India's 'Other' Masters and Gurus
According to Baird T. Spalding in Life and Teaching
of The Masters of The Far East during an extensive Western
research expedition to wide areas of the Far East in the
years 1894-8, a member of the party made the acquaintance
in India of a Master he chose in his written account to
call Emil. (1) It became increasingly
apparent over time that Emil was a man of extreme wisdom
and of extraordinary ability. Early on in the account, we
read:
"One Sunday afternoon Emil and I were walking in a
field when he called my attention to a pigeon circling overhead
and casually remarked that the bird was looking for him.
He stood perfectly still and in a few moments the bird alighted
upon his outstretched arm. He said the bird had a message
from his brother in the North. This proved to be a fellow-worker
who had not reached the attainment whereby he could communicate
directly, so he took this means. We later found that the
Masters are able to communicate with each other instantly
by thought transference or, as they call it, a force much
more subtle than either electricity or wireless.
"I then began to ask questions and Emil showed me
that he was able to call the birds to him and direct their
flight while they were in the air; that the flowers and
trees would nod to him; that the wild animals would come
to him fearlessly. He parted two jackals that were fighting
over the body of a smaller animal that they had killed and
were feeding upon. When he approached them they stopped
fighting and put their heads in his outstretched hands in
perfect trust, then resumed their meal in quiet. He even
gave me one of the young wild creatures to hold in my hands.
He then said to me, "This is not the mortal self, the
self you see, that is able to do these things. It is a truer,
deeper self. It is what you know as God, God within me,
God the Omnipotent One working through me, that does these
things. Of myself, the mortal self, I can do nothing. It
is only when I get rid of the outer entirely and let the
actual, the I AM, speak and work and let the great Love
of God come forth that I can do these things that you have
seen. When you let the Love of God pour through you to all
things, nothing fears you and no harm can befall you."
"Every day during this time I had lessons with Emil.
He would suddenly appear in my room, even if I had taken
special care to lock the door before retiring. At first
his appearance at will disturbed me but I soon saw that
he took it for granted that I understood. I became accustomed
to his ways and left my door open so that he could come
and go as he pleased. This confidence seemed to please him.
I could not understand all his teachings and I could not
accept them fully, nor was I able, with all I saw while
in the East, to fully accept at the time. It required years
of meditation to bring me the realization of the deep spiritual
meaning of these peoples' lives….
"When occasion requires they walk on water, go through
fire [not as a fakir's "show", but if fire genuinely
threatened - D. Tame], travel in the invisible, and do many
other things that we have become accustomed to look upon
as miracles performed only by one supposed in some way to
possess supernatural powers.
"There is a striking resemblance between the life
and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth and those of these Masters
as exemplified in their daily life. It has been thought
impossible for man to derive his daily supply directly from
the Universal, to overcome death and to perform the various
so-called miracles that Jesus performed while on earth.
The Masters prove that these are their daily life. They
supply everything needed for their daily wants directly
from the Universal…. They have so far overcome death
that many of them now living are over five hundred years
of age, as was conclusively proved by their records.
"There are comparatively few of these Masters in India,
other cults seeming to be but offshoots of their teaching.
They realise their number is limited and that only a few
scholars can come to them. In the invisible, however, they
can reach almost unlimited numbers and it seems to be the
greater work of their lives to reach out into the invisible
and help all who are receptive to their teaching."
(2)
The first three of a series of six volumes by Spalding
render his account of living with and attempting to learn
from these Eastern Masters from 1894 to 1898. While very
numerous "supernatural" powers were demonstrated
by these individuals, they were always much more concerned
with rendering their deep spiritual knowledge. For indeed,
the powers were mere by-products of their great oneness
with the Source of All. Outer phenomenal abilities were
considered inconsequential compared to one's own individual
inner spiritual growth. Some of these great Masters had
lived for several centuries in the same biological bodies.
Others had disappeared from the physical world altogether,
having transcended it - yet could reappear from the worlds
beyond at any time. Those still in the body and those who
had transcended the biological form altogether were all
part of the same Brotherhood, those still embodied appearing
to be just a little less attained than those beyond the
requirement for flesh form. This Brotherhood of Masters
(of both genders) were scattered throughout India and beyond,
but largely unknown to the masses. They had existed for
untold ages and would exist forever.
