The ageless wisdom

The metaphysic that recognizes a divine Reality substantial to the world of things and lives and minds; the psychology that finds in the soul something similar to, or even identical with, divine Reality; the ethic that places man’s final end in the knowledge of the immanent and transcendent Ground of all beings – the thing is immemorial and universal.

Author: Søren Hauge: www.sophiaundervisning.dk
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In every culture at all times and under all circumstances man has searched for a deeper meaning to life. For as long as we know, man has turned his eyes towards the sky in silent wonder. There has hardly been a time where we, from time to time, have not been astonished at the greatness and beauty of the Creation. An infinite number of ways leads to the same goal and an infinite number of humans lives under the same mysterious sky and in the same inconceivable universe. The universal search has given different answers, which relate to each other and to the beginning of life just like spectral colours relate to themselves and in relation to light. The great religions of the world, philosophical systems, artistic impulses and scientific discoveries can be compared to different dialects of the same inner language with which we try to formulate our relation with cosmos – with divinity. Every spiritual impulse is adapted to the ages, the evolution and possibilities of man. Thus the spiritual innovations and inspirations have raised the human consciousness as time and circumstances allowed for it.

Philosophia perennis

Divine wisdom has always existed just like divinity has always revealed itself to those who were willing to receive the wisdom. Aldous Huxley’s “The Perennial Philosophy” presents this thought, which also appears repeatedly in History. It flourishes and develops fully in the esoteric movements of our times (esoteric means “inner”, “underlying”). The essence of Huxley’s writing is the idea of a continuous flow of enlightenment, which has always existed in the so-called primitive tribes of the world, in the religious traditions and among the chosen souls, who have obtained direct knowledge through an ethical, pure life and contemplation. This spiritual wisdom is a metaphysics that acknowledges a divine reality behind all external phenomena. It refers to the idea that the human soul is part of the spiritual creative power and that many ways eventually lead to the same goal. In India this knowledge is called Brahma Vidya , and for the Greeks it was the desirable mystery knowledge. In the Middle East it was called “Gnosis”, and in the time of the birth of Christ it was also called “the hermetic wisdom” or “Theosophia”.

You may consider the historical evolution of mankind, in fact the evolution of the entire Earth, as a series of impulses, which have gradually affected, changed and raised the human consciousness. At an early stage of the human evolution these impulses were particularly of a mythical/religious nature. They were passed on from people who were able to express a profound knowledge of the origin and the deepest meaning of life and the position of man in the cosmic order. Later on, as the human consciousness changed, these religious illuminations became more philosophical and assumed other forms. However, from the earliest prehistoric periods and up till today it is possible to follow these illuminations and insights, as pearls on an unbroken and meaningful, sparkling thread. 

Luminaries and impulses

At all times there have been people who have reached the highest self-knowledge and released themselves from the physical glamour and illusions of life. These persons have claimed that they have found what they searched for, and that they consciously were part of the spiritual reality, and therefore it was their mission to lead other people to the reunion with the Highest. Through history great, luminous torches have been lighted from time to time to lead mankind towards illumination . These conscious souls, prophets, founders of religions or saviours have been powerful catalysts for entire cultural epochs, and with their messages and doctrines they have affected innumerable crowds of people to change themselves and their surroundings. These enlightened guides have as great initiators affected and raised the human consciousness both at the collective and at the individual level.

All cultures have their own archetypal initiators and spiritual masters. The ancient Eqypt gave birth to Hermes (Tehuti or Thoth ) and later Akhnaton. India was the birthplace of Patanjali, Shankara, Buddha , Krishna and numerous rishies and avatars. Persia was the place of Zarathustra , just as Greece had Pythagoras , Socrates, Plato, Parmenides and Thales as well as a number of other spiritual thinkers. Lao Tse and Kung Fu Tse were active in China, and Quetzalcoatl and Deganawida characterized South and North America each in their age. The Middle East reared a number of luminaries from Oannes and Moses to Mohammad and Christ. The number of spiritual giants seems to be innumerable. In their own way they have influenced and changed their respective cultures and the human consciousness towards new enlightenments and perspectives. They did it in different ways and they have emphasized various aspects of the spiritual wisdom simply because of the fact that they lived in different cultures at different times.

