Initiation (Theosophy)

Initiation is a concept in Theosophy in which human beings are said to pass through different stages or gateways of spiritual development. This process is largely hidden while being under the auspices of the beings that guide this planet, the Masters of Wisdom.

According to Theosophy, Initiation is an "esoteric process...an artificial forcing process introduced into our planet in mid-Atlantean times to speed up the evolutionary process. Without it we would inevitably arrive at the same point of development as we evidence today, but it would take millions of years longer to do so."^[1]

The concept of initiation was brought to the West by the writings of Helena Blavatsky, beginning in the late nineteenth century, followed by those of C. W. Leadbeater and Alice A. Bailey in the 1920s. (These writings are also referred to as the "Ageless Wisdom Teachings".)^[2] According to Alice A. Bailey, Initiation is the "process of undergoing an expansion [toward higher levels] of consciousness"^[3] 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."^[4] In these two quotes, one can recognize how Theosophy merges both Eastern and Western ideas about spiritual development into something new and syncretic: For the East has long grasped the importance of self-realization (which differs greatly from the idea of individuation or the pursuit of the "authentic" self), while the West recognizes the need for service or charity (should one become spiritually mature).

According to Martin Euser, “Theosophy closes the gap between science and religion by positing reincarnation as a dynamic process [unlike the concept of the eternal return].”^[5] Thus evolution is understood as not merely a physical process enhancing a species' survival, but also is related to humanity's spiritual development. Spiritual development depends upon two universal laws: the Law of Rebirth and the Law of Cause and Effect (i.e., reincarnation and the process of learning through precise experiences determined by the Law of Cause and Effect, the Law of Karma).^[6]

According to Benjamin Creme, a Theosophist and student of the Ageless Wisdom Teachings, the Divine descends into matter until it rises up again (a process based on ever heightened states of consciousness and self-control).

We are, essentially, Monads, sparks of God, demonstrating divinity at our tiny individual level. We have within us the potentiality of all divinity, and the process presented to us to demonstrate that divinity is rebirth. Rebirth is a process which allows God, through an agent (ourselves), to bring Itself down to Its polar opposite—matter—in order to bring that matter back into Itself, totally imbued with Its nature. It is an extraordinarily interesting and beautiful thing that is taking place in creation. It is amazing in its beauty, its intricacy, its logic, in the opportunity also for creative change, because it is not a fixed mechanical thing but an extraordinarily beautiful living process.^[7]

Nonetheless, this process is understood as a long and arduous journey, replete with suffering and spanning millions of years. To begin with, there are four, basic, albeit incredibly difficult-to-attain, stages of spiritual development that human beings on Earth are said to progress through, over hundreds of thousands of life-times.^[6]

The process of becoming a unique individual capable of sustaining states of heightened awareness is painstakingly slow because most people mechanically pursue their own likes and dislikes, and in the process, consciously or unconsciously, impose their will on others.^[8] In the Greek New Testament this is referred to as metanoia, or "sin" (i.e., mistaken thoughts, feelings or behaviour). Asserting one's power over others results in trauma of all kinds and thus bad karma, which slows down one's spiritual development (as all harmful acts demand redress). But because karmic events further one's understanding about one's self and the world (as individuals are obliged to experience at some point or other the pain they have inflicted upon others), they ultimately offer a corrective for negative acts and thereby foster awakening. As such, the Law of Cause and Effect must ultimately be deemed a beneficent, if not divine, law.^[9]

It is important to note that the idea of karma is very ancient, with it being traced back to the Jains. Karma is considered: 1) to be earned; 2) to be both good and bad in quality; 3) to pertain to the Law of Cause and Effect (or the Law of Action and Reaction) which pervades the universe and ensures that the qualities latent in any individual, group, nation or species shall appear; and 4) to leave behind a residue (i.e., karmon particles) on both one's soul as well as any temporary physical vehicle the evolving ego inhabits — thus ensuring that certain kinds of experiences will repeatedly be drawn into an individual's life (or in a place, for example, where repeated traumas occur).^[10][11][12] As such, karma is not merely determined by distinctive acts and one's reactions to everyday events, but also relates to the quality of one's vibration. Through self-discipline one has the opportunity to overcome the pull of one's inner demands (one's most mechanical or compulsive qualities), as well as the overt stimulation of the outside world, thereby growing detached.^[8] (In order to learn how not to react, there must be something within one that is detached.) Through meditation and strenous acts of service, one deepens one's relationship with one's higher self or soul.^[13]

