The Way of Man by Henry T. Laurency
16. THE PLANETARY HIERARCHY
16. THE PLANETARY HIERARCHY
1Only esotericians who were initiates in previous lives know that there are two more natural kingdoms on our planet except the four ones ascertainable by science, the fifth and sixth natural kingdoms, commonly called the planetary hierarchy, since the two kingdoms make up a unitary organization.
2Most of what the usual ignorance of life has managed to pick up about those higher kingdoms it has as usual distorted beyond recognition. Perhaps the following can serve to refute some part of the largely ineradicable learning in public opinion, which is sure of its ground, since “a known thing is as good as one witnessed”. When mankind some time learns the esoteric history, everything will be different. However, the historian cannot know that he, too, is a fictionalist. The causal self, having once studied the planetary memory, will accept no other information about the past than facts he has ascertained himself. (We refer to all selves as “he”, since in the terminology of the planetary hierarchy everybody is a brother and is mentioned as “he” without discrimination of sex. Sex is a thing exclusively belonging to organic life. Aggregate envelopes are without sex.)
3The fifth natural kingdom, the essential kingdom, consists of essential selves (46) and superessential selves (45). The sixth natural kingdom, the manifestal kingdom, consists of submanifestal selves (44) and manifestal selves (43).
4The planetary hierarchy bye the bye adopts people who have reached such a development of their consciousness that they have placed themselves at disposal as tools for the hierarchy’s work among men. In order to become increasingly suitable tools they are accepted as disciples. As such ones, they receive ever more knowledge as to how they are to activate ever higher kinds of consciousness.
5There are always representatives of the planetary hierarchy (avatars) in physical incarnation. At the present stage of mankind’s development, they must remain unknown to everybody but their disciples. Those who have appeared have paid dearly for such undauntedness. Besides, what would be the use of it? No one accepts their message, or it is made a new religion, a new sect that excludes everyone who does not accept the inevitable distortion.
6For nearly twelve thousand years (since 9564 BCE) mankind has had to “manage its own affairs”. That history should have taught us that we are unable to solve the political, social, economic, cultural problems (not to mention the problems of the theory of knowledge). During this long time, the planetary hierarchy has patiently waited for mankind to come to see the limitation of the human intellect and to call back the only ones who are able to solve those problems. The esoterician knows that all other attempts at solution of the problems of mankind will always result in a fiasco.
7When mankind, which in Atlantis, in its grotesque self-sufficiency, did not want to listen to those supermen, will see that it is unable to solve the problems of life and will call the planetary hierarchy back, then it will reappear but then all in a body, without fuss and miracles. The condition of its reappearance is, of course, that the leading quarters of mankind have seen that the hierarchy must exist and are prepared to receive its knowledge.
1The planetary hierarchy consists of four collective beings, corresponding to the four worlds 43–46. In our zodiacal epoch, even disciples will be taught how to make their own causal collective beings (with atoms taken from the envelopes of all participating individuals gathered in a causal form). It is this collective being that receives instruction, not the particular individuals. Everything is to be done collectively as a preparation for transition to the essential world, a process that will speed up everybody’s consciousness development considerably. Only mental selves are eligible. Others must wait until they have reached the mental stage. There will be small collective beings (with common consciousness) of nine individuals each at the most, doing concerted work in the physical, emotional, and mental worlds. Everybody makes his contribution with his own qualities and abilities and shares in the group capacity. Everybody works to strengthen it and receives aid from all in the group for this. Thus it is a common work. Any tendency to criticism of other members of the group is of course precluded. Everybody does as best he can. When its collective consciousness functions perfectly, the group is assigned a special task in the worlds of man or finds one by itself.
1The planetary hierarchy consists of four ever higher kinds of beings, of monads that have attained the corresponding highest kind of consciousness (46, 45, 44, 43). Many members of the planetary hierarchy have acquired consciousness of a higher kind than corresponds to their status in the hierarchy. One instance is Pythagoras, who in our times became a 44-self, although he acquired 43-consciousness while still being a 45-self. Capacity acquired is by no means always recognized officially.
2The second selves of the planetary hierarchy are grouped into seven departments; and its third selves, into three main departments, rather corresponding to the first three of the seven. Of course, little is as yet known about the functions of those departments. For one reason, other problems of knowledge have been deemed more important to elucidate first to life-ignorant mankind. For another, mankind is in no position to understand the pertaining problems. We should perhaps be grateful that information is not given about them, considering our abundant experience of human faith in all manner of senseless imaginative speculations. Mankind has yet to learn to tell the difference between what it knows and what it knows not, what it can know and what it cannot know, can comprehend and cannot comprehend. It looks as if it would take some time before it has learnt such a simple thing.
3From the beginning, 18 million years ago, the planetary hierarchy (the fifth and sixth natural kingdoms) was made up of individuals who had belonged to another mankind. From 1925 on this is no longer the case. Nowadays, the planetary hierarchy is exclusively composed of individuals who have developed within our mankind on this or on a previous planet and who have sped ahead of the others. The second and third selves borrowed from without thus have left our system in so far as they do not remain in the planetary government, which is exclusively made up of individuals from other systems (with one exception: Gautama Buddha). The supreme chiefs of the first three departments of the planetary hierarchy are “co-opted members” of the planetary government.
4The supreme chief of the planetary hierarchy is 43-self Christos–Maitreya, who is also the supreme chief of the second department. It is foreseen that he will be able to begin his cosmic consciousness expansion at the end of the current zodiacal epoch of Aquarius, about the year 4450. His successor in office will then be the present 44-self K.H. (alias Pythagoras). Former Saint Germain, nowadays a 43-self, became the supreme chief of the third department (comprising the subdepartments 4–7) in 1925. All three have been mentioned because they are famous figures in our world history.
1The division into seven departments is constant in all cosmic kingdoms and in the solar system. Every monad (primordial atom) is part of anyone of these seven. There are transitions from one department to another, but belonging to a department is inevitable.
2The first department represents motion or the energy or will aspect; the second department, the consciousness aspect; and the third, the matter aspect; the aspects being taken in their most general sense, embracing all phenomena, all life within the planet. The four others may be said to be different combinations of the first three.
3In a solar system of the first degree, the third department is dominant; in one of the second degree, the second department; and in one of the third degree, the first department. Thus in our solar system of the second degree, the second department is the foremost. It is the department of the consciousness aspect, of knowledge, wisdom, and love.
4In world 43 exist the three main departments with their three supreme chiefs. The first department is the highest authority of the will aspect; and the second department, of the consciousness aspect. The third department is the final goal of the monads in the other five departments. Under these three there are seven departments in world 44. And each of these seven has in its turn seven departments in world 45. How many individuals enter into these departments has not been publicized. Each 45-self appears to have many 46-selves within his own department.
1The planetary hierarchy consists of those second selves and third selves who have gone through the lowest four natural kingdoms and followed the path of evolution called the human evolutionary stream (since it goes through the human kingdom). The function of the planetary hierarchy is to supervise this “stream” all the way from the mineral kingdom.
2Beside the planetary hierarchy there are six other hierarchies on an equal footing (from causal selves to 43-selves), which all cooperate under the guidance of the planetary government. They have all started their evolution in the mineral kingdom. In this connection it may be pointed out that development in the human kingdom only exceptionally goes through organisms belonging to the animal kingdom. On most planets of the solar systems, gross physical (49:5-7) as well as physical-etheric (49:2-4) envelopes are aggregate envelopes.
