USR 2019

Hierarchical Democracy, Agni Yoga and the Plan

The “ideology behind the democratic ideal constitutes a response to the universality which the love of the Hierarchy prompts it to express” (Destiny of the Nations, 22). Modern democracy is at present “a philosophy of wishful thinking and an unachieved ideal” to be superseded by the rule of “enlightened people” who “will not tolerate authoritarianism in any church or totalitarianism in any political system” (The Reappearance of the Christ, 164).

“True Democracy awaits the time when an educated and enlightened public opinion will bring it to power; towards that spiritual event, mankind is hastening.  The battle of Democracy will be fought out in the United States.” (The Rays and the Initiations, 746).

The Plan for externalization of the planetary spiritual Hierarchy and the reappearance of the Christ includes “the presentation of those ideas which will eventually lead to a fusion of those principles which govern a democracy and which also condition the hierarchical method—which is somewhat different.” (The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, 575). The fusion of these principles, and certain major and spiritual premises lying back of all efforts to formulate a “new world order” (ibid, 190), will be addressed in this talk, as well as how the revelatory yoga of synthesis, Agni Yoga, can support “the duty and the responsibility of the disciple, working under the inspiration of the Ashram, to “modify, qualify and adapt” the proposed plan of Shamballa (for which the Ashrams are responsible) in connection with the coming civilisation and culture (Discipleship in the New Age II, 278).

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Slides:

#1: Title slide. Read quotes from abstract.

We are in CRISIS. How can the esoteric community assist the NGWS in solving it? Should we be a reflection of the divisions in our societies or should we set the example of unification? What’s our responsibility when faced with misinformation and mistrust?

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#2-3: Flashback 1. Attending EIS conference in Atlanta this week. Identify myself as an EIS alumn (1985). My mission: serve as a bridge: English/Spanish; Science-Spirituality.

EIS logo: “By human hands; by human feet.” (AY)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7GYgM9esqg

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#4-6: My forthcoming book (outline written Thursday morning at the conference; inspired by the uplifting talk by Dr. Hanna-Attisha on Wed afternoon). Her book “What the Eyes Don’t See” inspired my intro on the invisible worlds studied by esotericists; her activism on behalf of the community relates to my quest to discuss and engage in nonpartisan activities in the political field of service of the New Group of World Servers.

#5-5: TB is SDG 3.3 (my work at CDC)

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#7: Flashback 2. My childhood (~12 y/o) experience accompanying my father to social clubs. What is esoteric training good for if we can’t address nonpartisan politics? [Aristotle: affairs of the polis]

Spiritual DISCERNMENT (truth, falsity).

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#8: First take home message

Why should the esoteric community abide by such rule (slide #7) after decades of discipleship training to develop spiritual discernment and the practice of harmlessness?

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#9: A nonpartisan framework to discuss and engage in nonpartisan activities in the political field of service of the New Group of World servers.

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#10: Transition slide to define the PLAN (a major point of the talk) and introduce three case studies for the application of the proposed nonpartisan framework. These are: a) the current (constitutional) crisis of democracy in the USA (Trump administration); b) Brexit and the emergence of the European xenophobic, nationalistic, fascist right (recently defeated in Spain), and 3) the neutrality of the LatAm political left on the current Venezuelan crisis of democracy.

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#11-13: Framing the U.S. political spectrum according to the Labor of Hercules in the sign of Scorpio (November is when elections are usually held in the USA).

Principles. AAB-DK framework: spiritual values to live by vs personal opinions; read slides.

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#14: Transition slide; reminder of the nonpartisan framework against which contrasts should be drawn (instead of arguing about personal opinions). Of course, the framework itself is subject to change based on the Teachings uniting the esoteric community.

NGWS: nonpartisan politics as a (First Ray) field of service; the center may appear as far right or left to those in the far right or left.

The “third party:” the Voice of the Center of the NGWS.

• The harmlessness of neutrality and silence. Pope Francis silence on Venezuela vs. Dalai Lama’s activism on Tibet. Silence can be complicit and harmful.
• Non-partisanship (DK quotes on USA racism, Nazism, Jewish “problem”, Russia, Hiroshima)

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#15: Brexit. The UN is flawed, and so is the EU. Is disintegration the answer?

I authored the mantra shown, adapting stanzas from the Great Invocation and the formula for the dissipation of glamor (as practiced by the esoteric community). Is it a “partisan” use of the Invocation and the formula?

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#16: Transition slide; reminder of the nonpartisan framework against which contrasts should be drawn (instead of arguing about personal opinions). Of course, the framework itself is subject to change based on the Teachings uniting the esoteric community.

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#17: Venezuela. I insist in using the term “evil” (which is L-I-V-E spelled backwards). Quote on RESISTANCE to EVIL.

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#18: Take home message #2

Here I explain (with a quote from the Teachings) my use of the term “evil” as a RELATIVE concept with respect to the TIME factor, a crucial component in the practice of Agni Yoga, the yoga developing the intuitive sense.

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#19: Quote on how the INTUITION relates to acquiring the “right perspective:” a “right sense of VALUES and of TIME.”

Premature implementation of the Plan may derail it.

