Spiritual
travel as a concept can be easily related to esotericism and the appearance of “ascended
masters”. Ascended masters are spiritual
travelers who were usually incarnate in physical bodies in the past and after
their death accepted a mission to help and guide embodied and dying souls in various
ways. The material below illustrates how some ascended masters are not
only advanced spiritual travelers. They are also designers and
creators who may
create stable inner environments and this aspect of creativity in the
inner worlds has not been mentioned in other pages at this site. The
capacity to create
inner temples and environments for teaching and guidance of both the living and the
dead is an important addition to our discussion of spiritual travel.
There is a rich history of religious esotericism in the Western world
beginning with early alchemists, and continuing with Medieval Jewish
Kabbalists and later the Golden Dawn.
One feature of some of these these groups is the creation of magical lodges where
members meet and do their work in the inner worlds.
More modern
examples in the esoteric revival of the last three centuries are writers such
as Emanuel Swedenborg, Helena Blavatsky (Theosophy), Joseph Smith (Mormonism), Rudolf
Steiner, Elizabeth Claire Prophet, and various other New Age writers. Two
elements are common threads in many of these esoteric groups: ascended masters (or
sometimes angelic teachers) who use different forms of inner communication or
magical letters or tablets to convey their teachings to earthly disciples. Many
of these disciples went on to found new religious movements or branches of older
ones.
Ascended
Masters are teachers and guides who are believed to have through countless
incarnations achieved some degree of perfection or enlightenment and chosen to
use this wisdom to guide humanity spiritually.
Ascended
masters are believed to exist on a higher plane of existence, and they sometimes
appear to individuals on earth to guide them. In addition to mediumistic
communication, they may appear in a spiritual or subtle body which means they
are doing a form of spiritual travel to contact the disciple. In some cases as
with for instance Robert Monroe, Paul Twitchell, and Emanuel Swedenborg, the
seeker will do spiritual travel to visit the master, teacher, or supernatural
world.
Theosophy,
one of the most prominent groups with ascended masters which first appeared in
the late 1800’s as a new religion, represented an effort to integrate Eastern
religious ideas from Vedanta, Yoga, Buddhism, and Tibetan traditions into
western philosophy and religious thought. These traditions often rely on someone
who takes the role of teacher, guru, and master or spiritual adept for
inspiration and teachings.
Disclaimer:
I am not an expert on Theosophical history and thought which is long and
complicated but only seek to give a brief overview here.
Theosophical
leaders such as Helena Blavatsky were psychics who claimed to be guided by
these advanced souls or masters, and created a new religion based partly on
their teachings which they received in various ways – often through intuition, mediumship,
or spiritual perception of a teacher’s supernatural body.
Theosophy as
a new religious movement was a highly creative endeavor which was part of an
“occult revival” that introduced or popularized such topics as root races,
auras, ascended masters, mediumship, advanced “lost” civilizations such as
Atlantis, a spiritually-based world government, etc. to Western occultism and
esoteric thought. Central to the philosophy were the Eastern concepts of karma,
reincarnation, the spiritual evolution of mankind, and masters that had
supernatural capabilities.
Skepticism
There are
many skeptics and critics who believe these ascended masters are imaginary.
This is particularly true after Blavatsky’s servant made the claim that the
letters from ascended masters that Blavatsky said magically appeared were in
fact written by Blavatsky and dropped through a hole in the roof by the servant
during her séances. There were many other claims of fraud, dishonestly, and
general chaos especially in the life of Blavatsky by both skeptics and her
followers. Some followers found many of her claims doubtful though they
accepted a portion of her beliefs and other claims.
There is no
required doctrine in Theosophy but only a commitment to the universal
brotherhood of humanity without regard to race, creed, caste, sex, or color.
However in practice, Theosophists usually ascribe to a variety of occult ideas
and beliefs that may vary widely from individual to individual since different
Theosophical leaders had differing doctrines.
Some well-known
Theosophical ascended masters were Kuthumi and Master
Morya but statements were made that Jesus, Confucius,
and Maitreya were also ascended masters from the past. Also, it was believed by
some that Maitreya (as with some forms of Buddhism) would return to bring a new
spiritual world order in the future. There is a long complex history of these
masters, their activities, and the Theosophical mediums and psychics who received
or channeled their messages. Many other more recent mediums also claimed to
contact these Theosophical ascended masters.
Comparisons
can be made with Joseph Smith who founded Mormonism and who communicated with
and received messages from the angel Maroni in the late 1800’s. Smith, who also
received sacred writings on golden tablets that appeared mysteriously (and
later disappeared), founded the new religion of Mormonism or the Church of the
Latter Day Saints which thrives today.
Approaches to Ascended
Masters and Lodges
This article
can be looked at in several ways. For some, it can be spiritual fantasy and
entertainment, a flight of the imagination, or a form of spiritual science
fiction. Skeptics and critics are always welcome and their opinions are
respected.
It can also
demonstrate a kind of a spiritual utopia – a plan for a possible future ideal
society or helping organization, whether in the material or the non-material
world. Spiritual travel is required to build, reach, or inhabit such a world.
Or it can provide
insight into an existing esoteric group sometimes referred to the as the Great White
Brotherhood which is believed by some to be an organization composed of
ascended masters. In Theosophy, the Great White Brotherhood or Great White
Lodge is a kind of supernatural government that watches over humanity and
guides its evolution. However, today we will present a more humble view of the
origin and purpose of the White Brotherhood
This article
is written peace-meal with certain sections cut out of a larger more comprehensive
whole. So it may appear somewhat
disjointed as we jump around to different topics.
The Earthly History of
an Ascended Master
Part of this
article provides a history of one of the founding members of this White Brotherhood,
a more modern ascended master unknown to earlier Theosophists. This master is known
as Rebazar Tarzs and he was first popularized in a
1960’s New Age religion known as Eckankar.