3Therefore, there are in all seven parallel paths of evolution for the monads of our solar system. Of the other six, the only one about which we have been given some information is the so-called deva evolution, which is much more numerous than mankind. It has its own hierarchy and is largely very much ahead of us in development. The devas represent the matter aspect just as our planetary hierarchy represents the consciousness aspect. The tasks of the deva hierarchy in the processes of manifestation of the solar system fall within the domain of this aspect. The majority of the members of the planetary government are of course members of the deva hierarchy.
4Representatives of the motion aspect are taken from the two hierarchies mentioned. They are given special training. They always belong to a higher kingdom than the one in which they are active. Even the planetary ruler has beside him an individual from a higher kingdom than the one he has attained.
1The deva hierarchy, the most powerful of all the hierarchies, has decided to prepare a contact with mankind. There will not be open communication until the planetary hierarchy has resumed its leading position from Atlantean times. However, many people with physical-etheric objective consciousness have experienced relations with etheric beings belonging to the deva evolution. And increasingly often human beings have been unconscious instruments for individuals belonging to the “host of healing angels” of so-called archangel Raphael. Those who are healed in such cases are people who have reaped the part of their old sowing meted out for a certain incarnation.
2The planetary hierarchy consists of individuals belonging to the human stream of evolution and has primarily contacted mankind. The deva hierarchy has kept in the background, and this so efficiently that mankind has not received exact information about the augoeides, has not been given to know that these are the true supervisors until men have become causal selves. However, emotional as well as mental and causal devas will get in touch with people at the corresponding stages of development, and cooperation between them will be possible to the advantage of both parties. For instance, scientists can be assisted in their research by mental and causal selves of the deva evolution whose knowledge of the relations of the matter aspect is immensely superior to all resources of research used by science.
3The condition of such assistance, however, is that mankind has understood that hylozoics is the only rational working hypothesis and that this knowledge must not be used for egoistic interests but only for the furtherance of evolution. This lies as yet in the distant future.
1In his incarnation best known to history the future head of the second department was Pythagoras, the greatest philosopher of European mankind. What has hitherto been written about him in the history of philosophy is essentially part of legend. So much can be said that Western science has received its basic concepts from him via hylozoics. Those are the concepts of which semantics, the greatest philosophic delusion, wants to deprive us.
2Saint Germain has a remarkable career behind him. Proklos was (which most people probably do not know) active in Athens in the 5th century CE as the “scholastic of Greek philosophy”, whose works determined during a millennium the scientific method of the Arabs and the medieval Christian thinkers. During his incarnations in Germany, England, and France in modern times as a 46-self and 45-self, he always made significant contributions. Some disciple will probably in due time depict those notable achievements, things in which he does not take the least interest. It is characteristic of all in the planetary hierarchy that they do not lift a finger to correct the biographies idiotized by learned authorities of mankind. Besides, how could the learned understand those giants or see through their own self-glorious nothingness? It will take some time yet before they (now being mere physicalists) will see their immense ignorance of reality and life. The learned are as much the victims of their scientific superstition as the most unlearned people are of their kind. Outside the domain of mathematical treatment of physical-mechanical things the scientist is a dilettante.
1The secretary of the planetary hierarchy, 45-self D.K., has a special mission, under the extreme circumstances prevalent (the risk that mankind annihilates itself), of being the only one to accept disciples belonging to all seven departments and also to discover aspirants who stand a chance of becoming disciples within their next incarnation. Those aspirants can expect that particular care is taken to afford them a suitable environment at their next incarnation.
2In addition, D.K. made an experiment with some fifty aspirants to discipleship in order to form these into unitary “group-souls” (simple collective beings), which was unsuccessful. Other 45-selves have had similar experiences with their disciples. Apparently, time is not “ripe” for such experiments. The individuals are still too much first selves to enter into a higher unity.
3D.K. is elected by the hierarchy to give out new facts to all who are able to receive and understand them. He has dictated 18 volumes in all to the disciple Alice A. Bailey in the years 1919–1949. In order to understand and not misapprehend his symbolic language it is required to have the “intuition” of the second self. Of course, most of his readers believe they understand (despite D.K.’s repeated statements that he writes for initiates), and the result is as usual a lot of balderdash written about what he has said and meant. As usual it is no use warning against such interpreters, since the prerequisites of judging exist only in the initiated (which means those who once received their knowledge in some knowledge order instituted by the planetary hierarchy and subsequently possess the knowledge latently: “Knowledge is remembrance”) and people so willingly believe what pleases them or conforms with their dogmas. D.K.’s writings thus are not for the uninitiated. Regrettably, the enterprisingness and faith in their own understanding displayed by non-initiates have already had sorrowful consequences.
1Consciousness development can occur automatically in the normal process of evolution. But if the individual wants to hasten ahead of this development, he must apply the law of activation and resort to self-initiated consciousness activity. In this, the first self receives assistance from his Augoeides; and the second self, from his Protogonos. What enables the individual to acquire cosmic consciousness is that he can, without external influences, assimilate the vibrations of the cosmic worlds. That is no easy work, which appears from the preparations for this within the solar system and the special training for this undergone by 43-selves. It is said that Christos–Maitreya was unique in this respect as well. For the sake of mankind, he remains with us one more zodiacal epoch, which Buddha also has done, although he was ready for cosmic consciousness expansion long ago.
2The mission of Buddha was to vitalize the second triad mental atom; the mission of Christos–Maitreya was to vitalize the essential atom. The final mission of C.–M. at the return of the planetary hierarchy will be to vitalize the superessential molecule in those who are ready for that experiment.
1Before a 44-self can move to world 43, he must have made his irrevocable choice of future path: whether he wants to remain within the solar system or to which solar system (of the third degree) he wants to move.
2Extremely few suns are without planetary systems. Those few ones have dismantled their planets and serve to enable the cosmic consciousness expansion of 43-selves; their atomic worlds are required for the necessary anchorage in physical matter. One such sun is Sirius to which the majority of 43-selves of the (“human”) planetary hierarchy transit and to which Christos–Maitreya will travel in the next zodiacal period 2500 years hence.
3Buddha’s so-called mistake was that he refused to leave the planet when, from world 42, he saw the condition of mankind. Such a thing is not permitted, since it disturbs also other plans made in connection with the move of a 43-self. At all events, mankind has benefited from it as have Buddha’s many disciples.
1The esoteric mentalist, who above all strives for mental clarity in world view and life view, of course also desires to have the concept of god (deity) exactly defined. It is most simply done by starting from the old terms, “god immanent” and “god transcendent”. God immanent is the monad–self, which has an unlosable share in the cosmic total consciousness, and also, where man is concerned, the very causal envelope, which shares in the fifth natural kingdom. God transcendent is everything above the fourth natural kingdom, thus the fifth kingdom and higher, Augoeides included. The cosmic deity is the cosmic organization.
