The ageless wisdom

Alice Ann Bailey (1880-1949)

Alice Bailey was born Alice Ann La Trope-Batemen on June 16, 1880, in a wealthy, aristocratic family in Manchester, England. She had a materially secure and overprotected, but very lonely childhood, influenced by a narrow-minded view of Christianity. However, in 1895, at the age of 15, a memorable event occurred for her, which for a while caused a total change in her way of life. One Sunday morning a tall man dressed in European clothes but with a turban on his head suddenly walks into the drawing room, where she sat, while the rest of the family had gone to church. He told her that she would eventually have the opportunity to do some important work in the world if she would change her disposition and gain some control over herself. The man disappeared as suddenly as he arrived.

This remarkable event led to an inner change of attitude, but in time she kept it in the background. The outer circumstances of her life meant that she became evangelist, sent out among the British troops in Ireland. She was 22 years old and had ended up in a role that was not caused by inner instinct but environment and influential acquaintances. Nevertheless she learned many things in her new situation. She cooked for the soldiers and preached the Gospels by overcoming her shyness and stage fright.

Later she was sent on to India as an evangelical emissary, and her working activities were increased. She held about 15 weekly evangelical meetings, conducted correspondence, kept accounts and managed the service of 5-600 soldiers in a café in the evening. In the afternoon she assisted in the hospital wards. But the work was too hard for her and in 1906 she was sent home. After a longer period of restoration she was married to Walter Evans, a soldier she felt in love with during her stay in India. Soon he became a clergyman in the Episcopal Church in California, and they had three daughters. But the marriage did not last long and Evans became violent to her. He was transferred to another parish and she moved into a three-roomed housing with her three daughters. In order to earn a living she had to take up employment in a factory as a sardine packer. During this process she was only a quite ordinary girl, going through the mill and living under the circumstances. It was not until 1915 that she met two English ladies who introduced her to the work of H.P. Blavatsky and especially The Secret Doctrine.

Meeting the theosophy opened all the doors in her mind and she put everything into a radical, new perspective. In 1917 she moved to Hollywood in California to be closer to The Theosophical Society’s headquarters in Krotona. She got a job in the Society’s vegetarian cafeteria and thus earned a living. Two years later her divorce was granted, and she met her future husband, Foster Bailey, a former judge, who now entirely dedicated his life to theosophy. Her three daughters thereby got a beloved and endeared stepfather, and the couple was married in New York in 1920.

But already the year before her mission in life had begun. One day, when she had sent the children to school, she went to a hill near the house. Suddenly, while sitting there, she heard the sound of music, and a voice asked her: “There are some books, that need to be written for the public. You can write them. Do you want to do that?” Having first refused this psychical-supersensual inquiry she agreed to give it a try. Three weeks later the monumental work began, which later was known under the name of the Tibetan.

Since then everything went very fast, and Alice Bailey seriously started the inner training, which is necessary to perform such an important work. In 1921 she began teaching classes in The Secret Doctrine, which became a great success. Former students of Blavatsky supported her work in spite of increasing internal disagreements within The Theosophical Society, and a growing resentment of her and Foster Bailey’s work. They continued to be members of the Society, but in 1923 she founded The Arcane School, which is an esoteric training school of meditation , study and service. The work grew and books dictated by the Tibetan were published year after year. World-wide correspondence increased, and in 1932 the International Goodwill Movement was organized, which had Units of Service in nineteen countries by 1939. In 1937 the world-wide triangle activities began.

In the years from 1919 and to her death 15 December 1949 Alice Bailey wrote 19 books for the Tibetan and 4 books herself as well as her Unfinished Autobiography. The central part of the work is a comprehensive presentation of the psychology of the Seven Rays, which had never been seen before and which was made available and usable. The works present very profound information on initiation, discipleship, esoteric astrology and healing, teaching, nature of the soul and consciousness of group, the spiritual hierarchy of enlightened souls and Shamballa , the planet’s highest centre of consciousness. We are given detailed information on occult meditation, esoteric group dynamic and world discipleship, just as the world events, the problems of humanity and the new age are thoroughly discussed in an esoteric way. The works present metaphysical perspectives of the solar system and the evolution of the planet, the deva or angel world and deal thoroughly with subjects as emotional glamour and mental illusions, development of character and white magic, triangle and full moon meditation. In a few words this work constitutes in full an overwhelming source of inspiration , which is the result of the Tibetan, also known as Master Djwhal Khul , being allowed to communicate telepathically through Bailey in most of the works.

The busy mother of three daughters thus became a disciple among the greatest in the world, who communicated the esoteric philosophy to many countries. The 12,000 pages have been translated into numerous languages and the complete work becomes known today by million of people through the organisation The Lucis Trust. We recommend “The Unfinished Autobiography” by Alice A. Bailey, published by Lucis Trust.