Mankind today and tomorow by Ivan A. Hawliezek

It has, on the whole, been customary for the Blavatsky Lectures to treat of abstruse subjects in a somewhat academic fashion, as befitted an age in which the manasic principle was the seat and centre of human consciousness. Now that the world has definitely entered upon a new age, with its accompaniment of fundamental changes in every department of life, it seems only right that a lecture dedicated to the great Founder of our Society in the outer world should also change with the times, and should endeavour to express something of that dynamic force of the new age, applied to life's immediate as well as to its more remote problems, which was so marked a characteristic of H. P. Blavatsky herself - for she was not only philosophically profound but also dynamically and disturbingly practical.

In considering, therefore, the progress towards the Sixth Race, one must bear in mind not only the eternal background of human life, but also its changing expressions, which form the living link between past and future. For evolution is the shadow of the Eternal passing across the screen of Time, or, as H. P. Blavatsky herself wrote:

In order to understand the significance of all that goes by the name of evolution in the phenomenal worlds one must constantly bear in mind the reality of the Noumenon whence these things arise. Hence Occultism is the most practical of all the sciences, for it deals with causes while the exoteric sciences are mainly occupied in the examination of effects.

The Theosophical Society has lately devoted much time and thought to the study of the Great Plan. At the end of this period a member was heard to remark: "We have heard a great deal about the Plan, but no one has yet told us what it is." From which one surmises that the Plan has been studied as though it were an architect's drawing which the Elder Brethren frequently consult in order to ascertain the next step to be taken. The Plan, however, is -not a scheme, and it can never be made known by means of diagrams and words. It is a Force inherent in the very nature of Life itself. It is Life expressing its own self, naturally and inevitably. For this reason everything that happens, even so-called tragedy and failure, is part of the Plan, for all is an expression of the Life.

This does not mean that an intellectual conception of the Plan is impossible, but such a conception should never be confused with the Plan itself, which is natural, cosmic living. Moreover, the real understanding of the Plan is [The references to The Secret Doctrine are all taken from the third and revised edition of 1893.]

dependent upon the student possessing an awakened intuition which illumines his mind. Since:-

First, then, one must deal with the eternal background to Life, of which the following quotation affords an excellent summary:-

The inherent nature of this spiritual individuality lies outside the field of Time and Experience, being the Reality transcendent to the five worlds of manifestation. It is, nevertheless, that which lies behind the unique evolution of each Monad, and determines its distinctive growth within the compass of the Great Plan. In order that this work may be achieved, the transcendent Self is under the necessity of establishing points of contact with the phenomenal worlds (these are the permanent atoms), and its first vehicle is spiritual Buddhi which, in due time, becomes the divine soul of a human being. The purpose and method of this procedure is well described in these words :-

This is the pathway of experimental discovery which begins with involution, the descent into matter through the various Elemental Kingdoms, the turning point in the Mineral world, and then the re-ascent on the pathway of return through the vegetable, animal, human, and superhuman stages of unfoldment.

It is with but a fragment of this that one is concerned today, that part which deals with the transition from one human Root-Race to another, upon one Globe of one Chain of the many worlds in which this purpose is being slowly but surely wrought in its human phase. At this point it becomes possible to leave the transcendental and pass into the very much narrower field of the temporal. But the foregoing was a necessary preliminary, more especially because the mass of detail which confronts one in a study of modern world conditions is apt to be so overwhelming, that one loses sight of fundamental purposes, of root causes and of the ultimate goal towards which events are moving. All this is inherent in the Great Plan, and should not be lost to sight merely because a small phase of that Plan is selected for special study.