2Of course everyone is free to have any idea of god whatsoever. One thing can be established, however: that all individuals in ever higher kingdoms decline with thanks to be regarded as gods. They know that they are the servants and disciples of life. It should be added that the planetary ruler (the closest equivalent of god) is the chief of the planetary government with all subordinate hierarchies and has plenty of work to do with supervising those and the planetary processes of manifestation. In his self-importance man believes he is the object of special attention, which is a typical mistake. The planetary ruler takes no interest in the human individual (he has more important things to do) and has no idea of the existence of a particular individual until he has become a causal self and can be said to be a rational being. Man need not feel abandoned because of that. The planetary hierarchies take care of him in accord with the law of development, the law of destiny, and the law of reaping.
3The planetary hierarchy is the real proof of “god immanent” and the possibility of man’s god-realization. This will become manifest to all when mankind some time sees the necessity of calling the hierarchy back as the true spiritual leader. Mankind will by then have risen from the spiritual degradation and the darkness it sank into when it expelled the hierarchy in Atlantis twelve thousand years ago.
4Theologians will find it increasingly difficult to make intelligent people accept their absurd definition of god and their likewise absurd representation of Christos as a weak and sentimental man of sorrows who has abandoned mankind to put it in the hands of an incompetent church.
5In the Gospels there are occasional sayings by Christos which could never have been uttered to the multitude but only to his disciples and, because of that, have never been understood, since no disciples have had the opportunity to interpret these writings.
6“The kingdom of God is within you” cannot be understood by others than those who have knowledge of the cosmic total consciousness (god immanent). Man is, like all other beings, a god in becoming. It is this potential godhood that is meant by the divine kingdom within man. You cannot become what you are not potentially.
7Man (the first self) can become a second self only as a disciple of the planetary hierarchy. Where all mankind is concerned, this means that the divine kingdom in the physical world cannot be realized until the planetary hierarchy has returned and through its presence demonstrates to men how they can realize their godhood. All the hindrances to self-realization (churches and sects and all other idiologies, all doubts of the possibility of the divine kingdom, etc.), which in the present conditions make up an insurmountable obstacle to countless people, will then be swept away by the manifest.
8It must be strongly emphasized that there have never been any “words of god”, nor will there be any, since it would conflict with the law of freedom. It is up to the individual whether he prefers to violate the law of development with his knowledge of the consequences, if the worst comes to worst (at his “renunciation of his humanness”), inability to develop further for several eons.
9The world teachers (the supreme chiefs of the planetary hierarchy’s department of education) have in various manners tried to teach men to live in accordance with the laws of life to spare them unnecessary suffering (in the worst event for many incarnations). But this advice is no “word of god”.
10All prayers go to Augoeides no matter who they are directed to. Neither “god” (the planetary ruler) nor Christos–Maitreya can be reached by any prayers. They have other, more important tasks. Christos knows nothing of the individual until he, when a disciple, is presented by two “sponsors” (45-selves) as an aspirant to membership of the planetary hierarchy; and “god” knows nothing of the individual until he has become a causal self. The organization is so perfect that no man can propose anything that is not already well-known and considered in the hierarchy.
11The invocation that the planetary hierarchy has given mankind is a quite different thing. The invocation of men, directed to the planetary hierarchy headed by Christos–Maitreya, is always answered (evocation), if the granting of the prayer benefits the individual or is important to his work for mankind and unity. Egoistic prayers have no other effect than any exertion of will whatever in the emotional world. But there is a risk that they strengthen egoism.
12When that invocation is directed to the planetary hierarchy (“god”) by sufficiently many people, it is possible for the government to intervene. But people must first have proved to possess the ability to understand the importance of the invocation for themselves, being willing to serve mankind, evolution, and unity, in doing which they are spontaneously willing to establish a “kingdom of god” in the physical world. People must be prepared to receive the planetary hierarchy, which they banished in Atlantis.
1All monads in all kingdoms except the highest one receive their knowledge from monads in higher kingdoms. After man has assimilated the knowledge science (ascertained facts) and philosophy (systemized facts) can afford him, he will need, in order to have a knowledge of superphysical reality, the facts he may receive from individuals of the fifth natural kingdom who certainly are able to ascertain facts in the worlds of man (47–49) and in their worlds (45,46) but in addition receive facts about their superworlds from individuals in the sixth natural kingdom.
2There is no other knowledge of reality than the one we have received from the planetary hierarchy. Anyone who is ignorant of this knowledge must remain a skeptic, provided he has common sense. For man is unable to solve the problems of knowledge. That insight is the very attribute of common sense.
3We must be grateful for all the facts we receive from the planetary hierarchy. They are part of a knowledge which has hitherto been reserved for those who have acquired the right to be initiated into the old esoteric knowledge orders. Even if that knowledge cannot immediately be made practically effective, it gradually increases our knowledge of reality. It liberates us from the emotional illusions and mental fictions which have hitherto dominated mankind. This alone is an immeasurable gain. Thereby we do not run the risk of falling victims to the hypotheses and theories of the day but have a prospect of living more in agreement with reality and in accord with common sense.
4We receive all knowledge of reality from the planetary hierarchy and subsequently through the consciousness of the second triad when we have once become causal selves. It is very much to be regretted that the occultists begin speculating with the ideas and facts which the planetary hierarchy has allowed for publication. So doing they bring the esoteric knowledge into disrepute. When will men stop speculating on superphysical reality? The result can just be erroneous and misleading.
5The planetary hierarchy maintains with vigour that belief in authority of any kind is to be rejected. The individual must decide for himself what he will accept. No writings, not even by 45-selves, are free from defects, due to the fact that a 45-self incarnated in an organism is not always a 45-self, and also that the conveyer of the message is an imperfect reporter, always in some respect. The individual is responsible for what he accepts and cannot blame any authority; a very important warning that is nearly always disregarded. You must not accept anything blindly, and you must regard everything as a hypothesis until you have been able to test it in your own experience. Dogmatism and fanaticism are always evidence of immaturity.
6The planetary hierarchy has not publicized the knowledge of reality for it to be made secret again in occult sects. Therefore, it should be made clear that the planetary hierarchy positively deprecates everything taught in those sects. It dislikes all sectarianism. That is apparently something that cannot be too strongly emphasized. The Theosophical Society was an experiment (made against the recommendation of the majority of the hierarchy), which its two advocates realized to be a failure even after seven years. Any new experiment of that type will not be made. No churches, no societies, no sects possess the truth. There are no “sacred writings”. There is no “chosen people”. There is no “holy land” and there are no “holy places”.
1The planetary hierarchy with its second and third selves of course has another conception of the three aspects of reality than is possible for first selves. Attempts made by the planetary hierarchy to teach people its conception of reality have (unintentionally, of course, but nevertheless inevitably) resulted in irremediable misconceptions. Man cannot understand things that are beyond his power of comprehension and experience of life. Such attempts have always entailed deplorable misconceptions of the reality of the matter aspect in the worlds of man. Man must keep to that conception of reality which is the only correct one for him.
2The planetary hierarchy recognizes unreservedly that hylozoics is in agreement with reality. The hierarchy seldom mentions hylozoics, however, since those of the fifth natural kingdom live in the consciousness aspect and want their disciples to do likewise and disregard the matter aspect, which, as they view it, has gained a too great importance in Western thought. This latter of course is due to the fact that natural research (chemistry, physics, geology, astronomy, biology, etc.) studies matter itself. Psychology researches a new domain, in an unknown universe where researchers are still disoriented.
