on the etheric plane above the Gobi Desert citation needed It is believed by these authors that he is the founder of the Great White Brotherhood which is composed of Masters of the Ancient Wisdom Fifth Initiation Ascended Masters Sixth Initiation Chohans and Bodhisattvas Seventh Initiation Buddhas Eighth Initiation and highly spiritually evolved volunteers from other worlds who have all joined to advance spiritual evolution on Earth 52 Sanat Kumara was mentioned briefly by the theosophist Helena Blavatsky 53 She claimed he belonged to a group of beings the Lords of the Flame whom Christian tradition have misunderstood as Lucifer and the fallen angels 54 Sanat Kumara gained greater prominence when her follower Charles W Leadbeater wrote that Sanat Kumara was the King or Lord of the World and the head of the Great White Brotherhood of Mahatmas who had revealed the principles of theosophy 55 Later theosophists such as Alice Bailey and Elizabeth Clare Prophet have embellished the story with further details He is usually depicted as having the appearance of a 16 year old boy citation needed Comparison with Masters of Wisdom EditThere is considerable difference between the concept of Masters of the Ancient Wisdom in Theosophy as described by Blavatsky Olcott Sinnett and others and the current concept of Ascended Masters developed by Guy Ballard and Elizabeth Clare Prophet fifty five years after the Theosophical Society was founded citation needed They added more than 200 new Ascended Masters that they claimed to receive dictations from in addition to receiving dictations from the original Masters of the Ancient Wisdom of Theosophy 56 The Ascended Masters as their name suggests are supposed to be Masters who have experienced the miracle of ascension as it is said Jesus did The original teaching channeled by Guy Ballard was that a new Ascended Master would not die but would take the body up with him This teaching of ascension is in direct opposition to the Theosophical teachings Mahatma K H refers to the idea disparagingly in one of his letters to Sinnett There was but one hysterical woman alleged to have been present at the pretended ascension and the phenomenon has never been corroborated by repetition 57 Blavatsky also rejects ascension as a fact calling it an allegory as old as the world 58 In the Theosophical view the Masters of Wisdom retain their physical bodies The Masters of the Wisdom are not like the Ascended ones who are said to become Godlike all powerful beings beyond the laws of nature In their teachings the Theosophical Masters even denied that such beings exist Mahatma K H wrote If we had the powers of the imaginary Personal God and the universal and 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 59 In their letters the Mahatmas constantly talk about the immutable laws of the universe and that they can help humanity only within the limits of these laws citation needed Proponents of the Ascended Masters sometimes attempt to account for these discrepancies by claiming that when the Theosophical Society TS was founded most of the Theosophical Mahatmas were still unascended Masters This leaves room to detach the Ascended Masters from the limitations However the Mahatma K H wrote We are not infallible all foreseeing Mahatmas at every hour of the day 60 As he explained An adept the highest as the lowest is one only during the exercise of his occult powers 61 In fact according to the Theosophical teachings the higher the adept the less we are likely to hear from him The more spiritual the Adept becomes the less can he meddle with mundane gross affairs and the more he has to confine himself to a spiritual work The very high Adepts therefore do help humanity but only spiritually they are constitutionally incapable of meddling with worldly affairs 62 In the Theosophical view the Masters do not pay attention to personal desires Theosophy teaches that the psychological ego is false that the idea that we are this body emotions and mind is a mistake of perception and the source of sorrow It says that real happiness comes only as an unsought by product of reducing rather than increasing our attachment and identification with the personal Blavatsky wrote that Occultism is not the pursuit of happiness as man understands the word for the first step is sacrifice the second renunciation 63 K H agreed with this when he wrote We the criticized and misunderstood Brothers we seek to bring men to sacrifice their personality a passing flash for the welfare of the whole humanity 64 During the early times of the Theosophical Society some members misunderstanding the nature of the Mahatmas would bring HPB some personal requests to ask of them In