India, of course, is well-known for its wealth of mysticism,
and for its many yogis, saints and sages. The Masters described
above, however, are of a different degree altogether to
most of the publicly-known yogis and saints. Some of the
greatest of the yogis and saints of India have known, or
at least known something of, this Brotherhood of India's
"other" Masters, but for the most part the Brotherhood
went unknown and unsuspected not only to Indians of the
late 1800s, but still are very largely unknown and still
unsuspected to Indians today. Even many yogis do not know
or know of them. And to scholars, including scholars of
Vedanta, this Brotherhood of India's other and deeper Masters
tend to be quite unknown.
Often the very greatest of the spiritual souls who have
lived and taught publicly within India have known of these
Masters, but kept their knowledge to themselves. Sometimes
these great leading lights were even "envoys"
or representatives from the Masters, sent as their disciples
to live and serve physically among the masses. But still
this Brotherhood of Masters who are in close rapport with
each other, and who have either lived for many centuries
or else have transcended the physical body altogether, are
still unknown to almost everyone within the subcontinent.
That situation is now imminently due to change, which is
why I am writing this article. It is the intention of this
"hidden" Brotherhood of great Masters to now externalise
and to interact much more with earnest seekers on the spiritual
Path.
The Burgeoning Spiritual Tradition of
Ascended Master Activities
This Brotherhood of Masters are in fact not limited to
India at all, but are global and universal in scope, though
India - as well as Nepal, Tibet, China and other Eastern
nations - has long been a place wherein many of Them abide.
Yet in fact They exist and have Their private retreats,
temples and homes on every continent. And Those among Them
who have transcended the biological body altogether are
of course not limited to any geographical area. Indeed,
these Masters have often chosen to make Themselves known
to worthy disciples of the West.
In August 1930, while hiking on the side of Mount Shasta,
California, Guy Ballard, a mining engineer, was approached
by a most striking individual who was able to work astonishing
miracles as a matter of course, as though all of Nature
obeyed His beck and call. Yet these "miracles"
were stated by this individual to be but the result of applying
the Laws of spiritual science. Moreover such phenomena,
while useful, were as nothing in importance as compared
to the inner, mystical Teaching on how to be the fullness
of God that this individual proceeded to dispense first
to Guy Ballard, and then to many others.
The "man" in question proved to be named Saint
Germain (or "Sanctus Germanus": Holy Brother,
lat.), and claimed to be an Ascended Master. That
is, one who has gained complete liberation from karma and
appears to us in a manifested (not birthed) body, having
mastered time and space, and having become the fullness
of His Higher Self through the real, tangible process of
the Ascension. This Higher or God-Self of each individual
was and is called by Saint Germain the Individualised Mighty
"I AM" Presence. Quite soon, so the account (3,4)
stands, many more Ascended Masters were met by a number
of other incarnated men and women, who became Their disciples
or students. The original students were admitted into various
marvellous ancient Temples and Retreats. These Retreats
are largely unknown to and concealed from the outer world
of mortals. Ballard devotedly kept notes of his initial
experiences, often in the form of letters home to his wife,
Edna, and the first series of his encounters with Ascended
Masters, and with Their Teachings, was released under the
direction of Saint Germain in 1932 in the book Unveiled
Mysteries. (3)
In the years and decades since then, a number of individuals
have continued to enjoy association with the Ascended Masters,
and literally thousands of pages of the Teachings of these
Masters have been published, in addition to thousands of
hours of recorded audio Teachings and much that remains
unpublished. I believe this stream of Teaching looks set
to play a major role in the spiritual, mystical-experiential,
"religious" and philosophical flowering of the
twenty-first century and beyond. As a reverent, if not expert,
student of Vedanta, I am struck at how all Hindus might
find the Ascended Master Teachings - and their similarities
to Vedanta - of interest.
The advent of new dispensations or new approaches to the
spiritual Path is a phenomenon well-known to Hindus over
time. New light has been shed upon Vedanta regularly, every
few centuries. Major new directions in Vedanta have blossomed,
or new expositions, such as through Patanjali, Chaitanya,
and others. In more recent times, a little over a century
ago, Sri Ramakrishna introduced a new paradigm of spiritual
approaches, such as all-encompassing non-exclusivity of
beliefs, and much more. Likewise his disciple, Vivekananda,
was instrumental in facilitating a spiritual renaissance
among some of the West by introducing Vedanta there. Devotees
of great figures such as these are keenly aware, then, of
the importance to the world of the introduction of radically
new spiritual ideas, paradigms, and dispensations. The Ascended
Masters' Teachings may be viewed in such a light.