3To the planetary hierarchy, the consciousness aspect has an ever lesser significance, whereas the energy aspect has an ever greater one, so great that to the hierarchy everything appears as energy; the motion aspect becomes the true life. It is by means of the motion aspect that the cosmos is formed, developed, and dissolved; “everything is in motion”.
4It is easy to understand that the planetary hierarchy, which is able to follow and take part in the processes of manifestation, regards the four lowest natural kingdoms from the viewpoint of consciousness and energy. The whole cosmos, all worlds, all processes of manifestations, are the work of individuals in higher kingdoms, in the last analysis from the highest cosmic world. It is as easy to understand that human beings, who do not have a knowledge of reality and who in the physical world see only physical matter, start from the only thing they know: the matter aspect. Development is the result of cosmic energies. But the individuals of lower kingdoms work their way up from the lowest world in material envelopes and they find it easiest to understand a world view that starts from below and not from above.
5Classes are the natural order of things. From the mineral kingdom up to the highest cosmic kingdom, evolution makes up a great number of developmental levels that are due to the time when the monads (primordial atoms) were introduced into the cosmos and the time when they moved from a lower to a higher natural kingdom. In all the kingdoms of the cosmos, the monads are “brothers” to those of higher kingdoms (“universal brotherhood”). In the planetary hierarchy as well as in the planetary government there is a definite distinction of classes, but all are brothers. This is possible since everybody knows his place in the gamut of development, the necessary precondition of democracy.
6In the planetary hierarchy, three kinds of “death” are distinguished. The first death is the ordinary one: the dissolution of the envelopes of incarnation. The second death is the dissolution of the old causal envelope. The third death is the dissolution of the triad chain or whatever remains of it, which implies that the monad enters into the planetary government as a 42-self. In order to leave the government and continue its “cosmic career”, the monad must receive permission to do so from the planetary ruler.
7The planetary hierarchy has no ideals, which in the life-ignorant are substitutes for the knowledge of the laws of life. The fact that these ideals largely have only a theoretical interest and are seldom applied in living life is masked by the saying, “you must aim at the sky to hit the treetops”. Too many people are quite satisfied with having ideals, taking them as evidence of their noble characters, although they say, “you’re not more than human, are you?”, that is to say: unable to use the ideals. Only at the stage of ideality (causal stage) are you a true idealist, since you apply the law of unity, which comprises everything people mean by ideals.
8Members of the planetary hierarchy may joke rather drastically at themselves and each other, which evidences a brilliant sense of humour (sense of proportion). For instance, M. once said about K.H: that he was “a regular miss” since M. thought he had been too considerate in a certain matter.
1It is the task of the planetary hierarchy to guide the consciousness development of mankind. It does so by supplying knowledge of reality and the requisite energies that enable men to reach higher developmental levels. But it cannot force anyone to become “good”, to “walk the right path”, to think, feel, say, or do what is right. It is up to mankind to accept the knowledge or, as it has always done hitherto, reject it. But then things look like they do, and the history of the world has been a never-ending tale of stupidity and bestiality.
2The planetary hierarchy would influence and speed up consciousness development in quite another manner if it were not primarily obliged to apply the law of freedom, the basis of the law of self-realization. The law of freedom is absolute in all worlds, and no one in higher kingdoms can violate any law of life. Where the law of freedom is violated, the law of development is violated and consciousness development is counteracted.
3Any attempt at forcing anyone to “believe” is a violation of the law of freedom. Any attempt at persuading, convincing is a violation of the law of unity. To give people knowledge they are not ripe to receive conflicts with the law of development. It also conflicts with the law of self-realization, according to which everybody must seek and find the truth himself, develop his reason and make his own choice, acquire self-reliance and self-determination.
4Above all, the hierarchy tries to provide against the facts it imparts being accepted as creeds. Anyone who cannot see that the ideas agree with reality should not accept them. The hierarchy prefers skepticism to credulity and uncritical acceptance. The hierarchy is loath to give out other facts than those which mankind is able to deduce as probable in a purely logical way; it is of course impossible for mankind to ascertain their correctness. The hierarchy asserts with all vigour that acceptance without comprehension has in all times been the curse of mankind and must always be a hindrance to consciousness development.
5Knowledge is for those who seek it in order to serve mankind, not to become important themselves. The planetary hierarchy does not want to rear intellectual apes, echoes, believers. Fanatics stand no chance of becoming disciples. Neither do “idealists” have any prospects. The hierarchy needs “realists” with a sense of the art of the possible and common sense, uprightness, and understanding of law.
6No teacher in the planetary hierarchy gives any commands or advice to his disciples or even expresses a wish about something. That would war against the law of freedom. He may clarify the methods of development, but nothing more. Any kind of initiative must come from the disciple himself. Regrettably, disciples have misunderstood this, but it is not the teacher’s fault.
7No orders or directions are given in the planetary hierarchy or planetary government. Nobody is assigned a task that he is not fully competent to manage on his own. When changes occur, these are thoroughly discussed by all members of the planetary hierarchy until everybody sees what he has to do. The law of freedom is a cosmic law. Prohibitions are for the “minors” and are in force for them until they comprehend why. Not even such a simple thing seems to have been grasped by our modern upbringers. They do not see the necessity of prohibitions. Apparently, they do not know themselves what is right any longer.
1In the chaos ensuing in the three lowest atomic worlds (the worlds of man) at the transition from one zodiacal epoch to another, it is impossible even for the planetary hierarchy to foresee the result. Also in other cases, there can only be a matter of calculated probabilities because of the law of freedom, since mankind itself determines its future destiny. Therefore, it is by no means surprising that there are often divergent opinions in the hierarchy about what measures it should take. It stands to reason that when a decision has been made in the matters concerned, everybody loyally applies his energy to the execution of it. The planetary hierarchy does not have an easy time. It has to make decisions according to its own insight and to work at it not caring whether it “pays” (as men do). Thereby they have done their duty. They must not care whether the highest representative of the law of reaping (law of balance) in the planetary government thwarts their efforts.
2The disciples of the planetary hierarchy have to work on the same principle. They cannot, as irresponsible people, defend their cowardice, their laziness, their unreadiness, with “it doesn’t pay”. If nobody thought that way, things would be very different in mankind. We simply cannot judge whether our effort will “succeed” or “fail”. One single thought may suffice to set great things afoot. That thought may reach the one individual who needs that impulse to do it. Omission may be as serious as commission where mistakes are concerned. It is our duty to do whatever we can. Anyone who recoils at the word “duty” in this connection thereby shows that he has no desire to speed up his own development. We have duties also to ourselves, to our share in the weal of mankind.
3About the mahachohan (a 43-self) it was stated that the “future was to him like an open book”. The formulation is positively misleading. He had a knowledge of the laws of development, of the various processes of manifestation, of the goal of these processes. But he could not know when and how the processes would be realized. If the future could be predicted “like an open book”, the actual course of events would be determined in detail and then fatalism as well as determinism would be absolutely valid which, according to the law of freedom, they cannot possibly be. Such misunderstandings of statements made can positively lead astray and have actually done so. Men make statements absolute instead of seeing their relativity. Everything is conditioned, and in the processes of life conditions are never absolute. That is why any kind of dogmatism is a bad thing. Men take possibility for reality, but then they make mistakes without end. We must content ourselves with ascertaining possibilities (if we can do even that), and what goes beyond that, probabilities, is often illusory, seldom more than one per cent. Logic applied to real life is a discipline of the future. It is the study and refutation of all errors of thought we make daily. School logic does not help us live right nor think right in life. Constant preparedness for “rethinking” is part of wisdom. Life is process and no standstill.