The Christian Era

However, sometimes we do not notice the individual pioneers and initiators, but rather entire currents, which turn and twist like stimulating rivers in the cultural landscape. In the Christian Era it was in the marginal currents among the Gnostics, Kathars and the many mystics that the idea of eternal wisdom thrived. St Clement of Alexandria and Origenes, Valentinus and Basilides are examples of Gnostics, who worked esoterically with the Christian impulse. There were also Jewish thinkers and mystics; Filon from Alexandria, a Gnostic who tried to unveil the hidden esoteric of the Old Testament. In the following centuries a number of great individuals took part in passing on the wisdom. The wise man Ammonious Sakkas taught theosophy in Alexandria, and among his students was the important Neo-Platonist Plotinus, whose thinking is the purest expression of the ageless wisdom or theosophy that can be pointed out. Later on figures like Dionysios Areopagita and Proklos initiated the early esotericism of the Middle Ages. Also in the theological field the esoteric trends were significant. The prisca theologia was a trend in the Renaissance based on the idea that an unbroken line of spiritual wisdom exists from Hermes Trismegistos via Moses to personalities like Zarathustra, Orfeus, Pythagoras and Plato. These wise men were, according to the disciples of the prisca theologia, successors of the divine enlightenment, which Christ completed through his Act.

Later on we meet an esoteric movement behind the Grail tradition, a line that affected a number of different groups in Europe. The minnesingers and troubadours were also in the subsequent centuries the keepers of the esoteric teaching, and the anonymous architects of the cathedrals immortalized the spiritual enlightenments into the geometry and symbolics of the Christian temples. The alchemists phrased the spiritual enlightenments into chemical formulas and into not very accessible texts and hieroglyphs. Paracelsus, Michael Maier and many others continued these thoughts in the Renaissance. Among the Jews it was the cabbalists who expressed the spirit freely, and among the Islamic groups it was the Sufi mystics who formulated the heretical poetry.

Brotherhoods and Movements

In the next centuries it is possible to follow this stream of thinkers, prophets and visionaries, who changed the atmosphere within the spiritual field. Sometimes they established brotherhoods and mystery societies. E.g. the Neo-Platonic Academy in Florence, The Bohemian Brethren or Familia Caritas, or John Dee, Philip Sidney, Fulke Greville and Francis Bacon, who together with others established the Rosicrucians. Others stepped outside society taking the risk this implied. Giordano Bruno, Baruch de Spinoza, William Blake and the above-mentioned Paracelsus belonged to this anarchist group together with Cagliostro, Anton Mesmer, Jakob Boehme and Emanuel Swedenborg. Nevertheless they had followers and caused establishment of groups and societies that kept up the tradition. Sometimes groups of philosophers inspired each other, as was the case with the Platonics of Cambridge in the Renaissance, and the German romantic philosophers and poets, as for instance Shelling, Fichte, Schiller, Goethe and Hegel.

In other cases it was religious persons and freethinkers, like Robert Green Ingersoll, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller, who were the initiators of the American Transcendentalist Movement and the foundation of the Unitarian Church in the 18th century, or P. Parkhurst Quimby and several others who founded the New Thought Movement. At other times it was the more direct esoteric groups founded in the beginning of the 20th century. The most evident examples hereof are Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and the foundation of the Theosophical Society, Rudolf Steiner and the Anthroposophical Society, as well as Alice Ann Bailey and the Lucis Trust. However, the list is long and includes a large number of groups from the spiritualists to the ritual orders and the more informal gatherings of universally oriented freethinkers.

The ways of freedom

No matter how you categorize these unorthodox currents and impulses, you can see them as one unbroken chain through the centuries. The common denominators are not always easy to phrase in a formula, but the starting point is always freedom for the individual to find his own special way to divinity, to the inner source. In this fundamental freedom we find faith in a Divine Providence, which calls the individual to contemplation when the exploration in the material world has produced a void towards materialistic values. There is a faith in the individual’s capability to find his way, and in an independence of confessions and systems, which is to ensure the salvation or healing of the fragmentation. At the same time there is an apprehension that the human being is divine in its essence, and that it is possible to reach perception and finally identification with the spiritual reality. It is of minor importance whether this inner correlation is made via art, philosophy, research or religious immersion. The crux is that there are many ways to the same objective. In the end it is the individual temperament that defines the way for each individual person.

The wisdom that was expressed in the temple culture of Egypt, that vitalized the British Druid Order, that inspired the Far Eastern Taoists, and that gave strength to the ancient traditions of the American Indians, found its own characteristic expression in the Western culture of the twentieth century. You may really speak of a renaissance of philosophia perennis to a larger extent than it has ever before been possible in the Western World. Whereas the dominating phase of Christianity was expressed almost as underground movements and fragmentary subcultures, it became a free and open dissemination of the universal spirituality in the twentieth century. The theosophical movement played an important role in the preparation for several of the essential thoughts, and during the second half of the twentieth century it was possible to see an escalating dissemination of new thoughts, which developed their own lives.

