Spiritual Teachers

"Merging into the waves of the Infinite, we may be compared to flowers torn away by a storm. How shall we find ourselves transfigured in the ocean of the Infinite? It would be unwise to send out a boat without a rudder. But the Pilot is predestined and the creation of the heart will not be precipitated into the abyss. Like milestones on a luminous path, the Brothers of Humanity, ever alert, are standing on guard, ready to lead the traveler into the chain of ascent. Hierarchy is not coercion, it is the law of the Universe. It is not a threat, but the call of the heart and a fiery admonition directing toward the General Good. Thus let us cognize the Hierarchy of Light."

"His the Form which stood beside the rack and in the flames of the burning pile, cheering His confessors and His martyrs, soothing the anguish of their pains, and filling their hearts with His peace. His the impulse which spoke in the thunder of Savonarola, which guided the calm wisdom of Erasmus, which inspired the deep ethics of the God-intoxicated Spinoza. His the energy which impelled Roger Bacon, Galileo, and Paracelsus in their searchings into nature. His the beauty that allured Fra Angelica and Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci, that inspired the genius of Michelangelo... His the melody that breathed in the masses of Mozart, the sonatas of Beethoven, the oratorios of Handel, the fugues of Bach, the austere splendour of Brahms."

"How to transmute the most bitter into the most sweet? Naught save Hierarchy will transform life into a higher consciousness. It is impossible to imagine a bridge into the Infinite, because a bridge is in need of abutments. But Hierarchy, like the abutments of a bridge, brings one to the shore of Light. And imagine the entire effulgence that the eyes behold! And understand the Song of Light. Let us labor for Light and Hierarchy! (preface)"

"You are sure to encounter a certain kind of person who flies into a frenzy at the mere mention of the Masters. Such people are ready to put their trust in any shameless stock market speculation, they are ready to believe in any swindle, but for them the idea of the Common Good is inadmissible. Gaze into the pupils of such people’s eyes, and you will find a restless shadow. They will not be able to stand your gaze for long. These people are secret dugpas. Often they are more dangerous than their colleagues who openly practice black magic... If you brought these seemingly well-meaning people to the very edge of Our Abode, they would declare that they were seeing a mirage. It might seem that this is all due to ignorance, but the real reason is far worse. Beware of them! Most of all, protect the children. These people are the cause of many of the disorders that children suffer. They manage to get into schools. Historical fact and the law of knowledge do not exist for them. 340."

"Wayfarer, friend, let us travel together. Night is near, wild beasts are about, and our campfire may go out. But if we agree to share the night watch, we can conserve our forces. Tomorrow our path will be long and we may become exhausted. Let us walk together. We shall have joy and festivity. I shall sing for you the song your mother, wife and sister sang. You will relate for me your father’s story about a hero and his achievements. Let our path be one. Be careful not to step upon a scorpion, and warn me about any vipers. Remember, we must arrive at a certain mountain village. Traveler, be my friend."

"His the Presence that cheered the solitary mystics, the hunted occultists, the patient seekers after truth. By persuasion and by menace, by the eloquence of a S. Francis and by the gibes of a Voltaire, by the sweet submission of a Thomas à Kempis, and the rough virility of a Luther, He sought to instruct and awaken... He has never left uncared for or unsolaced one human heart that cried to Him for help."

"One must manifest discipline of spirit; without it one cannot become free. To the slave discipline of spirit will be a prison; to the liberated one it will be a wondrous healing garden. So long as the discipline of spirit is as fetters the doors are closed, for in fetters one cannot ascend the steps. You can think of discipline of the spirit as wings. Whoever understands discipline of the spirit as a light that illumines the future worlds is already prepared. (preamble)"

"Shambhala is the indispensable site where the spiritual world joins the material. In a magnet there exists a point where the attractive power is strongest; similarly, the Mountain Abode is the point into which the gates of the spiritual world open. The very height of Gaurizankar aids transmission of the magnetic current. Jacob’s Ladder is a symbol of Our Abode. 88."

