Printed in the Summer 2023 issue of Quest magazine.
Citation: Sender, Pablo, "Participating in the Work of the Masters of Wisdom" Quest 111:3, pg 26-29
By Pablo Sender
Among the hitherto secret teachings that the Theosophical Society has brought to the attention of the modern world is the idea of the existence of enlightened men and women living in seclusion from the world. Theosophical literature generally refers to them as Mahatmas, adepts, or Masters of Wisdom.
Since this idea was first put forward publicly by H.P. Blavatsky nearly 150 years ago, a number of individuals and organizations have taken the concept and presented it in their own ways, sometimes departing significantly from the original description given by Blavatsky and other early Theosophists. (I have discussed this topic in “Mahatmas versus Ascended Masters,” Quest, summer 2011). In this article, I will focus on the teachings about the Masters of Wisdom found in Theosophical literature.
Let us start from a historical perspective. Blavatsky left her home when she was eighteen and started a pilgrimage around the world in a search for spiritual truth and enlightenment. During her journey, she met many wise people belonging to different religions until she encountered an enlightened Indian yogi living in Tibet, who is known by Theosophists under the pseudonym of Morya, or simply M. Blavatsky became a disciple of Mahatma M and soon learned the existence of an international community of enlightened beings living on various continents who work in a concerted way to help humanity in its evolutionary journey. This community is known as the Brotherhood of Adepts.
Blavatsky’s adept teacher told her that their Brotherhood had been planning an effort to inspire a new form of spirituality in the world that could bring Eastern and Western mysticism together and offer a more rational approach to spirituality. This effort eventually resulted in the founding of the Theosophical Society in 1875.
During those early years, some of these adepts were heavily involved in launching the organization. In that period, about forty members wrote of their encounters with these Mahatmas. This occurred at various times, in different parts of the world, and in connection with the work of the TS. In addition, a number of adepts (mainly from Egypt and Tibet) engaged in correspondence with a variety of early Theosophists. The original letters are preserved in the British Library and the archives of the TS in Adyar, and their contents have been published in several books.
Their Work
Because the Mahatmas engaged in a correspondence with early members of the TS, one may get the impression that these adepts have little to do except communicate with people on a comparatively public level. This is not the case. In their letters, they repeatedly state that this kind of communication was exceptional and would end as soon as the TS was firmly established.
When Blavatsky was asked about the work of the adepts, she said: “You would hardly understand, unless you were an Adept. But they keep alive the spiritual life of mankind.” She was then asked in what ways the adepts help people’s spiritual growth, and her answer was, “In many ways, but chiefly by teaching their souls direct, in the spiritual world. That is difficult for you to understand” (Blavatsky, Collected Writings, 8:401).
Blavatsky’s answers refer to what can be regarded as the main work of the adepts, which takes place primarily on the spiritual planes. Since at this point in evolution most of us are not aware of the reality of these planes, it is difficult for us to grasp the nature of this activity. C.W. Leadbeater elaborated: “The Adepts are dealing with the entire world in enormous comprehensive sweeps of power; They are influencing millions in their [souls or] causal bodies, or on the buddhic plane, and all the time steadily, though by almost imperceptible degrees, raising the higher bodies of the people on a wholesale scale” (Leadbeater, 42).
The adepts stimulate the unfolding of our spiritual nature by sharing with our souls the intense divine life that flows through these enlightened beings. Perhaps the idea of the “grace of the guru” may correspond to what the adepts do. However, while typical gurus affect their pupils on the physical plane, these adepts leave their physical bodies behind in meditation and operate directly from the spiritual planes, on which our souls dwell. This is one reason they live in seclusion from the world: it allows them to work undisturbed by external influences.
Because most of us are only aware of the physical, emotional, and mental aspects of our beings, there is a natural tendency to assume that if the Mahatmas are helping humanity, their attention and efforts should be focused on these levels. Thus people sometimes wonder why the adepts do not actively engage in social change.
There is evidence in Theosophical literature that the adepts do work at this level to some extent. In times of world crisis, they are forced to turn their attention to what may be happening on the physical plane, to give help and try to reduce suffering to the extent that human karma allows. Additionally, from time to time they either step into the public sphere as great spiritual teachers or inspire the formation of a spiritual movement. But these are not the main areas of their work. How we lead our lives on this level depends mainly on the degree to which our souls are awake. The root of most, if not all, human problems is that the majority of people are spiritually half asleep, and consequently their personalities show traits such as selfishness, cruelty, and materialism. The most effective way to help humanity is not by trying to change social structures, which will be spoiled again in time by selfishness and greed, but to nourish the development of the soul, whose influence trickles down to the physical personality, making it more loving, cooperative, and nonviolent.