Its founder Paul Twitchell said Eckankar could be traced to an ancient
group of ascended masters and their teachings. Twitchell refused to acknowledge
that Eckankar was mostly based on a near identical North Indian Religious tradition
known as Sant Mat or the “Path of the Masters”. This
sect was described in Dr. Julian Johnson’s books beginning in the 1930’s. Twitchell
ascribed Eckankar’s origin of the teachings to
ascended masters instead of to Dr. Johnson and other Sant
Mat writers.
This Indian Sant Mat sect has different lineages of embodied gurus
including one of the most famous ones, Kirpal Singh
who traveled, wrote, and lectured extensively in the West up until his death in
1974. So Rebazar (the Tarzs surname was added by Twitchell) is a more modern
ascended master based on a new religious movement, Eckankar, founded in the
early 1960’s. At one point, it had grown to have tens of thousands of members
and it still exists today.
Before
discussing this specific ascended master, let us begin by giving an overview of
our alternate version of the Brotherhood of Light which is also sometimes
referred to as the Great White Brotherhood. In this article, we will make the
claim that the brotherhood was founded by the members of a small earthly ashram
located in Northern India some of whose members became ascended masters
following their deaths.
The
Brotherhood of Light:
A Society for Spiritual Counseling
in the Afterlife During the
Process of Reincarnation
The
Brotherhood of Light or White Brotherhood is a voluntary charitable
organization. It is dedicated to helping those souls who have died, and are
lost and confused, and also to promoting peace and harmony in the universe. The
brotherhood is dedicated to serving others.
Unlike many
Theosophical ascended masters, these masters are not gods, angels, or rulers. They are also not specifically Christian. They
follow many religious paths, with the shared goal of helping those in distress.
The name of the group was changed about a century ago when the term
"white" came to imply an opposition to other races. Sometimes the
organization is still called the White Brotherhood but the name is archaic and
out of use.
While the
Brotherhood of Light is aware of spiritual organizations of a more political
nature, their goals are compassionate and humanitarian. The members guide the
lost whose spiritual paths have become confused or blocked. To some extent,
they work with karma, but they primarily focus on counseling and education. The
organization trains those interested in counseling troubled souls, and those working
for peace in troubled regions. The organizational model is closer to a
university than to a secret government.
It is
important to emphasize this because there has been much misrepresentation of
the organization, and its goals.
As a way of
learning more about the Brotherhood and one of its founders, we will first give
a history of the ascended master Rebazar. Note that this history differs
considerably from the very limited information provided by Eckankar and its
founder, Paul Twitchell. Twitchell gives some limited information on what he
calls the Temples of Golden Wisdom in
his books which appear to be the location or lodge where some of Eckankar’s ascended masters reside.
In this talk
we are attempting to connect three things 1) the [Great] White Brotherhood as
an organization, 2) the Temples of [Golden] Wisdom or Theosophy’s “Great White
Lodge” (their residence), and 3) various individual ascended masters.
This is a
challenge. In Theosophy, the ascended masters are said to be members of a
“White Lodge” which implies that they sometimes reside in a single non-physical
location much like Theosophy has a number of earthly lodge locations in places
like London, Iceland, Scotland, etc. But whether the Temples of Golden Wisdom,
the spiritual address of the White Brotherhood, and this Theosophical White
Lodge all point to the same supernatural location is difficult to determine. Also
claims were made that these master were in touch telepathically and therefore a
single abode where they would live, meet, and work might be unnecessary. So it
is questionable what form the White Lodge would take in Theosophy. Is it an
actual place or only a symbol of the connection that exists between ascended
masters?
Mark and
Elizabeth Claire Prophet of the esoteric group Church Universal and Triumphant
who were mediums and spiritual leaders in the 1960’s connected the Great White
Brotherhood with Theosophical adepts such as Kut Humi and Master Morya. But the
connection in Theosophy seems more tenuous and where its ascended masters
reside or meet is also difficult to determine.
We begin
with the history of the ascended master Rebazar.
Rebazar -
Principle Founder of
the Brotherhood of Light
The Temples of Golden Wisdom are spoken of
fairly often in Paul Twitchell's writings although the details about how these
temples are structured and run are sparse.
These temples were constructed by the Brotherhood as we shall see later.
In this talk,
we are going to describe Rebazar's life, and the process of the development of
the Brotherhood of Light and the Temples of Wisdom.
The history
of the Brotherhood of Light can be traced to its origins in Northern India
during the Mughal period in the first part of the 17th century. One of its
primary founders was a man whose title was Rebazar, a name that can be traced
to his family's merchant background. It was a title of honor given to respected
and successful merchant families and traders. Rai Bazaar or its anglicized equivalent Rebazar meant king of the
merchants, the wisest and shrewdest person in the bazaar or shopping area.
The Ascended Master Rebazar’s
Life History
As he describes
his life, Rebazar came from an area of mountains and deserts, a largely
colorless land with occasional oases and groves. His father led caravans which carried textiles - mostly cotton and wool. Silk was
not available there. Rebazar rode with his father and soldiers on his own horse
from the time that he was a child. All trade at that time required soldiers
since there were many bandits or dacoits
on the roads.
Rebazar
passed by monasteries and wandering sadhus and dervishes, and always wanted to
know more about them.
But his
father said,
These are lazy people unwilling to work who live off the
charity of others. They are like dogs. You should have nothing to do with them.
Rebazar went
out trading for many years and made his father proud in his old age because of
his success. But when his father died, he transferred his portion of the
business to his mother and brothers. He chose to help struggling artists,
merchants, and musicians with his portion of the inheritance, and eventually
decided to leave the family. He had not married and had no children, and was
therefore free of any family responsibilities.
