The Washington herald., 1914-12-27

pOurb ooNn. upon manktQo. FROM the
great spiritual sphere Their iighi
pours down in general benediction,
like the light OF the sun to which j
iikened It, Illuminating and blesains
all All Of you may pront by that. just
In proportion as you are able. to open
your hearts to Il. TO breathe IL in like
the atmosphere that surrounds you.
FOR as the sun shines. and you open
your windows and let the sunshine
mood your rooms. or you may bar ..
out with closed shutters so that IL may
not Illuminate and bring life and
health, so 10 Il with this widespread
blessing OF the Masters life, which
makes the spiritual atmosphere, which
pours out; as spiritual light. Open
your windows and Their light shines
In; It Is beating against the shutters:
and you have only to throw them open,
and your Spirit win be flooded with
Their light and strength.
Then there are great organizations.
great religious Communities, into which
special Master viii pour down HI.
blessing and His strength Made a. ves-
sells to receive the water Of lIfe as mighty
! reservoirs 70 be filled in order that the
| water may be distributed, such are the
great religions OF, the world; such these
great spiritual vessels OF many shapes.
but all containing the one spiritual water.
Tor the quenching OF the spiritual thirst
OF man. Into these organizations, drawn
Iogether for spiritual purposes. Joined
with the aim OF spreading spiritual know
ledge, q Master pours His life and in
spiration, In order that they may distrib-
ute II to their adherents 80 that they
may. give II to those within their pale
Hence the different religions Of the world,
with their different sacraments, or means
OF grace. adapted to the needs OF the
time for which they are given, to the
temperament of the people on whom
they are bestowed to shape and mould
special civilizations, and 80 10 guide
and help the races and subraces OF men.
In yet third great way They help the
thought OF the world, sending out mighty
thoughts OF knowledge OF beauty, OF in
spiration. specially for those men and
women OF genius who have climbed to the
point where they can be individually
affected, and made, as it were. channels
to the world at large: great thoughts OF
knowledge sent to the scientific genius;
thoughts Of beauty sent TO the artist
thoughts OF patriotism and helpfulness
TO the statesman; thoughts Of mighty
power to the literary genius. whether ex-
pressing himself In prose or poesy. These
are the blessings sent by the Masters or
Wisdom for the helping and the raising OF
men; and never a great Inspiration
flashes into the mind or heart, never
some mighty thought iliuminates a whole
Held OF knowledge. never some exquisite
form Of beauty, whether OF sound or
vision0 comes winging its glorious way
into ouI~ earthly atmosphere but comes
from that great Hierarchy that lives for
the helping Of man, ever plans new ways,
works out new schemes, by which evolu-
ton may be quickened. by which the race
may climb. Some Of these take as pupils
and disciples-alOng the lines Of which
1 have already led you-those who are
willing to tread the Path that They have
trodden, SO that the ranks OF the great
Hierarchy may never be depleted, SO long
as humanity Is dwelling on our globe
From that more general and Individual
helping let Us turn to two great depart
ments OF human life. in which the work
% the Hierarchy Is most specially to be
seen, and in which all who have eyes TO
see may trace II as they will There are
two great departments OF human life in
which especially help is needed-the Rul-
ing Department. which guides all natural
evolution, changes the face Of the sur
face Of our globe. builds and destroys
continents. raises fresh races which grow
mlshtier and pass away, controls the
destinies OF nations, shapes the face of
CIVILIZATIONS, balances up from time 10
time the great accounts between the
r. 7es and the nations. and rules the outer
destinies Of men. That mighty Ruling
Department is one in which the Occult
Hierarchyls ever at work. and there the
Ideal Man-the Manu-. as he is called IN
the East. the word being only the word
from which our own man" Ii derived
the thinker-ls the one who shapes and
guides the activities Of this Ruling De-
partment. under the Supreme Head of
the Hierarchy. the Lord of our world.
The Teaching Department. that from
which all religions come which inspire
and color civilizations: at the head Of
that department stands the Supreme
Teacher, the Teacher OF angels and men.
whom in the East they call the Wisdom,
or Bodhisattva, whom in the West they
call the Christ. His the duty of watch
ing over the spiritual destinies Of man
kind OF guiding. blessing. maintaining
the various religions OF the world, found
ed in outline by Himself His the duty
Of appointing one Master or another as
the special Guide and Protector Of a spe-
ciaI religion. while His own benediction
flows ever upon the whole OF the living
religions Of the time. HIS the great duty
OF appearing from age to age to inspire
a new. religion. to strike a keynote, un-
I'll all the notes shall have been struck
that make UP the great religious chord
OF our. humanity. varied but all harmo-
nious. giving out different tones. but
forming one mighty chord.
Looking backwards over the past of
our race, we see how he came from
time to time. the Bodhisattva of the
past, the Christ of the past, who gave
the earlier religions Of the Aryan Race;
who built up the fabrics of Hinduism
for the Aryan root-stock; Who taught
as Thoth in Egypt. later known as
Hermes. the mighty Revealer: who
came as Zoroaster to the great Persian
Empire, thirty-one thousand years ago: /
who came as Orpheus to the Greeks
founding the Orphic Mysteries from
which all other Mysteries in Greece |
were successfully derived: who spoke |
as the Sun In India as Light in Egypt, |
as Fire in Persia, as the exquisite |
Beauty OF Music and Sound in Greece;
who, gave to each great nation in turn |
rs own religion. laid in each the foun-
1atiOn OF the civilization which that |
nation was to color and to inspire: and |
who. then, having done His work, came
'orth for the last time in Hindustan 4
Ind with the founding of Buddhism
closed the ancient cycle, and left to His /
successor the opening OF the new.
For when the World Teacher has
performed His task: has appeared over
md over again to build in turn the
great religions which Il Is HIS function
o reveal then when a great world
Ige Is over. He comes for the last time,
peaks his last word, reaches the final
and passes away from
IaPfh Thus IN ErddbKavn