This relatively new tradition incorporates a stream of
philosophy and practices that, whilst holding to the time-honoured
moral guidelines and mystical precepts of any worthy spiritual
Path, are also as detailed and as experientially scientific
as Vedanta. Indeed, they are comparable to Vedanta in many
ways, yet at the same time chart intriguing new territories.
In the opinion of many, the particularly new aspects of
belief, practice, and personal spiritual experience of these
Teachings present a genuinely new paradigm of the spiritual
life for both East and West. Since attempts to use precise
synonyms between the two traditions can be misleading, with
a few exceptions I shall therefore sketch an outline of
this tradition in its own terminology.
[Note: In this article, I also capitalise the first letter
of certain words more so than is the norm in everyday writing.
This is done out of respect for the spiritual tradition
discussed here, which does the same.]
The First Teachings of the Masters, and Neo-Vedanta
Sri Ramakrishna liked to quote the Bengali saying, "As
many faiths, so many paths." This is similar to the
Vedic dictum: "Truth is One. Sages call it by different
names." To those possessed of some familiarity with
both the Ascended Master Teachings and the Vedas, it is
evident time and time again that the same - or very similar
- Truth is being spoken of by each tradition, even at times
when the subject is quite detailed and technical. It may
be that this similarity is not recognised as frequently
as it might be simply due to the different terminology used.
Hence the idea of briefly introducing the Ascended Masters
to those who may be of a Hindu background.
The Ascended Masters began Their more overt, public service
among humanity in 1875, with the founding of the Theosophical
Society. Theosophy was never Buddhist or Hindu per se,
but drew upon both Buddhism and Vedanta for the sake of
their rich lexicons of spiritual terminology, capable of
describing Cosmic Law to a Western world that until then
had been broadly ignorant of such matters of deeper spirituality.
Theosophy was outwardly founded by Westerners, but was actually
prompted and inspired from behind the scenes by Eastern
Adepts, and soon came to be based near Madras, India.
In retrospect it can now be seen that this was in general
a time of great spiritual ferment and renaissance. Sri Aurobindo's
spiritual life and teachings stem from around this time.
Ramakrishna lived from 1836 to 1886, but only gathered his
disciples around him and had a wider impact upon the Hindu
world in the final years of his life. The impact of Ramakrishna's
life became all the greater after his mahasamadhi, when
the disciples formed an Order in his name and began their
own work. This initiated what is sometimes called neo-Vedanta,
touching upon such elements as the aforesaid openness to
other faiths, as well as a greater openness in general to
the various diverse paths of Vedanta itself, the various
yogas, and other streams of spirituality within India. Patriarchal
Hinduism was challenged with the exoneration of the female.
The monastic Ramakrishna Order was also relatively new in
India in its emphasis upon action and charitable work, as
opposed to what had at times tended to become a rather too
inward-looking, self-oriented form of the spiritual life
within India.
The latter quarter of the nineteenth century, then, and
leading into the early 1900s, saw the beginning of several
streams of change and of renaissance of the spiritual life
for both East and West. These may be viewed as a foundation
and background for the comparatively very different spiritual
world we live in today, with the East's neo-Vedanta and
the West's increased interest in mysticism and the true
living of religion, as well as the Ascended Master movements.
For those interested in the causes behind effects, or in
esoteric history, it truly is noteworthy that the fifty
years from 1875 to around 1925 saw not only the coming of
Theosophy but also of such change and renewal within Hindu
religion and society as the mission of Ramakrishna, the
birth of Baha'i, and the work of Sri Aurobindo and others.
This partly resulted from the presence in India of the British
and of the Empire, which led to a co-mingling of ideas and
an East-West interaction that was to profoundly change the
spiritual possibilities and philosophical thinking of both
cultures. But the Brotherhood of Ascended Masters was also
an impelling force behind the renewals.
It was within such a time of positive spiritual ferment
that the Ascended Masters were able to begin Their own first
organisations, such as the Theosophical Society. But this
spiritual stream has moved on since then, many more divine
truths being released to the world, even for the very first
time. The Teachings of the Ascended Masters, which were
much more easily brought forth during the 1875-1925 period
of extremely positive spiritual East-West interaction, are
again destined to return to India, adding once more to the
mystical treasures already long associated with that land.