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#20: Transition slide bringing us back to the title and subject of the talk.

Discuss my recently published books: how I integrated DK’s Technique of the Presence with VBA’s Second Ray approach to Agni Yoga (agniyoga.info) .

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#21: Application of principles. Agni Yoga “the science of self-evident truths.” (a new definition dawning on me during the conference).

AY takes off from the final stages of Raja Yoga. Critical thinking skills (mind development) relates to Raja Yoga (the traditional meditation practice of sitting cross-legged to concentrate and meditate on seed thoughts achieving a contemplative state of mind). Agni Yoga (practice of the presence of mind or mindfulness) is the practice of constant contemplation (spiritual reading of life as a sequence of symbols, mindfully  applying Jung’s synchronicity principle) as we go in our daily lives.

Examples of practical exercises to hone our critical thinking and intuitive skills.

Test for discerning false equivalence … What’s missing is the constant of proportionality (normal variants versus outliers). Principle of ANALOGY and the development of the intuitive sense.

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#22: Transition slide bringing us back to the title and the main purpose of the talk: the need to redefine democracy (using the principles of Raja and Agni Yoga) to prepare the world for the externalization of the spiritual Hierarchy of Masters of Compassion and Wisdom, and the imminent physical reappearance of the Christ in the outer world of human affairs (the Christ is an Office of the spiritual Hierarchy held by Lord Maitreya since he “overshadowed” Master Jesus 2,000 years ago in the Bethlehem-Calvary story narrated by the Gospels).

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#23: Take home message #3.

Latest update in my efforts, in collaboration with others, to redefine a democracy suitable for spiritual (nonreligious) work. The highlighted terms are the changes from the previous version (presented at the same conference 2 years ago). Ray 3 (Light) is the keynote of the current conference).

Hierarchy (order) vs. anarchy (populism) vs. the rule of “enlightened people” (hierarchical democracy) by “enlightened leaders” (light will be etherically VISIBLE). Can we do this within the esoteric community?

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#24: A summary slide.

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#25: Personal contact info (I’ll be distributing my new presentation card at the conference this year).

Q: Perfect adaptability versus RESISTING evil?  A: Be ductile as water: relentless as the course of a river; adaptable to navigate obstacles, until you reach your destiny.

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José Becerra, MD, MPH, FACPM.  Since his professional retirement, Dr. Becerra has become a full-time student of the four classical disciplines (Quadrivium) of number, geometry, music and cosmology applied to solve the problems of humanity. Since 1999, Dr. Becerra has devoted his esoteric work (http://www.ngsm.org/2017/home.html) to the study and practice of Agni Yoga, having recently translated the book Introduction to Agni Yoga by Vicente Beltrán-Anglada  (https://agniyoga.info/). Dr. Becerra has worked along with the New Group of World Servers in the fields of government, medicine, international health and mathematical epidemiology (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbecerramd/).

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Quotes: 

“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.” – Hierarchy. Agni Yoga Series. 1931.

DN 22: Is it not possible that the ideologies which we have been discussing are the response — distorted and yet a definite and determined, sensitive reaction — to the energies playing upon humanity from the two higher major centres? I would like to suggest that the ideology which is embodied in the vision of the totalitarian states is an erroneous but clear-cut response to the Shamballa influence of will; that the ideology behind the democratic ideal constitutes a similar response to the UNIVERSALITY which the [Hierarchy’s (Aquarian?) principle of LOVE] of the Hierarchy prompts it to express, and that communism is of human origin, embodying that ideology which humanity has formulated in its own right. Thus the three aspects of God’s nature are beginning to take form as three major ideas and what we see upon the planet at this time are the distorted human reactions to spiritual impulses, emanating from three different centres, but all equally divine in their essential natures, and in their essences. Ponder on this.

 

KEYNOTE:  The balance of power in the Congress of the United States must shift to support the spiritual values of  Men and Women of Goodwill.

• A Love of Truth – essential for a just, inclusive and progressive society.
• A Sense of Justice – recognition of the rights and needs of all.
• A Spirit of Cooperation – based on active goodwill and the principle of right human relationships.
• A Sense of Personal Responsibility – for group, community, national and international affairs.
• Serving the Common Good – through the sacrifice of selfishness. Only what is good for all is good for each one.
• These are spiritual values, inspiring the conscience and the consciousness of those who serve to create a better way of life.

On PEACE and DIALOGUE

Venezuela 2019

https://hierarchicaldemocracy.blog/2019/02/28/on-peace-and-dialogue/

TRIVIUM

• Grammar teaches the mechanics of language to the student. This is the step where the student “comes to terms,” defining the objects and information perceived by the five senses. Hence, the Law of Identity: a tree is a tree, and not a cat.
• Logic (also dialectic) is the “mechanics” of thought and of analysis, the process of identifying fallacious arguments and statements and so systematically removing contradictions, thereby producing factual knowledge that can be trusted.
• Rhetoric is the application of language in order to instruct and to persuade the listener and the reader. It is the knowledge (grammar) now understood (logic) and being transmitted outwards as wisdom (rhetoric).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacy

 