Esoteric and exoteric

If we have a closer look at the spiritual impulses we will see that they have always been presented at two levels at the same time, so that both the general public as well as the more mature souls were able to catch their contents. The teaching was communicated both at an inner, esoteric and at an outer, exoteric level. Eso-teric means “inner” or “reserved for those with special qualifications”. Esoteric shall here especially mean that it is a matter of the underlying, which is not directly visible or accessible. The exo-teric, however, is the tangible or directly accessible, which is available to everyone without special qualifications or knowledge. In the ancient Egypt the hierophants kept the wisdom for the candidates, who went through the temple schooling and the consecrations.

In Greece the Orphic mystery tradition lived side by side with the Platonic Academy and the Eleusinian mysteries. Pythagoras travelled to the South Italian island Crotana and founded his famous mystery school. The Persian insight was passed on by the late Mithraism, and in India the teaching was communicated at the teaching locations or ashrams of the great mahatmas. In Tibet the wisdom was taught in outlying monasteries, and in the Middle East it was among others the Essenes and the Neo-Platonists, who communicated the spiritual enlightenment to the courageous candidates. Everywhere we find traces from the ageless wisdom, which makes its way up through time till today. From time to time it seems as if the thread is lost, however it appears again in new, unexpected connections, characterized by both continuity as well as renewed vigour.

Outer culture and inner schooling

The outer, exoteric current has been manifested in the official religion, cultic structure or organisation found in all cultural relations. We may call this outer, visible manifestation the official religion or the outer cultural impulse. The purpose of the outer expression has been education of the masses, and in the beginning the leading positions were always entrusted the right teachers, but gradually as the successors took over, free rein was often available for the more selfish tendencies, and here we see the root of the exploitation and suppression, to which the many established religions and sects have exposed their followers. The abuse of power, the doctrines and the traditional interpretations are always a demonstration of a religion’s outer period of decline and at the same time indirectly the introduction of the initialisation of a new, reformed impulse.

Behind the outer manifestation all religious guides and spiritual leaders have had an inner message, a deeper teaching, which was only reserved the few. Let us call this the esoteric teaching. This knowledge or enlightenment was presented to a small, specially prepared group, who was able to understand the profound perspectives of the impulse and capable to control this knowledge in a proper way. Jesus indicates in the Gospels several times that the masses cannot bear the direct teaching but have to “hear it in parables”, whereupon he goes to a remote place with his disciples to share with them. St Paul, who was among the highly trusted, speaks in his letters of “the mystery of Christ” (Colossians 4:3)and “the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:2) and he emphasizes: “ But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom…” (1 Corinthians 2:7).

Later he amplifies this and says that he and his fellow disciples do not speak in words that come from human wisdom, but in words that come from the spirit, as they interpret “spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:13). Obviously there is a difference at which levels the individuals are in their lives, and we can now understand that the mysterious secretiveness of the inner teaching had a reasonable purpose. Trying to share the enlightenment with people who are not prepared or ready to take the consequences will always be doomed to failure and at worst be disastrous, if the knowledge handed down is misused. The separatism, the conflicts and doctrines have always been expressed in the outer manifestations of the official religions. However, the inner schools have carefully preserved the enlightenment, which was entrusted them, and they have educated people to take on leading roles and perform renewing work for the society, in which they lived. When you follow the spiritual impulses, you will realize that what in previous cultures was esoteric – i.e. concealed to the public – today is accepted facts, which are accessible to the public. What was previously esoteric later became exoteric or exteriorised. In this way evolution progressed.

The esoteric knowledge was merely reserved the few because there were not many who were able to use it, whereas the exoteric knowledge was the directly accessible knowledge, which could be turned into social activities and initiatives. In reality you may see the progress of history as a description of the implementation of the esoteric impulses into everyday life, and we are all more or less active participants in this process. The road to visibility will always follow three steps, where the first phase is that one or several esoteric persons receive the impulse from within or through a spiritual guide, whereupon they will be instructed in its aspects at a more confidential level. In the second phase the enlightened thinkers of the time, the so-called intelligentsia, will catch the impulse from the esoteric persons and begin to adapt and integrate it in various areas of the social life, which will lead to innovation and creation. Finally the impulse will be exteriorised in the public’s accept of the works of the enlightened thinkers. At this stage we can finally say that the impulse has become exoteric.

