The evolution of humanity

A compilation

The evolution of consciousness, the path of ever-widening awareness of Reality, defines life at all levels, and is the subject of esoteric philosophy and science.

We present a selection of quotations on the theme of 'The Evolution of Humanity' from Maitreya (Messages from Maitreya the Christ), Benjamin Creme's Master (A Master Speaks), and Benjamin Creme's writings.

When we talk about evolution, we are really talking about the evolution of consciousness, of conscious awareness. That is what life is, a gradual awakening to higher and wider vistas of Being and Reality. That is life at every level. So growth of consciousness started as soon as, for the very first time, we came into incarnation in the primeval swamp. When was it? Eighteen-and-a-half million years ago. What is the main impediment in our struggle? The main impediment is karma. Every advance in evolution, and therefore every expansion of consciousness, takes place through the resolution of karma. (Benjamin Creme, Maitreya's Mission Volume Two) 

You might say that esotericism is the philosophy, or the science, of the evolutionary process, as it pertains to the human and the subhuman kingdoms. But it is about the evolution of consciousness, not of the physical form. If you want to know about the evolution of the physical form, turn to Darwin - he has pretty well summed up the nature of evolution as regards the form of the animal and the human kingdoms. But in terms of the evolution of consciousness, you have to turn to the esoteric – esoteric only so far; for that which is esoteric gradually becomes exoteric. (Benjamin Creme, The Ageless Wisdom Teaching)

… deep within the consciousness of every man, woman and child lies the awareness of being a soul. As progress upon the evolutionary path is made, that certainty deepens, the conscious link between the soul and its reflection strengthens, and the light of the soul the more readily is contacted and known. Thus the light of understanding grows.

Humanity stands now on the threshold of an era in which that light of consciousness will manifest on an increasing scale, expressing itself in every field of human endeavour as a growing awareness of the meaning and purpose of life on planet Earth. (Benjamin Creme's Master, from 'The era of light')

The moment our soul sees that we are ready to begin to express, somewhat, its perfection; to bring the qualities of the soul - truth, beauty, intelligence, the longing for perfection itself - into the incarnational process, the true evolution of the man or woman begins. The time when that happened in each individual case determines our point in evolution.

Through countless incarnations, the soul seeks to express its divine nature in time and space through successive personalities: through bodies, physical, emotional and mental, sometimes as a man, sometimes as a woman. It carries out this desire, this longing to replicate its nature and quality, in a physical counterpart. The soul endows its reflection with the means of evolution to its own perfection. In this way, the Plan of God works out. (Benjamin Creme, The Art of Living)

History reveals that evolution proceeds but slowly; nevertheless, in this coming epoch, man will outstrip, by far, the pace achieved by his most illustrious ancestors. Profound changes in man's social life and organisation will release energies hitherto untapped, and unleash upon the world a whirlwind of transformation. Thus will it be. Thus will men meet the measure of their promise and unfold the powers for so long dormant and still. (Benjamin Creme's Master, from 'The time ahead')

For long ages, the dominance of matter precludes a major expression of the soul; evolution proceeds but slowly. When, at long last, the opposing poles of his nature are resolved, man realises that the dichotomy is but seeming, the oppositions unreal. Then he sees that all is One, spirit and matter but two aspects of one divine Whole, the limitations of the past naught but illusion.

Without the struggle of opposites and the friction which ensues, man's progress would be slow indeed. Friction is the fire which impels him on his way, aspiration the light which calls him ever upwards. Thus does man discard, in time, the limitations of matter, endowing it with the radiance of his spiritual truth. Man's task is to spiritualise matter and to bring the substance of the planet, in every kingdom, into a perfect reflection of the Heavenly Man Whose body it is. Conflict and war, violence and hate, are but the passing manifestation of man's inability, as yet, to demonstrate his true nature. The time is fast coming when his truth will prevail, his beauty radiate and his good demonstrate for all to see. (Benjamin Creme's Master, from 'The pairs of opposites')

Detachment

We have to reach a point where what happens to us is not all that important; what other people think about us, not important at all; what other people say to us and however they vilify us, not important, easily overcome. We have to be able to take criticism and not criticise. If we were to put everything in one word, detachment is the key to the process of evolution.

Detachment is getting rid of the self. Attachment is seeing the self as at the centre of the world. Detachment is forgetting that there is a centre of the world and that it is us. Detachment is using the physical, astral, and mental equipment to express the soul, as far as we possibly can. (Benjamin Creme, The Art of Co-operation)

Consciousness grows by aspiration towards that which lies above it. But of course we are lazy. This is the hard way and that is why the path of evolution is slow and long and arduous. The way forward is precisely that of renunciation. Renunciation is another word for detachment. Maitreya uses the word detachment. I have not yet noticed if He has used the word renunciation, but detachment He uses all the time. It is the same thing. The path of evolution is the path of renunciation, is the path of detachment. The process, the technique, of renunciation is detachment. How do we evolve? What is the actual nature of the path? We cannot sit down and suggest to ourselves: "Today, I am going to overcome the astral vehicle. I am going to demonstrate my control of the mental vehicle." How do we do this? "Ah, the devas! I will control the devas! Will I get out a whip?" In the old days they did. Good Christian folks, every Lent, used to take out the whips and march through the town whipping themselves. What they were really trying to do was to control the physical elemental. Little did they know that every time they hit an elemental, two grew in its place! There are easier ways, the ways of detachment. (Benjamin Creme, Maitreya's Mission Volume Two)