"Madame Fadeeff: "...my niece spoke to me about them (the Masters of Wisdom), and that very fully, years ago. She wrote to me that she had seen and reknitted her connection with several of them before she wrote her Isis. Why should she have invented these personages? With what object ? and what good could they do her if they did not exist? Your enemies are neither wicked nor dishonest, I think; they are, if they accuse you of that, only idiotic."

"For a larger collection of quotations, see: The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (1923)"

"They will ask: Who gave you the Teaching? Answer: The Mahatma of the East. They will ask: Where does He live? Answer: The abode of the Teacher not only cannot be made known but cannot even be uttered... They will ask: When can I be useful? Answer: From this hour unto eternity. When should I prepare myself for labor?... Lose not an hour! And when will the call come? ...Even sleep vigilantly. How shall I work until this hour?... Enhancing the quality of labor. (preamble)"

"We doubt not but the men of your science are open to conviction; yet facts must be first demonstrated to them, they must first become their own property, have proved amenable to their own modes of investigation, before you find them ready to admit them as facts. If you but look into the Preface to the "Micrographia" you will find in Hooke's suggestions that the intimate relations of objects were of less account in his eyes than their external operation on the senses —and Newton's fine discoveries found in him their greatest opponent. The modern Hookeses are many. Like this learned but ignorant man of old your modern men of science are less anxious to suggest a physical connexion of facts which might unlock for them many an occult force in nature, as to provide a convenient 'classification of scientific experiments' so that the most essential quality of an hypothesis is not that it should be true but only plausible—in their opinion. Ch. I"

"Roma ante Romulum fuit—is an axiom taught to us in your English schools. Abstract enquiries into the most puzzling problems did not arise in the brain of Archimedes as a spontaneous and hitherto untouched subject, but rather as a reflection of prior enquiries in the same direction and by men separated from his days by as long a period—and far longer—than the one which separates you from the great Syracusian. The vril of the "Coming Age" was the common property of races now extinct. (Note: Roma ante Romulum fuit is Latin for "Rome existed before Romulus/the founder of Rome). Ch. I"

"And, as the very existence of those gigantic ancestors of ours is now questioned—though in the Hiniavats, on the very territory belonging to you we have a cave full of the skeletons of these giants—and their huge frames when found are invariably regarded as isolated freaks of nature, so the vril or Akds—as we call it—is looked upon as an impossibility, a myth. Ch. I"

"As for human nature in general, it is the same now as it was a million of years ago: Prejudice based upon selfishness; a general unwillingness to give up an established order of things for new modes of life and thought—and occult study requires all that and much more—; pride and stubborn resistance to Truth if it but upsets their previous notions of things,—such are the characteristics of your age, and especially of the middle and lower classes. Ch. I"

"Experimental knowledge does not quite date from 1662, when Bacon, Robert Boyle and the Bishop of Chester transformed under the royal charter their "Invisible College" into a Society for the promotion of experimental science. Ages before the Royal Society found itself becoming a reality upon the plan of the 'Prophetic Scheme' an innate longing for the hidden, a passionate love for and the study of nature had led men in every generation to try and fathom her secrets deeper than their neighbours did. Ch. I"

"Because he knows, he is on God's side, standing for good and resisting evil, working for evolution and not for selfishness."

"Esteemed Brother and Friend, Precisely because the test of the London newspaper would close the mouths of the skeptics—it is unthinkable. See it in what light you will—the world is yet in its first stage of disenthralment if not development, hence—unprepared. Very true, we work by natural not supernatural means and laws. But, as on the one hand Science would find itself unable (in its present state) to account for the wonders given in its name, and on the other the ignorant masses would still be left to view the phenomenon in the light of a miracle; everyone who would thus be made a witness to the occurrence would be thrown off his balance and the results would be deplorable. Believe me, it would be so—especially for yourself who originated the idea, and the devoted woman who so foolishly rushes into the wide open door leading to notoriety. This door, though opened by so friendly a hand as yours, would prove very soon a trap—and a fatal one indeed for her. Ch. I"

"You say—half London would be converted if you could deliver them a Pioneer on its day of publication. I beg to say that if the people believed the thing true they would kill you before you could make the round of Hyde Park; if it were not believed true,—the least that could happen would be the loss of your reputation and good name,—for propagating such ideas. Ch. I"