Rebazar went
out on the pilgrim trails visiting temples and monasteries. His family followed
the laws of Muhammad, but like the Sufis of the time, he wanted mystical
experience and to experience God directly without relying solely on holy books
and rituals. He kept enough money to have food for his journeys and walked or
rode on old horses. He dressed in white like a Sufi and went to many of their
meetings and festivals. They seemed to fit his ideals best and he wished to be
like them.
Rebazar Continues with
his Account of his Life:
I was also a
singer and I sang as I traveled through the desert. I went through many
desolate valleys which created strange echoes as I sang. In one place, my voice
circled all around me, and the sounds created a pathway to the worlds of djinns and angels. This was my first
experience of the sound current or the
sacred current of inner sound (also
referred to by the Sanskrit names Naam, bani, or shabda).
As I roamed,
I met other groups of pilgrims, some of whom did meditation on sound. Some were
musicians who earned their living through playing flutes, drums, and stringed
instruments. These travelers started out playing for beauty and ended up
playing for spiritual transcendence.
Our group
did not have a spiritual teacher as leader, so we made our vows directly to
God. Our path would be the teaching of spiritual music to others and the group
would do this both in life and after death. We would help those that wandered
mad, or took wrong paths in their religious search as best we could.
We created
our own khanqah
or religious community, and this later became the origin of the Brotherhood of
Light. The community dwelling we created was out in the desert. This was the
earthly lodge which preceded the supernatural one. The lodge was built of white
marble, for some of its members came from wealthy families, who knew that they
would gain merit from the donation. They gave time, land, and materials to make
the monastery a beautiful one. It was located in a rocky desert, so workers had
to travel a long way transporting stone, metal, and wood. There was water
nearby for drinking and bathing, and food was brought once a week, first by
relatives and later by devotees.
The group
decided to try a settled life instead of wandering. Most of the day was spent
in contemplation, except for the time for eating and work. There was cooking
and cleaning, and some of the people knew how to make musical instruments. That
became one way we supported ourselves. We did not beg or act like dogs, as my
father had described sadhus and their begging for alms.
Our group
did meditation on both instrumental and vocal music. The prayer room had white
marble floors, and it had rugs that were given to us by householders. Some were
for our own use, but others were prayer rugs to be used for a year only. People
believed that a rug used by a saint for a year would sanctify the rug and then
they could use it back in their own homes to gain blessings.
At this
point, the community's meditations were still somewhat unstructured. But over
time, traveling sages and saints came to visit the community. The group gave
them hospitality and the visitors gave them teachings. At this point one of the
other founders of the brotherhood came to visit and ended up staying. He had
been an administrator in his worldly life and had become a wanderer when he
left it. He had become part of the sound current or Shabda Yoga meditation tradition, a path which seemed both new and familiar
to the group. He had learned from other teachers and wanted to take the
organizational and administrative skills he had learned and use them to create
an ideal monastic setting.
He divided
us into different groups: counselors for visitors with problems, artists and
creative people, maintainers of the physical setting, and later experts,
specialists, and consultants. But we would pray before God as equals and we
accepted all names of God.
So the
earthly lodge preceded the heavenly one, and eventually the range of visitors
expanded from human visitors to include disembodied spiritual visitors. We
lived apart from the world and word spread bringing people to us. We offered
prayers for the sick and the mad, and while our prayer room was marble, we
lived simply. We fasted each week and ate lightly otherwise. We kept up the
daily prayers and followed purity rules, but we avoided the endless wars of the
local Muslim rulers.
Our group
was based on South Asian or Indian Sufi Islam but we understood that the 99 names
of God included Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and other forms of the deity. God
was beyond all form but could show himself in many forms. And God was a singer
who created songs of infinity, and the currents of sound that traveled through
the oceans of time and space.
We learned
from all who came to visit us. Some had special relationships with ghosts and
spirits, and we learned about their worlds too. It was a good and meaningful
life. When orphans of war came to us, we gave them shelter and some stayed with
us. We were not able to allow women - it would have scandalized the pious
people around us. But I believe that we should have found a way - there are
many women who are both wise and devoted.
However, in
contrast to our earthly lodge, our supernatural lodge is not limited to men and
has women as counselors and in other positions of authority. For this reason,
the term brotherhood may be considered less descriptive than in the past and
needs to be interpreted more broadly as the brotherhood of all mankind (which includes
all women).
As we grew
older, we wondered if it was possible to have a group like ours continue after
death. This was a difficult question. Many sages believed that people had no
choice in their afterlife, for God determined everything. Others were open to
the idea but had no idea how to go about it. Death was a veil that blinded us.
However we
had some magicians come to us who had been trained in creating worlds by
organizing sacred letters and numbers. They called their god El. This is possibly
a shortened form of the Hebrew terms for “gods”: Elohim. El also appears at the end of most Christian and Jewish
angel names such as the names Michael, Gabriel, and Ophaniel.
These
magicians could create ladders and nets that went through non-physical worlds,
and they could create smaller worlds as their god had created the universe. We
gave them hospitality and talked long into the night. The next day they spoke
among themselves and agreed to exchange mystical teachings with us.
So they
stayed for weeks and then months and we came to see how our currents of sound
were like their structures of letters and numbers of light. We realized that
intersections of our knowledge could be created and used. So we got together
and created a great plan. We would build an institution like our earthly lodge
in the next world. It would be below the heavens so that we could help
travelers who passed through the gates of death. Our visitors could act as
visualizers and create great beauty, and we could be counselors for the needy.
Each night,
they built the non-physical lodge brick by brick. Having wandered in our barren
land, they wanted to build a place of mountains and rivers and forests. We all
helped with visualizing the lodge, but they were the experts. We located a supernatural
plane that was not claimed by any religion, and was far from any danger. This
would be the location of our supernatural lodge.
