Ascended masters in a number of movements in the theosophical tradition[1] are held to be spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans, but who have undergone a series of spiritual transformations originally called initiations.
Both mahatma and ascended master are terms used in the Ascended Master Teachings. The concept of an ascended master is based on the theosophical concept of the Mahatma or Masters of the Ancient Wisdom. However, Mahatmas and ascended masters are believed by some to differ in certain respects.
According to the Ascended Master Teachings, a "Master of Light", "Healer" or "Spiritual Master" is a divine human being who has taken the Fifth Initiation and is thereby capable of dwelling in a 5th dimension. The teachings hold that an "ascended master" is a human being who has taken the Sixth Initiation, also referred to as Ascension,[2] and is thereby believed to be capable of dwelling in a 6th dimension.
The term ascended master was first used by Baird T. Spalding in 1924 in his series of books, Life and Teachings of the Masters of the Far East (DeVorss and Co.). Godfre Ray King (Guy Ballard) further popularized this concept of spiritual masters who had once lived on the earth in his book Unveiled Mysteries.[3][third-party source needed]
Definition
Adherents of the ascended master Teachings hold that the beliefs surrounding ascended masters were partially released by the Theosophical Society beginning in 1875, by C.W. Leadbeater and Alice A. Bailey, and began to have more detailed public release in the 1930s by the ascended masters through Guy Ballard in the I AM Activity.[4] However, theosophists maintain that the concept of an ascended master is an exaggeration and corruption of the more modest theosophical concept of "Master of the Ancient Wisdom".[5]
Peter Mt. Shasta, who claims to be channeling the ascended master Saint Germain, has been releasing the ancient teachings in a more modern and simplified form, emphasizing the teaching that the masters can work with those who have an open heart and the desire to benefit humanity.[12]
In Ascended Master Teachings there is also mention of Serapis Bey, a being who was incarnated as a high priest in one of the "Temples of the Sacred Fire" on Atlantis, and who migrated to Egypt at the time of the destruction of Atlantis.[20] It is also believed that he was incarnated as the Egyptian PharaohAmenhotep III (who constructed the Temple of Luxor to the god Amon)[21] and also as Leonidas, the King of Sparta,[22] who was killed in 480 BC defending the pass of Thermopylae against the invasion of ancient Greece by Emperor Xerxes I of the Persian Empire.
Jesus is believed to be one of the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom in Theosophy and is one of the ascended masters in the Ascended Master Teachings. The Master Jesus is regarded by Theosophists as the Master of the Sixth Ray.[23]
It is believed by Ascended Master Teachings organizations that the Master Jesus was "Chohan of the Sixth Ray" until December 31, 1959, when, according to Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Lady Master Nada[who?] fully took on the Office in the Spiritual Hierarchy in his place. According to Prophet, Jesus became World Teacher, along with Kuthumi,[who?] on January 1, 1956, succeeding Maitreya, who took the Office of "Planetary Buddha" and "Cosmic Christ".[24]
According to Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Prophet of the Church Universal and Triumphant (the largest Ascended Master Teachings religion), the Master Jesus incarnated twice as the Emperor of Atlantis, once in 33,050 BC and again in 15,000 BC.[25]
According to Alice Bailey, the Master Jesus was previously incarnated as Joshua, the Hebrew military leader in the 13th century BC, and Joshua the High Priest in the sixth century BC.[26]
According to the Ascended Master Teachings,[27][28][29][30] Jesus was also incarnated as Joseph of the coat of many colors in the 17th century BC/16th century BC (approximately between 1650 BC and 1550 BC), as well as King David (who lived c. 1037 BC until around 970 BC), and Elisha in the 9th century BC.[31]
Sanat Kumara
According to the post-1900 publications of Theosophy (specifically, the writings of Charles W. Leadbeater, Alice Bailey, and Benjamin Creme, as well as the Ascended Master Teachings of Guy Ballard, Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Geraldine Innocente, Joshua David Stone, and other Ascended Master Teachings teachers), Sanat Kumara[32][33] is an "advanced being" of the Ninth Initiation (the highest initiation possible on planet Earth) who is regarded as the Lord or Regent of Earth and of humanity, and the head of the Spiritual Hierarchy of Earth who dwells in Shamballah.