The unfoldment of this faculty will bring about a world recognition of the Plan and this is the greatest achievement of the intuition in this present world cycle. When that Plan is sensed, there comes the realisation of the unity of all beings, of the synthesis of world evolution and of the unity of the divine objective. All life and all forms are seen then in their true perspective; a right sense of values and of time then eventuates. When the Plan is truly intuited and at first hand, then constructive effort becomes inevitable and there is no lost motion. It is the partial realisation of the Plan and its interpretation at second or third hand by the ignorant which is responsible for the wasted effort and the foolish impulses which characterise the present occult and world organisations.
–DINA I, 25

GWP 171-72:

1. The Technique of the Presence. By means of this technique, the soul assumes control of the integrated personality and of its relations, horizontal and vertical. This technique involves the unfolding of the flower of the intuition, dispelling illusion, revealing the Angel, indicating the Presence, and opening up to the disciple the world of ideas and the door of the higher initiations. Through the disciple’s grasp and application of these divine ideas or seed thoughts, he becomes initiate and the third initiation becomes possible as an immediate goal. The intuition is the applied power of transfiguration. This technique is related to the little known yoga called Agni Yoga or the yoga of fire.

…the mode of handling world affairs, states of consciousness and conditions in the three worlds is one in which the disciple and initiate work from above downwards. The method is in reality a repetition of the involutionary arc in which—like the Creator, from a vantage point of exterior direction—energy, force and forces are directed into the world of phenomena and produce definite effects upon the substance of the three planes. This is a point which should be most carefully remembered; and it is for this reason that the Technique of the Presence must always be employed, prior to all other techniques. It establishes contact with the directing spiritual Agent and enables the disciple to assume the attitude of the detached Observer and an agent of the Plan. When this technique is correctly followed, it brings the intuition into play and the world of meaning (lying behind the world of phenomena) stands revealed, thereby dispelling illusion. Truth, as it is, is seen and known. Forms in the outer world of phenomena (outer from the angle of the soul and therefore encompassing the three worlds of our familiar daily living) are seen to be but symbols of an inward and spiritual Reality. -190

2. The Technique of Light. By means of this technique, the illumined mind assumes control over the astral or emotional body and dissipates glamour. When light pours in, glamour fades out. Illumination dominates and the vision [Page 172] of reality can be seen. This technique is related to Raja Yoga and its goal is the second initiation; it produces ability to tread the Path of Discipleship, and enables the man to “live a life, enlightened by divinity.” Illumination is the applied power of transformation.

3. The Technique of Indifference. By means of this technique, maya is ended; for the control of the purified astral vehicle is consciously and technically brought into activity, producing the freeing of the energies of the etheric body from the control of matter or force-substance, and bringing men in large numbers on to the Probationary Path. Where there is “divine indifference” to the call or pull of matter, then inspiration becomes possible. This technique is related to Karma Yoga in its most practical form and the use of matter with complete impersonality. The goal of this technique is the first initiation, which enables man to “live a life, inspired by God.” Inspiration is the applied power of transmission.

EP I, 359: I speak not of non-resistance, but of that positive attitude of mind which thinks no evil.

EP II, 691: Your major job at this time [re: NGWS]  is not to wrestle with the powers of evil and the forces of darkness, but to awaken an interest in and mobilise the forces of light and the resources of men of good will, and of right inclination in the world today. Resist not evil, but so organise and mobilise the good, and so strengthen the hands of the workers on the side of righteousness and love, that evil will find less opportunity.

EA: The Law of the Universe (and what is law but the working out of the purposes of these all-embracing Lives, of Their impulses and Their plans?) is to all eternity the good of the whole and naught can arrest this happening; for who can arrest the impact of these energies which play upon and through our planet. When I say this, I would at the same time point out that the attitude of many students, inevitably participants in world events, that “such is the Law and such is the Karma of people and nations and such is the pre-determined destiny” [Page 444] is far from right. They believe—sometimes sincerely—that all that should be done is simply to wait for results to appear and for karma and destiny to fulfil itself. Then and not till then, all will be well. But they forget that karma fulfils itself in relation to the form nature upon which it expends its energy and that where there is a static condition and a quiescent attitude, the process moves but slowly; the life then within the form fails to experience the needed, forceful awakening; inevitably then there lies ahead a repetition of the process until the time comes when activity and response is evoked. This then leads to resistance to the apparent karmic necessity and this brings about liberation. Only through resistance to evil (and in this world period and in this kali-yuga, as the Eastern teachers call it, it is an essential basic attitude) can karma be brought to an end. The law of matter still governs in the three worlds of human experience and “fire by friction” must burn up that which veils the steadily increasing brilliance of solar fire. It is the recognition of “solar fire”—as it shows itself in a transcendental idealism and radiance—by the unintelligent idealist, and his simultaneous refusal to cooperate in this period of karmic necessity, that is prolonging the difficult and cruel situation and leading him individually to sink deep into glamour. The simplification of the world’s problem in terms of matter comes through a recognition of the essential dualism underlying events. I commend this thought to all students, suggesting that they base optimism on the long range vision, endorsed by the Heavens and corroborated by the activity of the stars, and thus feel sure of the ending of this immediate tragic situation.