The Great Approach : New Light and Life for Humanity
The Great Approach: New Light and Life for Humanity by Benjamin Creme - A book review by Carmen Font  The world stands ready for more light. The fact that Maitreya and the Masters are externalizing in the world is a brilliant piece of good news. Whether it comes as a welcome surprise for some, or is understood as the logical consequence of the state of humanity today, it is a simple truth that can be accepted by everyone  -  regardless of their background or age. However, the simplicity of this event does not imply that the process of Emergence is an easy one. Sometimes, in their zeal for positive change, individuals from audiences around the globe ask why Maitreya and the Masters are "taking so long" in their public emergence. Even though Benjamin Creme in his lectures and in the magazine Share International has explained the gradual process of Emergence that is already taking place  -  the series of television appearances with Maitreya reported since 2010 stand out in this regard  -  people are often anxious about the date for the Day of Declaration. "What are Maitreya and the Masters waiting for? The world is a mess, we need them!"  This sense of urgency, if properly managed, can be useful to trigger us all into action to participate actively in the process of making known Maitreya's reappearance. At the same time, this kind of comment often reveals a lack of understanding of the complexity of this event. How is it that something so immediate and easy to grasp can be so complex at the same time? The Masters are omniscient and omnipresent; They know we are in need, They are aware of our suffering and frustration at not being able to change the many areas of life that need overhauling. Hence, many wonder, "how much longer can we bear this situation"?  A comprehensive response to this and many more questions related to the development of Maitreya's emergence is given in Benjamin Creme's The Great Approach. This is the last of his four main books devoted to a full account of Maitreya's mission, and is another treasure trove. It is in three parts, entitled 'Life Ahead for Humanity', 'The Great Approach' and 'The Coming of a New Light'. It includes edited talks by Benjamin Creme, and a comprehensive selection of questions and answers stemming from these lectures. The structure follows a meaningful rhythm: it illustrates the background of the Masters and "why" They are returning openly to the world; then, in Part Two 'The Great Approach', we learn the particulars of "how" the Day of Declaration will take place; and finally, in the third movement of this harmonious symphony of events, we are acquainted with "what" will happen after the day in which the whole world sees and recognizes Maitreya and the Masters for what They are: stalwart champions of humanity.  Higher Evolution  The Day of Declaration is indeed a climactic event for us, but it is no less so for the Masters. As Benjamin Creme writes, the Masters must "return to physical-plane activity, only now in group formation, in order to re-enact Their own life expression in preparation for the Way of Higher Evolution" (p.x). As much as the Masters are invincible and all powerful to us, Hierarchy itself is involved in an evolutionary process as a Centre of Energy of this planet. These Ways of Higher Evolution are well beyond our grasp, but bearing this in mind helps us to realize that the Masters cannot freely manipulate the laws that govern the path of evolution. They act in response to humanity's need and our invocation for help. Their adherence to the Law of Cause and Effect, and their full acceptance of our Free Will is not an act of cruelty, but of love, trust and respect towards humanity. Feeling distrustful or dejected about the apparent length of time that Maitreya is taking until the Day of Declaration reveals a sense of disconnectedness between Their mission and our task at hand. Instead of viewing ourselves as builders in the transformation of the world as we have known it till now, many bemoan that the Masters are not fulfilling their promise or that the world will never be saved. Our actions and decisions are interlaced with the actions and reactions of the Masters. When we walk the path of service, They can come closer to us. When we advance in the direction of sharing, They present us with wonderful opportunities. Hierarchy has decided to return now to the world because we are prepared for this event. We could feel proud and ashamed at the same time: proud of deserving Their help, and ashamed of the regrettable state of our world. This delicate handling of pairs of opposites within the Law requires much more than a careful rapprochement. It is a Great Approach.    