A new impulse

We are right now living in one of the great transitional periods of humanity, and at such time there will always be conflicts and an atmosphere of crisis, as the prevailing order of the world collides with new, emerging growth, which will cause significant problems. In many ways we live in quite a unique time, because never before have we – according to the knowledge that we possess – been in a situation where the local processes become global processes at the same time. The earth is, as regards humanity, no longer a number of separated nations living relatively untroubled next to each other. As a consequence of the numerous explorations of science within communication and transport, the earth is today a coherent, fine-meshed network of connecting lines, which little by little are learning to function as an integrated whole. This changes all spiritual processes in a dramatic way. Today the esoteric teaching must be made accessible to the public in quite a new way and in quite a new form, being characterised as a total synthesis. We live in the transition between two great eras, which in astrological terms are called ages. An age is a period of about 2160 years, where the earth will be under a special influence of one of the 12 zodiacal signs. From the beginning of our age we have collectively been living in the sign of Pisces and thus been characterized by the general qualities of this sign. This is also a hint for a deeper understanding of why Christ asked his disciples to become “fisher of men” and why the secret symbol of Christ was the fish at the start. We are now standing on the threshold of the Age of Aquarius and the general characteristics that this sign implies. This also means that a spiritual renewal must take place. In several successive phases a release of new spiritual impulses will therefore take place, which at a certain time will reach its zenith as the decisive, spiritual impulse for the entire Age of Aquarius.

H. P. Blavatsky

We are right now living in this increasing wave of spiritual renaissance, which began at the end of the nineteenth century. It was the Russian woman, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, who was charged with the task of performing an introductory work, which could be a sign of the coming, new impulse. Blavatsky was given the task to present the ageless wisdom in an intellectual coherent whole, which was able to reach the public in a new way, including all the elements of danger that this experiment might imply. The foundation of the Theosophical Society in New York in 1875 became the activating impulse for the esoteric schools of our age and for the accessibility of the theosophy. The intention was not that this society, like the religions, should claim to be inspired by divinity and hold all the truths. On the contrary it was to present the theosophy as a universal philosophy, free to anyone being seriously interested. Neither Blavatsky nor the Theosophical Society thus intended to act as a modern oracle, who was able to show us the way to the unvarnished truth. In the preface to her great work, The Secret Doctrine, she writes about this:

"These truths are in no sense put forward as a revelation; nor does the author claim the position of a revealer of mystic lore, now made public for the first time in the world's history. For what is contained in this work is to be found scattered throughout thousands of volumes embodying the scriptures of the great Asiatic and early European religions, hidden under glyph and symbol, and hitherto left unnoticed because of this veil. What is now attempted is to gather the oldest tenets together and to make of them one harmonious and unbroken whole.”

After Blavatsky followed a flow of esoterics from Annie Besant, Max Heindel and Rudolf Steiner to Beinsa Douno, Helena Roerich and Alice Ann Bailey. The latter became of quite significant importance through her 30 years of writing. We will return with biographies on Blavatsky and Bailey at the end of this article. The increasing flow of esoteric impulse initiators started in the 20th century an alternative snowball effect, which it has not been possible to stop since then. In the late decades all these spiritual, holistic or esoteric currents have been given the term “New Age”. This is in some way a loaded word, as many New-Christians consider it a strongly negative word, and because many traditional scientists have dissociated themselves from many of the undocumented assertions of “energies”, which is a frequent subject in the alternative movements. Nevertheless, we will briefly try to explain what the New Age movements cover.

New Age

The New Age movements are spread all over the world today and are altogether such a wide-spectrum phenomenon with so many layers and shades, that it may seem an almost impossible task to map all its aspects. As it is not a matter of an organized or systemic whole, however a common mentality, a spontaneous time signature or a collective trend, it should first of all be a matter of isolating the most immediate topics, which characterise the currents, in spite of the many differences and varying terminologies. But before that, would it then be possible to define which groups and movements may rightly be said to be part of the New Age? It can be very difficult, but nevertheless, below is a grouping that can be used as a guide:

a) Esoteric groups and cosmologies

In the heart of the New Age movement we find groups, associations and organisations, which in general can be called esoteric because they in a coherent and profound way give a general description of humanity and cosmos. They are variations of Philosophia perennis or the wisdom traditions and are based on meditative enlightenments and experiences in higher mental states. The ramified theosophical movement belongs to these groupings, which among others have H.P. Blavatsky and Annie Besant as central figures, the organisation the Lucis Trust established by Alice A. Bailey, the anthroposophy established by Rudolf Steiner, and the cosmology created by the Dane Martinus Thomsen. We have the Swedenborgian Church, The Liberal Catholic Church inspired by the theosophy and other Gnostic churches, just as there are many variations of spiritualistic communities, Masonic Orders, the ritual confraternities and the philosophical groups. There are the Fourth Way inspired by Ouspensky, the Druid and Wiccain inspired groups and the shamanistic variants. Correspondingly we have, as representatives for these overall systems, the many Rosicrucian ramifications, the various expressions of the Sufism mysticism, Far Eastern philosophies, Buddhistic movements – mainly Tibetan – and yogi schools with Hindu origin. Also the astrology and mythology with their archetypal structures and symbolic cycles belong to the cosmological aspects.

b) Holistic paradigms and spiritual thinkers

Under this heading we find the many endeavours of communicating new scientific and philosophical knowledge, visions and paradigms. Again it is very difficult to gather up the many threads into simple headings, however it is a matter of ideas and scopes of ideas, which are definitely holistic, and which in widely different respects show us ways to new, philosophical-psychological apprehensions or scientific forms of spiritualism. It lies particularly on the contribution of individuals. Some of these visionaries are rather reserved or directly dissociated from the wide New Age movement, because they fear that their thoughts will drown by cult formations and emotional, commercial degenerations. However, these conceptions still refer to the enlightenments of the mystic, esoteric and spiritual traditions.  Obvious examples of such exponents are scientists such as Fritjof Capra, David Bohm, Ken Wilber, Karl Pribram, Erwin Laszlo, Lyall Watson, Lynn Margulis, Joseph B. Rhine, Ilya Prigogine, Ian Stevenson, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and Gregory Bateson. We can also mention visionary and spiritual thinkers such as Itzhak Benthov, Alfred Whitehead, Willis Harman, Arthur Koestler, Guy Murchie and Henri Bergson, just to mention a few. The number of authors is large and includes figures as Joseph Campbell, Hermann Hesse and Aldous Huxley. Finally we have spiritual teachers and modern mystics such as Jiddu Krishnamurti, Thomas Merton and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. They all have the ability to transcend barriers, they are new thinking and unorthodox, irrespective of the areas in which they have asserted themselves. They are not actual system creators but open-minded innovators and front-figures contributing with insights and visions. Generally they have influenced the world through literature and research.

c) Therapy and development of consciousness

The third group contains the amazingly extensive impulses, which appear in areas of psychology, therapy, meditation , creativity and the art of living. It is an overwhelming area, which includes all the methods and systems regarding change of consciousness, which characterize the enormous market of courses and workshops. The area of psychology covers everything from psycho-synthesis and Jungian individuation process to transpersonal psychology, holotropic breathwork, Reichi therapy and process-oriented psychology. The field of therapy is immense and covers Gestalt therapy, encounter groups and logo therapy as well as regression and rebirthing, holotropic breathwork, hydro-therapy, music therapy, bio-feedback, family therapy, aroma therapy, psycho drama, NLP (Neuro-Linquistic Programming) and sexual therapy.

The field comprises a number of “psycho-technologies” or “tools” for personal development, change of consciousness and a better life, varying from the Silva Mind method, various visualisations, assersation training and Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as well as sensitivity training, interpretation of dreams, clairvoyance and councelling therapy, relaxation music, astrology, tarot and autosuggestion. In the sense of yoga and meditation there are methods for concentration, focusing, goal setting, relaxation and creativity. It is primarily tools of consciousness, which are to lead to clarification, inner peace and higher consciousness, or Self-Actualization as Maslow called it.

d) Alternative medicine and health

The fourth group concerns more forthright healing, physical techniques and ways of health for mind and body. The more physical-psychical methods include e.g. Hatha Yoga , eurytmi, Qi Gong, Tai Ji and the Alexander Technique. The healing methods comprise with all their incredible varities the immediate physical, such as Rolfing and Hawaii Massage, Shiatsu, Cranio-Sacral Therapy, Osteopathi and Bio-Energic exercises as well as the more gentle forms of healing massage, Reichi Healing, chinesiology, acupuncture, crystal healing, Hemi-Sync music and energy exercises. Furthermore, we have all the many facilities and diagnostic methods, as Bach’s flower therapy, homoeopathy, Iridology, chiromancy and radionics. To that we can add food philosophies and holistic medicine, biodynamics and ecology, natural cosmetics, fast cures and vegetarianism in various forms. Very often more methods are used together, just as therapy and health generally belong together. The various areas are seen more as interactions than separate ways of health and a better life.