The soul can only manifest itself to any great extent through analogous vibration. It is for this reason that so much emphasis has been laid, in all teachings, on purity — of physical body, of feelings, of mind and of motive...By the time the Initiatory Path is being trodden, the habits of purity are expected to be already established and automatic.^[14]

Without discipline, initiation is said to be inconceivable, for spiritual maturity entails the relinquishing of one's personal desires. By learning to observe one's self as a detached, outside observer would, one acquires the fortitude and insight not to resist what is (as Jesus' life and death so aptly taught the world).^[15][16]

Initiation, according to Bailey, "entails the realisation of an increasing unity with all that lives."^[17]

At-one-ment on all levels — emotional, intuitional, spiritual and Divine — consists in conscious, continuous functioning. In all cases it is preceded by a burning, through the medium of inner fire, and by the destruction, through sacrifice, of all that separates.^[18]

Only when one has grown exquisitely aware throughout time and space (i.e., both absolutely free of the lower aspects of one's self, yet restrained and enlightened) can one arrive at the fifth level of initiation; at that point, one becomes a Master of Wisdom. Having mastered one's body, feelings, and mind, one has grown to be harmless, intuitive, brilliant, telepathic, and soul-infused. At this stage, the individual is said to be impersonal and objective, beyond the reach of death, and is awarded the opportunity to serve as part of the Spiritual Hierarchy, the planetary governing body that oversees the plan of the Logos (i.e., the evolution of the planet as a whole).^[6][16]

Death: The grand illusion

According to the Ancient Wisdom Teachings, death is merely a transition from one state of consciousness to another. While scientific materialists may deny the legitimacy of this view, physicists have long recognized that energy cannot be destroyed, even if it changes form.^[19]

Because there is a deep, instinctual love of life shared by all living beings, however, death has generally long: been abhorred and denied; experienced as terrifying and painful; evoked self-pity as it has been equated with losses of all kinds (i.e., of roles, goals, relationships, possessions, and most importantly, perhaps, experience itself). In exceptional cases it has promoted a certain kind of courage or, conversely, resignation. (Yet even sudden, violent death is experienced as no more than an electric shock). Despite the fact that death is inevitable and offers diverse kinds of experience, all of these reactions can be understood as an identification with the form aspect of life itself, rather than the essence or substance underlying life, which Theosophists consider to be eternal. In general, humanity has dreaded the unknown, in part because it has proven one's sense of personal limitation, if not powerlessness, rather than the grand mystery of existence itself.^[19] Rather than experiencing death as an escape, much of humanity dreads it as a punishment, so Alice Bailey offers this corrective from the Master Djwal Kuhl, for whom she served as the amanuensis via telepathy:

There is...no angry God, no hell, and no vicarious atonement. There is only a great principle of love animating the entire universe; there is the Presence of the Christ, indicating to humanity the fact of the soul and that we are saved by the livingness of that soul, and the only hell is the earth itself, where we learn to work out our own salvation, actuated by the principle of love and light, and incited thereto by the example of the Christ and the inner urge of our own souls.^[20]

Moreover, whether one believes in the accounts of millions of individuals who have testified in Near Death Experiences or not, physical science will soon develop the capacity to photograph the etheric realm, thereby proving the existence of something that survives the death of the human body, even if it should not be called "the soul". Increasingly, as more and more people adopt a more open, curious attitude towards their own death (most importantly, as it is taking place), humanity will relinquish its age-old fears and come to understand death as a cyclical event to be planned for — one to experience, if at all possible, as a conscious witness.^[19]

The probationary path

At present, the vast majority of humanity remains on the "probationary path", because it has yet to take the first initiation. Once committing to one's spiritual development, however, an individual stands seemingly alone, faced with all kinds of new possibilities and challenges. (These should not be confused with negative karma).

