Great difficulties and challenges are associated with the transition from the Age of Pisces to the Aquarian Age. Under the pressure of the shift from sixth-to-seventh-ray force (using the nomenclature of the Alice A. Bailey material), many of us look to spiritual teachers/teachings to help us learn how to make the world a functionally better place, but the nature and quality of those helpers need to be examined before we can safely put our trust in them. It is the purpose of this article to explore how esoteric teachers and training will be impacted by the ray emphasis of the New Age, and how we can utilize that knowledge to achieve a transitional world that is at least stable, if not yet altogether sane.
Teachers and other authorities have always steered us through difficult times, but as we enter the Aquarian Age the modes and purposes of teaching and leadership are changing, along with everything else. As individuals, we need to become more autonomous, and at the same time extend ourselves to others in unprecedented ways; our understandings must spring from deep wells of self-knowledge, which will simultaneously open us to greater degrees of responsibility toward one another. This is not a paradox, but the paradigm of the New Age. We feel the need to prepare ourselves for this, but how? To whom, or what, shall we look for spiritual guidance in these turbulent times? How will that guidance come?
Before we can begin to answer those questions, we need to unabashedly acknowledge how perilous the world situation is, and how frightened we are by many of the changes we are seeing. Few of us today are without anxiety and insecurity as war, famine and disease decimate entire areas of the planet; technological developments proliferate, without the wisdom to use them safely or humanely; corporations control governments, and we have lately witnessed a brazen return to apathy about environmental issues on the parts of the politically powerful. Out of heart-sickness and feelings of personal helplessness, many of us have sought refuge in New Age glamours (hyperidealized beliefs and mindsets of an astral nature). These are primarily the glamours of the sixth and seventh rays, representing the "flip-side" of Piscean- and Aquarian-Age potentials. Perhaps the most pernicious of these is the glamour of denial. Denial includes elements of both rays, which means that it will continue to be a threat to meaningful activity as we move into the new millenium,
Glamours often reflect our good intentions, but their lack of relationship to reality means that they siphon our energies, without moving us forward. The glamour of denial can temporarily assuage our fears and insecurities, but it also guarantees that nothing will be done to alter the course of events. Since all lasting change is based upon honest acceptance of what already is, we need to make the distinction between a balanced optimism and the proverbial rose-coloured glasses. It goes without saying that positive thinking is a component of any helpful view of the future, but we must also squarely face what faces us.
There are those in the metaphysical community who feel that open acknowledgement of the present human condition is somehow wrong, and that such an acknowledgement bars the manifestation of a better world. Criticism for its own sake is unhelpful, but conscious recognition of the actual state of world affairs is neither negative nor destructive: if we do not raise our future on a foundation of authenticity, we build on sand. Similarly, affirmation without action represents a peculiarly Piscean-Age form of avoidance, and any "politically correct" stance which defies our most genuine perceptions will be found to reflect a blend of glamours.
Fear and feelings of helplessness are natural reactions to the present world situation, and are not shameful. The higher octave of fear is the courage that carries on in spite of acknowledged trepidation; that is a very different thing from denial, which is a movement toward unconsciousness. Neptune, a Ray VI body, is famous for shifting our focus onto collateral issues while obvious wounds are permitted to fester. The waning of the Age of Pisces has been characterized by a Neptunian, sixth-ray sort of narcolepsy from which we must rouse ourselves. Indeed, the watchword of the Aquarian Age might well be: Wake Up! That is the impulse behind esoteric training and teaching in the New Age.
Teaching has two connotations: the nominal, as in "wisdom teachings," and the verbal, as in "to teach." The former is passive, the latter active. That differentiation accurately describes the distinction between instructional styles in the Ages of Pisces and Aquarius. It has heretofore been the task of our teachers to gently lead us in certain directions after we have, in the long course of evolution, stirred to the requisite awareness. The Age of Pisces has also corresponded with the tradition of the transference of knowledge from teacher-to-student, whereby each lived in such close physical proximity and psychic rapport with the other, that the understanding of the former could be "infused" into the mind of the latter.