1Outsiders cannot form any idea as to the pressure and burden weighing heavily upon the planetary hierarchy. Every minute of the 24 hours around the clock is fully occupied with work for mankind, evolution, and unity. The disciple soon learns not to attract the teacher’s attention except in matters of extreme urgency (concerning his own work). Engaging him for his own troubles is perfectly impossible. What Augoeides cannot do in such cases (belonging under the law of reaping) the individual must bear alone. It is by solving our problems ourselves that we develop and become increasingly skilful at helping others. We too much coddle our envelopes of incarnation, also those of us who are not more or less their victims and impotent slaves.
2Men have no idea of what sacrifices second selves make by incarnating and, in particular, by entering into association with people. We speak about hell, but that is nothing compared to what the physical world (and the emotional world as well) is to them. Add to this the fact that they have to surround themselves with protective envelopes in order not to harm people with their 45-vibrations dissolving lower molecular kinds. For the planetary hierarchy to reappear in mankind and help, it needs (so much energy is consumed to neutralize the harmful effects) an extra addition of energy from the planetary government. How few people are qualified to benefit from this contact before clans at the higher emotional stage and the mental stage have been able to incarnate in an environment suitable to them and without becoming too much handicapped through idiotizing education.
3It is very deplorable that physical incarnations of the members of the planetary hierarchy were ever depicted. This was done against their desire. They have chosen not to appear in person, and that should have been sufficient for their disciples not to expose them to general curiosity. It has caused them much trouble to become the objects of diverse speculations and has obstructed them in their work. “What it has cost them no man can comprehend”, says 45-self D.K. It cannot have been any gain for mankind. It should really be hoped that all that infantile gossip (immensely typical of the level of the majority of readers) about how they dress, what they eat, etc. finally ceases.
4It is not to be wondered that the requirements for aspirants to discipleship are tightened up. It should be added that many who claim to be disciples have fallen victims to that “hierarchy” in the emotional world which succeeds in duping aspirants, a “hierarchy” that has representatives in the physical world. A warning to seekers.
1There has always been a war going on between the forces of light and the forces of darkness, between those who want consciousness development and those who want to hinder it, keep the peoples in ignorance to gain power. That was the war which precipitated the doom of Atlantis. It is waged even today and will go on until mankind has attained the stage of ideality, or the causal stage. This should suffice to refute that lie, black as night, imputed to Christos, namely that we should not oppose evil.
2That man is seriously mistaken who thinks that the planetary hierarchy is neutral to those who counteract consciousness development, to the nations that violate individual freedom. Franklin Roosevelt was a disciple (although an unconscious one) of the planetary hierarchy. This was the factor that enabled him to proclaim the “four freedoms”: freedom of expression, freedom of opinion, freedom from want, freedom from fear of aggression; the four basic freedoms in society. The planetary hierarchy takes an active stand with those who defend these freedoms. To the planetary hierarchy, there is no compromise between lawfulness and lawlessness. “He who is not with is against.”
1The planetary hierarchy has no easy task: trying to teach mankind common sense. It says that men cannot understand the problems it has to solve: help man according to the Law, at the same time striving to acquire the consciousness of higher worlds.
2At the beginning of a new zodiacal epoch, the new kinds of energies pouring into the solar system are essentially different from the old ones. This brings about radically new influences affecting all three aspects of reality. It is true that the planetary government is primarily responsible for the work of adapting these energies to the possibilities of reception existing. But the planetary hierarchy must, in its turn, try to modify them in relation to the different stages of development in mankind.
3Only in exceptional cases can the hierarchy decide which individuals are to incarnate. Otherwise this is to a great extent due to the new energies and to the great deva hierarchy. All individuals of the 60 billion making up our mankind must be given opportunities of incarnation. Our hierarchy does not know much about which these clans are except that they belong to the departments that best correspond to the zodiacal vibrations (usually three departments) or how they are to assimilate the new energies. Every human being has his individual character, and the possibilities of benefiting from the opportunities vary exceedingly. It must be a collective assessment of the abilities of the different classes.
4The planetary hierarchy works to improve the human organism and make it more resistant to disease; moreover, to enable the individual to have continuity of consciousness so that he, upon awakening, can remember what he has experienced in his emotional envelope during sleep; moreover, to treat the brain-cells so that they receive causal and mental molecules more easily; resuscitate latent knowledge even in youth; it will be possible for causal selves to be causally consciousness in their brains even at three years of age.
5The hierarchy expects that scientific research (nutrition, for instance) will be able to clarify which foodstuffs are the most purposive for the organism and thereby facilitate the planetary hierarchy’s work at perfecting the organism. Also, science has every reason to ponder the esoteric axiom saying that all life during the course of evolution is change. This implies, among other things, that much which was purposive in a previous epoch may be unsuitable in a later one, that what was impossible previously may be possible later.
6Without the work of the planetary hierarchy for human consciousness development this would take immensely longer time. The hierarchy continuously emits a current of energies to influence the essential and mental atoms in emotional matter and thereby make it easier for men to activate the pertaining kinds of consciousness and attain higher levels. As long as men have their attention exclusively directed at things and events in the physical world they miss the opportunity of assimilating the stimulation to accelerated consciousness development offered by this vitalization. Anyone who makes the most of the opportunities will quickly reach higher levels.
7The planetary hierarchy has more tasks than to “live for mankind”. It has been able to allot a third of its time to work for “human affairs”: five days of the month around full moon and five days around new moon. Why those very times of course has its particular reasons which the hierarchy does not deem necessary to explain. It is, useless for occultists to speculate on these (as is the case with all esoteric matters which only are idiotized in the process; a hard saying for those who do not know what harm occultists cause by their fantasies).
1Only that aspirant who knows the goal and unceasingly strives to reach it (despite all failures) has a prospect of becoming accepted as a disciple. It is all a matter of purposefulness and perseverance.
2Once a disciple always a disciple, even if the individual in a new incarnation is unaware of his discipleship. According to the law of self-realization, you must realize the knowledge which you have once received and which exists in your unconscious, no matter how many incarnations it will take.
3Discipleship is a gradual advancement: aspirant, accepted on probation, accepted as a disciple of a 46-self or a 45-self. When the teacher considers the disciple to be ripe, the latter is presented to the head of the planetary hierarchy and the hierarchy. His installation as a causal self presupposes the approval of the planetary ruler, and only then the disciple is a disciple of the planetary hierarchy which he will remain until, as an essential self, he is accepted as a member of the hierarchy.
4There are already thousands of disciples who are unaware of the fact that they are on their way to becoming causal selves. Those who are aspirants to discipleship are encouraged to make themselves known to each other but not to form any organization, which would just become a new sect. The most suitable arrangement would be an international record centre which continually publishes lists with names and addresses of people who want to get in touch with each other for exchange of ideas or common work for mankind. A small fee should cover the cost of registration and lists. A branch of the Arcane School in Geneva would perhaps be suited to assume this task.