When people near the gate of initiation, at whatever level, a profound change takes place in their life patterns and associations. All that was familiar and comforting loses its flavor and becomes stale. All that tended to support and comfort falls away. A new openness and vulnerability takes the place of assured habits of thought, and an unfamiliar humility descends upon the seeker. The old certainties disappear, the world changes shape and nothing is as it was.

When this happens, the individual experiences a profound sense of unease, impending loss, often of despair. All seems black and bereft of hope. The old loses its appeal, the future beckons menacingly.

Thus it is for the individual disciple. Thus, too, is it for humanity as a whole. As it stands, now, at the very door of initiation into a new state of consciousness, humanity steels itself for the experience of the new, the infinite tasks ahead, the creation of a new world. Bereft of guidance, it would founder quickly and suffer painfully. Without higher help, its progress would be slow and fitful, its future uncertain and bleak.^[21]

Thus one has begun to eschew carelessness, in all of its forms.^[22][23]

First initiation ("birth" to the spiritual life)

In the Buddhist tradition, the First Initiation is referred to as Sotāpanna (संस्कृताः - स्रोताअर्पणा, One who offers oneself to the stream (of spirituality)). In the Ascended Master Teachings, a soul that reaches this level is referred to as having attained their Individualized "I AM" Presence.

According to Alice A. Bailey, at the First Initiation one masters the physical body (e.g., by exercising, choosing right diet, and adopting restraint as regards to all of one's appetites). Accordingly, one is not unduly concerned by one's appearance, pain, or illness.^[24]

Benjamin Creme elucidates this process further by describing the necessity of acquiring control over not merely the human appetites and body, but over that which comprises the human vehicles on the invisible plane — that which includes tiny devic beings or elemental lives.

Our bodies (physical, astral and mental) are made up of the life forms of tiny devas on each of these three planes. Our bodies are literally made up of theirs, and in this way the devas gain the life-experience which will eventually equip them for human consciousness. They are infinitesimally small, myriads being required to create the substance of our vehicles."^[25]

Benjamin Creme asserted that he had a moment-to-moment relationship with a Master of Wisdom (i.e, a member of the Earth's Hierarchy) from whom emerged his teachings about the Return of the Christ and the role of humanity on Earth. Although, in 1984, Benjamin Creme advanced a belief that there were merely 800,000 First Degree Initiates alive (when the human population was at 4.767 billion), he insisted that many more people would be taking the First Initiation in the future. This would take place during a turbulent period when humanity would undergo a period of heightened spiritual tension and, thus, accelerated spiritual growth.^[26]

We are entering the "crisis of love". This is the experience which the human race faces as it enters the period in its evolutionary journey when it will, as a whole, demonstrate the quality of Love and take its place in the Kingdom of Souls, the Esoteric Hierarchy. During the Aquarian Age, the aim of the Christ, Maitreya, the Hierophant at the first two initiations, will be to initiate millions of people, in group formation, into the Hierarchy, at some stage or other. Vast numbers will take the first and some will take the second initiation. This is an extraordinary Plan as it is envisaged by the Lord of the World, Sanat Kumara, on Shamballa, carried out by His agents, the planetary Hierarchy.

As does everything in Cosmos, evolution proceeds according to definite laws. The result of evolutionary experience and progress is to come into deeper awareness of these laws and of the mechanism by which they govern the energies at the basis of all creation. God, it might be said, is the sum total of the energies in the whole of the manifested and unmanifested universe and at the same time the laws governing these energies, and their interrelationship. God, as it says in the Bible, is a consuming fire. God is energy, fire; not one fire but many fires. Their interrelation and interaction create the visible and the invisible universe. As we understand their working, we become manipulators of these laws. The Logos of the various planets and great beings like the Christ and the Buddha have evolved into awareness of these laws, have understood their workings and how to manipulate them correctly, scientifically, in accordance with the Plan of the Solar Logos.^[27]