So in the
later years, we served visitors in our desert monastery and spent our
afternoons and evenings working on the lodge. One of our members had been an
architect early in his life and he gave us designs for buildings and grounds.
We had to design the landscape first before we could start on the buildings.
There would be special areas for visitors, for living quarters, for shrines and
libraries and public spaces which later became courts and classrooms. We
created lakes and gardens and rocky cliffs. It was enjoyable to imagine and
create a perfect world.
It is difficult to train the imagination. It
tends to go off into flights of fantasy, and be influenced by moods and
emotions. But to visualize correctly, these tendencies must be controlled, and
all powers of the mind totally focused. With one lapse of concentration, an
entire edifice can fall. It is like acrobats who perform by building a human
pyramid - when one person leaves or even sneezes, the whole pyramid of people
can collapse.
So we
contributed to the work. Because our expert group of visualizers did not follow
Islam, we decided that we would not emphasize a single religion. We would be
followers of God however he showed himself.
One of our
founding members changed his name to begin with El instead of Al to show his
respect for the tradition of our visualizers. He went from al-Moraya to El Moriah, and he has kept his new name ever
since.
Different
members chose to emphasize different areas. Some focused on the healing center
and developed niches as doorways to other worlds for destructive spirits. This
method of removing destructive influences and presences became an important
means of healing trauma in distressed souls, and a major form of psychotherapy
for the healers in the Brotherhood.
Others
emphasized areas for teaching and contemplation. I wanted an area for
meditation and negotiation, important skills that are forgotten in times of war
and antagonism.
We practiced
going to the inner temple in our dreams using dream travel, a specific form of
spiritual travel. Some people have undisciplined dreams and imagine what they
desire and what they fear. Our dreams were controlled to teach our members how
to enter the lodge at death. We also created pathways for good souls to follow
to the lodge. This was not easy, and the mental training necessary takes years.
Even controlled entrance into dream states takes years for those without
natural ability.
So slowly
over the years we built the inner hills and valleys and rocks and trees. When
they were stable enough, we worked on the buildings. It was exciting to think
we could build a paradise.
We did not
have many enemies. We were outwardly poor, so bandits were uninterested in us.
Our only real valuable thing was the monastery itself, and it is hard for
bandits to carry away walls and floors.
Besides we
prayed for everyone, and tried to heal whoever came to us. We cared for
neglected and abused children, and sometimes parents became red and embarrassed
to ask for their children back. We left the decision up to the children. We did
not want to force them back into situations of abuse and cruelty. Not all
parents are good people.
We also fed
the poor on Friday with food we cooked the day before. Travelers and pilgrims
would come on that day and we would pray for them. Our noon prayers and
meditations were public, but others were private.
In order to
research decoration of the lodge, I decided to travel for a year. The other
monks were fine with this. There were many wandering Sufis, dervishes, and
fakirs. So I would not stand out. I saw many wise men and saints but they were
more useful for determining our beliefs than for decorating our rooms. I went
to temples, masjids, and churches and saw underground cells for monks and rooms
in palaces for visitors and entertainers which were spacious and open to sun
and wind. They had beautiful gardens which I would duplicate at the lodge in
the future. I saw many types of cloth which we could use and many ways to store
knowledge as scrolls, as letters incised in gems, as books, as letters in bark
and wood and flesh. Our lodge would have a place to gather knowledge.
And I saw
artwork from different lands. While Islam limits the arts, other traditions
revel in them. On this I would wish to be as open as possible. The lodge would
be full of beauty.
I traveled
through many lands and sometimes took the role of a ragged fakir - exactly what
my father would have despised. But it is the safest role in lands of war,
bandits, and poverty. In safer regions, I appeared as a merchant. I had money
and jewels sewn into the sides of my shoes. If necessary, I could act as a
fortune-teller, an astrologer and a reader of gems.
I got many
ideas for how the lodge should be made. I did go to the cold Himalayan Mountains
where the only warmth is in monasteries and hostels. I met Buddhist monks in my
travels and we taught each other meditation techniques. I also met yogis whose
paths were made of spiritual sound.
I traveled
with Shabda Yogis in both the physical world and the
spiritual worlds. They gave suggestions for sound worlds to visit, and I told
them of our project of building the lodge. The yogis who resided permanently in
these worlds which are composed of inner currents of sound thought it was a
good idea - a place they could send the confused and unworthy souls who had
somehow made it to their realms and needed help. It was a good option for them.
But sound or
Shabda yoga
was only one of our meditation techniques. We had visualization and ways to
build bridges between planes and ways to shed bodies as we traveled and then
take them on again when returning. Thus souls could leave bodies and return to
them, putting them on like robes taken off for bathing.
When I
returned to our group from travel, I had many ideas for landscapes and gardens
and buildings. Meanwhile, El Moriah had been organizing members by skills, and
inviting new people he found worthy. I found them a fine team to work with.
We spent
many years designing and visualizing. Our lodge would be worthy of our dreams.
In building the place, the visualizers made roads of sound to get there. The
mantras YA and HU would generate waves and tunnels that could take souls there.
From the
Persians, we took trees made of sound, whose leaves and flowers chimed. From the
North Indian Sufis, we took the idea of sacred dance to honor God. From
painters, we took the colors of the lodge's landscape - bright blue and gold
for the sky, turquoise for the lakes, violet and mauve for the mountains. We
took design ideas from many places.
Our shrine
room in the dome was made to be circular, with murals of the spiritual growth
of the soul and the symbols of many spiritual paths. By this time there were
many people building the lodge, especially at night in their dreams. Here
spiritual travel has an additional function beyond just visiting. This additional
function permits construction of new worlds and landscapes in supernatural
spaces. Based on this construction
process, the land grew with rocks and trees, and the lakes had fish. It did not
take years. It took centuries. But here time has no limits.