Ascended Masters, Messengers, and the Activities
We briefly reviewed at the opening how "Emil",
who became the contact between Baird T. Spalding and the
Masters, was not himself Ascended, though he and others
nevertheless had been alive in the same bodies for several
centuries. It is not so unusual for advanced yogis, through
hatha yoga, pranayama, and other techniques, to remain particularly
youthful, so as to live long, and even well beyond a hundred
years. But in the case of Emil and his brethren an entirely
different order of Mastery is evident: in them the ageing
process has been halted entirely, and is often reversed.
It is typical for the Masters and Lady Masters of this Brotherhood
to retain the body for as long as they desire, as great
Adepts, then eventually to pass through the process known
as the Ascension. After taking Their Ascension, while They
can still appear at will, no biological body is retained.
The fact that this stage in particular, the stage of the
Ascension, is possible - nay, is even the definite and ordained
divine destiny - for every man and woman, has never been
publicly known in the West (save for the one example of
Jesus), and is basically unknown or forgotten within Hinduism
also. It is therefore well-worth our focussing upon.
We see, then, the great difference of degree between most
incarnate yogis and teachers, who are born, may be very
illumined, but nevertheless also die as do most of us, and
the Ascended Masters. These Masters are not gurus still
in incarnation, for They have already transcended biologically-created
bodies, hence are said to be Ascended. They are able to
appear in tangible solidity at will but for various reasons
it is not yet considered wise for Them to appear publicly
to the many - though this time will come. Presently, therefore,
They train qualified individuals to be what are called "Messengers",
these being spiritually accomplished men and women whom
the Ascended Masters can overshadow and speak through publicly
- to dozens, hundreds, or many thousands of students. Such
Messengership has absolutely nothing in common with spiritualism
or what in the West is called "channelling". One
might liken it more to the manner in which Kali Herself
seemed to discourse through Ramakrishna. Only Those who
are God-Free, Ascended or Cosmic Beings speak through a
Messenger, and it is a spiritual, not a lower psychic process.
Organisations are formed around such Messengers, and these
tend to be called "Activities" of the Ascended
Masters since they are not religions or churches in the
conventional sense. There have been several such Activities
in the last hundred years, as well as associated lesser
outlets. The early precursor to them all was the Theosophical
Society founded through Helena P. Blavatsky in 1875, though
only very few Masters were involved in this, and in fact
the most prominent sponsoring Masters, El Morya and Koot
Hoomi Lal Singh, were not yet quite Ascended but still in
Their final earthly, incarnated forms as Mahatmas.
In the 1920s El Morya (by then Ascended) and others formed
the Agni Yoga Society in Russia by inspiring and training
his disciples Nicholas and Helena Roerich to become Messengers
for the Ascended Masters. The Roerichs went on to live much
of their later lives in India, Nicholas also becoming world-famous
for his wonderful paintings of the Himalayan range and other
regions of the East. Through Guy and Edna Ballard was created
the "I AM" Activity in the 1930s. Other Activities
through which further Teachings were released and more disciples
trained were The Bridge to Freedom in the 1950s and, from
1958, The Summit Lighthouse a.k.a. Church Universal and
Triumphant. It is presently accepted by many in this tradition
that the current Ascended Master Activity through which
the Masters' work is primarily focussed today is The Temple
of The Presence. This was formally inaugurated quite recently
in 1995, and its present Messengers are Monroe and Carolyn
Shearer. While the headquarters are in Tucson, Arizona,
its mission is considered to be global in scope.
Portrait of the Presence
Copyright © The Temple of the Presence
Here, the lower figure depicts the outer self. Behind or
superimposed upon this self is that part of ourselves which
engages in no imperfection, being the Christ or Krishna
Consciousness. The topmost figure is the Electronic Body
or actual form or "body" of the I AM Presence,
vibrating at a frequency far beyond that of the outer world,
The lower figure - being our physical form, our emotions,
our mind and memories - is here depicted surrounded by the
Violet Flame as this is invoked to transmute past karmic
conditions.
Footnotes
1. In the late twentieth century, some
came to believe that "Emil" was in fact the Mahatma
known in Theosophical and later literature as (phonetically,
but spelled variously) Djwal Kul.
2. Baird T. Spalding, Life and Teaching
of the Masters of the Far East, Vol. 1 of 6 (Los angeles:
DeVorss & Company, 1924) pp. 11-14.
3. Godfré Ray King, Unveiled
Mysteries, (Chicago: Saint Germain Press, 1934).
4. Godfré Ray King, The Magic
Presence, (Chicago: Saint Germain Press, 1936).
Copyright ©
2003 - David Tame
|