"In common with many, you blame us for our great secrecy. Yet we know something of human nature for the experience of long centuries—aye, ages—has taught us. And, we know, that so long as science has anything to learn, and a shadow of religious dogmatism lingers in the hearts of the multitudes, the world's prejudices have to be conquered step by step, not at a rush. Ch. I"

"As hoary antiquity had more than one Socrates so the dim Future will give birth to more than one martyr. Enfranchised science contemptuously turned away her face from the Copernian opinion renewing the theories of Aristarchus Samius—who "affirmeth that the earth moveth circularly about her own centre" years before the Church sought to sacrifice Galileo as a holocaust to the Bible.Ch. I"

"Of this same visit to Lahore, November, 1883, Damodar himself gives many details. Of the Mahatma K.H. he says: "There I was visited by Him in body, for three nights consecutively, for about three hours every time, while I myself retained full consciousness, and in one case even went to meet Him outside the house. Him whom I saw in person at Lahore was the same I had seen in astral form at the Headquarters of the Theosophical Society, and the same again whom I, in visions and trances, had seen at His house, thousands of miles off, to reach which in my astral Ego I was permitted, owing, of course, to His direct help and protection. In those instances, with my psychic powers hardly developed yet, I had always seen Him as a rather hazy form, although His features were perfectly distinct, and their remembrance was profoundly graven on my soul's eye and memory. While now at Lahore, Jammu, and elsewhere, the impression was utterly different. In the former cases, when making pranam (salutation) my hands passed through His form, while on the latter occasions they met solid garments and flesh. Here I saw a living man before me, the same in features, though far more imposing in His general appearance and bearing than Him I had so often looked upon in the portrait in Mme. Blavatsky's possession, and in the one with Mr. Sinnett..."

"Śroṇa, whatever ascetics or brahmins conceive "I am superior" or "I am equal" or "I am inferior" based on form … feeling … perception … volitional activities … consciousness that is impermanent, not lasting, not gratifying, of the nature to decay; this, Śroṇa, is nothing but those ascetics or brahmins not seeing in accordance with reality."

"Shariputra said, "Why don't you change out of this ?" (Shariputra assumes that any woman would naturally want to change into a man if she had the power to do so.) The goddess replied, "For the past twelve years I have been trying to take on female form, but in the end with no success. What is there to change? If a sorcerer were to conjure up a phantom woman and then someone asked her why she didn't change out of her female body, would that be any kind of reasonable question?" "No," said Shariputra. "Phantoms have no fixed form, so what would there be to change?" The goddess said, "All things are just the same-they have no fixed form. So why ask why I don't change out of my female form?" At that time the goddess employed her supernatural powers to change Shariputra into a goddess like herself, while she took on Shariputra's form. Then she asked, "Why don't you change out of this female body?" Shariputra, now in the form of a goddess, replied, "I don't know why I have suddenly changed and taken on a female body! " The goddess said, "Shariputra, if you can change out of this female body, then all women can change likewise. Shariputra, who is not a woman, appears in a woman's body. And the same is true of all women-though they appear in women's bodies, they are not women. Therefore the Buddha teaches that all phenomena are neither male nor female." Then the goddess withdrew her supernatural powers, and Shariputra returned to his original form. The goddess said to Shariputra, "Where now is the form and shape of your female body?" Shariputra said, "The form and shape of my female body does not exist, yet does not not exist." The goddess said, "All things are just like that-they do not exist, yet do not not exist. And that they do not exist, yet do not not exist, is exactly what the Buddha teaches.""

"I do not seek for death, I do not seek for birth; I abide my time, when my time comes, I shall go."

"In comparison with earth-bound human beings, who are still far behind on the evolutionary path, the Masters have attained a relatively high state of development. But, as with all else in nature, their status is only relative in comparison with those already higher up the ladder, their own position remains humble, and vast expansions of consciousness still lie ahead of them on the Path of Higher Evolution, which will eventually take them beyond planetary and solar spheres into cosmic consciousness."