Working telepathically with his own Master, Benjamin Creme delineated these first degree initiates: Akhnaton; Homer; Pericles; Alexander the Great; Marcus Aurelius; Elizabeth I; Aeschylus; Hans Christian Anderson; Charlie Chaplin; Helen Keller; Alexander Graham Bell; Hildegard von Bingen; Vincent Van Gogh; David Bohm; Dogen; George Washington Carver; Samuel Hahnemann; Emily Dickinson; Thomas Edison; and Fannie Lou Hamer .^[28]

Second initiation ("the baptism")

In the Buddhist tradition, the Second Initiation is referred to as Sakadagami (संस्कृताः - शक्यतोअगामी, perhaps will not go/continue (will return)).

Alice A. Bailey states that at the Second Initiation, one gains full control over the emotions or the astral body.^[29] (According to Benjamin Creme, there were 240,000 people at this level of initiation in 1984, when the world population was 4.767 billion).^[26]

Examples of individuals who are said to be second degree initiates in their lifetime are: Aristotle; Hippocrates; Elijah; Annie Besant; Alfred Percy Sinnett; William Blake; Chekov; Herman Hesse; Dostoevsky; Goethe; Botticelli; Gauguin; Händel; Brahms; Richard Wagner; Maria Callas; Catharine of Alexander; Benjamin Franklin; Cesar Chavez; Hugo Chavez; Franklin D. Roosevelt; Eleanor Roosevelt; John F. Kennedy; Willy Brandt; Gandhi; Martin Luther King Jr.; Copernicus; Galileo; Marie Curie; Darwin; Frederick Douglas; the Apostle Matthew; Rudolph Steiner; Georges Gurdjieff; Peter Ouspensky; Sigmund Freud; Rajneesh; C. W. Leadbeater; Andrei Sakharov; Masahisa Goi; J. Robert Oppenheimer; Albert Einstein; Buckminster Fuller; and Nikola Tesla.^[28]

Third initiation ("the transfiguration")

In the Buddhist tradition, the Third Initiation is referred to as Anagami (संस्कृताः - अनआगामी, cannot come back/return).

The chief task of the initiate approaching this portal is acquiring the ability to observe the workings and content of the mind on a moment-to-moment basis. One method of acquiring such a heightened state of awareness and self-control is through meditation. Meditation is important also because it deepens the disciple's relationship with one's own soul.^[3] Alice Bailey, provides precise tutelage about the nature and method of meditating.

The one who meditates is the soul, the ego, and his work is positive activity, not a negative state or condition. Much of the work done under the name of meditation is dangerous and useless, because that which seeks to control is the man on the physical plane, and his endeavour is concentrated on the attainment of brain stillness. He seeks to quiet the brain cells, and render them negative, quiescent, and receptive. True meditation, however, concerns the soul and the mind; the receptivity of the brain is an automatic reaction to the higher condition. In Raja Yoga, therefore, contact with the true man, the ego, and the power to "still the modifications of the thinking principle" must precede all brain activity and responsiveness. The Lord of the Mind is ever awake, ever aware of the tendency of the mind to respond to force currents, produced by thought or desire; he therefore watches every emanation of force issuing from him, and controls every thought and impulse so that only those streams of energy and those impulses originate with him which are in line with the purpose held constantly in view, and in pursuance of the group plan.^[30]

An individual who is at that level is said to have acquired fully developed clairvoyance and clairaudience.^[31] Those said to have become third degree initiates during their lifetimes are: Sri Aurobindo; Baha'u'llah; Alice A. Bailey; J. S. Bach; Beethoven; Mozart; Rubens; Giovanni Bellini; Raphael; Titian; El Greco; Rembrandt; Shakespeare; Francis of Assisi; Jeanne D'Arc; the Apostle Paul; the Apostle Peter; Abraham Lincoln; Churchill; Chitananda (of San Francisco); Mohammed; Guru Nanak; and Padmasambhava.^[32] According to Benjamin Creme, there were between 2,000 and 3,000 people at this level in 1984.^[26]