a letter Blavatsky explained The Masters would not stoop for one moment to give a thought to individual private matters relating but to one or even ten persons their welfare woes and blisses in this world of Maya illusion to nothing except questions of really universal importance It is all you Theosophists who have dragged down in your minds the ideals of our Masters you who have unconsciously and with the best of intentions and full sincerity of good purpose desecrated Them by thinking for one moment and believing that They would trouble Themselves with your business matters sons to be born daughters to be married houses to be built 65 This kind of interest is a very marked feature of the Ascended Masters The Ascended Masters Teachings teach ways to attract material or emotional possessions to a person s life and also how to dissolve unpleasant karma a conception that the Theosophical Mahatmas emphatically opposed For example K H wrote Bear in mind that the slightest cause produced however unconsciously and with whatever motive cannot be unmade or its effects crossed in their progress by millions of gods demons and men combined 66 In fact the Ascended Masters are portrayed as cosmic fathers who will take care of their followers problems In contrast Mahatma M said We are leaders but not child nurses 67 Maitreya EditMain article Maitreya Theosophy Maitri is Sanskrit for loving kindness The historical Buddha was reported to have said near the time of his death in the 4th century BC that many Buddhas awakened ones had come before him and that in the future another Buddha would come who would be greater than him and who would embody Maitri This prophecy created the expectation of a Buddha Maitreya which was probably fulfilled in the advent of the being now called Jesus likely Apollonius of Tyanna who on his travels in India and the Far East was reported in many texts to have been called Issa probably short for Rishi great sage His teachings embody that principle of loving kindness Maitreya or Lord Maitreya is described in Theosophical literature of the late 19th century and subsequent periods as an advanced spiritual entity and high ranking member of a hidden Spiritual Hierarchy the so called Masters of the Ancient Wisdom According to Theosophical doctrine one of the Hierarchy s functions is to oversee the evolution of mankind in accord with this function Maitreya is said to hold the so called Office of the World Teacher Theosophical texts posit that the purpose of this Office is to facilitate the transfer of knowledge about the true constitution and workings of Existence thereby helping humanity in progression on a cyclical but ever progressive evolutionary path This knowledge transfer is sometimes said to occur through Maitreya occasionally manifesting or incarnating in the physical realm then assuming the role of World Teacher of Mankind The Theosophical concept of Maitreya has many similarities to the earlier Maitreya doctrine in Buddhism However they differ in important aspects and developed differently The Theosophical Maitreya has been assimilated or appropriated by a variety of quasi theosophical and non theosophical New Age and Esoteric groups and movements These have added and advanced their own interpretations and commentary on the subject Development of the concept Edit The first mention of Maitreya in a Theosophical context occurs in the 1883 work Esoteric Buddhism by Alfred Percy Sinnett 1840 1921 an early Theosophical writer The concepts described by Sinnett were amended elaborated on and greatly expanded in The Secret Doctrine a book originally published 1888 The work was the magnum opus of Helena Blavatsky one of the physical founders of the Theosophical Society and of contemporary Theosophy In it the messianic Maitreya is linked to both Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions In the same work Blavatsky was to assert that there have been and will be multiple messianic or messianic like instances in human history These successive appearances of emissarie s of Truth are according to the Blavatsky writings part of the unceasing oversight of Earth and of its inhabitants by a physically hidden Spiritual Hierarchy called Masters of the Ancient Wisdom The Theosophist Alice Bailey who broke with the Indian branch of the Theosophical Society and who was heavily influenced by orthodox Christianity started the expectation that the Maitreya would actually be reborn on the earth as a physical being fulfilling the Christian ideal of a Second Coming rather than the New Age ideal of the Christ being reborn in the heart of each individual citation needed Initiation EditMain article Initiation Theosophy Initiation is a