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Ascended masters, also known asMahatmas, are believed in severaltheosophical and related spiritual traditions[1] to be spirituallyenlightened beings who in pastincarnations were ordinary humans. Through a series of spiritual transformations, or initiations, they are said to have achieved a higher state of being.
Although the termsmahatma andascended master are often used synonymously, theAscended Master Teachings define them differently, associating "ascended master" with a higher level of spiritual attainment, specifically the Sixth Initiation or Ascension.[2] This contrasts with "Masters of Light," "Healers," or "Spiritual Masters" who are said to have taken the Fifth Initiation and reside in a fifth dimension.
The termascended master was first used byBaird 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 bookUnveiled Mysteries.[3][independent source needed]
Adherents of the ascended master Teachings hold that the beliefs surrounding ascended masters were partially released by theTheosophical Society beginning in 1875, byC.W. Leadbeater andAlice A. Bailey, and began to have more detailed public release in the 1930s by the ascended masters throughGuy Ballard in theI 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]
Guy Ballard said his workUnveiled Mysteries was dictated to him by the ascended masterSt. Germain.[3][6] Other Ascended Master Teachings are contained inThe Bridge to Freedom (1951),[7]Mark Prophet andElizabeth Clare Prophet's The Summit Lighthouse (1958) (reorganized as theChurch Universal and Triumphant in 1975),[8] The Temple of The Presence (1995),[9] The Hearts Center (2005), theI AM University (2004), and various other organizations such asThe White Eagle Lodge (1936) and theAquarian Christine Church Universal (2006).[10][11]
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]
The termascended master was first introduced in 1934 byGuy Ballard with the publication ofUnveiled Mysteries, a book which he said was dictated to him by the ascended masterSt. Germain.[13][14] Other Ascended Master Teachings are contained inThe Bridge to Freedom (1951),[15]The Summit Lighthouse (1958) (known also as TheChurch Universal and Triumphant),[16] TheAetherius Society (1955),[17] The Temple of The Presence (1995),[9] the I AM University (2004), theWhite Eagle Lodge (1936) and the Aquarian Christine Church Universal, Inc. (2006).[18][19]
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" onAtlantis, and who migrated toEgypt at the time of the destruction of Atlantis.[20] It is also believed that he was incarnated as the EgyptianPharaohAmenhotep III (who constructed theTemple of Luxor to the godAmon)[21] and also asLeonidas, the King ofSparta,[22] who was killed in 480 BC defending the pass ofThermopylae against the invasion ofancient Greece by EmperorXerxes I of thePersian Empire.
Belief in the ascended masters and theirGreat White Brotherhood is an essential part of the beliefs of various organizations that have continued and expanded the concepts released in the original Saint Germain instruction in the 1930s throughthe "I AM" Activity. Examples of those believed by the ones proposing these teachings to be ascended masters would be the Master Jesus,Confucius,Gautama Buddha,Mary the mother of Jesus, St.Paul of Tarsus (a.k.a.Hilarion),Ashtar Sheran,Sanat Kumara,Melchizedek,Archangel Michael,Metatron,Kwan Yin, St. Germain andKuthumi.[citation needed]
Jesus is believed to be one of the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom inTheosophy and is one of the ascended masters in the Ascended Master Teachings. The Master Jesus is regarded by Theosophists as the Master of theSixth 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 asJoshua, the Hebrew military leader in the 13th century BC, andJoshua the High Priest in the sixth century BC.[26]
According to the Ascended Master Teachings,[27][28][29][30] Jesus was also incarnated asJoseph of thecoat of many colors in the 17th century BC/16th century BC (approximately between 1650 BC and 1550 BC), as well asKing David (who livedc. 1037 BC until around 970 BC), andElisha in the 9th century BC.[31]
According to the post-1900 publications of Theosophy (specifically, the writings ofCharles W. Leadbeater, Alice Bailey, andBenjamin 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 ofEarth and ofhumanity, and the head of theSpiritual Hierarchy of Earth who dwells inShamballah.
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 andBodhisattvas (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 theosophistHelena Blavatsky.[35] She claimed he belonged to a group of beings, the "Lords of the Flame", whomChristian tradition have misunderstood asLucifer 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]
It is believed that since the "fall of man" during the time of the incarnation of thefourth 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]
Students of the Ascended Master Teachings believe that this world is destined to again have aGolden Age, a "Heaven on Earth", that will be permanent, unlike previous Golden Ages millions of years ago.[41]
TheGreat 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) andBenjamin Creme (Share International).[42]
The Masters are collectively called the "Great White Brotherhood" by various theosophists and esotericists. The use of the termwhite refers to their advanced spirituality (in other words, that they have a white coloredaura) and has nothing to do with race. Blavatsky described many of the Masters as ethnicallyTibetan orIndian (Hindu), notEuropean.[43] She did, however, describe them as being from all cultures and races, such as the "Greek gentleman" known asHilarion.[44]
Belief in the Brotherhood and the Masters is an essential part of thesyncretistic 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, andKoot 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]
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 periodicalThe Voice of The "I AM", and some were collected and reprinted in the "green books" ofThe 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 Christine Church Universal, Inc. (ACCU) is a denomination founded in 2006 based onThe Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, said to be transcribed from theAkashic records byLevi 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]
René Guénon wrote a detailed critique of Theosophy titledTheosophy: 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 ofJacob Boehme,Eliphas Levi, theKabbalah and otherHermetic treatises. Guenon also speculated that Blavatsky had borrowed passages from extracts of theKanjur andTanjur, translated by the eccentric orientalistSándor Kőrösi Csoma, published in 1836 in the twentieth volume of theAsiatic Researchers of Calcutta.[51]
K. Paul Johnson suggests in his bookThe Masters Revealed: Madame 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 bookThe 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" byPaul Zweig,New York Times October 5, 1980, also speculates that Madame Blavatsky's revelations were fraudulent.[54]
Mt. Shasta, Peter. My Search in Tibet for the Secret Wish-Fulfilling Jewel ISBN 978-0-9984143-1-7Mt. Shasta, Peter. Lady Master Pearl, My Teacher ISBN 978-0-692-35666-1Shuddhaanandaa Brahmachari. The Incredible Life of A Himalayan Yogi: The Times, Teachings and Life of Living Shiva, Baba Lokenath Brahmachari, Lokenath Divine Life Mission. 2004.ISBN 81-87207-07-8
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