"Esoterically an adept is not a Master of Wisdom until He has achieved the fifth initiation or, in other words, until He has entered the spiritual plane and His consciousness embraces the fifth or spiritual kingdom. The Masters are members of that group of 'Illumined Minds' which is guided by love and understanding, and by deep compassion and inclusiveness towards humanity. They are striving towards a comprehension and translation of the Divine Purpose, and are illumined by knowledge of the Plan; they are also characterized by a readiness to sacrifice their own immediate spiritual progress if thereby they can assist humanity in its upward struggle."

"Venerable sir, this is the entire holy life (brahmacariya), that is, good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship."

"With regard to that well-known biblical era when the Christ made his fateful appearance in Palestine, man cannot yet understand that when mention is made of Jesus Christ, this refers to two separate entities temporarily functioning as one. Firstly, there was Jesus the disciple and initiate, whose personality was born of Mother Mary, and secondly, there was the Entity whom we know as the Christ and whose spirit temporarily overshadowed and took complete charge of the personality of Jesus, whose soul during that period withdrew from the body and stood aside. With the crucifixion, it was merely the physical body of Jesus that was crucified."

"All this is the responsibility of the Master J — and what a task! But there is no doubt that progress is being made, and he hopes to achieve greater success through a new approach from the Christian Churches, paving the way in both Europe and America for the return of the Christ."

"It is forecast that the Master Jesus will yet occupy the chair of the Pope of Rome, and that from that seat he will then be able to re-inspire and re-orient the whole field of Christian religion, diverting it from its present political and temporal trends, towards a more spiritual approach."

"Sir, the factors of stream-entry are associating with good people, listening to the true teaching, proper attention, and practicing in line with the teaching. ...the stream is simply this noble eightfold path, that is: right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion. ...anyone who possesses this noble eightfold path is called a stream-enterer, the venerable of such and such name and clan."

"So far humanity has had relatively little conscious contact with the various Masters, who usually function from etheric levels, and therefore from beyond the conscious recognition of man. There are, however, some of these perfected Men who have at times assumed a body of manifestation to enable Them to work more effectively at Their appropriate tasks among the nations of the world. These Entities of Light, although remaining unrecognized with regard to Their true nature and capacities, represent focal centres for the distribution of hierarchical and divine love and wisdom, and are practical outlets for certain aspects of the Plan."

"We are dissipating superstition, ignorance and fear. We are forging courage, will and knowledge. Every striving toward enlightenment is welcome. Every prejudice, caused by ignorance, is exposed. Thou who dost toil, are not alive in thy consciousness the roots of cooperation and community? If this flame has already illumined thy brain, adopt the signs of the Teaching of Our mountains. Thou who dost labor, do not become wearied puzzling over certain expressions. Every line is the highest measure of simplicity. Greeting to workers and seekers! Family, clan, country, union of nations—each unit strives toward peace, toward betterment of life. Each unit of cooperation and communal life needs perfecting. No one can fix the limits of evolution. By this line of reasoning a worker becomes a creator. Let us not be frightened by the problems of creativeness. Let us find for science unencumbered paths. Thus, thought about perfectionment will be a sign of joy. (preamble)"

"Owing to Their close association over the ages with the affairs of men, the names of a few of these Masters have become known, as well as some details about their activities. It should always be remembered, however, that any such description given in human terms must inevitably remain limited, since man cannot really conceive or translate that which is spiritual and sublime, and for the purpose of visualization man involuntarily lowers and reduces the exalted subjective to material terms. But even if the pictured image is somewhat warped and unreal, this may still serve to bring the aspirant mentally, and therefore consciously, another step closer to those who are ever ready to assist the human being on his wearisome path to the mountain top."

"The Masters are members of that group of 'Illumined Minds' which is guided by love and understanding, and by deep compassion and inclusiveness towards humanity. They are striving towards a comprehension and translation of the Divine Purpose, and are illumined by knowledge of the Plan; they are also characterized by a readiness to sacrifice their own immediate spiritual progress if thereby they can assist humanity in its upward struggle."