The Aquarian Age calls for us to relate differently to spiritual knowledge and teachers, and we need not fear the change. The Ageless Wisdom, by definition, stands behind and undergirds us: we are now called upon to communicate it openly and on a wide scale, and in the course of that expression, we will discover that our need to believe (Pisces and Ray VI) has matured into the right to know (Aquarius and Ray VII). This development is associated with the Spiritual Will.
Will involves, but transcends, the capacity for decision. Spiritual Will, of which our human will is potentially the reflection, has to do with the reconciliation of that which is Real with that which human beings recognize as true. The reality principle on any plane is an expression of Spiritual Will. To whatever extent we are able to acknowledge the truth of our situation, Spiritual Will realigns us with a greater entity: Reality on the spiritual plane. Thus, our capacity for recognition of our actual human condition and circumstances is the means by which Spirit re-forms us in Its own likeness.
To the degree that we are able to acknowledge what is real about ourselves and our situation, we become more accessible to and aligned with that which is Real in Spirit. This opens us to creative force, through which we can change ourselves, and therefore the world. That is humanity's mandate at the present stage of our evolution, and certain spiritual teachers, sensing the possibilities of the situation, have promulgated the idea that we are "co-creators with God." They are not wrong; but, by and large, neither they, nor we, have grasped the fullness and the tremendous responsibility inherent in that condition.
To be a co-creator with God means to act as God's clarified reflection, and to literally be the Father/Mother's hands on Earth. But we can only reflect that with which we are aligned, just as no mirror can reveal an image that is outside its field. One's first priority, therefore, must be to align one's personality with the soul and (via the soul) with Spirit. How do we do this? First, by recognizing our responsibilities as God's children (the Age of Pisces) and co-creators (the Age of Aquarius); second, by taking such action as will bring us in line with God's unfolding purpose. That includes our involvement in the activities of study and meditation.
The Ageless Wisdom clearly states that study and meditation are intended to lead us into active service to humanity, which is the third aspect of alignment. We need not be grandiose about this threefold participation in Spirit: to study is simply to ponder the received wisdom of this, and other, eras; meditation can be of many kinds, as long as it involves a discipline that leads one deeply into one's true self; and service can occur throughout the day, since service essentially represents one's orientation and attitude toward whatever one is doing. If we imbue any task with love and compassion, we are serving God and humanity.
Study, meditation and service align our physical/etheric, astral and mental bodies with the soul; this alignment is our personal responsibility and contribution to the group good. Alignment is also the only way to unfold the intuition, which will eventually be the principal mode of spiritual learning in the Aquarian Age. Many of today's teachers have anticipated this progression in their emphasis on the personal development of intuition. Intuition must be differentiated from psychism, however, and it is just here that we can become lost to glamours and illusion. Psychism arises from the solar plexus and was developed in ages past as a survival mechanism; there is nothing mysterious or particularly desirable about it, and in the Age of Aquarius it is intended that we refocus our attention onto alignment (which leads to intuition, in any case).
To this end, it is vitally important that we develop the ability to discern truth from falsehood, and that we become able to recognize varying degrees of each in whatever we read, hear or experience. A consistent spiritual practice has the effect of developing the intuition, but that is not its primary purpose. The purpose of a spiritual practice is to help us realize our relationship with Divinity, and thus all life -- not to develop "psychic ability." Indeed, the concept of the "personal development" of intuition is an oxymoron, since intuition is the outcome of a relationship between God and humanity that is universal, rather than singular.
The line between psychism and intuition is frequently blurred, even by high-profile and well-intentioned spiritual teachers and workshop leaders. There are those who teach that intuition can be learned, apart from the genuine alignment of our personalities with that which is Real. Intuition, however, is the inevitable result or effect of the physical body's alignment with Spirit via the subtle bodies and the soul, in such a way that spiritual reality can be impressed upon the physical brain mechanism. Intuition cannot be developed, other than through the work of alignment that goes forward in study, meditation and service.