5In this connection it may perhaps be pointed out that disciples take no interest in the private lives of other people. Everything of that domain is taboo. Any kind of personal curiosity and interest in the affairs of other people is enough to discontinue that individual’s discipleship. Perhaps this information suffices to clarify the esoterician’s view on so-called biographies, autobiographies, etc., the occupation with such things as should be forgotten (“do not look back”). This also applies to the interest in previous incarnations. It does not promote consciousness development. Besides, people’s interests (physical, emotional, mental) give you a hint of their levels.
6The disciple has no right or possibility whatsoever to demand anything of his teacher, to refer to his contributions, to believe himself to be privileged in any way. He is, like everybody else, subject to the Law, and the teacher can do nothing in that respect. He has no right to be cured from disease or warned against risks of mistakes. He has no right to ask the teacher for anything. Individuals having that attitude stand no chance of being accepted as disciples. The teacher has no right to affect the authorities that administer the Law. Like Augoeides, they belong to another hierarchy.
7In connection with the reorganization of the planetary hierarchy in 1925, new methods of teaching disciples were introduced and the requirements of the disciples’ capacity were raised considerably. Since then, only mental selves are eligible, and of those only such aspirants as are so far advanced that they have a prospect of becoming causal selves within some twelve incarnations (taken in unbroken succession).
8So much for new disciples. Those who have already been accepted in a previous incarnation still remain disciples even though in their new incarnation they know nothing of their discipleship. Once accepted always accepted. The disciple’s Augoeides negotiates with the teacher about resuming his teaching and treatment in each new incarnation. This is particularly the case with older disciples who might have been accepted even as emotional selves at the higher emotional stage. The fact that the requirements could be raised for new disciples is due to the publication of the esoteric knowledge and the possibility thus afforded to aspirants to acquire a comprehensive knowledge of the kind that formerly was imparted in the knowledge orders gradually during several incarnations. It is thus presupposed that the aspirant has assimilated the knowledge that can be obtained from the writings of Blavatsky, Besant, Leadbeater and, especially, Bailey (the latter dictated by 45-self D.K.). Even though the authorships of the three ones first mentioned inevitably evince great defects, their writings nevertheless contain facts that the aspirant is supposed to know in order to understand the presentation given by the works of Bailey. The aspirant must be able to discover by himself the errors (of course no unessential details) in older presentations, which in its turn presupposes that he has mastered the esoteric knowledge system.
9A warning should be given to the readers of Bailey’s writings. It has proved that those writings have been completely misunderstood by “aspirants” who, with their habitual faith in their power of judgement, have believed themselves able to understand things which they are in no position to understand, have believed themselves to be disciples of masters, etc. Anyone who thinks he is “ready” for discipleship certainly is not. D.K. writes for old esotericians and mental selves, not for those who are interested in esoterics; for those who have subjective causal consciousness, not for mystics at the emotional stage whose imagination convinces them that they understand everything. Many have believed they are causal selves, essential selves, etc., whereas they have not even attained the stage of the mystic (48:2,3). It is embarrassing to hear such people bearing witness of themselves and believing themselves able to judge the developmental stages of other people, which only essential selves are able to.
1Regrettably, the public picked up the term “initiation”, and then the field was left open to all manner of speculation and imaginative delusion; idiotizing, as usual. The facts of reality (not the distortions of imagination) are simple enough.
2A disciple of some member of the planetary hierarchy has the opportunity to acquire a multitude of qualities and abilities during a series of incarnations. During a relatively short space of time he reaches ever higher stages of development, conquering ever higher kinds of consciousness, which in normal, slow evolution would take considerably longer time. According as the disciple by his own work reaches the ever higher stages of development, the planetary hierarchy recognizes these results officially at ceremonies called “initiations”. Thus initiation is the official recognition of the fact that the individual has become a causal self, an essential self, etc., that he has (under the guidance of his teacher) conquered the corresponding self-consciousness.
3It was a fundamental mistake by Blavatsky, Besant, and Leadbeater to mention these initiations at all to the occultists who cannot distinguish between general (things) and individual (personal matters). The initiations of the individual disciple are absolutely internal matters of the hierarchy and concern no outsiders. Besides, the disciple does not divulge that he is an initiate. That is his absolutely private business.
4Outsiders who have heard about initiations have of course formed the most preposterous ideas about them, embellished with diverse splendour and glory. In the Theosophical Society this led to disputes about who were initiates and their relative ranking; a pretty caricature of initiates. Clairvoyants, who have managed to acquire higher kinds of objective emotional consciousness, can in the higher regions of the emotional world find the entire hierarchy assembled in all its glory and experience initiations as confirmations of the fact that they have themselves acquired cosmic consciousness, etc., not seeing how grotesque the whole show is.
5This is mentioned just to give a few instances of the enormous mischief done with the term “initiations”, which hereby should be considered explained in all its simplicity. Then the matter may be thought to be closed and the gossip can cease.
1From the theosophical literature you too easily get the impression that the planetary hierarchy is disposed to recruit disciples. That is a misconception. Only mental selves (47:5) can become disciples. And they must expect to do some dozen of incarnations to become causal selves.
2Regrettably, many people imagine themselves to be disciples whereas they are not. The hierarchy looks for collaborators in mankind, people who consecrate their lives to the service of mankind, evolution, and unity. Those are encouraged to make the acquaintance of like-minded people for mutual support (but not form societies). They (or someone in the “group”) become inspired and, if possible, are contacted by a disciple.
3Only the disciple is able to contact the planetary hierarchy. The theosophists’ talk about the “masters” being interested in individuals is highly exaggerated. Where a mental self is concerned, the “master” contacts his Augoeides when the latter considers the time is up for a possible discipleship.
1The life of the planetary hierarchy is service. It seeks to help mankind solve its many still unsolved problems in political, social, economic, scientific, etc., respect. That is why it needs collaborators in the physical world. Without these tools the hierarchy can do nothing.
2Since the planetary hierarchy uses human tools, there is always a risk of mistakes as to facts as well as ideas. Disciples have their instruction, and the teachers satisfy themselves that they have clearly grasped this in their mental consciousness. Then the disciple is left alone to perform his work without any particular supervision. The law of freedom and the law of self make the disciples do their best. The content of the mental envelope consciousness is not always correctly transferred to the brain, and this spells a risk of mistakes.
3The best thing a man can do is to train himself to become a usable tool of the planetary hierarchy. We can all become such tools just by living according to the law of unity and so doing be examples to others.
4All who live to serve life, mankind, evolution, and unity with dedication are put down on the planetary hierarchy’s list of usable tools. It should be realized that this is of significance for future incarnations. There is a stiff competition for the places in the cultural families.
5Every expression of will (the motion aspect) uses up energy. We have learnt that in the new zodiacal epoch, considerably more energy will be put to the disposal of all those who want to serve and help. Anyone who is honestly striving to grasp reality will receive the impulses (ideas) that will increase his understanding and afford him the firm certainty. The ideas in the causal world (“the rain-clouds of knowable things”) become vitalized so that they are impressed more easily and become more efficient as well.
1It would be a serious mistake on the part of the planetary hierarchy to give knowledge to those who want to keep it to themselves and so increase their power. So doing they would counteract their own plans. The planetary hierarchy does not seek for disciples merely to help them enter the fifth natural kingdom. That is a secondary matter and the result of service. The hierarchy wants to help all mankind, not just a portion of it. When mankind has solved its physical problems, it has at the same time been able to realize the universal brotherhood and lives in order to help the individuals not only of the human kingdom but of lower kingdoms as well.