concept in Theosophy that there are nine levels of spiritual development that beings who live on Earth can progress upward through Within these levels there are four basic levels of spiritual development that human beings on Earth progress through as they reincarnate although evil acts may cause bad karma which may cause one to temporarily regress It is believed by whom that when souls have advanced to the fourth level of initiation they have reached enlightenment and have no further need to reincarnate At the fifth level of initiation and beyond souls have the opportunity to become members of the Spiritual Hierarchy This concept was developed by both C W Leadbeater and Alice Bailey beginning in the 1920s citation needed According to C W Leadbeater Initiation is a process by which we try to develop ourselves not that we may become great and wise but that we may have the power and knowledge to work for humanity to the best effect 68 According to Alice Bailey Initiation is the process of undergoing an expansion toward higher levels of consciousness 69 It is believed by Theosophists that all souls that have reached the fourth level of initiation and evolved beyond the necessity to reincarnate Those who do not elect to become pratyeka buddhas and go directly into Spiritual Hierarchy governing nirvana gradually evolving upward through all of these six higher levels of consciousness over thousands or millions of years and later over billions or trillions of years with other higher levels beyond citation needed The concept of Initiation is also recognized in the Ascended Master Teachings a group of religions based on Theosophy In the Ascended Master Teachings the Sixth Initiation is referred to as Ascension The first six initiations were named by Charles W Leadbeater and Alice Bailey after the six most important events in the life of Jesus citation needed The Ascension is believed to be the returning to complete Oneness with God raising the outer atomic structure of the physical emotional and mental bodies into the Electronic Structure of the I AM Consciousness becoming an Ascended Master eventually a Cosmic Being and beyond The Ascension into Immortality through reunion with the God Self requires the consuming of at least 51 of the records and memories of negatively qualified karma as well as citation needed Mastery of the matter planes Edit It is believed that the Individualized Flames of Perfection emanating as lifestreams taking physical embodiment can develop further attributes that express a unique Identity and attain the fullness of the use of Light This is done by mastery over matter planes that have a slower vibratory action thus requiring more energy and concentration to externalize form This allows for the development of greater skills of creation and Causal Body Momentums of various Divine Qualities Physical embodiment gives each individual the opportunity to expand these attributes and faculties through matter substance and to become a master of energy through thought and feeling This allows for accomplishments and added power which one who does not ever embody on a planet does not possess Thus an individual may expand the Flame in the Heart and expand the Perfection of the Allness of God s Love in the created universe eventually becoming an Ascended Master and later a Cosmic Being citation needed According to the Ascended Master Teachings gaining mastery over matter planes means learning to consciously use 100 of one s Creative Power of thought feeling and spoken word to create greater perfection joy and love in the world as opposed to using thoughts feelings and words to create greater limitations bondage and chaos in one s own experience and in the world at large through carelessness and lack of awareness of the extent of one s influence in the world Matter planes refers to the differentiations of atomic and molecular structure in which evolution takes place the lower planes dimensions wavelength frequency resonance sometimes correlated with physical solids liquids and gases the higher subplanes of the Physical Octave are sometimes referred to as etheric and are not normally perceivable by the physical senses The emotional and mental octaves are also made up of electrons and atoms of feeling and thought substance and differentiated into levels of density and vibratory rate 28 To understand the above explanation concerning the electron and the conscious control the individual has through his thought and feeling to govern the atomic structure of his own body is to understand the One Principle Governing form throughout Infinity When man will make the effort to prove this to himself or within his own atomic flesh body he will then