Fourth initiation ("the crucifixion")

In the Buddhist tradition, the Fourth Initiation is referred to as Arhat (संस्कृताः - अरिहंता (अरि Enemy/Vices), हंता (Killed/Conquered). This can be translated as the one who has conquered, the one who has killed all inner enemies. Such an individual is known as "the perfected one", or an Arhat (in Pali) or a Paramahamsa (in Sanskrit). Buddhists believe that fourth degree initiates can remember all of their past lives. Nonetheless, "to be conscious on a plane and to have control on that plane are two very different conditions."^[33]

Symbolically the fourth initiation is equated with the crucifixion. According to Benjamin Creme, in 1984 there were merely 450 people at this level of initiation, on a planet of 4.767 billion.^[26] Individual examples of those who took the fourth initiation during their life-time include: Helena Blavatsky; Helena Roerich; Sri Chinmoy; Lao-tse; Hermes; Zoroaster; Muktananda (of Berkeley); Sivananda (of Rishikesh); Krishnamurti; Jesus; and Vyasa.^[28]

"The seven choices before the perfect [hu]man"

Having reached the threshold of the fifth initiation, a soul does not necessarily have to enter Earth's spiritual hierarchy proper as one of the "Masters of the Ancient Wisdom". One can proceed along one of seven paths.^[34] In Theosophical literature "the seven choices before the perfect [hu]man" are that the Initiate:

1. "Remains with Humanity as an official of the Hierarchy (Form.)" This signifies that the Fifth Degree Initiate decides to become a Master of Wisdom, remaining to serve the plan on Earth.

2. "Remains with humanity as a 'Nirmanakaya'. (Life.)" or bodhisattva.

3. "Joins the Devas or Angelic Hosts".

4. "Joins the 'Staff Corps of the Solar Logos'." Such beings join the Masters living in etheric cities inside the Sun. They are said to supervise the activities of the Solar Angels that direct the process of evolution of the life waves (i.e., the process of reincarnation) of the beings, both seen and unseen, on the diverse planets of our Solar System. (Only those living on Earth are visible, while the others abide on the etheric planes of their planets. All the planets are said to be inhabited, but Humanity has yet to acquire etheric sight.)

5. "Prepares the work of the next Chain." Those who are most evolved help develop the plans for the future development of planetary civilizations throughout this solar system.

6.&7. "Enters Nirvana", i.e., become a Pratyekabuddha.^[34][35][36]

Fifth initiation ("the resurrection")

The fifth initiation, called the resurrection, marks a turning point in the evolutionary journey of disciples, enabling them to join the Fifth Kingdom, the Kingdom of Souls, and serve as part of the Spiritual Hierarchy furthering the Plan for Earth.^[37]

Siddhis at this level include the ability to teleport and bilocate moderate distances and levitate within a localized area.

According to C. W. Leadbeater, Alice Bailey and Benjamin Creme, there are a total of 43 beings at this level of initiation (with another 17 having taken the sixth initiation). Of these 43 Masters, a total of 16 have been identified: one by C. W. Leadbeater and nine by Alice Bailey; while before his death in 2016, Benjamin Creme had stated that six additional Masters had already returned to the everyday world.

Leadbeater named a Master called the Master Jupiter whom he asserted is helping further the development of the people, government, and the nation of India.^[38]

Bailey identified the Master P., whom she contended was aiding St. Germain to usher into the Americas the values of inclusivity or unity in diversity (characteristics typifying the Age of Aquarius). Furthermore, she claimed there existed two different British Masters, one of whom she said had inspired the birth of the labor movement.^[39] In addition to these three, she also wrote about the three Lords of Liberation, whom she attested promoted the thought-form of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.