The artistic and musical areas have for a long time experienced growing activities influenced by alternative ideas. Sculptors, painters and composers create in a holistic-spiritual inspired way. Many theatres in the world teach the actors esoteric and hold a new consciousness of the performances, not only as entertainment but also as psycho-spiritual dramas. The many variations of the New Age music in connection with relaxation, help for athletes and meditation have been known for a long time. An increasing number of movies includes paranormal phenomena and metaphysical themes, which also facilitate the acceptance of these subjects. All over the world festivals, conferences, hearings and other discussion increasing activities are held, with focus on spiritual topics. There are magazines informing of alternative values, radio transmissions and newsletters displaying “positive news” and presenting lectures and interviews. Children's books are written with spiritual themes, and television programmes and videos are produced covering near death experiences, angels, miraculous healings and arts of living. In the research field scientists are working all over the world with parapsychology, research in alternative ways of healing, ecological techniques and renewable energy sources.

Teaching and education are performed in many alternative ways as never before. The Waldorf schools inspired by Rudolf Steiner have existed for a long time, and many educationists and teachers include holistic themes in their work. A growing number of health workers and doctors works in various areas with alternative or integrated medicine, anthroposophical medicine and psychotherapy. There are pioneer groups helping with holistic preparation for birth, just as the hospice movement makes progress, so that dying persons can prepare for death and the death process in a good way. People are working for animal welfare, nature conservation and green values. Certain groups have specialised in conflict solution, handling of racial conflicts, help for minorities and support for criminals who fight to regain a normal life. An incredible flood of organisations constitutes the basis for new communities concerning human values and free, spiritual ideas. Around the world a growing number of more or less known local communities are practising universal ways of spirituality. Among the known ones are the Findhorn Community in the Northern part of Scotland, Damanhur in the Northern part of Italy and Auroville in India. Furthermore many gurus and spiritual teachers have ashrams (locations for teaching), which are visited by many interested persons.

But which common denominators are evident within this enormous field of activities? Is it possible at all to find something that unites all these currents? Even though there is no coordination between the many initiatives and sources of inspiration it is actually possible to maintain certain headings, which to a large extent are prevailing in all the groups.

1. Undiscovered potentials

Each individual holds undiscovered potentials or possibilities, which are not active at the majority. It is possible to explore and bring these possibilities to light, to display the immanent talents and bring them to visible manifestation. An example of this is that we often find new qualities in ourselves when we are going through a crisis. Another example is that we only use about 10% of the brain capacity, and that the right and left cerebral hemispheres are very different and used for different functions, which can be brought into better interaction. Modern psychology has explored the subconsciousness, and the mystics have described a higher kind of being, which can be called conscious mind. In our personality we contain qualities, which are not always displayed, just as we have a deeper essence of identity, which sometimes are called the soul, the ego, the spirit or simply God in the individual. The exploration of these psycho-mental and spiritual resources allows for greater happiness, profoundity and creativity. This growing connection with the immanent qualities, talents and possibilities holds the key to the happiness of the individual.

2. Changing is possible

The individual is not only a slave to the actual conditions, but he can make a difference and has the possibility to create a positive change. The belief in constructive change is connected with each crisis being considered a possibility of growth. It is always useful to make an effort, and even the most negative scenarios hold the key to a new enlightenment, that may lead to greater freedom. The road to harmony in life implies that you constantly have to make an effort. Life is both a gift and a mission, and the individual person can create changes, if he believes in the possibility of change. Christian consciousness of sin, materialistic desire or post-modern life distance, however, is not optimal, if the significance and verity of the individual are to be in evidence. Nor is the victim mentality at sickness or loss favourable. Energy must follow thought, and any conception will either impede or increase the horizon of life. We are not only spectators of life, but actors who affect ourselves and the world in a dynamic way.

3. Development of consciousness

Life is a continuous process, which displays consciousness and creates awakening to larger possibilities. Evolution is fundamentally the development of an underlying, divine intent or purpose. Thus there is a meaning or purpose of everything, which is gradually displayed in the evolution of all living beings. It is the immanent qualities of life rendering visible. As life is a constant metamorphosis or transformation of consciousness, the meaning is not to be found in the purpose but in the process itself. Each phase is a purpose itself and at the same time basis of the next transcendence of barriers. The unceasing changeability or dynamic of life is the underlying, indescribable divinity or spiritual reality being expressed. Faith in life is thus a faith in continued awakening, a faith in development of consciousness and realization of what we fundamentally are. Generally the belief in reincarnation and karma is connected with this conception, in the understanding that the human being as a spiritual being will return to the physical world in its continued process of evolution, and that everything we send out will return to us again, so that we in this way can learn and develop.