proceed to Master Himself When he has done that all else in the Universe is his willing co worker to accomplish whatsoever he wills through Love 29 Fulfillment of the Divine Plan Edit Within the Life of every human being is the Power by which he can express all that the Ascended Masters express every moment if he but chooses to do so All Life contains Will but only Self Conscious Life is free to determine upon its own course of expression Hence the individual has free choice to express either in the human limited body or the Super Human Divine Body He is the chooser of his own field of expression He is the Self determining Creator He has willed and chosen to live as Self Conscious Life When one individualizes within the Absolute All Pervading Life he chooses of his own free will to become an intensified individual focus of Self Conscious Intelligence He is the conscious director of his future activities Thus having once made his choice he is the only one who can fulfill that Destiny which is not inflexible circumstance but a definitely designed Plan of Perfection 29 Periodization EditThe fall of man EditIt is believed that since the fall of man during the time of the incarnation of the Fourth Root Race imperfection limitations and discord increasingly entered into our world The memory body is considered to have become known as a soul and this temporary personality has taken on the sense of a self that is separated and not connected to God It is believed that a Dictation from Maitreya further clarified this matter through the Messenger Geraldine Innocente on September 27 1954 when what occurred during the time of the Fourth Root Race was described Curiosity rebellion against holding true to the Divine Pattern and the use of thought and feeling in creation of imperfection began the building of what you call the soul It is a consciousness apart from the full Purity of God The first thought a man had that was imperfect and impure energized by a secret feeling was a cause and that sent out into the atmosphere created an effect Like a boomerang the effect came back into the consciousness and made a record That record was the beginning of an impression Energy sent out in a certain manner returned to affect the lifestream who had sent it forth and there began to be created a shadow between the I AM Presence and the human consciousness Endeavoring to contact the Presence the individual would find these tramp thoughts and feelings flowing through that line of contact until more and more imperfect was the conscious use of them Finally those centers got completely away from the control of the ego and acted independently 70 Dawning Golden Age EditStudents of the Ascended Master Teachings believe that this world is destined to again have a Golden Age a Heaven on Earth that will be permanent unlike previous Golden Ages millions of years ago 28 In your beloved America in the not so far distant future will come forth a similar recognition of the Real Inner Self and this her people will express in high attainment She is a Land of Light and Her Light shall blaze forth brilliant as the sun at noonday among the nations of the Earth She was a Land of Great Light ages ago and will again come into her spiritual heritage for nothing can prevent it 29 The Divine Plan for the future of North America is a condition of intense activity in the greatest peace beauty success prosperity spiritual illumination and dominion She is to carry the Christ Light and be the Guide for the rest of the Earth because America is to be the Heart Center of the Golden Age that is now dimly touching our horizon The greater portion of the land of North America will stand for a very long time 29 The Great White Brotherhood EditThe Great White Brotherhood in belief systems akin to Theosophical and New Age are said to be supernatural beings of great power who spread spiritual teachings through selected humans 71 The members of the Brotherhood may be known as the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom or the Ascended masters 71 Various people have said they have received messages from these beings including most notably Helena Blavatsky Theosophy Aleister Crowley Thelema Alice Bailey New Group of World Servers Guy Ballard I AM Activity Geraldine Innocente The Bridge to Freedom Mark L Prophet amp Elizabeth Clare Prophet Church Universal and Triumphant and Benjamin Creme Share International 71 The Masters are collectively called the Great White Brotherhood by various theosophists and esotericists The use of the term white refers to their advanced spirituality in other words that they have a white colored aura and has nothing to do with race Blavatsky described many of the