ofsuperstitions, . . . The Secret Doctrine 2:281 Nature is cyclical throughout: at one time fertile in spiritual things,at another barren. At this long-ago period of the third root-race, on the greatcontinent of Lemuria, now submerged, the cycle was against spiritual progress.A great downward sweep was in force, when expansion of physical and materialenergies were accelerated with the consequent retardation and contraction ofspiritual power. The humanities of that period were part of the generalevolutionary current, and individuals reacted to the coarsening atmosphereaccording to their nature. Some resisted its down- ward influence throughawakened spirituality; others, weaker in understanding, vacillated betweenspirit and matter, between good and evil: sometimes listening to the promptingsof intuition, at other times submerged by the rushing waves of the downwardcurrent. Still others, in whom the spark of intellectual splendor burned low,plunged headlong downstream, unmindful of the turbulent and muddy waters.As the downward cycle proceeded, knowledge of spiritual verities andliving of the life in accordance with them became a dull and useless tool inhuman hearts and minds. Such folly was inevitable in the course of cosmicevents, and all things were provided for. Just as there are many types ofpeople some spiritual, others material, some highly intelligent, others slowof thought so are there various grades of beings throughout the universe,ranging from the mineral, through the vegetable, animal, and human kingdom, andbeyond to the head and hierarch of our earth.During these first millennia the spiritual head and guardian of theearth had been stimulating wherever possible the individual fires of activespirituality. Gradually as knowledge of divine things became abused by thosestrong in will but weak in morality, truth was increasingly veiled. Theplanetary watcher now felt the need of selecting a band of co-workers to act asbodyguard and protector of the ancient wisdom. Alone a handful of spirituallyillumined human beings, in whom the divine fervor burned bright, acknowledgedwholehearted allegiance to their planetary mentor the spiritual hierarch ofhumanity. Through long ages certain individuals had been watched over andguided, strengthened and tested in innumerable ways, and those who passed thetest of self-knowledge and self-sacrifice were gathered together to form thefirst association of spiritual-divine human beings the Great Brotherhood. AsG. de Purucker elaborates:Then wasformed or established or set in operation the gathering together of the veryhighest representatives, spiritually and intellectually speaking, that thehuman race as yet had given manifestation to; . . . . . .the Silent Watcher of the Globe, through the spiritual-magnetic attraction oflike to like, was enabled to attract to the Path of Light, even from theearliest times of the Third Root-Race, certain unusual human individuals, earlyforerunners of the general Manasaputric "descent," and thus to formwith these individuals a Focus of Spiritual and Intellectual Light on Earth,this fact signifying not so much an association or society or brotherhood as aunity of human spiritual and intellectual Flames, so to speak, which thenrepresented on Earth the heart of the Hierarchy ofCompassion. . . . Now itwas just this original focus of Living Flames, which never degenerated nor lostits high status of the mystic center on Earth through which poured the supernalglory of the Hierarchy of Compassion, today