The Indo-European population of the world is described theosophically as belonging to the Fifth Root-Race. A number of major subdivisions are recognised - five, with an incipient sixth - each comprising a group of related national types. But to understand the reality of a Root-Race much more than a mere superficial classification is required. One must endeavour to enter into the causative forces of human life in their spiritual essence in order to perceive the reason for the existence of such a Race, and why it must of necessity assume the particular characteristics which a study of its history partially reveals. Behind each Root-Race stand the Eternal Monads of those humans whose stage of unfoldment compels them to fashion that mode of experience. The elements which constitute the true wholeness of a Root-Race are three in number. Firstly, its purpose -that which might be called its determining, atmic principle, which only the Race Manu and his colleagues of the First Ray can know clearly and fully, and which fixes the type and form of the Race on all planes down to and including the physical. Secondly, the quality of consciousness which is to be associated with the Race, the unfoldment of which in man is the care of the Bodhisattva and his co-workers of the Second Ray. Thirdly, the environment or organisation of the field of manifestation which is both the natural expression of and also the stimulus to progress for the transcendent Self in that particular phase of its growth. This environment, which is in the charge of the Mahachohan and his hosts of agents belonging to the remaining five Rays, must not be thought of only in physical terms. On the purely physical side it includes such items as details of racial civilisation, the geological arrangement of mineral wealth, conditions of climate, of flora and fauna, the geographical distribution of nations, and so on. But it also comprises a superphysical environment of the astral, mental and higher worlds, the forces of which play upon man's consciousness and stimulate his growth. Every Root-Race is a complex of all these elements, each of which will receive attention in turn in relation to progress towards the Sixth Race.

So stupendous an undertaking as the fashioning of a Root-Race naturally occupies vast periods of time. One is apt to think of human evolution in terms of the few thousand years of history which are available to exoteric students. Little in the way of real progress seems to have been made during that time, and people become impatient because beneath the thin veneer of civilised life today there still lurks so much of greed and selfishness. It is well to recall the fact, therefore, that the Aryan Race was actually founded about B.C. 100,000; but even this is by no means the whole story, for the first beginnings of the Race are said to have been made 1,000,000 years ago. Since this Race was developed out of the preceding Atlantean Root-Race, it means that 900,000 years of training and preparation were needed in order to change the nature of certain human Egos from the Atlantean to the Aryan phase. The time-scale of evolution must be thought of in terms comparable to the space-scale of the astronomers.

Evolution in its human phase is fundamentally concerned with the development of self-consciousness in the phenomenal worlds, and in this work Mind is the essential constituent, for:

Mind is indeed the pivot upon which the whole process of human evolution turns, and from which self-consciousness can proceed in either of two directions into the field of the pairs of opposites.

The growth of self-consciousness, which is the work of the Second Ray, will therefore be taken as the central theme for study, around which the development of racial types and the organisation of environment will fall naturally into place. These two last are sometimes regarded as the Form aspect, and the first as the Life aspect, of manifestation. Both aspects are necessary to perfect self-realisation, but it is well to recognise both their differences and their relationships.

Life is expansive, fluidic, outward turned, moving from a centre towards an ever-receding circumference. It is the causative and motive force in evolution, and the "expanding universe" is one of its physical manifestations. Form, on the other hand, is contractive, rigid, inward-turned, tending to hold at the centre that which lies within its immediate circumference. It therefore serves to give clarity and definition to consciousness.

In the physical, mental, and atmic worlds the form aspect of manifestation preponderates, while in the astral, buddhic, and monadic worlds the life aspect is dominant. These latter, each in their turn, are therefore the true causative worlds in human affairs.

The first of them, the astral, is for man the region of desire, and this desire furnishes the motive (i.e. The driving force) in the majority of human affairs at present. Hence the relative futility of the numerous modern attempts to solve the problems of civilisation merely by an adjustment of the forms, be these of government, of finance or of social relationships, without at the same time changing the motive of human living. So long as the motive remains largely one of greed and selfishness, no reorganisation of the forms of civilisation can be more than palliative. If, however, the motive itself can be changed, then the outer adjustments will follow as a matter of course, and will be both stable and effective.

For the average man, therefore, the seat of motive is astral; for the initiate it is buddhic; for a Master of the Wisdom it is monadic. The evolution of human consciousness consists largely in the transference of motive from the astral to the buddhic centres of life. Mind which stands between these two, serves as the pivot of self-consciousness and as an intelligent guide which can give direction to evolution, but it can never be the driving power. A simple parallel will serve to illustrate this fact. One speaks habitually of a man as being the driver of a motor car. He is nothing of the kind. Petrol is the motive power in the car, the so-called " driver " being merely the intelligence which controls speed and direction. The actual mechanism is the physical body of the car; petrol represents its emotional force, while man, the driver, is the guiding or manasic principle.