Masters as ethnically Tibetan or Indian Hindu not European 72 She did however describe them as being from all cultures and races such as the Greek gentleman known as Hilarion 73 Belief in the Brotherhood and the Masters is an essential part of the syncretistic teachings of various organizations that have taken the Theosophical philosophical concepts and added their own elements 74 Examples of those believed to be Ascended Masters by these organizations are Jesus Sanat Kumara Buddha Maitreya Confucius Lord Lanto Confucius historical mentor Mary the mother of Jesus Lady Master Nada Enoch Kwan Yin Saint Germain and Koot Hoomi Kuthumi to name but a few 32 It is believed that all of these put aside any differences they might have had in their Earthly careers and unite instead to advance the spiritual well being of humanity 75 Dictations EditWithin The I AM Activity founded by Guy Ballard in the early 1930s claimed contact and cooperation with the Ascended Masters became a central part of each member s life Through the Ballards as Messengers the Ascended Masters were believed to have regularly communicated with the students of The I AM Activity Those supposed Addresses known as Dictations were delivered before gatherings of members in Conclaves held throughout the United States of America and published in the monthly periodical The Voice of The I AM and some were collected and reprinted in the green books of The Saint Germain Series In all 3 834 claimed Dictations from the Masters were received through Guy and Edna Ballard Other Ascended Master Activities believed that the Ascended Masters Cosmic Beings Elohim and Archangels continued to present a program for both individual development and spiritual transformation in the world 30 They believe that further instruction from the Ascended Masters and the rest of the Spiritual Hierarchy continued through new Dispensations with new Messengers such as The Bridge to Freedom 31 The Summit Lighthouse and The Temple of The Presence The Aquarian Church EditThe Aquarian Christine Church Universal Inc ACCU is a denomination founded in 2006 based on The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ said to be transcribed from the Akashic Records by Levi H Dowling The Aquarian Christine Church actively promotes Ascended Master Teachings and shares many beliefs in common with the I AM Movement White Eagle Lodge and New Thought and Theosophical groups The book Initiations of the Aquarian Masters The Theosophy of the Aquarian Gospel by ACCU founder Jacob L Watson expounds on the church s teachings which draw heavily from the writings of A D K Luk pen name of Alice Beulah Schutz April 10 1905 Jan 14 1994 the Saint Germain Series published by the Saint Germain Press The Saint Germain Foundation and especially from The Lost Years of Jesus compiled by Elizabeth Clare Prophet and published by The Summit Lighthouse 76 Skeptical views EditRene Guenon wrote a detailed critique of Theosophy titled Theosophy history of a pseudo religion 1921 In the book Guenon speculated that Blavatsky had acquired all her knowledge naturally from other books not from any supernatural masters Guenon points out that Blavatsky spent a long time visiting a library at New York where she had easy access to the works of Jacob Boehme Eliphas Levi the Kabbala and other Hermetic treatises Guenon also speculated that Blavatsky had borrowed passages from extracts of the Kanjur and Tanjur translated by the eccentric orientalist Sandor Korosi Csoma published in 1836 in the twentieth volume of the Asiatic Researchers of Calcutta 77 K Paul Johnson suggests in his book The Masters Revealed Madam Blavatsky and Myth of the Great White Brotherhood that the Masters that Madam Blavatsky claimed she had personally met are idealizations of certain people she had met during her lifetime 78 Also see the article Talking to the Dead and Other Amusements by Paul Zweig New York Times October 5 1980 which speculates that Madame Blavatsky s revelations were fraudulent 79 Robert Todd Carroll in his book The skeptic s dictionary 2003 speculates that Blavatsky used trickery into deceiving others into thinking she had paranormal powers Carroll further speculates that Blavatsky had faked a materialization of a tea cup and saucer as well as written the messages from her masters herself 80 See also EditAbdal Ancients Stargate Avatar Hodgson Report K H Letters to C W Leadbeater Khidr Khwajagan Master Morya Mysticism Once returner The Perennial Philosophy Qutb Satguru Sarmoung Secret Chiefs Shambhala Shangri La XianNotes Edit Ascended Master Encyclopedia com Partridge Christopher ed New Religions A Guide New Religious Movements Sects and Alternative Spiritualities Oxford