It is believed by these authors that he is the founder of the Great White Brotherhood, which consists of Masters of the Ancient Wisdom (Fifth Initiation), ascended masters (Sixth Initiation), Chohans and Bodhisattvas (Seventh Initiation), Buddhas (Eighth Initiation), and highly spiritually-evolved volunteers from other worlds, who have all joined to advance spiritual evolution on Earth.[34]
Sanat Kumara was mentioned briefly by the theosophist Helena Blavatsky.[35] She claimed he belonged to a group of beings, the "Lords of the Flame", whom Christian tradition have misunderstood as Lucifer and the fallen angels.[36]
Sanat Kumara gained greater prominence when her follower Charles W. Leadbeater wrote that Sanat Kumara was the "King" or Lord of the World, and the head of the Great White Brotherhood of Mahatmas who had revealed the principles of theosophy.[37]
According to C.W. Leadbeater, Initiation is a process by which "we try to develop ourselves not that we may become great and wise, but that we may have the power and knowledge to work for humanity to the best effect."[38] According to Alice Bailey, Initiation is the "process of undergoing an expansion of consciousness"[39]
Periodization
The fall of man
It is believed that since the "fall of man" during the time of the incarnation of the fourth root race, imperfection, limitations and discord increasingly entered into the world. The memory body is considered to have become known as a "soul", and this temporary personality has taken on the sense of a self that is separated and not connected to God. It is believed that a "Dictation" from Maitreya further clarified this matter through the "Messenger", Geraldine Innocente, on September 27, 1954, when what occurred during the time of the fourth root race was described:
Curiosity, rebellion against holding true to the Divine Pattern and the use of thought and feeling in creation of imperfection, began the building of what you call the 'soul'. It is a consciousness apart from the full Purity of God. The first thought a man had that was imperfect and impure, energized by a secret feeling, was a cause and that, sent out into the atmosphere, created an effect. Like a boomerang, the effect came back into the consciousness and made a record. That record was the beginning of an impression. Energy sent out in a certain manner returned to affect the lifestream who had sent it forth and there began to be created a shadow between the I AM Presence and the human consciousness. Endeavoring to contact the Presence, the individual would find these 'tramp' thoughts and feelings flowing through that line of contact until more and more imperfect was the conscious use of them. Finally, those centers got completely away from the control of the ego and acted independently.[40]
Dawning Golden Age
Students of the Ascended Master Teachings believe that this world is destined to again have a Golden Age, a "Heaven on Earth", that will be permanent, unlike previous Golden Ages millions of years ago.[41]
The Great White Brotherhood
The Great White Brotherhood, in belief systems akin to Theosophy, are said to be supernatural beings of great power who spread spiritual teachings through selected humans.[42] The members of the Brotherhood may be known as the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom or the Ascended masters.[42] Various people have said they have received messages from these beings, including most notably Helena Blavatsky (Theosophy), Aleister Crowley (Thelema), Alice Bailey (New Group of World Servers), Guy Ballard ("I AM" Activity), Geraldine Innocente (The Bridge to Freedom), Mark L. Prophet & Elizabeth Clare Prophet (Church Universal and Triumphant) and Benjamin Creme (Share International).[42]
The Masters are collectively called the "Great White Brotherhood" by various theosophists and esotericists. The use of the term white refers to their advanced spirituality (in other words, that they have a white colored
aura) and has nothing to do with race. Blavatsky described many of the Masters as ethnically Tibetan or Indian (Hindu), not European.[43] She did, however, describe them as being from all cultures and races, such as the "Greek gentleman" known as Hilarion.[44]
Belief in the Brotherhood and the Masters is an essential part of the syncretistic teachings of various organizations that have taken the Theosophical philosophical concepts and added their own elements.[45] Examples of those believed to be ascended masters by these organizations are: Jesus, Sanat Kumara, Buddha, Maitreya, Confucius, Lord Lanto (Confucius' historical mentor), Mary the mother of Jesus, Lady Master Nada, Enoch, Kwan Yin, Saint Germain, and Koot Hoomi (Kuthumi), to name but a few.[46] It is believed that all of these put aside any differences they might have had in their Earthly careers, and unite instead to advance the spiritual well-being of humanity.[47]
Dictations
Within "The I AM Activity" (founded by Guy Ballard in the early 1930s), claimed contact and cooperation with the ascended masters became a central part of each member's life. Through the Ballards as "messengers", the ascended masters were believed to have regularly communicated with the students of "The I AM Activity". These supposed addresses (known as "Dictations") were delivered before gatherings of members in Conclaves held throughout the United States of America, and published in the monthly periodical The Voice of The "I AM", and some were collected and reprinted in the "green books" of The Saint Germain Series. In all, 3,834 claimed Dictations from the Masters were received through Guy and Edna Ballard. Other "Ascended Master Activities" believed that the ascended masters, cosmic beings, Elohim, and Archangels continued to present a program for both individual development and spiritual transformation in the world.[48] They believe that further instruction from the ascended masters and the rest of the spiritual hierarchy continued through new Dispensations with new Messengers, such as the Bridge to Freedom,[49] the Summit Lighthouse, and the Temple of The Presence.