2The wrong attitude to this has been the fundamental mistake of the occult sects, the yoga schools included. It is not the individual that is to be saved but all who have reached the stage of humanity and who are in a position to acquire causal consciousness. These, in their turn, help those at the cultural stage to reach the stage of humanity. That is the way in which the humanists acquire the right to enter the fifth natural kingdom. Besides, nobody enters a higher kingdom alone. The individual must bring others with him.
3The fifth natural kingdom of second selves is mostly made up of causal selves who constitute that part of mankind who want to be the planetary hierarchy’s tools in the worlds of man, until the majority of mankind have become causal selves, perfected men. This is the intended goal in this eon. Those individuals who want to make a “spiritual career” for their own good have but small prospects of being chosen disciples.
4Service is no compulsion. Those causal selves who are too tired of life to be able to stand constant reincarnations have the opportunity to “take a good rest” in the causal world pending the fifth eon.
1The planetary hierarchy supervises the consciousness development of all the lower natural kingdoms, especially that of the human kingdom. In this connection, the planetary hierarchy makes plans for this in various respects. The great plan for the consciousness development of all monads requires, where mankind is concerned, constant changes according to how mankind in its life ignorance and self-assertion foils the plans again and again.
2The fact is that mankind during the 20th century has not come up to the expectations of the planetary hierarchy: that the second world war could have been prevented, the cold war could have been forestalled, the time for the appearance of the planetary hierarchy must be put off to a later date than earlier calculated.
3It is the same with man and Augoeides. Augoeides constantly makes new plans for man’s future, and then man goes his own way, thwarts all plans and then grumbles over life. Pioneers of all kinds, above all in matters of life view, have always paid dearly for their attempts at helping a disoriented, misled mankind which knows everything best, always blames someone else, always is infallible.
4There are two kinds of geniuses: those who lead men forward and those who lead them backward. The second category is abundant. If the historians did not keep silent about the essentials, then mankind would have seen itself such as it has been and still is: the enemy of all. Literature has done quite a lot to try and open the eyes of people. Does anyone feel guilty? Do they not understand: “you are such yourself”?
5According as conditions change and people are driven hither and thither by ruling emotional and mental impulses, the planetary hierarchy may adapt its planned measures, which therefore never are laid down once for all. Disciples who are in touch with their teachers – 45-selves – sometimes pick up some more or less temporary plan. It has occurred that they have taken such provisional sketches to be final plans and proclaimed them to their faithful followers as prophecies about the future.
6Blavatsky and Besant made such abortive prophecies and so doing misled the theosophists as well as other sects. A remark by Blavatsky was misinterpreted by theosophists to the effect that in the 20th century no additional knowledge would be given out by the hierarchy until the year 1975. Besides, she could not know that. It is a fact that during the years 1919–1949 45-self D.K. (second department), the secretary of the planetary hierarchy, gave out thousands of new facts. Besant announced that Christos would reappear in this century.
7The second world war and its repercussions brought about a complete change of plans made. Even the first world war forced a certain reorganization of the planetary hierarchy in which process D.K. was appointed its secretary. He selected some fifty disciples who have never appeared as such ones; nor is this ever more permitted after the theosophical failure. Anyone who claims to be chosen is not chosen, which should be kept in mind, since many people will give themselves out as disciples. There are thousands of once accepted disciples. The majority do not know they are disciples, and those who know do not tell it.
8Thus experience demonstrates that statements about the future must never be absolutified but should be taken as possibilities.
1The planetary hierarchy is usually reorganized when the departures as well as arrivals have been greater than usual: when 43-selves leave the hierarchy and causal selves become essential selves.
2A radical reorganization was made in the year 1925. The then mahachohan, the chief of the third department and the superior chief of the fourth through seventh departments, left his office and joined the government. So did all the 43-selves belonging to departments 4–7. Proklos–Saint Germain, hitherto chief of the seventh department, was made the new mahachohan. At the same time, Saint Germain moved from the seventh to the third department, all in all a record achievement.
3In that connection also the following changes were made: the new mahachohan retained the leadership of departments 5 and 7, whereas departments 4 and 6 were placed under the second main department and the leadership of Maitreya. At the same time, Maitreya and Saint Germain took over the guidance of the 44-selves within departments 4 and 6, and 5 and 7, respectively. Those are changes that seem expedient with a view to the two paths of evolution, the extravert (1–3–5–7) and the introvert (2–4–6).
4Until the year 1925, the planetary hierarchy had its common centre located in the causal world, and therefore the causal world was included in the worlds of the planetary hierarchy. After 1925, that centre is located in the essential world, and thus the worlds of the planetary hierarchy are limited to 43–46. The causal world is thereby a self-contained world, forming a “Court of the Gentiles” as it were, a world where individuals of both the human kingdom and of the planetary hierarchy certainly can meet as long as the higher selves keep their causal envelopes.
5These facts about the planetary hierarchy are given mainly to refute the fantasies of certain occultists about the hierarchy, with misleading distortions that will probably increase both in number and extent. The truth always seems to be the last one able to make itself heard. Every lie, everything unreliable is accepted first and most willingly. But then the emotional world is in the power of the black ones. Once again it may be pointed out that the esoterician does not accept any other information than that given by 45-selves and higher selves in the planetary hierarchy under guarantee that the information comes from those individuals. The occultists always claim that all their brainwaves come from the “highest authority”, perhaps even from the planetary ruler.
1The planetary hierarchy is an organization whose chiefs and staff work concertedly to supervise consciousness development in the four lowest natural kingdoms. It is an organization that cannot swell indefinitely. Hitherto, it has been possible to admit new causal selves into the organization, since the supply of them has corresponded to the demand brought about by the departure of 43-selves. The majority of those who have attained the highest mental levels have hitherto been forced to await, in their causal envelopes, a more suitable time for incarnation. However, mankind has developed to the point where it at least does not any longer hinder those causal selves in the making from continuing their development. Therefore, such people as are potential causal selves have incarnated in such numbers that the planetary hierarchy cannot provide space for them all in its organization.
2According as increasing numbers of people become causal selves, there is automatically formed a particular kingdom between mankind and the planetary hierarchy, an intermediary kingdom that could be called the “causal kingdom”. This kingdom will take over a lot of functions that are now exercised by the planetary hierarchy. This is necessary because the development of mankind has had the result that the influx of qualified aspirants to discipleship has become so great that the planetary hierarchy is not sufficiently staffed to receive them all. This would to a great extent lift the burden that newly accepted disciples constitute to the 45-self.
3Thus it will be the task of a group of causal selves belonging to the new causal kingdom to help aspirants to discipleship who are found at the highest emotional and mental levels. The causal selves will help the aspirants in their first orientation, also so that they will be better able to assimilate the publicized esoteric literature, which from the year 1875 on has grown considerably in extent. In this literature there is much that is easily misinterpreted so that misconceptions need to be rectified; this is already a common phenomenon that has had deplorable results for individuals as well as groups as they have become divided in sectarianism and lodge proliferation.
4The 45-selves can more wholly devote themselves to directing the work that their trained disciples all in a body have to perform. All their work is group work, since isolated individuals cannot possibly possess the allroundness required for exact treatment; something that will become possible only in close collaboration of individuals having different department combinations in their envelopes.