University Press USA 2004 Describes the Theosophical Society and religious organizations based on a belief in Ascended Masters such as The I AM Activity The Bridge to Freedom and The Summit Lighthouse pp 330 334 a b King Godfre Ray Unveiled Mysteries Chicago Illinois Saint Germain Press 1934 p vii The time has arrived when the Great Wisdom held and guarded for many centuries in the Far East is now to come forth in America at the command of those Great Ascended Masters who direct and protect the evolution of mankind upon this Earth a b c d King Godfre Ray The Magic Presence Saint Germain Press 1935 page 89 95 Luk A D K Law of Life Book I Pueblo Colorado A D K Luk Publications 1989 pp 1 78 91 102 120 143 215 216 The name A D K Luk was the pseudonym of Alice Beulah Schutz Booras April 10 1905 Jan 14 1994 Mahatmas versus Ascended Masters Theosophical Society in America Archived from the original on 2016 03 07 Saint Germain Foundation The History of the I AM Activity and Saint Germain Foundation Schaumburg Illinois Saint Germain Press 2003 The Bridge to Freedom Journal 1951 1961 Reprinted by Ascended Master Teaching Foundation 1989 Lewis James R Church Universal and Triumphant in Scholarly Perspective Center For Academic Publication 1994 a b White Paper Wesak World Congress 2002 Acropolis Sophia Books amp Works 2003 Braden Charles S These Also Believe MacMillan Publishing Company 2000 pp 257 307 Watson Jacob L Initiations of the Aquarian Masters The Theosophy of the Aquarian Gospel Outskirts Press 2009 ISBN 978 1 4327 4598 1 Adventures of a Western Mystic Apprentice to the Masters Church of the Seven Rays 2010 King Godfre Ray Unveiled Mysteries Chicago Illinois Saint Germain Press 1934 page vii The time has arrived when the Great Wisdom held and guarded for many centuries in the Far East is now to come forth in America at the command of those Great Ascended Masters who direct and protect the evolution of mankind upon this Earth Saint Germain Foundation The History of the I AM Activity and Saint Germain Foundation Schaumburg Illinois Saint Germain Press 2003 The Bridge to Freedom Journal 1951 1961 Reprinted by Ascended Master Teaching Foundation 1989 a b Melton J Gordon 1994 Church Universal and Triumphant in Scholarly Perspective Stanford Calif Center for Academic Publication pp 1 2 ISBN 978 0 8191 9634 7 Ascended Masters amp The Spiritual Hierarchy Of Earth The Aetherius Society Retrieved 2017 08 02 Braden Charles S These Also Believe Macmillan Publishing Company 2000 pp 257 307 Watson Jacob L Initiations of the Aquarian Masters The Theosophy of the Aquarian Gospel Outskirts Press 2009 ISBN 978 1 4327 4598 1 Luk A D K Law of Life Book I Pueblo Colorado A D K Luk Publications 1989 pp 23 27 Prophet Mark L and Elizabeth Clare Lords of the Seven Rays Summit University Livingston Montana USA 1986 p 149 Prophet Mark L and Elizabeth Clare Lords of the Seven Rays p 153 Prophet Mark L and Elizabeth Clare Lords of the Seven Rays p 150 Roerich Elena Ivanovna Letters to America In 4 Vols 1923 1952 T 4 Moscow Sfera 1999 The Voice of the I AM Saint Germain Press December 1940 page 32 The Voice of the I AM Saint Germain Press July 1942 p 7 a b c d e f g h Luk A D K Law of Life Book I Pueblo Colorado A D K Luk Publications 1989 pages 1 78 91 102 120 143 215 216 a b c d e f King Godfre Ray Unveiled Mysteries Saint Germain Press 1934 pages 42 97 136 137 142 167 168 171 172 225 226 228 236 a b Partridge Christopher ed New Religions A Guide New Religious Movements Sects and Alternative Spiritualities Oxford University Press USA 2004 Describes the religious organizations based on a belief in the Ascended Master Teachings such as The I AM Activity The Bridge to Freedom and The Summit Lighthouse pages 330 334 a b The Bridge to Freedom Journal 1951 1961 Reprinted by Ascended Master Teaching Foundation 1989 a b I AM Ascended Master Dictation List Saint Germain Press Inc 1995 Listing of those who are claimed to be Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity Schroeder Werner Ascended Masters and Their Retreats Ascended Master Teaching Foundation 2004 Listing of those who are believed to be Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity and The Bridge to Freedom Luk A D K Law of Life Book II Pueblo Colorado A D K Luk Publications 1989 Listing of those who are claimed to be Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity and The Bridge to Freedom Booth Annice The Masters and Their Retreats Summit Lighthouse Library June 2003 Listing of those who are believed to be Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity The Bridge to Freedom and The Summit Lighthouse Shearer Monroe amp Carolyn I AM Adorations Affirmations amp Rhythmic