4. Many levels of reality

The physical reality is just one dimension out of many levels of reality. Besides the outer, material reality there are psychical, mental and spiritual levels, which each in their level have justification and significance. The multi-dimensional reality is coherent and yet still apparently divided. In many New Age relations it is a matter of levels of consciousness, often seven, of which the physical world is the most dense and compact. Openness is often connected with these levels of consciousness, which means that the individual has the possibility to directly perceive and experience the non-physical levels of reality, either through meditative experiences or by virtue of psychical senses, which all people have the possibility to develop, but which are often latent and quite unconscious. Reality is not an unambiguous entity or something absolute, nor is it definitively definable. Reality is excessive and contains infinitely numerous realities, just as it appears in infinitely numerous ways. Truth is neither absolute nor static, but depends on the position and level of the observer. This causes a natural capaciousness towards different points of view and preferences, an acceptance of the multiplicity.

5. Perception of wholeness

This comprehension is also called holism, which means that the unity is considered more than the sum of the individual parts. It also implies that there is a connection between inner and outer, large and small. In this comprehension lies the basis of psychosomatic sickness and health understanding, as well as of true healing. The holism holds a comprehension of correspondence, which connects apparently separated parts. This can be said in a very simple way – and with the risk of simplism – that everything is connected. The apprehension is also that spirit and matter are two sides to every question, and that fundamentally life is a continuous, non-dualistic reality. The human being is conceived as a unity of spirit, soul and body, and the awakening to this unity is to be healed, to be holy. The holism is an energetical philosophy of life, which defines life and all phenomena in terms of energy. It is often expressed in connection with descriptions of e.g. auras, energy centres, angels and a multiplicity of paranormal phenomena.

6. The unity of life

The idea that all living is a unity is a natural extension of the perception of wholeness. This has ethical consequences, so that what you do to others, you do to yourself – and what you do to yourself, you do to the world. As life in all existing fundamentally is the same, excessive life, and as all the realms of nature in this fundamental way belong together, it is not inconsequential how we treat other living beings. We all share the responsibility and are fellow creatures, and we contribute to the affections of the world in one way or another.

7. A new age

The New Age movement is, according to the chosen grouping, quite naturally centred around an apprehension that mankind and the rest of the Earth are entering a new period or era, which is often called an age. We here refer to the idea that during evolution everything experiences time eras, each having their significance and mission. The Greek apprehension, and especially the stoic, is such a variant. The Hindu kalpa and yuga are another. The astrological zodiacal ages are a third. No matter how you perceive this, the understanding is that evolution is an ascending curve of consciousness, which periodically experiences the tide and influences of many different kinds. The cyclic principle is a recurring characteristic. The New Age concept is often centred around the idea that we are in the transition from one age to another, and that the age or cultural era, which we are about to leave, has lasted from around the birth of Christianity and till now. Astrologically this is the transition from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius . However, it is possible to describe the epoch-making phenomenon in various ways. Common to them all is that we are at a new beginning. In that sense it is the end of the world, and the birth of a new world.

The golden thread

The New Age movements are a limited and temporal expression of the ageless wisdom, which finds new expressions in every era. However, behind the many variations, the essence of truth is hidden, which can be expressed in the following, twelve statements:

A Highest Reality exists, which we in the West call God.

All existing forms a unity, because everything emanates from God.

Life is immortal, and consequently death is not the end of existence.

The periodical law has effect in everything, and shows itself in activity and rest, in manifestation and withdrawal.

Life manifests itself cyclically, and reincarnation is thus a reality.

The cause and effect principle is evident at all levels, and karma is thus a reality.

The divine plan affects all creations, and this is the dynamic purpose of life.

The evolution of consciousness leads all living from unconscious to conscious divinity.

All realms of nature express aspects of divinity, and thus show the way back to God.

The human kingdom leads to the kingdom of God, and the enlightened Masters are the logical consequence of evolution.

Unity of mankind is a fact, and the kingdom of God must be manifested at the physical level.