5According to the plan, further changes are expected. It is assumed that those in the planetary hierarchy will more rapidly become 43-selves and be admitted to the planetary government, and so the planetary hierarchy could cease as an organization and those of the fifth kingdom in collaboration with those who have become third selves could take over the supervision of consciousness development in lower kingdoms.
1With a view to the emergency all the seven departments of the planetary hierarchy have united to do a special action for the next few decades in an attempt to wake up the intelligentsia in all nations to concertedly work at solving the political, religious, and cultural problems. Those disciples who have attained such a degree that they can be in telepathic contact with each other and the hierarchy have been brought together to form a group of activity working in all nations that are able to see the importance of cooperation for the welfare of all mankind. They work to break down all the barriers that separate people and foster hatred between people, the walls that divide races and nations and the various forms of religion. There is only one religion, the one that has been at the basis of them all, the religion of love and wisdom, common to all wise people of all ages.
2All who want to be tools of the planetary hierarchy and consciously place themselves at its disposal thereby automatically enter into that special group which has received the designation “the new group of world servers”, regardless whether they have as yet been accepted as disciples or not and which stage they have attained. Measures will be taken (through official registration) so that they get to know each other at least by name and can collaborate when opportunities present themselves. They work for mankind, evolution, and unity. There must not be any organization.
1By publicizing the esoteric knowledge the planetary hierarchy has taken a great step towards that mankind which banished the hierarchy in Atlantis. Ever since that catastrophe, the hierarchy has waited for mankind to realize its fatal mistake of banishing the only ones possessing a knowledge of reality and able to solve the problems of mankind, those representatives of wisdom and love.
2The planetary hierarchy expects to become the spiritual guide of mankind relatively soon, instead of theologians, philosophers, and occultists who have hitherto misled mankind. The planetary hierarchy will not reappear, however, until it is generally recognized that the hierarchy is able to solve the physical, emotional, and mental problems of mankind and arrange the political, social, economic affairs so that there will finally be peace on earth and culture (something totally different from our modern parody on culture) has become power. The reappearance does not happen until the leading circles of mankind have accepted hylozoics as the only rational working hypothesis and thereby have understanding of the existence of a fifth kingdom in nature. Before then it would be meaningless.
3In preparation of this, the knowledge of reality (hylozoics), which has hitherto been esoteric, has been allowed for publication and so been made available to all. So many proofs that this mental system agrees with reality will eventually be given through disciples of the planetary hierarchy that even public opinion will accept it despite the resistance met with on the part of the theologians. They will fight a hopeless battle against the power of life and they will finally be forced to acknowledge their mistake. It will be a tough struggle, as hidebound as they are. Theologians alone will never make peace. They cannot even be friends with one another. The churches have been the curse of mankind. And the theological hatred is the worst sort of hatred.
4When the planetary hierarchy reappears, it will not be as a particular organization. Its members (causal selves and essential selves) will be members of the nations as ordinary people. They will occupy the highest positions in society because their superior capacity will be recognized. People will see that the reforms they propose are the most sensible ones, so that they will be generally accepted.
5The reappearance of the hierarchy will not occur suddenly and with all at a time. More and more 45-selves will incarnate and lead lives that appear “normal” to outsiders, surround themselves with their disciples, and quietly work for reforms in various respects. Special centres will be established at New York, London, Geneva, Darjeeling, and Tokyo. As to the rest, they may be found in any country whatever where it is possible to influence development with success and work for universal brotherhood. When mankind has changed over to applying the brotherhood of all, it will be possible for the planetary hierarchy to appear openly.
6There are many advanced mental selves who in the causal world await the suitable time for incarnation. That time probably coincides with the reappearance of the planetary hierarchy.
7In the last one hundred years, diverse prophets have proclaimed the time of the return of Christos. No man is ever able to prophesy right.
8One thing is given and certain. The last ones to accept Christos reappeared will be the theologians and the Jews. The theologians, blinded by their dogmas and their paper pope, will not recognize Christos. And the Jews will reject him the second time. He is not the Messiah they believe in.
1The planetary hierarchy has nothing against the spread of information about its existence. However, the hierarchy deplores the frequent talk about masters, who are disturbed in their work by all idiotic chatter about them. No disciple reveals anything about his discipleship. As a disciple he is unknown to men, even to the occult societies. If something need to be said for historic reasons, it is quite sufficient to mention the names they bore in previous incarnations (for instance, Christos–Maitreya; Pythagoras; Saint Germain, etc.). Men do not need those “masters”. Their Augoeides are more than enough for them. No prayers of mankind reach any further. It is perfectly sufficient and with the same assumed effect.
2What the men of the church have allowed themselves with their Te Deums after victories won is evidence of their ignorance of higher worlds and higher kingdoms, of the being they call god, etc.
3Many believe that they can affect the planetary hierarchy to intervene in human affairs. That is a mistake. Such initiatives must come from the hierarchy and not from mankind. We cannot affect higher kingdoms with our prayers. We have to apply laws of nature and laws of life and keep to the results of this. On the other hand it is true that by our emotional and mental vibrations we can affect conditions in the worlds of man. Fortunately, the pertaining methods are unknown to men.
4It is a great mistake to believe that the planetary hierarchy is interested in curing disease. Disease is bad reaping (the result of violations of laws of nature) and such things mankind must reap itself, collectively and individually. The planetary hierarchy does nothing to hinder us from dying, moving to the emotional world, something that it regards as a great liberation and a “blessing” for man. It is not with any “divine power” that the truly competent etheric visionary can heal disease but with forces that he has learnt how to acquire by himself in this incarnation or in previous ones. Mankind must itself discover the pertaining laws of nature now or some time in the future.
5The planetary hierarchy is fully prepared to appear again as the teachers and guides of mankind as soon as mankind is prepared to receive them. Until then it would be meaningless. They do not force themselves on mankind, as some have tried to make people believe.
6The planetary hierarchy gives no information about the stages of development of disciples and initiates. Such things are their own secrets. Esotericians are taught to take no interest in things that are not of their concern.
1As the knowledge of other hierarchies than the human increases, the term “planetary hierarchy” for the human hierarchy perhaps appears unsuitable since there are other hierarchies of this planet as well. The common term would then be the “planetary hierarchies”. In the esoteric literature, the term “hierarchy” has been used for all evolutionary kingdoms from the mineral kingdom up. The question is whether the term “hierarchy” would not be reserved for the supervisors of the process of manifestation within the planet (from the fifth natural kingdom up).
2In the esoteric literature, there are the terms, “Great White Brotherhood” or the “Great White Lodge”. They have reference only to the central organization, which must always exist, with superior and subordinate functions. It should not be confused with the all-embracing fifth natural kingdom, which is under the guidance of the “lodge”.
3Within the planetary hierarchy, the 44-selves have of old carried the title “chohan”; and the 43-selves (in departments 3–7), “mahachohan”. The 43-self of the first department is called “manu”; and that of the second department, “bodhisattva”. All such terms become superfluous as the mathematical ones come into use.
The above text constitutes the essay The Planetary Hierarchy by Henry T. Laurency. The essay is part of the book The Way of Man by Henry T. Laurency. Copyright © 1999 by the Henry T. Laurency Publishing Foundation