Decrees Acropolis Sophia Books and Works 1998 Listing of those who are claimed to be Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity The Bridge to Freedom The Summit Lighthouse and The Temple of The Presence Prophet Mark L and Elizabeth Clare Lords of the Seven Rays Profiles of the Ascended Masters pp 13 394 Lists more than 250 Ascended Masters The Voice of the I AM Saint Germain Press July 1937 pages 9 17 Bailey Alice A A Treatise on Cosmic Fire Section Three Division A Certain Basic Statements 1932 Lucis Trust 1925 p 1237 Luk A D K The Law of Life Book II Pueblo Colorado A D K Luk Publications 1989 pages 267 272 Prophet Mark L and Elizabeth Clare Lords of the Seven Rays Livingston Montana Summit University Press 1986 page 225 Prophet Elizabeth Clare and Prophet Mark as compiled by Annice Booth The Masters and Their Retreats Corwin Springs Montana 2003 Summit University Press Pages 142 143 Bailey Alice A Initiation Human and Solar New York Lucis Publishing 1922 p 56 I AM Ascended Master Dictation List Saint Germain Press Inc 1995 Listing of Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity Schroeder Werner Ascended Masters and Their Retreats Ascended Master Teaching Foundation 2004 Listing of those who are believed to be Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity and The Bridge to Freedom Luk A D K Law of Life Book II Pueblo Colorado A D K Luk Publications 1989 Listing of Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity and The Bridge to Freedom Booth Annice The Masters and Their Retreats Summit Lighthouse Library June 2003 Listing of those who are believed to be Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity The Bridge to Freedom and The Summit Lighthouse Shearer Monroe amp Carolyn I AM Adorations Affirmations amp Rhythmic Decrees Acropolis Sophia Books and Works 1998 Listing of Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity The Bridge to Freedom The Summit Lighthouse and The Temple of The Presence Prophet Elizabeth Clare and Prophet Mark as compiled by Annice Booth The Masters and Their Retreats Corwin Springs Montana Summit University Press 2003 p 143 Sanat Kumara at ascension research org A Progress Report On Our Ascension at luisprada com Schroeder Werner Ascended Masters and Their Retreats Ascended Master Teaching Foundation 2004 Describes the founding of Shamballah by Sanat Kumara Blavatsky Helena Petrovna The Secret Doctrine The Synthesis of Science Religion and Philosophy Theosophical Publishing House 1888 Sanat Kumara Volume I pp 89 457 458 Volume II pp 106 140 319 584 Blavatsky Helena Petrovna The Secret Doctrine The Synthesis of Science Religion and Philosophy Theosophical Publishing House 1888 Volume II pp 243 ff Leadbeater C W The Masters and the Path Adyar India Theosophical Publishing House 1925 Reprint Kessinger Publishing 1997 pp 296 299 Prophet Elizabeth Clare and Prophet Mark as compiled by Annice Booth The Masters and Their Retreats Corwin Springs Montana 2003 Summit University Press See Profiles of the Ascended Masters Pages 13 394 More than 200 Ascended Masters are listed Barker A T and Vicente Hao Chin Jr eds The Mahatma Letters to A P Sinnett from the Mahatmas M and K H in Chronological Sequence p 5 Adyar Theosophical Publishing House 1998 Blavatsky Collected Writings vol 8 p 389 Wheaton Theosophical Publishing House 1977 91 See also CW 4 359 60 Barker A T Vicente Hao Chin Jr eds The Mahatma Letters to A P Sinnett from the Mahatmas M and K H in Chronological Sequence p 474 Adyar Theosophical Publishing House 1998 Barker A T Vicente Hao Chin Jr eds The Mahatma Letters to A P Sinnett from the Mahatmas M and K H in Chronological Sequence p 450 Adyar Theosophical Publishing House 1998 Barker A T Vicente Hao Chin Jr eds The Mahatma Letters to A P Sinnett from the Mahatmas M and K H in Chronological Sequence p 257 Adyar Theosophical Publishing House 1998 Blavatsky H P Collected Writings vol 6 p 247 Wheaton Theosophical Publishing House 1977 91 Blavatsky H P Collected Writings vol 8 p 14 Wheaton Theosophical Publishing House 1977 91 Barker A T and Vicente Hao Chin Jr eds The Mahatma Letters to A P Sinnett from the Mahatmas M and K H in Chronological Sequence p 222 Adyar Theosophical Publishing House 1998 C Jinarajadasa Early Teachings of the Masters p iv Chicago Theosophical Press 1923 Barker A T and Vicente Hao Chin Jr eds The Mahatma Letters to A P Sinnett from the Mahatmas M and K H in Chronological Sequence p 77 78 Adyar Theosophical Publishing House 1998 Eek Sven ed Damodar and the Pioneers of the Theosophical Movement p 605 Adyar Theosophical Publishing House 1965 Leadbeater Charles W The Masters and the Path Adyar Madras India Theosophical Publishing House 1925 p 166 Bailey Alice A Initiation Human and Solar New York Lucis Publishing 1922 p 12 The Bridge to Freedom Journal February 1956 Reprinted by Ascended Master Teaching Foundation 1989 Purported address from Maitreya on September 27 1954 through Geraldine Innocente a b c Barrett David 1996 Sects Cults and Alternative Religions A World Survey and Sourcebook London Blandford ISBN 0 7137 2567 2 Sinnett Alfred Percy The Occult World Boston Colby amp Rich 1882 Sisson Marina Cesar Helena Blavatsky and the Enigma of John King originally published as Informativo HPB No 3 4 and 5 English translation Melton Gordon J Partridge Christopher New Religions A Guide New Religious Movements Sects and Alternative Spiritualities Oxford University Press 2004 The Great White Brotherhood in the Culture History and Religion of America Summit University Press 1975 Watson Jacob L Initiations of the Aquarian Masters The Theosophy of the Aquarian Gospel Guenon Rene 2004 Theosophy history of a pseudo religion Alvin Moore Jr and Cecil Bethell trans pp 82 89 ISBN 9780900588808 Johnson K Paul The Masters Revealed Madam Blavatsky and Myth of the Great White Brotherhood Albany New York State University of New York Press 1994 Zweig Paul Talking to the Dead and Other Amusements The New York Times 5 October 1980 Carroll Robert Todd The skeptic s dictionary 2003 p 376 References EditBraden Charles S These Also Believe MacMillan Publishing Company 1960 Reprint 2000 The classic study of minority religions in the United States of America ISBN 0 02 514360 3 Cranston Sylvia H P B The Extraordinary Life amp Influence of Helena Blavastsky G P Putnam s Sons 1993 ISBN 0 9662115 1 0 Godwin Joscelyn 1994 The Theosophical Enlightenment SUNY Press ISBN 0 7914 2152 X King Godfre Ray Unveiled Mysteries Saint Germain Press 1934 ISBN 1878891006 King Godfre Ray The Magic Presence Saint Germain Press 1935 ISBN 1878891065 Luk A D K Law of Life Books I amp II Pueblo Colorado A D K Luk Publications 1989 Summary of Ascended Master Teachings from 1934 1958 as released through The I AM Activity and The Bridge to Freedom Milanovich Norma amp Shirley McCune The Light Shall Set You Free Athena Publishing 1996 2004 ISBN 0962741752 Includes quotes from numerous Ascended Masters Leadbeater C W The Masters and the Path The Theosophical Publishing House 1925 Reprint Kessinger Publishing 1997 ISBN 1 56459 686 9 Hall Manly P The Secret Teachings of All Ages An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic Hermetic Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy Being an Interpretation of the Secret Teachings Concealed within the Rituals Allegories and Mysteries of all Ages H S Crocker Company Inc 1928 Reprint Tarcher 2003 ISBN 1 58542 250 9 Partridge Christopher ed New Religions A Guide New Religious Movements Sects and Alternative Spiritualities Oxford University Press USA 2004 Describes The I AM Activity The Bridge to Freedom and The Summit Lighthouse ISBN 0195220420 Partridge Christopher ed New Religions A Guide New Religious Movements Sects and Alternative Spiritualities Oxford University Press USA 2004 Describes the Theosophical Society The I AM Activity The Bridge to Freedom and The Summit Lighthouse ISBN 0 19 522042 0 Saint Germain Foundation The History of the I AM Activity and Saint Germain Foundation Saint Germain Press 2003 ISBN 1 878891 99 5 Saint Germain I AM Discourses Saint Germain Press 1935 ISBN 1 878891 48 0 Mt Shasta Peter Apprentice to the Masters Adventures of Western Mystic Book II ISBN 978 0692570449Further reading EditCampbell Bruce F Ancient Wisdom Revived A History of the Theosophical Movement Berkeley 1980 University of California Press ISBN 9780520039681 Johnson K Paul The Masters Revealed Madam Blavatsky and Myth of the Great White Brotherhood Albany New York 1994 State University of New York Press ISBN 978 0791420645 Melton J Gordon Encyclopedia of American Religions 5th Edition New York 1996 Gale Research ISBN 0 8103 7714 4 ISSN 1066 1212 Chapter 18 The Ancient Wisdom Family of Religions Pages 151 158 see chart on page 154 listing Masters of the Ancient Wisdom Section 18 Pages 717 757 Descriptions of various Ancient Wisdom religious organizations Melton Gordon American Religious Creeds Detroit Gale 1988 republished in three volumes New York Triumph Books 1991 See chapter on the Ancient Wisdom group of religions ISBN 978 0800730147External links EditAgeless Wisdom Teachings The Saint Germain Foundation Original publisher of Ascended Master Teachings beginning in 1934 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ascended master amp oldid 1152014438, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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