In answer to
the question of whether the people in the group went to live at the visualized
lodge after they died, and what skills were required to enter the lodge after
death, Rebazar answered in the following way:
At death,
both body and soul disintegrate, separating into pieces. The
sins from the past turn into a mass of obstacles that prevents the soul from
traveling on. The soul must have yogic concentration to overcome those
obstacles. They may appear as beautiful or frightening, alluring women or
hideous monsters, anything which brings forth the passions. They may also be
responsibilities, successes almost reached, or sorrows shared with others. All
of these block the soul's movement.
If the soul
is strong and dedicated, it will overcome these obstacles. But if these
obstacles are powerful and hidden, they are more difficult to deal with. The
more hidden they have been, the more hypnotic they will be. If all are
confronted and their claims resolved, the soul can pass through these
obstacles. For a modern metaphor, they are like a belt of meteors and planetary
fragments that a rocket ship must pass through to get deeper into space. Some
strong souls can pass through; others are dragged down by the power of these
obstacles. They must then reincarnate to resolve the passions brought to the
surface.
With respect
to the original lodge group, most of them made it from this world to the next. They
had years of meditative practice, dissolving the passions and helping others to
overcome sin from destructive acts. For those who did not make it the first
time, we left spaces for future attempts. People with serious sins did not stay
in our community but returned to the world of flesh and war.
One of the
bridges to our community is a slide that takes the soul to the silver gates at
its entrance. The path is opened by the mantra YA which is energized (and
followed) by the mantra HU. It takes the soul up mountains and down waterfalls
in dizzying leaps with dramatic rising and falling. There are bridges over
chasms which are invisible until the projected spiritual light illuminates
them.
Eventually,
almost all the original group came here. Over time, so did many more.
Paul Twitchell’s Approach to Rebazar
Twitchell
created a Theosophical "Tibetan ascended master" persona for Rebazar
though Rebazar had little connection with Tibet. He presented him as one of a
long line of 972 such teachers that stretched back into the distant past. As in
Theosophy, these Eckankar masters were believed to understand the "ancient
wisdom" that was the source of all the world's religions.
Twitchell
had studied how successful Theosophical writers were in England in the late
1800's, and apparently used a similar marketing approach focusing on ascended
masters to help popularize Eckankar. The approach taken by Twitchell who was a
novelist, science fiction, and adventure writer required a "good
story", and he chose to tell the story of Eckankar by repeating some
themes from Theosophy.
Though
Rebazar was said to have a physical body, he appears almost exclusively to
Twitchell in his subtle body as would an ascended master.
The general
idea seems to be that these teachers can appear anywhere at any time (in
physical form or otherwise) which is consistent with Rebazar's role as a highly
evolved ascended master. Twitchell was once interested in the Kriya Yoga of Paramhansa
Yogananda. Yogananda describes a master
named Babaji who seems perhaps more similar to
Rebazar having many of the same magical qualities such as a life span of
hundreds of years, and the ability to transport himself anywhere physically or
spiritually.
However
Twitchell’s information on Rebazar’s history and on the Temples of Golden Wisdom in general is spotty and devoid of much
detail. While Rebazar can accurately be described as an ascended master given
his capabilities, he lacks the god-like and “ruler of the universe” roles
attributed to some other ascended masters by both Twitchell and the earlier
Theosophists.
Let us now
move on to the topic of continually adding to and maintaining the Temples of
Wisdom.
The Visualization
Studio and its “Artists of the Spirit”
The lodge of
the Brotherhood of Light has been created by a process of visualization. The process both creates and stabilizes
images and objects which are created out of consciousness as a raw material.
The basis of
the process is repetition. If you repeat an idea or image often enough, it can
gain an independent existence. We can
see this in therapy with trauma victims where the initial painful events echo
in a victim’s mind. The more often the traumas of life are repeated, the
stronger they get in the mind and the more difficult they are to heal.
We also see
the results of repetition in human society, where social and political ideas
that are repeated over and over again gain a sort of independent life even if
they are disproved by much objective evidence.
Each repetition hammers the idea in more tightly, thus the efficacy of
the “big lie” in propaganda.
In worlds
composed of consciousness rather than matter, repetition serves a different
function. It stabilizes images or objects
and makes them continue over time. In
the beginning it takes effort to create an image, but over time it comes to
exist and appear automatically [on its own].
This is one way that the worlds of spirit come into being.
Our
visualization studio consists of volunteers who possess strong powers of
concentration. Layer by layer, they
visualize the foundations for our world, like the material layers deposited by
a 3D printer. It takes great patience to
be a visualizer, and we all appreciate their work. They keep the Temples of Wisdom in existence
over time.
In worlds of
matter, one creates in material form. In worlds of consciousness, ideas and
images become the equivalent of matter and they are the substance that artists
use to create new forms.
Many people
understand consciousness to be a sort of shadowy reflection of the physical
world, a byproduct of molecular interactions [in the brain]. That is not how consciousness works here,
where there are no molecules.
Consciousness is a substance malleable like clay that is able to harden
into continuous forms.
We of the
brotherhood are neither gods nor ghosts. We are artists of the spirit.
We now move
on to talk about how the Brotherhood sometimes helps dying souls.
An Example of the
Activities of the Brotherhood –
Assisting Dying
Souls
The
brotherhood sometimes counsels souls who have recently died and are lost or
confused. Here is one example of its methods for providing such assistance.
Understanding
the complexities of death and the process of reincarnation, and providing
guidance is a unique challenge to gurus, psychics, shamans, and psychopomps - the guides for the dead in older cultures
such as ancient Greece and Egypt.
In certain
instances, the Brotherhood will help guide souls in this process.
In one
example case, the Brotherhood was willing to help guide a specific soul.