The Aquarian Church
The Aquarian Christine Church Universal, Inc. (ACCU) is a denomination founded in 2006 based on The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, said to be transcribed from the Akashic records by Levi H. Dowling. The Aquarian Christine Church actively promotes Ascended Master Teachings and shares many beliefs in common with the I AM Movement, White Eagle Lodge and New Thought and Theosophical groups. The book "Initiations of the Aquarian Masters: The Theosophy of the Aquarian Gospel" by ACCU founder Jacob L. Watson, expounds on the church's teachings which draw heavily from the writings of A.D.K. Luk (pen-name of Alice Beulah Schutz) (1905–1994), the Saint Germain Series published by the Saint Germain Press (The Saint Germain Foundation), and especially from "The Lost Years of Jesus" compiled by Elizabeth Clare Prophet and published by The Summit Lighthouse.[50]
Criticism
René Guénon wrote a detailed critique of Theosophy titled Theosophy: history of a pseudo-religion (1921). In the book Guenon speculated that Blavatsky had acquired all her knowledge naturally from other books not from any supernatural masters. Guenon points out that Blavatsky spent a long time visiting a library at New York where she had easy access to the works of Jacob Boehme, Eliphas Levi, the Kabbalah and other Hermetic treatises. Guenon also speculated that Blavatsky had borrowed passages from extracts of the Kanjur and Tanjur, translated by the eccentric orientalist Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, published in 1836 in the twentieth volume of the Asiatic Researchers of Calcutta.[51]
K. Paul Johnson suggests in his book The Masters Revealed: Madam Blavatsky and Myth of the Great White Brotherhood that the Masters that Madam Blavatsky claimed she had personally met are idealizations of certain people she had met during her lifetime.[52]
Robert Todd Carroll in his book The skeptic's dictionary (2003) speculates that Blavatsky used trickery into deceiving others into thinking she had paranormal powers. Carroll further speculates that Blavatsky had faked a materialization of a tea cup and saucer as well as written the messages from her masters herself.[53] The article "Talking to the Dead and Other Amusements" by Paul Zweig, New York Times October 5, 1980, also speculates that Madame Blavatsky's revelations were fraudulent.[54]
^Partridge, Christopher ed. New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities, Oxford University Press, USA, 2004. Describes the Theosophical Society and religious organizations based on a belief in Ascended Masters, such as The I AM Activity, The Bridge to Freedom and The Summit Lighthouse. pp. 330–334.
^ abKing, Godfre Ray. Unveiled Mysteries. Chicago, Illinois: Saint Germain Press, 1934, p. vii: "The time has arrived, when the Great Wisdom, held and guarded for many centuries in the Far East, is now to come forth in America, at the command of those Great Ascended Masters who direct and protect the evolution of mankind upon this Earth."
^King, Godfre Ray. The Magic Presence. Saint Germain Press 1935. page 89, 95
^Saint Germain Foundation. The History of the "I AM" Activity and Saint Germain Foundation. Schaumburg, Illinois: Saint Germain Press, 2003.
^The Bridge to Freedom Journal (1951-1961) Reprinted by Ascended Master Teaching Foundation, 1989.