"The names which immediately come to mind are of course those of the Christ and the Buddha, but since separate articles will be devoted to these two Great Ones attention will first of all be given to a couple of Their senior assistants. Of these the three senior Masters, either acting as leaders of the main hierarchical departments or playing important supporting roles, are of primary importance. These three are the Masters Koot Hoomi, senior assistant to the Christ; the Master Morya, assistant to the Lord of Races; and the Master Rakoczi, the Lord of Civilization."

"The present responsibility of Master Jesus is to raise Western thought life out of the existing morass of uncertainty and fear, where mankind has landed itself through fraud, treachery, cruelty, hate and covetousness, and a constant striving for dominance and power. It will be his task to bring about a change of heart. There are already many who through suffering have come to see that the old way of life cannot lead to peace and happiness, that selfish grasping should make way for selfless giving and service, and that hate and fear should be superseded by loving cooperation, wisdom and compassion."

"One perception arose and another perception ceased in me: "The cessation of existence is nibbāna; the cessation of existence is nibbāna." Just as, when a fire of twigs is burning, one flame arises and another flame ceases, so one perception arose and another perception ceased in me: "The cessation of existence is nibbāna; the cessation of existence is nibbāna." On that occasion, friend, I was percipient: "The cessation of existence is nibbāna.""

"Shariputra, it is the failings of living beings that prevent them from seeing the marvelous purity of the land of the Buddha, the Thus Come One. The Thus Come One is not to blame. Shariputra, this land of mine is pure, but you fail to see it."

"Far above us as is all the splendour of these great heights at present, it is worth our while to lift our thought towards them and try to realize them a little. They show the goal before every one of us, and the clearer our sight of it the swifter and steadier will be our progress towards it..."

"A Master of the Wisdom is One Who has undergone the fifth initiation. That really means that His consciousness has undergone such an expansion, that it now includes the fifth or spiritual kingdom. He has worked His way through the four lower kingdoms: the mineral, the vegetable, the animal and the human - and has, through meditation and service, expanded His centre of consciousness till it now includes the plane of the spirit."

"“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into heart of man to conceive the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him,” for the love of God, the wisdom of God, the power of God, and the glory of God pass all understanding, even as does His peace."

"In the course of this great progress every man will some day reach full consciousness on the highest of our planes, the Divine plane, and be conscious simultaneously at all levels... so that having in Himself the power of the highest, He shall yet be able to comprehend and function on the very lowest, and help where help is needed."

"Just as the eldest son of a wheel-turning monarch properly keeps in motion the wheel of sovereignty set in motion by his father, so do you, Sāriputta, properly keep in motion the Wheel of Dhamma set in motion by me."

"Platitudinously, the aspirant is told that "when the pupil is ready, the Master will appear". He then settles comfortably back and waits, or focusses his attention upon an attempt to attract the attention of some Master, having apparently settled in his mind that he is ready, or good enough. He naturally gives himself a spiritual prod at intervals, and attends spasmodically to the work of discipline and of purification. But steady and prolonged, undeviating effort on the part of aspirants, is rare indeed. It is indeed true that at the right moment the Master will appear, but the right moment is contingent upon certain self-induced conditions. p. 594"

"Something I have never seen before, and never even heard of-now all the marvelous purity of the Buddha land is visible before me!"

"Deep in wisdom, intelligent, expert in the variety of paths; Sāriputta, so greatly wise, teaches Dhamma to the mendicants. He teaches in brief, or he speaks at length. His call, like a myna bird, overflows with inspiration. While he teaches the mendicants listen to his sweet voice, sounding attractive, clear and graceful. They listen joyfully, their hearts uplifted."

"One of the major functions of the Masters is to convey the principles of the Plan to their less evolved brothers. The usual technique employed for this purpose is impression. So far the Masters have not taught from public platforms, but have mainly worked on intuitive and mental levels, by telepathically impressing ideas on the minds of their disciples. However, as more of these Masters make their appearance among men, and recognition of their powers and wisdom grows, it is possible that use will also be made of oral teachings, when they might avail themselves of radio and television facilities."

"The Bodhisattva also occupied occasionally the body of Tsong-ka-pa, the great Tibetan religious reformer, and throughout the centuries He has sent forth a stream of His pupils... who founded new sects or threw new light upon the mysteries of religion, and among these was one of His pupils who was sent to found the Muhammadan faith."