The antahkarana is the so-called "rainbow bridge" of theosophy, across which spiritual information travels in order to reach the soul, and thence the personality. This bridge is composed of subtle substance, or substance which has been redeemed and refined through our alignment with Spirit. There is simply no way that this experience can be induced in a classroom, or through reading a book; if it could, we would be in worse shape than we already are, because coarse, unloving and unbalanced human beings could gain random access to the Holy of Holies. Genuine development is based on vibrational resonance: if we are not vibrating harmonically with the soul, we have no way of accessing either the soul's knowledge, or the soul's orientation toward what it knows.
Furthermore, the alignment that leads to intuition also aligns us with the group, Humanity, so that self-serving urges ultimately drop out of our natures. When we observe spiritual teachers, therefore, we need to ask ourselves how much of self, and how much of Spirit, each one is expressing; allowing for the fact that physical-plane teachers are apt to have human foibles, we need to buck the trend of public opinion when what we see in a teacher does not correspond with our present understanding of spiritual principles. We also need to remember that books and teachers are not gods, but only temporary guides available to us until such time as we have unfolded our own capacity for a deeper and more direct understanding of truth.
Once we have adapted to the process of alignment through study, meditation and service, esoteric teaching in the Aquarian Age will take place through the direct revelation of information. We will not be dependent on spiritual teachers, books or leaders, because our brains will be synchronized with and conditioned by Spirit. We will be able to learn what we need to know, without having to go through intermediaries. This is one of the primary differences between what training has meant in the Age of Pisces, and what it will become in the Aquarian Age. In the past, we have looked to priests, spiritual teachers and leaders to intercede, experience and interpret Spirit for us. Increasingly, however, as the Piscean Age yields to the Age of Aquarius, we will be challenged to seek specific solutions to unique problems; our answers will have to be original, responsive to pressing need and resonant with a first-hand understanding of spiritual principles. In the meantime, there are things that we can do in order to smooth the transition between the Ages and to help ourselves, other kingdoms and the planet.
First, we can recognize that the root of evil is separation, and we can cease drawing sharp distinctions between peoples, countries, species and ideologies. Science is now capable of manipulating the very building blocks of life, and various technologies capable of destroying the world are already in place; separatism has spawned individuals and factions who will not shrink from doing whatever is necessary to gain exploitative ends. When one economic market falters, all of us are weakened; when our environment is degraded, we all pay the price. Consequently, we need to unfold within ourselves the profound understanding that we share one world, and we are one Life. We cannot wait for our leaders and teachers to deliver us from our dilemmas, for time is short in a world filled with hurt and angry people, falsely divided between "haves" and "have-nots." We labor under an illusion if we believe that the universe will somehow meet all of humanity's needs, apart from the actions that we, ourselves, take now to create the conditions necessary for that fulfillment.
Second, we can understand that we have neither the luxury of, nor the need for, dependent and/or exclusive relationships between teachers and students. Spiritual teachings must now reach large numbers of people, and communication on that scale can only be accomplished in groups. Self-development will not stop in the Age of Aquarius, but its purpose will no longer be primarily personal. The "processing" of our emotional natures will cease to preoccupy either our teachers or ourselves. Increasingly, we will learn to stop identifying with that which is most transient and ephemeral about ourselves, and this will liberate a great deal of energy which can be put to use in service.
Third, all of us -- right here and now, and in some way -- can apply our talents and resources to the expansion of group consciousness and the alleviation of world suffering. If we are not yet loving in the spiritual sense, we can still determine to exercise the principle of inclusiveness in our dealings with one another. If we are not yet as intuitive and autonomous as we will someday become, then we can examine those who instruct us for internal consistency and coherence. If we are not yet certain of what our next steps ought to be, then we can choose to be guided by the will-to-good, whereby the human will learns to move in concert with the Spiritual Will toward the establishment of that which is beneficial for all beings.
The Aquarian Age, Uranus and Ray VII are associated with the synthesis and integration of energies. Thus, we can expect that esoteric teaching in the New Age will be both sensible and accessible; this will be an indication that the teaching, itself, expresses alignment. If we can align ourselves similarly with Spirit and become very clearsighted, truthful and energetic, and if we can hold our minds steady in the light, then the very technologies, ideas and innovations which currently threaten us can become our allies in the creation of a more just and unified world.