^Lewis, James R. Church Universal and Triumphant in Scholarly Perspective Center For Academic Publication 1994.
^ abWhite Paper - Wesak World Congress 2002. Acropolis Sophia Books & Works 2003
^Braden, Charles S.These Also Believe, MacMillan Publishing Company 2000, pp. 257–307.
^Watson, Jacob L. "Initiations of the Aquarian Masters: The Theosophy of the Aquarian Gospel" Outskirts Press, 2009. ISBN978-1-4327-4598-1
^"Adventures of a Western Mystic: Apprentice to the Masters" (Church of the Seven Rays, 2010)
^King, Godfre Ray. Unveiled Mysteries. Chicago, Illinois: Saint Germain Press 1934 page vii: "The time has arrived, when the Great Wisdom, held and guarded for many centuries in the Far East, is now to come forth in America, at the command of those Great Ascended Masters who direct and protect the evolution of mankind upon this Earth."
^Saint Germain Foundation. The History of the "I AM" Activity and Saint Germain Foundation. Schaumburg, Illinois: Saint Germain Press 2003
^The Bridge to Freedom Journal (1951-1961) Reprinted by Ascended Master Teaching Foundation, 1989
^Braden, Charles S. These Also Believe Macmillan Publishing Company 2000, pp. 257-307
^Watson, Jacob L. "Initiations of the Aquarian Masters: The Theosophy of the Aquarian Gospel" Outskirts Press 2009 ISBN978-1-4327-4598-1
^Prophet, Mark L. and Elizabeth Clare Lords of the Seven Rays. Summit University, Livingston, Montana, USA, 1986, p. 149.
^Prophet, Mark L. and Elizabeth Clare Lords of the Seven Rays, p. 153.
^Prophet, Mark L. and Elizabeth Clare Lords of the Seven Rays, p. 150.
^Bailey, Alice A, A Treatise on Cosmic Fire (Section Three - Division A - Certain Basic Statements), 1932, Lucis Trust, 1925, p. 1237.
^Prophet, Mark L. and Elizabeth Clare Lords of the Seven Rays Livingston, Montana: Summit University Press 1986 page 225
^Prophet, Elizabeth Clare and Prophet, Mark (as compiled by Annice Booth) The Masters and Their Retreats Corwin Springs, Montana:2003 Summit University Press Pages 142-143
^Bailey, Alice A. Initiation, Human and Solar New York: Lucis Publishing, 1922, p. 56.
^I AM Ascended Master Dictation List, Saint Germain Press Inc., 1995, Listing of Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity
^Schroeder, Werner. Ascended Masters and Their Retreats, Ascended Master Teaching Foundation, 2004. Listing of those who are believed to be Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity and The Bridge to Freedom
^Booth, Annice. The Masters and Their Retreats Summit Lighthouse Library, June 2003. Listing of those who are believed to be Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity, The Bridge to Freedom, and The Summit Lighthouse
^Shearer, Monroe & Carolyn. I AM Adorations, Affirmations & Rhythmic Decrees, Acropolis Sophia Books and Works, 1998. Listing of Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity, The Bridge to Freedom, The Summit Lighthouse, and The Temple of The Presence
^Prophet, Elizabeth Clare and Prophet, Mark (as compiled by Annice Booth) The Masters and Their Retreats Corwin Springs, Montana: Summit University Press, 2003, p. 143.
^Schroeder, Werner. Ascended Masters and Their Retreats, Ascended Master Teaching Foundation 2004. Describes the founding of Shamballah by Sanat Kumara
^Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna. The Secret Doctrine: The Synthesis of Science, Religion, and Philosophy, Theosophical Publishing House, 1888. Sanat Kumara - Volume I: pp. 89, 457–458; Volume II: pp. 106, 140, 319, 584.
^Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna. The Secret Doctrine: The Synthesis of Science, Religion, and Philosophy, Theosophical Publishing House, 1888. Volume II, pp. 243 ff.
^Leadbeater, C.W. The Masters and the Path. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1925 (Reprint: Kessinger Publishing, 1997), pp. 296-299.
^Leadbeater, Charles W. The Masters and the Path, Adyar, Madras, India, Theosophical Publishing House, 1925, p. 166.