The
Brotherhood's counselors can set sail in their ships on the dark, stormy seas
of death with their deep royal blue waters. They go on rescue missions to
assist souls who have died. Many of the group of souls they describe as the
"lost and lonely dead" had limited spiritual knowledge or interest in
life but are open to learning. Stubborn souls who have fixed erroneous ideas
about death or insist on denying they are dead are harder to help.
In a typical
area of the worlds that are encountered by more materially-focused or
conflicted souls who have recently died, many floating, desperate and confused
souls are pushed by winds and waves, frightened by lightning, speaking
incoherently, and screaming for help.
There are
endless souls in endless waves, with lightning and thunder and storms to stir
the waters. It is difficult to separate them one from another. The counselors
sometimes search by calling names, and see who comes to the surface. Sometimes
the dark and deep waters throw souls into the worlds of suffering and
punishment, or move them on to a new incarnation.
In one
situation, the members of the brotherhood saw a soul that looked like a blue
jewel, and watched as what looked like black seaweed pulled the soul under. In
this instance, they decided to rescue her because her heart looked like a jewel
despite her evil surroundings
The
brotherhood has singers on board their ships and their songs lull the soul to
sleep. They then catch it in their nets of golden cloth and take the soul on
board. They bring these souls back to the Temples of Wisdom, and then to the
healing center for purification once they awaken.
The
brotherhood describes these distressed souls as being caught in "muck"
as they float in this unfamiliar, alien space. The muck consists of normally
unconscious desires which are no longer hidden, fear, confusion, anger at death, memories of physical pain, and the stubborn
refusal to accept their death.
Strong souls
with spiritual goals can fight against these confusing forces and memories.
They can create a stable identity or new visualized body which can rise above
this muck. They are like young birds breaking out of their shells and becoming
aware of their surroundings. They slowly develop skills at orienting
themselves.
Weaker souls
who are not fortunate enough to find help and guidance are usually overwhelmed
and can get trapped by this muck. For these souls, the Brotherhood's counselors
can act like midwives welcoming and assisting them as they are born into the
new world of the afterlife.
A Specific Example of
Rescuing a Soul
One soul the
Brotherhood chose to rescue died of cancer at a hospital in a small California
coastal city. The person experienced fear and a series of distorted memories
following her death. She was located and brought to the Temples of Wisdom.
After this
individual calmed down so she could concentrate on her environment, she was
able to see a garden-like environment around her which is the Brotherhood of
Light's waiting room. The waiting room contains a series of stone arches in a
garden of bright flowers, slate walkways and marble fountains. When seeing the
environment, she wondered if she had really died.
At that
point, one of the Brotherhood's counselors came and greeted her. He told her
that she was indeed dead and one of the fortunate ones who came to a place of
kind helpers and guides. She asked how she got there, and was told that someone
who knew of the Brotherhood asked that they help her following her death.
The
counselor then suggested that she imagine how she looked when she was most
beautiful and brought her to a still lake where she could see her reflection.
He told her to look into the water and imagine herself dressed in her favorite clothing.
She was almost 100 years old at her death but imagined herself as young and
blond dressed in a short skirt that showed her legs - sassy, sweet, and modern.
The image was strong enough to remain with her during her entire time at the
Brotherhood's way station.
The
counselor then asked about her future and gave her various options. In general
terms of what would happen next, he told her she could live for a while with
other souls in a community, she could return to earth immediately, or stay at
the garden for a longer period and consider her options for the future. She
asked for time to think and was granted it.
She later
asked, "Can I be rich on earth?" He told her that her past karma
would allow her to be born in a wealthy family but that she would have health
problems in middle age in her new life. She said, "Money cures everything,
I'll take that life". He asked her, "What about past relatives and
friends?" (i.e., would she like to meet them again?). She said,
"What's past is past. I want the future. I want an old and well-known
family, with summer houses". The counselor responded, "It will be
done".
This soul
was basically blind to spiritual issues and it is inappropriate to impose
spirituality on a person who is not ready. The Brotherhood takes people as they
are without judging them, and tries to help them in whatever way possible.
During her
previous life in the United States, the women's family was fairly well off, but
the family had experienced generations of poverty and some persecution
previously in Europe. She had also resented the burden of raising children
which she had to support after her husband's death left her with fewer
financial resources.
When people
die with resentment and unfulfilled desires, these often rise to the surface
after death. In this case, desires for wealth and status became her primary
concerns. The counselor found a situation which would incorporate both her
desires and her past karma. However it would not exist for several years. She
was placed in the Brotherhood's dream area where she could contemplate her
desires until the time of her new incarnation.
Her new life
would be in an old family in Europe with houses falling into disrepair that
still had money. She will be pretty and blond but she will have health
problems, liver and kidney weakness probably in her 30's. She will have a wild
youth with expensive fashions and cameramen following her around on her lavish
vacations. But she will spend decades in bed where she will go crazy with
boredom, and eventually begin to read books. Though her body will disintegrate,
her mind will be improving and she will finally develop spiritual interests.
Reincarnation and Its
Complexities
Here the
important question that arises is: "How does the Brotherhood assist
getting souls who have died into new bodies?"
Using the
above woman as an example, her spiritual karma was small but her desires were
great. This means she belongs in an earthly body rather than in some spiritual
world. Ideally, she would incarnate in a situation where her earthly desires
might be satisfied which would also allow her to grow spiritually. But such an
incarnation might not be immediately available.
The
Brotherhood has the equivalent of a computer data bank except it is composed of
consciousness and karmic memories instead of stored binary data, circuits, and
physical memory chips. The counselor can enter certain requirements and also
information describing past karma. Psychics sometimes refer to something
similar as the Akashic Records which are as good a
label as any but the Brotherhood refers to it as the "Karma Bank".