A part from these six Masters, Bailey also asserted that three Lords of Karma are working on this planet. These Lords are said to reside in Shamballah, helping the Lord of the World, Sanat Kumara, to determine where and when souls are going to incarnate in their next lifetime.^[40]

In 2001, Creme stated there were Masters of Wisdom actually living in the physical realm on Earth and seeking to aid humanity. They are residing in New York, Moscow, London, Geneva, Darjeeling, and Tokyo.^[41]

Apart from the works of these traditional Theosophists, there were dictations from 200 additional Ascended Masters in which Guy Ballard and Elizabeth Clare Prophet claimed to be able to identify Masters at this level or beyond (including Confucius, Lord Ling, Lady Master Magda, Pallas Athena, Kwan Yin, Padre Pio, and Guy Ballard).^[42] These individuals (with the exception of Confucius who was already a fifth degree initiate in 479 B.C.), however, are not recognized as Masters of Wisdom by traditional Theosophists. (While admiring the writings of Baird Spaulding as they were a result of direct communication both on the physical and etheric plane between the author and the Masters, Benjamin Creme commented that channeled information, in general, was unreliable due to its having originated from the astral realm, a realm clouded with human thought-forms, and glamour or delusion).^[43][44]

Examples given of those who achieved the fifth initiation during their life-time include: Apollonius of Tyana (the re-incarnation of Jesus).^[28]

Sixth initiation ("the ascension" or "masterhood")

The Chohans (Lords) of the Seven Rays – Morya (1st Ray), Master Koot Hoomi (2nd Ray), Paul the Venetian (3rd Ray), Serapis Bey (4th Ray), Master Hilarion (5th Ray), Master Jesus (6th Ray), and the Master Rakoczi (7th Ray), coordinated by Djwal Khul – are all said to be at the level of the sixth initiation.^[45]

Siddhis at this level include the ability to teleport, bilocate, or levitate to anyplace on Earth.

Seventh initiation ("bodhisattva" , "avatar", or "christhood")

The seventh initiation is known as the initiation of the Bodhisattava in Buddhism or that of the Avatar in Hinduism. At this level also are said to be the Chakshusha Manu, the Vaivasvatu Manu and the Maha Chohan.^[45][46] According to Benjamin Creme, a being at this level has the ability to teleport to anyplace in the Solar System.^[47]

The notion of the Christ is said to refer to a role, the role of the World Teacher, not an actual being. The Theosophists identified the being fulfilling the role of the World Teacher as Maitreya, although Maitreya is known under different names by diverse religious faiths (i.e., as the Kalki Avatar to Hindus, the Christ to Christians, Maitreya to Buddhists, the Messiah to Jews, the Iman Mahdi to Muslims, and the Peshotan to the Zoroastrians). Thus, according to Theosophists, Maitreya is one and the same being, having impacted all the great world religions over thousands of years.^[48][49]

Eighth initiation ("buddhahood")

Level eight is that of the Buddha.^[45]

At this level also, according to C.W. Leadbeater, are The Three Pratyeka Buddhas, whose task is to focus the Seven Rays from Sanat Kumara through Djwal Khul to the chohans of the Seven Rays; they do not interact directly with the human race.^[45]

Alice A. Bailey stated that communication among beings at this level is entirely by telepathy. According to Theosophist Alfred Percy Sinnett, beings at this level can freely roam both in interplanetary space and in nearby interstellar space.^[50]

Ninth initiation ("godhood")

Level nine is the "Lord of the World": Sanat Kumara – "The Eternal Youth" and "The Ancient of Days", that is believed by Theosophists to be the "Lord of the World", i.e., the governing deity of Earth.^[45]

C.W. Leadbeater stated that Sanat Kumara's "consciousness is of so extended a nature that it comprehends at once all the life on our globe. In his hands are the powers of cyclic destruction, for he wields Fohat (i.e. beams composed of "bubbles in space" used by Theosophical deities to materialize or dematerialize material objects)^[51] in its higher forms and can deal directly with cosmic forces outside our chain (i.e., outside our solar system)."^[52] Beings at this level demonstrate: 1) omniscience regarding events occurring on any singular planet; 2) the capacity to materialize objects; and 3) the ability to affect at a distance happenings in other nearby planetary systems.