^Bailey, Alice A. Initiation, Human and Solar New York: Lucis Publishing, 1922, p. 12.
^The Bridge to Freedom Journal, February 1956 (Reprinted by Ascended Master Teaching Foundation 1989) Purported address from Maitreya on September 27, 1954 "through" Geraldine Innocente
^Melton, Gordon J.; Partridge, Christopher. New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities, Oxford University Press, 2004.
^I AM Ascended Master Dictation List, Saint Germain Press Inc., 1995, Listing of those who are claimed to be Ascended Masters by The I AM Activity
^The Great White Brotherhood in the Culture, History and Religion of America. Summit University Press, 1975.
^Partridge, Christopher ed. New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities Oxford University Press, USA 2004. Describes the religious organizations based on a belief in the Ascended Master Teachings, such as The I AM Activity, The Bridge to Freedom and The Summit Lighthouse. pages 330–334
^The Bridge to Freedom Journal 1951 - 1961 Reprinted by Ascended Master Teaching Foundation 1989
^Watson, Jacob L. "Initiations of the Aquarian Masters: The Theosophy of the Aquarian Gospel"
^Johnson, K. Paul. The Masters Revealed: Madam Blavatsky and Myth of the Great White Brotherhood, Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 1994.
^Carroll, Robert Todd. The skeptic's dictionary, 2003, p. 376.
^Zweig, Paul. "Talking to the Dead and Other Amusements", The New York Times, 5 October 1980.
References
Braden, Charles S. These Also Believe MacMillan Publishing Company 1960 (Reprint 2000). The classic study of minority religions in the United States of America. ISBN0-02-514360-3
Cranston, Sylvia. H. P. B. : The Extraordinary Life & Influence of Helena Blavastsky . G. P. Putnam's Sons 1993 ISBN0-9662115-1-0
King, Godfre Ray. Unveiled Mysteries. Saint Germain Press 1934. ISBN1878891006
King, Godfre Ray. The Magic Presence. Saint Germain Press 1935. ISBN1878891065
Milanovich, Norma & Shirley McCune. The Light Shall Set You Free. Athena Publishing 1996, 2004. ISBN0962741752 Includes "quotes" from numerous Ascended Masters
Leadbeater, C.W. The Masters and the Path . The Theosophical Publishing House 1925 (Reprint: Kessinger Publishing 1997). ISBN1-56459-686-9
Hall, Manly P. The Secret Teachings of All Ages "An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy Being an Interpretation of the Secret Teachings Concealed within the Rituals, Allegories and Mysteries of all Ages" H.S. Crocker Company, Inc. 1928 (Reprint: Tarcher 2003) ISBN1-58542-250-9
Partridge, Christopher ed. New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities Oxford University Press, US 2004. Describes The I AM Activity, The Bridge to Freedom and The Summit Lighthouse. ISBN0195220420
Partridge, Christopher ed. New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities Oxford University Press, US 2004. Describes the Theosophical Society, The I AM Activity, The Bridge to Freedom and The Summit Lighthouse. ISBN0-19-522042-0
Saint Germain Foundation. The History of the "I AM" Activity and Saint Germain Foundation . Saint Germain Press 2003 ISBN1-878891-99-5
Saint Germain. I AM Discourses . Saint Germain Press 1935. ISBN1-878891-48-0
Mt. Shasta, Peter. Apprentice to the Masters: Adventures of Western Mystic, Book IIISBN978-0692570449
Further reading
Campbell, Bruce F. Ancient Wisdom Revived: A History of the Theosophical Movement Berkeley: 1980 University of California Press ISBN9780520039681
Johnson, K. PaulThe Masters Revealed: Madam Blavatsky and Myth of the Great White Brotherhood Albany, New York: 1994 State University of New York Press ISBN978-0791420645
Chapter 18--"The Ancient Wisdom Family of Religions" Pages 151–158; see chart on page 154 listing Masters of the Ancient Wisdom;
Section 18, Pages 717-757 Descriptions of various Ancient Wisdom religious organizations
Melton, Gordon American Religious Creeds (Detroit: Gale, 1988; republished in three volumes, New York: Triumph Books, 1991) See chapter on the Ancient Wisdom group of religions. ISBN978-0800730147