[Maitreya] will talk about honesty of mind, sincerity of spirit, and detachment. These are the three. He gives them as three very potent forces of evolution. They are potent because they are the essentials. They are the essentials because only in growing detachment can you advance to the point of being a Master, of being Self-realised. Only through honesty of mind and sincerity of spirit can you become detached. Unless you become detached, you cannot do the others. Unless you do the others, you cannot become detached. (Benjamin Creme, Maitreya's Mission Volume Three)

Service

My Brothers and I look to this coming time as an opportunity for Service. We, too, My friends, grow by the manifestation of this divine attribute. Naught which stems from God but serves, My brothers. Learn and believe that this is so. Through service to man, man will come to God. It was ever so. Make a life of Service your vow for the future time and know the bliss of the Love of God. (Maitreya, from Message No. 75)

Service is the lever of the evolutionary path. Through service we learn to identify with that which we serve, and so a shift occurs in our centre of focus. It shifts from the personal, the selfish, to the impersonal, the unselfish. And, in doing that, we identify more and more with more and more. The way is through service. That is why it was instituted by the Christ in Palestine, as a lever for the evolutionary process, because, as we begin to serve, we become more and more decentralised, we identify with more and more, until we can identify with everything that is. And when we can identify with everything that is, we are everything that is. We are God. We release our Divinity. (Benjamin Creme, Reappearance of the Christ and the Masters of Wisdom) 

Today, as never before, to those who would travel more quickly along the evolutionary path is proffered an unique opportunity to serve and grow. Taking upon themselves the task of transformation and thus serving the Plan and the world, they can set new standards by which spiritual progress is measured and speed the process for humanity as a whole. This is the challenge of this time. Disciples today have the opportunity to quicken the evolutionary process for all those who will follow, thus serving the Plan of the Logos in a most potent fashion. Serve and grow. Serve and grow. That is the key to progress on the path. (Benjamin Creme's Master, from 'A New Era Dawns')

Initiation

The third – the first true, soul, initiation – is called the Transfiguration and is symbolised by the Transfiguration of Jesus on the Mount. It demonstrates control over the mental elemental and body and brings in Monadic or spirit contact and energy for the first time: "The Jewel in the heart of the Lotus."

"Transfiguration" (1516) by Raphael, Vatican Museum

The soul magically creates a series of bodies through which it can, eventually, really demonstrate itself as a soul. At that point we are well on the way towards the end of the evolutionary process. It takes hundreds of thousands of incarnations, but once that point is reached and the soul, looking at its reflection (the man or woman in incarnation), sees that it is beginning to respond to its (the soul's) quality and is becoming more divine - more unselfish, more altruistic, more concerned for other people and not just for the satisfaction of its own desires - it stimulates the vehicle and begins a process which ends the evolutionary journey - the process of initiation.

Initiation has been brought into life to speed up the evolutionary process. It is not essential, we could evolve without it, but it would take millions and millions more years to get to the point where we are today. There are five great planetary initiations to perfection. (Benjamin Creme, The Ageless Wisdom Teaching)

The first initiation demonstrates control over the physical body, in particular over the tiny devic (or elemental) lives which make up the physical body of man. The second initiation demonstrates control over the astral emotional body or elemental lives which make up that vehicle. This is called the Baptism Initiation and is symbolised for us by the Baptism of Jesus at Jordan.

The third - the first true, soul, initiation - is called the Transfiguration and is symbolised by the Transfiguration of Jesus on the Mount. It demonstrates control over the mental elemental and body and brings in Monadic or spirit contact and energy for the first time: "The Jewel in the heart of the Lotus."

Jesus entered the world at Bethlehem as a third-degree initiate and so simply symbolised these three stages of growth for us. He had to undergo the fourth initiation and did so in full physical fact to dramatise, symbolically, for our sake, the experience of Renunciation. In the West this initiation is known as the Crucifixion; in the East it is called the Great Renunciation, when all is renounced - position, family, even life itself if necessary - for the higher spiritual life.

Then follows (and this is the core of the Christian gospel story) the fifth initiation, the Resurrection, symbolised by the resurrection of the body of Jesus after the Crucifixion. Each initiation attracts to the bodies of the initiate matter of subatomic particles - literally, light. By the fourth initiation the bodies of the initiate are three-quarters subatomic or light. This process is completed at the fifth or Resurrection Initiation, when the initiate stands free from the pull of matter forever, a perfected Master. The evolutionary goal has been achieved and the Master has finished his life experience on this planet. His choice of whether to remain on this Earth and so serve the Plan of our Planetary Logos is His alone. (Benjamin Creme, Maitreya's Mission Volume One)

My intention is to place before you the answers to man's dilemma, to show you that the future holds for all men unbelievable promise. With My Brothers, the Masters of Wisdom, I shall show you the way to release your divinity and receive your inheritance.

My plan is to awaken mankind to its true worth, its true capacity, and show it that within all men lives a divine son of God. If men will follow Me, I shall take them step by step through the process of Initiation, whose Seal I guard. In this way, they will reveal the God Who within them dwells. (Maitreya, from Message No. 24)

The process of becoming divine is a simple one, a natural one, open freely to all men. It is the process of releasing that God Who, from the beginning, has dwelt within you. My Promise is this: if you will follow Me into the New Time, I shall release for you your divine nature. I am the Way and the Means to God, for I guard the Gates through which all men pass to come to the feet of God. If you can trust Me to show you the Way, I shall lead you forward and upward and take you to Him. (Maitreya, from Message No. 28)

Published courtesy of Share International magazine.

Filed in: externally authored, purpose

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