These statements are central aspects of the ageless wisdom, which has had its exponents at all ages and cultures. In modern times a number of esoterics has appeared, who in a decisive way have influenced the human consciousness. As mentioned earlier in this article, H.P. Blavatsky and Alice A. Bailey hold a central position in this connection. Not because they have reached further than their contemporaries, but because their special gifts and capabilities made it relevant for the enlightened Masters to inspire them. Thus we will focus on their lives and works, which inspire millions of people all over the world today.

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891)

H.P. Blavatsky was born at Ekaterinoslav, a town in the present Ukraine. She was of aristocratic family (the parents’ lineages were Rotternstern Hahn and Dolgorukov) and grew up during changeable conditions due to the various working tasks of her father. Even as a child Helena showed her vigorous and strong-willed character. One of her favourite occupations was riding half-broken horses without saddle. She was also gifted with a distinct thirst for knowledge, an unusual sensitivity and inherited psychic powers, which turned her into an exceptional personality.

After a short marriage in 1848 to General N.V. Blavatsky, Vice-Governor of the Province of Yerivan, she travelled abroad and in the following years she visited most of the world to study spiritual traditions, mystic phenomena and occult knowledge. Her extensive travels led her to countries as Egypt, Greece, Syria, Africa, India, Burma, Siam, China, Caucasia, Georgia, Canada, USA, Mexico and South America, just as she also visited several European countries. Everywhere she collected an almost encyclopedic knowledge of cultures, countries, history and especially spiritual and psychical subjects of all kinds. This was particularly possible during the many stays H.P.B. made in spiritual societies, among minorities and sub-cultures in the various countries. An example is the Druses, who accepted her. She learned several languages, and combined with linguistic and artistic talents as illustrator and pianist she had many possibilities to gain access to knowledge.

However, it was repeated and long stays in Tibet that became important for the work and future mission of H.P.B. Here she was trained by several mahatmas (enlightened souls or Wise Men), as well as her own Master, with whom she had clairvoyant and clairaudient contact since her childhood.

After her arrival to New York, in July 1873, she was solely occupied by realising the vision of founding a theosophical society. Here she was the object of marked attention and she was a magnet to intellectuals. Therefore it was not difficult to arouse an interest in the theosophical cause. Not only was she a most extraordinary Russian woman, but she also possessed declared psychic powers, of which she never made a secret. After the meeting with Henry Steel Olcott and a number of interested people she was thus, after a few initial meetings, cofounding The Theosophical Society on November 17, 1875 in New York.

H.P.B’s monumental works are “Isis Unveiled” from 1877 and “The Secret Doctrine” published in 1888. The Secret Doctrine is a tremendously comprehensive work, which deals with macrocosm and microcosm under the headings “Cosmogenesis” and “Anthropogenesis”. The work gives the so far most extensive, occult perspective of the creating forces in cosmos, the evolution and long genesis of the human being. The work is full of topical comments to Blavatsky’s contemporaries and the leading scientists within a number of different areas. The book also contains references to 1147 central works, of which several were almost inaccessible and spread all over the world’s more or less closed libraries. The Secret Doctrine is still considered the undisputed principal work of modern occultism. The total literary production of H.P.B. was tremendous and the publishing of her collected works constitutes 18 thick books.

It is difficult to characterise H.P.B. in a few words, but to be brief she was able to, through almost superhuman efforts, sow the seeds and spread the impulses, which started the theosophical snowball effect, an effect that have continued with increasing power ever since. Blavatsky was an advanced disciple and a representative of the spiritual hierarchy, who did not retreat from even the most incredible opposition and hostility. In the middle of the gossip, pettiness and materialism of the Western civilization she stroke a silvery note, which in reality provoked a spiritual domino effect among thousands of people all over the world.

The most particular characteristic of her work is probably the fact that she during the spiritual training guided by the Master, learned to master psychic powers at a very advanced level. She considered the powers as insignificant by-products of the real spiritual process of change. Nevertheless these powers enabled her to virtually “step aside” and let several of the Mahatmas or Masters write through her. Large sections of The Secret Doctrine are not the product of H.P.B. herself, but direct communication from the Mahatmas, which emphasizes the epoch-making importance of the work, and it partly explains its tremendously complex and not very accessible character.

H.P.B. died in 1891 and entrusted The Theosophical Society to her successors. A specially recommended biography on H.P.B. is: Sylvia Cranston: "H.P.B. - The Extraordinary Life and Influence of Helena Blavatsky, Founder of the Modern Theosophical Movement", G. P. Putnam´s Sons, New York, 1993. ISBN: 0-87477-688-0.

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.