Preparations for Maitreya's Emergence  It makes little difference whether we think we know all the particulars of Maitreya's Emergence as Benjamin Creme has described them in various other writings and lectures. Reading the first part of The Great Approach, entitled 'Life Ahead for Humanity', provides a fresh insight into the kind of task that Hierarchy has to accomplish before They can openly speak to us. This section not only includes a detailed account of what will happen on the Day of Declaration (p.47-54), but also the background work of preparation for this event: encounters with Maitreya and the Masters, including His appearance to religious groups (p.61), and the right attitude of disciples and the public in general to favour Maitreya's emergence (p.70). At the same time this event is the way humanity overcomes the injustices generated by our current economic system and commercialization. Benjamin Creme analyses the effects of market forces on our everyday running of world affairs, and highlights the manner in which these energies of destruction will be defeated, from both an esoteric and exoteric point of view: "When market forces are seen as the destructive agencies that they are  -  because they benefit the few at the expense of the many  -  and when commercialization is recognized as the destructive mode by which that destructiveness works out, then the energy of it will be resolved. It will be reconstructed" (p.87). Creme adds in this regard that the law governing action and reaction, which is the law underlying the work of the Spirit of Peace or Equilibrium (the Cosmic Avatar Who overshadows Maitreya) "will re-create, out of that destructiveness, its opposite, and in the exact proportion. That is being done now." In this Approach from the Masters to humanity and we to Them, sharing is essential. The final sections of Part One of The Great Approach are devoted to the nuances of sharing (p.96): what it is and how it applies when solving political, social and environmental hardships. Part Two of the book concentrates on a long commentary by Benjamin Creme about the full return and externalization of the Hierarchy. This is where the reader can see the degree of complexity of this milestone, which is both inevitable and at the same time flexible in nature. The nuts and bolts of the sentence "For over 500 years the Masters have known that sooner or later Their return would have to take place" (p.141) acquire greater significance when we read, for example, an account of the seven paths of Higher Evolution (p.141-148) or "The way the Masters work". We are here reminded of the humility of the Masters, which is a divine quality in that its major expression is lack of self or ego. "Humility is left when pride and self-love are not present. It is a natural given state, not something you acquire. You acquire arrogance, conceit and glamours of all kinds, but you cannot acquire humility. You can acquire a humble attitude, but that is something quite different" (p.172). Once Maitreya is openly among us, we will be astonished by His humility, and His treatment of us as equals.   This section gives further information on the "historical Jesus" and His relationship with Maitreya over the centuries, as well as further details about the Master Who was Mary, the Mother of Jesus. "The actual externalization is not simply the Masters coming out openly, waving to the populous and being very chummy and friendly. It is to do with the externalization of the inner ashrams onto the outer physical plane" (p.198). The task of preparing the way for the Emergence of the Christ and the Masters into the world is (almost) completed.  Light and the Soul  What is required, writes Benjamin Creme, "is an interpretation of the work of the Masters, an explanation of Their reasons for returning and for the particular relationship They make or do not make with humanity" (p.213). The ongoing task of 'illuminating' the audiences, present and future, will be an important aspect of the coming of a New Light, the subject of the third part of The Great Approach. Benjamin Creme offers an extensive and precise commentary on the article 'Let there be Light' by his Master. This covers both the scientific nature of light and its esoteric significance.   Soul-infusion is actually the amount of Light of God that the soul brings in from the Spiritual Triad, that is, "the Self, the Spiritual Being which is reflected through the soul, and from the soul to the personality" (p.223). We bring in more light to our personality as we begin to serve, and this is not simply an issue that impacts us personally, but also globally, since the overall aim of the incarnational process for the soul is the spiritualization of matter in this planet. There is an Inner and an Outer Light: "There is the light of the atomic particles of the brain itself. Then there is the light of the etheric body, the etheric counterpart of the brain. There is the light of the soul, which is usually seen as a brilliant sun in the head" (p.248), and the interactions of these different kinds of light, if properly managed, transform the density of matter. Sometimes, however, we misuse that light which goes through all the planes, including the astral-emotional plane. Benjamin Creme makes the point that there is now an intensification of the astral-emotional light of the planet and a downward movement of that light onto the physical plane (p.253). Even though this may have a positive side-effect, such as the ...