The Hierarchy sanctioned the starting of these groups in the year 1931. The members of these groups have been slowly chosen since then and are endeavoring, since their inclusion in this ashramic work, to work together in complete unity of purpose and of relationship. It may be of interest to you to know a little of how we approached the subject.

As you all know, I am a second ray disciple, an initiate of a certain standing - the grade of which in no way concerns you, though many of you have personally and interiorly ascertained who I am. If the teaching which I have given you and the books which I have given to the world do not suffice to win your confidence and your attention, then knowing that I am an initiate of the third degree, or a Master, or a Boddhisattva or one of the Buddhas close to the Throne of God will in no way aid your comprehension and will only hinder your development. For many lives I have been close to the Master K. H.; in discussion with him, we have often wondered how we should aid in the inauguration upon earth of those newer types of work which will be distinctive of the New Age and yet would be close enough to the comprehension of the advanced aspirants and the world disciples so that their cooperation would be evoked and their intelligent help forthcoming. What were the requirements for which we should look and what should be the technique to be applied in the New Age for the raising of the consciousness of men? We decided that four things must, first of all, distinguish the group work which should be done and should characterize the disciples to be chosen for training. These were: Sensitivity, Impersonality, Psychic Gifts, Mental Polarization. I do not make mention of aspiration, of selflessness [44] or of the desire to serve. They are fundamentals and basic essentials and, where they do not exist, there is no use in proffering the type of assistance which we are seeking to give.

You will note that, as you look back over the spiritual history of the race of men during the past two thousand years (which is far enough for our purpose), that the following methods have been consecutively used to reach men's minds spiritually:

1. The method of raising the consciousness of an individual so that he became a Knower. Individual salvation and the emergence of outstanding individuals with spiritual sense, vision and achievement to their credit has characterized the mystical history of the past. Some of these people emerged along the way of the heart, the mystical way; such were Shri Krishna, St. Francis of Assisi, and all those Knowers whose way was the Way of Love. To these can be added Milarepa of Tibet and Lao Tze of China. Such also have been many of the saints of the church in the West. The Bhagavad Gita has been the book which has embodied this way superlatively.

Others emerged along the way of the mind and were the intellectual Knowers. Theirs is the more strictly occult way and it has become increasingly the way of our present day aspirants. The reason for this is that the polarization of the race is shifting ever more steadily on to the mental plane. Some of the individuals on this way of the mind were Sankaracharya, the Apostle Paul, and Meister Eckhart. Today, many are coming out along this way under the name of science. There were also those outstanding individuals, such as the Christ and the Buddha, who combined both ways in their perfection and who towered above their fellowmen from the heights of their achievement. They swayed hemispheres and centuries, whereas the lesser sons of God swayed countries, specific types of mind and lesser periods of time.

2. The second method employed for raising the consciousness of the race was through groups, gathered around a [45] teacher who (to a greater or less degree) was a focal point of energy either

1. By the power of his soul contact or
2. By that contact and being also a channel through