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To the Avant-garde of the Light, the Gift of God's
Opportunity for Deliverance Is Given. By That Great
Openness of Spirit That Is the True Mark of the Heirs of Christ, Sieze It to Challenge the Mechanized Inertia of the Righteous and the Mechanized Righteousness of Simulated Man Who Pledges Allegiance to the Letter of the Law in Church and State While Betraying the Spirit of the Lord in His Blessed Children:
The spectacle of brother fighting against brother is never pleasant to contemplate. We allow that men do differ in their comprehensions and choices; however, the former can be expanded and the latter can be altered. But in many cases human custom is left to defend its own position, whether that position be right or wrong, whereas true direction is needed from on high that men might be given the perspective required to separate the dross from the gold in human experience.
Now the Brotherhood awaits the maturing of those young in experience but matured of heart, for the hour is at hand when a substantial contribution must be made by the many to the cause of freedom. The longer men ignore the current dangers and threats to righteousness and progress - the longer they are content to be distracted from the mainstream of divine thought by selfish side issues of a personal nature - the less chance men will have of winning the battle without intense hardship.
Already the arts of communication and human science have made possible the corruption of many minds by the forces of evil - not only the corruption of those who are among the more simple of heart, but also of those who wield great power and influence in the social strata. Scattered among those who have been corrupted and know it not are those blessed souls who stand as pillars of strength to foster courage and nurture the afflicted at every level. Lesser men look to these as unto the hills for help, for such are the friends of righteousness and freedom.
In every age, men and women of this noble pedigree have been scattered across the face of the earth. Strangely enough, the infamous blackguards of civilization who have caused wanton death and destruction and untold agony to mankind have often been given greater place in history than have the noble. But in the annals of God, the chronology of the righteous is enduring whereas even the records of men fall into decay. Custom changes and old things are renewed while the horizons of the heart stretch out from plain to mountain height.
Now, lest this season pass without that measure of progress which the hierarchy intends, let us turn our attention from the oppressors and the oppressed alike and let us think of this day as one of opportunity for deliverance. Is it not written that the wicked are "as chaff before the wind"?1 The problem we must face then, with due objectivity, is not the wicked, whose doom is foretold with certainty. On the contrary, our greatest concern is with the inertia on the part of the righteous who are often content to bask in their own righteousness without accepting the responsibilities of a Christed being who must exert his total efforts on behalf of God and man - whose duty it is to take his stand in the lists of light and do battle with ignorance, malice, superstition, and entrenched evil.
Now, we do not say that this does not entail risk, for those who oppress mankind are not prone to yield the day without a fight. They are not prone to abandon their cause, be it ever so selfish and puny. For it has become a part of themselves, an old reality for them as no other thought can be. These have flaunted the law of God for so long that they are a law unto themselves. The righteous, however, must beware of mechanical righteousness. For mechanical righteousness pledges allegiance to the law of God and will obey the letter thereof while ignoring the spirit and essence of goodness.
Among the snares laid by the wicked has been their embracing of organized religion. I do not say that a wealth of untold good is not brought forth through organization, even in the field of religion. But it is particularly insidious when one considers that these masqueraders, or wolves in sheep's clothing, have infiltrated the very foundations of religious endeavors throughout the planet where they pretend to be purveyors of good but are in reality continually functioning on the side of discord and confusion. Their purpose is clear to us but not always so to mankind who are held in the icy grip of the toiler.
In childlike innocence, many of the virtuous among mankind shun the appearance of evil, which is as it should be, but they seem to lack the capability of rightly dividing the word of truth.2 Know ye not that it is within the province of the Divine Man to discern what type of spirit is acting behind every form and manifestation? This faculty of discernment is a protective measure. And the apostles in the early Church exhorted concerning its use, declaring, "Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God,"3 and also, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."4 It is exceedingly difficult for many to sift the chaff from the wheat, and human favor and motive often stand behind the choosing of that specific endeavor which men will serve.
In the Great White Brotherhood, the only criteria for service are truth, valor, and diligence. Men ought, then, to be diligent concerning what they do in laboring for the incoming kingdom. Men ought also to have the valiant sense of victory which overcomes the world, and they ought to accept no imposed condition - whether it be imposed by self or another - as having authority in their worlds, but to acknowledge only God's grace and law as the authority of life in manifestation.
Those who hold high the tenets of God's truth can effectively carry out their service to life while discernment of human error, as a grace, will be developed to preclude false or careless judgments. The light itself is far more important than the purveyor of light; and therefore, those who give and those who receive the glory of light should do so not mechanically but with a sense of ever-present wonder.
As you know, precious ones, the youth of the world can scarcely wait until they have achieved the enviable and questionable gift of adulthood, whereas many adults become stiffly engrossed in a regimen so fierce as to repel every attempt which God makes to illumine them. Tenderness of heart must be guarded against when it manifests as human sympathy, but it can be considered a virtue of the first magnitude when it engenders that great openness of spirit which is the attunement of the inner ear to the voice of God.
Now, there are many phases of life upon which we would speak, but these are based upon the experiences of the soul at inner levels. Some would be but little understood by unascended mankind, whereas other points we might call to your attention would find favor with godly men even though not completely grasped. So, then, we conclude that partial grasp is better than none. And we lament not when mankind can find some delight in our expressions, being content in the light of common sense to know that even the greatest of souls are not always able to assimilate in one moment all of the truth of life.
Rejoice, then, and be glad in that which you are able to receive, and drink deeply the draft of our wisdom. For we are but instruments in the hands of God, employed by him through the advent of the Holy Spirit in the service of divine illumination and assistance.
Often you have heard it said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."5 Likewise every thought must be guarded, for someone will be the recipient thereof. Some have stressed the need to give first in order to receive. And yet in completing the cycle it must be noted that men must first receive that they may have to give.
The receptive and grateful heart, then, plays a tremendous role in overcoming the mechanical sense of the round of earthly enjoyments. For the cup of consciousness which is filled with Christly grace and divine attunement runneth over with the mirth of heaven, the joy of the angels, and contact with the invisible hierarchy which never in all creation could be compared to earthly friendships and pleasures.
It is to muster now the children of the light from the far corners of the earth and to build a great circle of intelligent service that we have released this information. It is essential that men understand that we comprise an inner and an outer cosmic circle of affinitized beings. The inner, invisible circle of the Brotherhood is composed of the ascended masters and cosmic beings, together with advanced chelas upon the Earth planet - those individuals who respond to our words and yearn to be a part of the inner circle, those who confess the Father and embrace our ideals and tenets to the best of their ability - who serve in loving cooperation to uphold the principles of the inner circle before mankind.
The confessing of the Father before men is the doing of the Father's business referred to by beloved Jesus in his statement to his parents,6 which was certainly not made out of a mere mechanical obedience to the law but in the gracious acceptance of his divine mission, certifying to his attunement with God and the heavenly hosts from the earliest years of his magnificent life.
It is most unfortunate that the brilliant outreach of God through the descent of his radiance into the density of the world of form where individuality must be perfected seems in many cases to fall short of the mark. Such is not the case in reality, for it is human involvement with sense consciousness and the matrices of vice and egoism that blurs the focalizing of the light to mortal eyes and prevents the manifestation of the divine plan. Men may ask, how can this be? Again we cite free will.
The absence of grace and the loss of man's conscious awareness of God's effulgent radiance originally came about because of man's own consent - his willingness to accept, to agree with, to sympathize with causes and conditions which were less than God's perfection. All other explanations of man's plight are corollaries to this basic fact concerning human existence as we find it today.
It is, of course, indisputable that the power of bad example has frequently caused men to lower their aims. It is also true that many have not correctly understood God's laws and have felt that in embracing his way they were moving with a very small group of individuals away from reality and happiness. Little have many of them dreamed of how completely in reverse the true situation was.
When after passing from the screen of life we show to individuals the record of their existence from the clarity of inner levels, many shake their heads almost despairingly and, standing apart from themselves, they scrutinize with almost total disbelief the outer record of their personal selfhood with its shortcomings and their failure to pursue the high calling of a son of God. Many have said, "I cannot get over it. I do not understand it. Was this being me? Why did I do it?" while others have said by reason of excuse, in a righteous sense of protestation, "I was misled by so and so. I was deceived by so and so. I did not have a chance."
Well, precious ones, it is our hope that those of you who read our words and can find in your hearts a measure of acceptance for this exposition of truth will gratefully accept the opportunity life has offered you. Is any sacrifice too great? Is anything you do really a sacrifice in the light of the prize of godliness?
Just as in days of old when men believed that the world was flat and then subsequently recognized that the world was round, still considering it to be the center of the universe, so to the present hour the multitudes consider themselves and their consciousness to be the center of the universe - yes, it all revolves around them. On the other hand, Christlike man sees God as the center of the universe and himself as a star in the firmament of God's being. He shares his light with others and drinks in their light, which is also God's light.
Thus we see that the healing of the mechanical attitudes interwoven with religion must be brought about by the true recognition of Being itself. So long as men feel separated, they are inclined toward egoism, self-righteousness, self-deceit, and egocentric expressions. When the climb up out of the density of self-awareness is made through the power of spiritual expansion, the domain of man's consciousness is expanded and he is able to acknowledge victoriously a whole new world as his own being without false human pride but with that justifiable satisfaction in the creation of God which may be likened to holy wonder. Men thus come to that pure state of listening grace where they would rather hear the voice of God than all of the high-sounding phrases of mankind - mere plaudits used to honor their little selves.
It is out of this sense of humility that the grace of God is derived, and it is his grace that is sufficient for every human need. Allow and acknowledge, then, that opportunity is the greatest of gifts. And out of opportunity the future is born!