Coordinates
in time and space are identified and recorded for the pathways and echoing of
karmic waves (a vague statement that may be difficult to interpret but such
details are challenging to explain in words). The person's past history
influences the analysis in one direction, and desires for the future pull it in
another direction. Eventually, a specific time, place, family, and gender
fulfill the two sets of requirements. This is the chosen new life.
If the
specific life is in the future, the soul is brought to the dream garden. Here
it rests with no new karma created. The soul sleeps and its fantasies dance and
shift within individual dream bubbles. Past memories of events drift by and the
soul may analyze these to gain increased understanding of its development. The
events may also be changed to create their ideal outcome with the dreamer cast
as a hero who is brave or attractive and desired by others.
When the
time comes for reincarnation, the soul is awakened and brought to the
Brotherhood's incarnation chamber. Here the Brotherhood has the tunnel which
brings the soul to the new body. The Karma Bank verifies the new incarnation.
The soul's karma is brought to the surface and the illusory, visualized body
drifts away like smoke. The soul is called into its new home in the developing
body of the fetus.
The soul
does not enter at the moment of conception. As the fetus develops, it grows a
place within the mind in which the soul will reside. It must be fairly
developed for this place to be formed, and to be capable of calling down and
containing the soul. It usually takes an estimated 6 months but some fetuses
develop faster.
The soul
slides down the tunnel and rests in the place within the mind of the fetus, not
a God-shaped hole in the heart but a soul-shaped hole in the brain. It rests
there infusing the body with individual consciousness, like a slow wind
penetrating and flowing through the cells of the new body. There is a resonance
between the soul's karmic history and the body's structure and programming. The
soul remains unconscious during this time.
This
concludes our description of how the Brotherhood can guide souls after death
and in the process of reincarnation.
We now go on
to describe the Temples of Wisdom in greater detail.
The Temples of Wisdom –
Environment and Grounds
The Temples
of Wisdom consist of a complex series of structures.
The central
structure in the Temples of Wisdom is the center of nine halls. It is like the
capitol rotunda in Washington with a great dome overhead. The dome is gold and
white, with carved and jeweled ribs and it lights the building. If you look up,
you can see the dome of white light become rainbows, and then see the eternal
story of creation. The dome itself is a kind of hologram for visions, and
beautiful three dimensional images are often displayed there.
The other
temples can be reached from this central dome via different hallways.
These
temples also have external entrances. For instance, to enter the Temple of
Healing, one first walks through a green field with golden wheat swaying in the
distance, and blue-purple mountains far away. The sky is bright blue. The road
is made of white sand and it leads to the temple of healing and purification.
It is
modeled after the temple of Aesculapius, the Greek god of physicians. It is of
white marble with large pillars and there is a statue of the god outside.
Inside it is lit by tall, elaborately carved floor lamps, which shed bright
golden light throughout the interior. There are carved censers which spread
different kinds of incense. The floors are also marble.
In the front
and center of the main room is an altar to the lords of all worlds. There are
many hallways connecting to rooms off to the sides. These are used for healing,
purification, and therapy.
There are
eight other temples besides this one.
From the
central dome, one corridor leads to the Temple of the Past. This temple, also
called the Temple of the Knowledge of Many Worlds, is a museum that contains
the recorded experience of many realms of being. When there are visitors from
new worlds, they are asked to visit the museum and donate some of their
memories. They then think of their past and the world they inhabited, and the
information is reflected or recorded in the records of the museum. These
memories are then available to those who wish to learn about these worlds. When
these visitors are professionals, memories of their expertise are also
recorded. They are often asked what they consider most important, most
beautiful, or most unusual in their worlds and this information is recorded.
This temple is often visited by souls before they do spiritual travel to
familiarize them with other cultures that they wish to visit.
The
"research on worlds" area which is part of the Temple of the Past
acts to give information to the Meeting Center. At the Center, there are
representatives from many worlds who speak and share ideas. There is much
debate about what to do with worlds that are spiritually advanced, but have no
current representatives, like earth. For a while there were several representatives,
and much rivalry between them. Currently there are none.
The Temple
of Spiritual Arts is rose-colored, with walls showing the sunrises and sunsets
of many different worlds. There are buildings for the visual arts, music,
dance, and changes from one sensory modality to another. There is no need of
museum guards to protect the artwork, and visitors are encouraged to interact
with the art. There is a room for transcendence where the art functions to
bring souls to other worlds and a room of immanence where the art opens the
individual's heart to emotion, contemplation, and thoughtfulness.
The works of
art come from the Brotherhood's artists, and from the memory of visitors who
remember the arts from their worlds. Music may be localized in one place, or it
may fill the buildings, which resonate to the sounds. The spiritual arts in
this temple focus on dramas. The music and light most effective for spiritual
travel are found in another temple, the Temple of Transformation.
Sometimes
when there is an influx of souls from a particular area or culture, there are
special exhibitions on the arts of that region. The displays are not political
- their intention is to share the spiritual and aesthetic sensibilities among
individuals from different worlds.
The Temple
of Archaic Spiritual Paths collects ancient religious beliefs and practices,
which have lost popularity on their worlds of origin. Spiritual pathways are
ladders through the heavens, and the steps are still there, even if nobody
ascends them anymore. In this temple, this information is collected for people
who are dissatisfied with the religious paths that they have learned, and want
other options. There are experts in the Brotherhood that have tried them, and
can discuss their advantages and disadvantages.
The Temple
of Transformation (or "soul travel central") is where the more
disciplined and difficult spiritual travel occurs. This is where there are
specific instructions for spiritual travel, and moving from ego to ego, and
body to body.