Tenth initiation ("silent watcher")

The tenth initiation is considered to symbolize perfection and is used to describe the Silent watcher. It also denotes the Planetary Logos of Earth.^[53] In order to reach the status of a Planetary Logos, this being would have had to have been a high level Planetary Deva in some other solar system before it incarnated inside our planet at the time of the creation of the world. According to C. W. Leadbeater, the "Planetary Logos" is functioning at the tenth level of initiation and Sanat Kumara, is in continuous telepathic rapport with the Planetary Logos, functioning as its spokes-deity. Since the formulation in the early 1970s by James Lovelock of the Gaia hypothesis, the idea of the Earth Mother has been popularized. As such, the Theosophists conception of the "Planetary Logos of Earth", although renamed in the New Age, is widely accepted.

Levels of initiation beyond the tenth level

In the theosophical teachings of Alice Bailey, there is a powerful being living inside the Sun serving the Solar Logos called the Avatar of Synthesis.^[54] Its job is to transmit the seven rays from the heart of the Sun through the seven spirits before the [solar] throne to all the life waves of the Solar System. According to Benjamin Creme, the Avatar of Synthesis is functioning at the 17th level of initiation.^[55]

C.W. Leadbeater stated, "The ladder of being [i.e., of initiation] extends upward into clouds of light, into which few of us can yet penetrate, and when we ask those who stand higher than we and know infinitely more than we do, all they can say is that it extends beyond their sight also. They know very many more steps of it than we do, but it goes still further, onwards and upward to unimaginable heights of glory, and no one knows its end."^[56] If the concept of the Multiverse is true, then, as Theosophists long maintained, other Spiritual Hierarchies exist in other Universes and there are many other cosmoses besides our own.^[36]