This does not mean that the adepts regard whatever happens on the physical plane as unimportant: they are concerned with the totality of human experience. However, since humanity is only halfway through its evolutionary journey, the available number of adepts is necessarily small, and they cannot do everything. Therefore they are eagerly searching for people who, although not yet able to help their work on the spiritual planes, are willing to help humanity on the planes where they are aware: the mental, emotional, and physical levels. Let us explore this in more detail.
The Masters of Wisdom
For these reasons, a small number of the adepts take on an additional duty, which was described by Theosophist Geoffrey Hodson as follows:
A vitally important part of the work of the Masters of the Wisdom, as some of Them are called, is to discover, to attract, accept, and train disciples, men and women, living out in the world of men like ourselves apparently, and those who become filled with an utterly selfless dedication to the loving service of their fellowmen without thought of reward. (Hodson, 3:150)
This specific group of adepts, known as “Masters of Wisdom,” are willing to take as disciples people who have the service of humanity at heart and who fulfill certain emotional, mental, and spiritual qualifications. The need for these qualifications becomes clear when considering that the blind cannot lead the blind. In other words, in order to be able to help with the problems that trouble humanity, the individual has to be beyond the grip of these problems.
Why would these adepts decide to divert part of their attention from the help they give to souls en masse and focus it on a few specific individuals? The world can clearly benefit by having more adepts, but the slow path of natural evolution will take millions of years to produce this result. However, there is the possibility of a much faster way, known as the “occult path,” in which the disciple makes a heroic spiritual effort to reach the evolutionary goal far in advance of the rest of humanity. The word heroic is here used purposefully, since the hero’s journey presented in many mythologies is an allegorical description of the occult path. This journey is depicted as a perilous one, full of dangers, temptations, sacrifices, and difficult tasks. Why is the occult path so demanding? It is only logical that if a person wants to accomplish a given task in an extraordinarily short time, it will require an extraordinary effort, dedication, and commitment.
The occult path cannot be trodden alone. It requires the intervention of a Master, because in order to stimulate the growth of a disciple, the latter has to be put under the action of special occult forces, which produce great physical and psychological pressure. By dealing with the additional strain and challenges that come up in daily life, the disciple’s growth is accelerated. Then disciples pass a series of initiations on the inner planes by means of which they become adepts in a short number of incarnations—if they can successfully tread this path of swift unfoldment.
One may ask, why would anybody want to make their daily lives harder by embarking on this perilous journey? Imagined spiritual rewards will never be a strong enough motivation to sustain the aspirant on this path. But for those who feel the suffering of humanity in their hearts, who find that the worldly rewards of the ordinary life have little meaning, who have weakened the demands of their egos and have developed a healthy measure of inner strength—for those, the path of personal sacrifice in order to be of service to these veritable “saviors of humanity” becomes an ever-inspiring motivation and ideal.
Working with the Masters
How can the aspirant participate in this lofty task? An old axiom that says, “When the pupil is ready, the Master appears.” As mentioned, before the aspirant can be accepted as disciple by a Master of Wisdom, there are certain qualifications that must be fulfilled. These have been described in books such as At the Feet of the Master, Light on the Path, and The Voice of the Silence. A perusal of these books will reveal that these qualifications are not easy to achieve, but the aspirant must keep in mind that this preparation is not the work of a single lifetime. As we endeavor to live from the perspective given in these works, we will gradually develop the qualities, inner resources, and strength necessary to enter the occult path when the time comes.
Does this mean that we cannot participate in the work of the Masters until we meet all these requirements and become disciples? Fortunately, those who feel inspired by this ideal need not feel discouraged by the magnitude of the task. Being a disciple is not the only way to collaborate with the Masters. As Theosophist Clara Codd describes:
They [the Masters] work on this plane through two kinds of agents: direct and indirect . . . Their direct agents are their accepted disciples, who work consciously with the Masters . . . [but] any person sincere and unselfish working in the line of the Masters’ work may receive their inspiration even if they do not know it. (Codd, 9)
Those inspired to help humanity and who work seriously to spiritualize their nature can become “indirect” agents of the Masters to the degree that their own limitations allow it. In fact, the Masters begin to pay attention to people several incarnations before they are ready to enter the occult path as a disciple. Geoffrey Hodson writes:
During many lives on earth, He [the Master of Wisdom] has watched and loved the pilgrim soul, invisibly has guided and inspired the inner man [or self]. Whenever by virtue of evolutionary progress an individual shows signs of spiritual awakening and the recognition of duty as the governing principle of life, he begins to come under more direct Adept surveillance, receives Adept aid. (Hodson, Initiate Life, 7)
When an aspirant shows earnestness to lead a spiritual life and serve humanity, the Masters begin to aid the individual’s growth. Here we should be careful not to trivialize this idea. The Masters should not be seen as modern replacements of the anthropomorphic God, to whom you can pray to grant your desires, make you healthy, young, or happy. This is not the kind of aid that the Masters provide. Quite the contrary. Once aspirants show that they have loosened the grip of their egos and desires, the Master begins to arrange some of the external circumstances in such a way that will challenge the aspirants’ weaknesses and blind spots, providing valuable opportunities for training, growth, and the testing of their resolution to participate in this work. The better aspirants respond, the more attention they gain from the Masters.