If a group
trip is organized, the people sit in meditation, leaving their bodies
meditating in rows or circles, and travel together to their new destination. In
this temple, there are charts, and maps of the many worlds which are relatively
close and accessible. For higher and more distant spiritual worlds, there are
instructions on going from one intermediate world to another, each subtler than
the next, until the traveler reaches a level of discomfort. At that point,
travel should cease until the person is better prepared.
There are
also descriptions of the farther worlds, and warnings of dangers if any are
known. For those worlds with guardians or sentries, the guardians are
described, along with proper greetings, passwords, offerings, and legitimate
reasons for visiting.
One hallway
that proceeds from the central great dome of light has golden floor tiles and
crimson walls. It is the pathway to the Halls or Temples of Justice.
There are
three meeting rooms that compose the Halls of Justice. The first has high ceilings,
royal blue walls, and Persian carpets. It is furnished with large oval tables,
and the room is used for mediation. When there are fights and struggles and
disagreements, the parties sit around the tables to negotiate. Mediators from
the Brotherhood spend time here trying to get representatives of warring
factions to talk to each other. The representatives come from many different
races, with different personalities and desires but they have one thing in
common - they are fighting with each other. The members of Brotherhood try to
be peacemakers.
The second
meeting room has crimson colored walls, and is for evaluation. Here the
Brotherhood has panels of judges, which review cases of karmic uncertainty, of
unwillingness to accept reincarnation and responsibility for previous actions,
and of special requests for delay of karma in order to accomplish some specific
task. There are criminals claiming innocence, desirous
souls claiming compulsion, and sneaky souls trying to get out of their
obligations.
The third
meeting room is for formal meetings, for treaties, for state functions, and for
public tribunals. The room is dark green with ebony wood and gold fixtures.
There are rows of seats for spectators, and a stage upon which commitments are
made. It is also a place used to welcome new members.
The
Brotherhood has been misrepresented as controlling the universe. It does not do
this. However, the Halls of Judgment are the closest the Brotherhood comes to
this function. They have met with beings who could
accurately be described as gods and angels. The Brotherhood understands them as
beings seeking help with their problems, and they do not ignore those who are
weak and low-caste just as they do not grovel before those who are powerful.
They welcome the company of a wide range of beings and work with them.
The universe
is composed of many layers. Souls from other worlds visit through the
Brotherhood's spiritual area, and the reason for their visit is often the Halls
of Justice. They may wish a respected place for negotiation, or a neutral
ground for investiture. The rooms are large, but can expand to become much
larger. The Brotherhood has fit thousands of visitors in these rooms with the
help of some visualizers who can expand their capacity.
In the
Temple of Records, there is a center for the study of karma. Karma is really an
enormous topic, and there are records of the deeds and actions of universes. Of
course all that information is not stored locally. No matter how compressed the
information, it would still take universes to store all of it. What is present
at the temple is basically the card catalog or search engine, which gives the
means to look up the desired information.
People who
had skill in this area left detailed instructions for meditation, mantras, and
visualizations which allow the researcher to locate the records of a person's
life, and specific memories or emotions within the life. All people have karmic
records. For those who possess the ability to perceive them, the records look
like a comet's tail behind the person as he or she passes by.
The center
of the study of karma is confidential - people should not spy on each other. It
is only open to counselors and judges, who use the information to help others.
The Temple
of Wisdom is the academic area, with large auditoriums for classes in
meditation, karmic analysis, and comparative religion and spirituality. When
great souls visit, they are asked to teach and share their wisdom. There are
also more practical classes in maintaining the grounds, extended visualization,
defense of the gates, and processing of visitors. There are also guest speakers
with specializations in counseling, negotiation, and other valuable skills.
The ninth
and final temple in the Temples of Wisdom complex is the Temple of Compassion.
It is an extension of the healing area which is focused on the development of
compassion towards all forms of life. Here, there is contemplation of
suffering, discussion of morality, and praise of helpfulness and sacrifice of
personal pleasure for the sake of others. While the healing center is run by
experts, this temple is for ordinary souls, to encourage them to develop the
qualities of love and forgiveness.
There is
additional information available where the outdoor environments created by the
Brotherhood are described and explored. However, this information might be too
lengthy and detailed for a short article.
As stated
before, this is a piecemeal view of the Brotherhood based on smaller selections
from a larger text. However it covers
many of the basic elements of the Brotherhood and its member’s origins and
activities.
Conclusion
This article
has been an effort to show how the Brotherhood of Light and some of its
ascended masters and members can sometimes assist souls in the process of
reincarnation as part of a compassionate effort to aid souls during their
spiritual evolution.
However as
mentioned previously, the Brotherhood also focuses on other activities such of
counseling, psychotherapy, creativity, research, spiritual travel, diplomacy, and
education.
This history
is at odds with the Theosophical view of ascended masters which is somewhat
more hierarchical in its claim that ascended masters actually run the universe
in some mysterious fashion, and act as something similar to a secret government.
These Theosophical masters also appear to have a plan as to how both the
universe and mankind will evolve and change under their influence and guidance.
The
Brotherhood of Light is involved in a variety of other activities that cannot
be described in a short article. However the information provided here gives
insight into some of their major activities and goals.
Since
materialism is a world view where people believe in only material objects and
causes, the brotherhood would be considered impossible and illusory with this
approach. Skepticism about the existence of ascended masters is understandable
given the long history of confusion and deceit associated with those who
claimed to be in touch with these masters. However, those who have had
experiences or past memories that transcend the physical world in spiritual clarity
and power whether from mystical experience, spiritual travel, mediumship, or NDEs
are perhaps more likely to be interested in or accept that such an organization
could exist.
But I think many
would agree that the existence of such an organization would make the universe
a far more interesting place to live in, and that its values would provide a
more idealistic and wisdom-focused view of the world than is offered by
materialists as well as many popular religions. In this way, the views of the
Brotherhood are very much in agreement with Theosophy and it goals and values.