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1. Creme, Benjamin (1993). Maitreya's Mission Vol. 1 (3rd ed.). London: Share International Foundation. p. 171.
2. Bailey, Alice A. (1985). Death: The Great Adventure. New York: Lucis Trust. pp. v.
3. Bailey, Alice A. Initiation, Human and Solar New York: 1922 – Lucis Publishing, page 12
4. Leadbeater, C.W. The Masters and the Path Adyar, Madras, India: 1925 – Theosophical Publishing House Page 166
5. Euser, Martin Science and Spirituality in the New Millennium 2008
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18. Bailey, Alice A. (1922). Initiation, Human and Solar. New York: Lucis Trust. p. 18.
19. Bailey, Alice A. (1985). Death: The Great Adventure. New York: Lucis Trust. pp. 1–15.
20. Bailey, Alice A. (1985). Death: The Great Adventure. New York: Lucus Trust. p. 13.
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22. The Upanishads The Holy Spirit of the Vedas. India: Vijay Goel. 2018.
23. Bailey, Alice A. (1927). The Light of the Soul: Its Science and Effect. Lucis Trust. p. 410.
24. Bailey, Alice A. Initiation, Human and Solar New York: 1922 – Lucis Publishing, page 82
25. Creme, Benjamin (1993). Maitreya's Mission Vol. 1 (3rd ed.). London: Share International Foundation. pp. 170, 172.
26. Creme, Benjamin (1993). Maitreya's Mission Vol. 1 (3rd ed.). London: Share International Foundation. p. 195.
27. Creme, Benjamin (1993). Maitreya's Mission Vol. 1 (3rd ed.). London: Share International Foundation. pp. 154–155.
28. Creme, Benjamin (2013). Maitreya's Mission Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). Share International Foundation. pp. 557–588, 689–698.
29. Bailey, Alice A. Initiation, Human and Solar New York: 1922 – Lucis Publishing, page 85
30. Bailey, Alice A. (1927). The Light of the Soul Its Science and Effect. New York: Lucis Trust. pp. 409–410.
31. Bailey, Alice A. Initiation, Human and Solar New York: 1922 – Lucis Publishing, page 87
32. Creme, Benjamin (1997). Maitreya's Mission Vol. 3. London: Share International Foundation. pp. 617–681.
33. Bailey, Alice A. Initiation, Human and Solar New York: 1922 – Lucis Publishing, page 4
34. Gardner, E.L. The Web of the Universe London:1936 Theosophical Publishing House "The Seven Choices Before the Perfect Man" Page 97
35. "Web of the Universe" text on Internet:
36. Creme, Benjamin (2010). The Gathering of the Forces of Light: UFOs and their Spiritual Mission. London: Share International Foundation.
37. Creme, Benjamin (2021). Ageless Wisdom Teachings (2nd ed.). London: Share International Foundation.
38. Leadbeater, C. W. The Masters and the Path Adyar, Madras, India: 1925 – Theosophical Publishing House, page 33
39. Bailey, Alice A. The Externalisation of the Hierarchy New York:1957—Lucis Press (Compilation of earlier revelations by Alice A. Bailey) Master P. Page 682; See numerous references to "English Master" in Index
40. Bailey, Alice A. The Externalisation of the Hierarchy New York:1957—Lucis Press (Compilation of earlier revelations by Alice A. Bailey) "Lords of Liberation"
41. Creme, Benjamin Creme (2001). The Great Approach New Light and Life for Humanity. London: Share International Foundation. pp. 177–179.
42. Prophet, Elizabeth Clare and Prophet, Mark (as compiled by Annice Booth) The Masters and Their Retreats Corwin Springs, Montana:2003 Summit University Press "Profiles of the Ascended Masters" – pages 13–394 More than 200 "Ascended Masters" are listed
43. Creme, Benjamin (2013). Maitreya's Mission Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). Share International Foundation. pp. 569, 583–586.
44. Creme, Benjamin (1997). Maitreya's Mission Vol. 3. London: Share International Foundation. pp. 617–681.
45. Leadbeater, C.W. The Masters and the Path. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House 1925 "Diagram 5 – The Spiritual Hierarchy" – facing page 248
46. Bailey, Alice A. Initiation, Human and Solar New York: 1922, Lucis Publishing Chart, page 49
47. Creme, Benjamin Maitreya's Mission – Volume III Amsterdam: 1997 Share International Foundation, page 72
48. Bailey, Alice A. (1947). The Return of the Christ. New York: Lucis Trust.
49. Creme, Benjamin (1980). The Reappearance of Christ and the Return of the Masters of Wisdom. London: Share International Foundation.
50. Sinnett, A. P. Esoteric Buddhism, London 1883
51. Powell, A.E. The Solar System: A Complete Outline of the Theosophical Scheme of Evolution London:1930 The Theosophical Publishing House Page 19
52. Leadbeater, C.W. The Masters and the Path. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House 1925 Page 296
53. Powell, A.E. The Solar System: A Complete Outline of the Theosophical Scheme of Evolution London:1930 The Theosophical Publishing House Chapter XXVI – "The Building of the Earth" The Planetary Logos, pages 162–163
54. Bailey, Alice A. The Externalisation of the Hierarchy New York:1957 Lucis Publishing Co. See "Avatar of Synthesis" in the Index
55. Creme, Benjamin Maitreya's Mission – Volume III Amsterdam:1997 Share Foundation Page 72
56. Leadbeater, C.W. The Masters and the Path. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House 1925 Page 207

Further reading

• Bailey, Alice A. Initiation, Human and Solar, The Lucis Publishing Company (1922)
• Leadbeater, C.W. The Masters and the Path Adyar, Madras, India: 1925—Theosophical Publishing House—Chart on page 249 (diagram 5), provides details about the Great Ones functioning on initiation levels five through nine.
• Creme, Benjamin Maitreya's Mission Amsterdam: 1986—Share International Foundation—Chart on pages 373–393 gives the Level of Initiation of famous people of history (all the indicated levels are between one and five).

External links

• Ascended master
• Maitreya (Theosophy)
• Sanat Kumara
• Helena Blavatsky
• Alice A. Bailey
• Benjamin Creme
• What is Initiation? M.R. Jaqua:
• List compiled by Benjamin Crème of the Level of Initiation of various famous spiritual teachers and some other famous people throughout history: