Chapter 4 Modern Esotericism
4.1 Cyril Scott (1879-1970)
Excerpts from Cyril Scott in his book An Outline of Modern Occultism:
Occultism may be divided into two categories, the practical and the theoretical; the latter is concerned with the study of the evolution of life and form in general, the former concerns the practical application of that study to individual evolution. In other words, through practical Occult Science man is enabled to bring all his potential powers into actual manifestation. What those powers are will be gradually revealed in the course of these pages. Meanwhile a short exposition of the general tenets of Occult Science is expedient before we proceed to consider the details, to compare occult knowledge with scientific knowledge and religious beliefs, and to show the grounds on which that knowledge is based.
Firstly : The occultist holds that Man is in process of evolving from comparative imperfection to much higher states of physical and spiritual existence.
Secondly: That the evolutionary process in all its phases is directed by a Great Hierarchy of Intelligences who have themselves reached those higher states.
Thirdly: That the world which is perceptible to normal sight is only a small portion of a much greater world which is perceptible to the trained occultist, and comprises the inner and higher planes of consciousness.
Fourthly: That the physical body is not the generator of consciousness, as many biologists assert, but only the densest vehicle of consciousness or a “garment” of the immortal soul.
Fifthly: That interpenetrating and surrounding the physical body are subtler bodies composed of rarified matter, which are also garments of the soul These likewise are perceptible to the trained occultist.
Sixthly: That the whole Universe is an expression of energy, and that not only the elements, but all beings both embodied and disembodied are storehouses and transformers of energy.
Seventhly : That a Law of immutable justice and fundamental beneficence, i.e. the law of cause and effect, governs the entire Cosmos, both visible and invisible.
Such then are the tenets which the occultist holds, and that the doctrine of reincarnation is implied must, of course, be evident, since no man could be expected to reach a state of even comparative perfection during the span of one short life.
4.2 Alice A. Bailey (1880-1949)
Esotericism comprises the study of that which is concealed and hidden and which, even though suspected, remains unknown. Essentially, esotericism is a science, the science of the soul of all things. This soul is the animating consciousness found throughout nature and on those levels which lie outside the territory usually called nature. As such, esotericism has its own terminology, experiments, deductions, and laws.
The esotericist is concerned with that living, vibrant substance of which the worlds are made, developing the needed responsiveness and sensitivity to the quality of the life dominating any form, arriving eventually at the quality of the ONE LIFE which animates the planet and within Whose activity we live and move and have our being. Therefore, esotericism is the Science of Redemption, the redemption of substance and its forms, as all World Saviors are the everlasting symbol and exponents.
{Extract from Letters on Occult Meditation:] The one fundamental school may be recognized by certain outstanding characteristics:
By the basic character of the truths taught as embodied in the following postulates:—
- The unity of all life.
- The graded steps of development as recognized in man, and by the graded steps of its curriculum, which lead a man from one expansion of consciousness to another until he has reached that which we call perfection.
- The relationship between the microcosm and the macrocosm and its sevenfold application.
- The method of this development and the place of the microcosm within the macrocosm as revealed through the study of the periodicity of all manifestation and the basic law of cause and effect.
By the emphasis laid on character building and spiritual development as a foundation for the development of [Page 304] all the faculties inherent in the microcosm.
By the requirement, demanded of all affiliated pupils without exception, that the life of inner unfoldment and development should be paralleled by a life of exoteric service.
By the graded expansions of consciousness that are the result of the imparted training; these lead a man on from step to step till he contacts his higher self, his Master, his egoic group, the First Initiator, the One Paramount Initiator, until he has contacted the Lord of his Ray and has entered into the bosom of his “Father Which is in Heaven”.
These are the outstanding features that are descriptive of the one true fundamental School. This fundamental school has three main branches and a fourth that is in process of forming and which will make the four branches of this fourth round. These branches are as follows:—
- The trans-Himalayan Branch (Western world).
- The southern India Branch.
- A Branch that works with the fourth root-race (China and Japan) and has two fourth root-race adepts at its head.
- A Branch in process of forming that will have its headquarters in the Occident at some place not yet disclosed. It has for its main object the instructing of those connected with the coming sixth root-race.
The trans-Himalayan school has its adepts as known to you, and others Whose Names are not known.
The Master R.— and one of the English Masters are concerning Themselves with the gradual founding of the fourth branch of the school, with the assistance of the Master Hilarion. Ponder on these imparted facts, for the significance is of profound importance.
The teaching planned by the Hierarchy to precede and condition the New Age, the Aquarian Age, falls into three categories:
Preparatory, given 1875-1890…written down by H.P.B.[Blavatsky]
Intermediate, given 1919-1949…written down by A.A.B. [Bailey]
Revelatory, emerging after 1975…to be given on a worldwide scale via the radio. [internet?]
In the next century and early in the century an initiate will appear and will carry on this teaching. It will be under the same “impression,” for my task is not yet completed and this series of bridging treatises between the material knowledge of man and the science of the initiates has still another phase to run. The remainder of this [20th] century, as I told you elsewhere (Destiny of the Nations, page 106), must be dedicated to rebuilding the shrine of man’s living, to reconstructing the form of humanity’s life, to reconstituting the new civilisation upon the foundations of the old, and to the reorganising of the structures of world thought, world politics, plus the redistribution of the world’s resources in conformity to divine purpose. Then and only then will it be possible to carry the revelation further.
4.3 Vicente Beltrán Anglada (1915-1988)
My first three books were a preparation to the Threefold Task and were entitled: The Hierarchy, the Solar Angels and Humanity(1972);The Mysteries of Yoga(1976) andEsoteric Conversations(public talks in Barcelona 1976-1980).
The next two books represented an affirmation of spiritual principles. Introduction to Agni Yoga (1981) is a practical exposition of the mystical but intensely dynamic life born in the heart when the mind stops reflecting its external circumstances and surrenders to its spiritual purpose. My Spiritual Experiences (1981) is an [autobiographic] account of mental and psychic experiences in the life of a disciple. The purpose of sharing such experiences is to develop a discerning attitude leading to right and decisive action among spiritual aspirants.
The triptych An Esoteric Treatise on Angels (1979-1980), consisting of Occult Forces of Nature (1979), Devic Structures of Forms (1980), and Angels in the Social Life of Humanity (1980), represented my wholehearted embrace of the Ashramic task that I would specifically assume responsibility for.
The next book, The Mysteries of Shamballa (1985), was completed during my visit to Argentina, according Hierarchical plans. In that book some preliminary ideas are presented about this all-inclusive and inscrutable center guiding our spiritual evolution on Earth.
Finally, with the book Organized Planetary Magic (1986), I attempt to fulfill the third of my Ashramic commitments. Despite its simplicity, the book describes the basic [practical] ideas on Magic, a vital process involved in any human, planetary or cosmic act of creation.”
The Recognition of the Kingdom of SHAMBALLA and the imminent externalization of the Hierarchy of Masters of Compassion and Wisdom;
The Revelation of the MOTHER of the World - the Kingdom of Angels - considering it the potential energy of creation; and
The Service to Humanity through White MAGIC, organized throughout the whole planet.