Notice also that the guidance and inspiration of the Master is described as being primarily upon the inner self. As a rule, the Masters do not give external signs of their presence, for several reasons. The Master’s influence manifests unconsciously to the person in the form of inner inspiration, ideas for service, or the strength to deal with karmic difficulties.
Thus the relationship of an aspirant, or even a disciple, with the Master should not be confused with the current idea of channeling, where the person seems to be constantly guided by an invisible entity, typically assumed to be a spiritual being such as an angel, a god, or a Master. One should avoid the simplistic view that whatever is not physical is therefore spiritual. There are actually three realms of nature—the physical, the psychic, and the spiritual. The astral and lower mental planes, which constitute the psychic realm, are not planes of truth and insight, but simply of nonphysical beings and phenomena. There are many types of entities in this realm—good, bad, and neutral—and the lower the entity, the more eager it will be to find suitable means to communicate with the physical plane, often impersonating high-sounding characters. This is why Geoffrey Hodson warned:
One thing that I would advise against is to not automatically take the word of a disembodied person that they are a Master. You see, the big problem is that the ordinary person cannot see and examine who they are communicating with, sometimes it is just an ordinary dead person on the astral plane who wants to develop a following without really knowing what they are talking about; it may even be an elemental who gets fun out of playing tricks on humans, or worse it could also be a dugpa or black magician who is trying to mislead the person concerned and trip them up causing them and others connected with them to fall off the Path. (Hodson, Mature Answers)
Whatever the source, communication in the psychic realm is still mediated by words and concepts, whose interpretation may or may not be correct. This is why Blavatsky advised aspirants not to seek a Teacher on these planes: “If freed thou would’st be from the Karmic chains, seek not for thy Guru in those Māyāvic [illusory] regions” (Blavatsky, Voice of the Silence, 111). “The astral region [is] the Psychic World of supersensuous perceptions and of deceptive sights—the world of Mediums . . . It is the world of the Great Illusion” (Voice of the Silence, 199‒200).
The spiritual realm, where the Master primarily dwells and acts, is constituted of planes in which most of humanity are still not aware. At this level, communication does not happen through words perceived through senses (whether physical or psychic). In fact, on the spiritual levels there is basically no separation between the Masters and our own souls, so their influence comes as if from within the aspirants: it is indistinguishable from the aspirants’ own inner activity until later in their career they learn how to sense the difference.
Theosophical literature clearly states that the door to discipleship is open to those who knock in the appropriate way and that no sincere aspirant ever fails to attract the attention of the Master. In an age of self-serving activity, those working unselfishly for the welfare of humanity become bright lights in the darkness. For those who may wonder whether they are able to participate in this sacred work, it is helpful to remember what Mahatma Koot Hoomi wrote: “We have one word for all aspirants: TRY” (Chin, 148).
Sources
Blavatsky, H.P. Collected Writings, Volume 8. Edited by Boris de Zirkoff. Wheaton: Theosophical Publishing House, 1990.
———. The Voice of the Silence. Wheaton: Theosophical Publishing House, 2005.
Chin, Vicente Hao, Jr., ed. The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in Chronological Sequence. Quezon City, Philippines: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993.
Codd, Clara. The Way of the Disciple. Wheaton: Theosophical Publishing House, 2000.
Hodson, Geoffrey. The Initiate Life. Auckland, New Zealand: Theosophical Publishing House, 2018.
———. Mature Answers website; accessed April 3, 2023.
———. Sharing the Light: Further Writings of Geoffrey Hodson, Volume 3. Quezon City, Philippines: Theosophical Publishing House, 2014
Leadbeater, C.W. The Masters and the Path. Wheaton: Theosophical Publishing House, 2002.
Pablo Sender, PhD, has been a member of the Theosophical Society since 1996. He has lived and worked at the international headquarters of the TS in Adyar, India, and at the national center of the TS in America, and is currently residing in the Krotona Institute of Theosophy in Ojai, California. He has presented programs and retreats around the world, both in English and Spanish. He is an author, and his latest book is Approaching the Secret Doctrine. His website is www.pablosender.com.