Returning to the main theme, one may say in general terms that the Lemurians were concerned with emotional development, the Atlantean and Aryan peoples with mental evolution in its lower and higher aspects respectively, while the Sixth Root-Race will address itself to unfolding the potentialities of the Buddhic world. The typical emotion is sympathy, for it is the means of contact for the outward-turned life with the world outside its immediate field of self-consciousness. It is the emotion of expansiveness. That same force has to serve as motive through both the Atlantean and Aryan Races, until such time as self-consciousness can function in the Buddhic world. The motive then will become true or spiritual love, which leads to unity. At the present time it is desire which, working through the synthetic faculties of the higher mind, gives rise to co-operation, brotherhood, teamwork, collective security, inter-religious fellowship, &c., &c.

The history of every Root-Race consists of three principal parts. After its actual foundation, the first period is recapitulatory, dealing with the types of experience appertaining to earlier epochs and Races, but treating them in the light of the new mode of consciousness which is to characterise the new Race. When this recapitulation is over, the Race enters upon the period of its own unique development, and performs the work of evolution for which it was specifically created. Towards the close of its existence, certain elements anticipatory of future Races are introduced into its life. Finally comes dissolution and the destruction of the continent upon which the Race had its dwelling.

The Manu of the Race, who is the incarnation of its purpose, and whose task it is to hold the Race true to type during the whole period of its existence, is therefore the responsible officer up to the very end. As The Secret Doctrine says:

Furthermore, each Root-Race reflects in miniature cycle the great process of involution and evolution which occupies the entire period of a Manvantara. Starting at a relatively high level of spirituality, it passes through a phase of increasing materialism up to its middle point, before reascending to the expression of its true spiritual significance. The same is true also of the sub-races and of the nations comprising a sub-race, a fact which must be evident in the affairs of the world today. H.P.Blavatsky uttered the reminder that:

The peak of scientific materialism was reached in the nineteenth century. Since then a complete revolution has taken place, and one finds a measure of spiritual insight among the leading scientists of today which one wishes was equally discernible among the leaders of the Christian Church. In the affairs of social and national life there is as yet less evidence of a turn in the tide away from materialism, and for this reason if for no other the strength of the Theosophical Movement is vital to the welfare of the world at this critical stage of its history. The position, indeed, is even more critical than is generally recognised, for humanity of the Fifth Root-Race has developed its mental individuality up to the point where a self-conscious choice can be made between the lunar and the solar aspects of Manas. It is inherent in the nature of Life, and it is consequently part of the Great Plan, that Manas should be attracted towards Buddhi, but this will not be achieved without much stress and struggle, and if Theosophists can see clearly the real nature of this struggle, they can do more to help humanity to a successful and happy issue than any other group of people in the world. For this to be possible they must have true understanding, and not a mere superficiality of judgment or bias of feeling.

So far as consciousness is concerned, it may be said that today man has reached the full knowledge of the possibilities of pure mentality in a self-conscious individual at the human stage of evolution. He has by no means worked out all those possibilities, and it will be the task of the fifth sub-race to carry them to their perfection during the remaining centuries of its existence. But the time has also come for active preparation for future stages of consciousness, and for the races and civilisations which will give them embodiment.

The first step towards this is the awakening of intuition. The sixth Aryan sub-race is coming into existence for this purpose.

Intuition is, in fact, the spiritual significance of that sub-race. It is by no means easy to describe intuition in clear terms, for there exists neither language nor experience to render it fully intelligible. But intuition must not be confused with the consciousness of the Buddhic world. It will be the task of the Sixth Root-Race to develop as much of the Buddhic consciousness as is possible during the present fourth Round of the Earth Chain, and the sixth sub-race is a stepping stone towards this achievement.

The seat of intuition is a department of the higher Manas, i.e. that which belongs to the second sub-plane of the Manasic world, which can become attuned to and receive into itself the life force from the Buddhic world. When Buddhic life thus illuminates the mind with its own peculiar nature, then intuition is the result. Intuition therefore depends upon mind for its ability to function, but has its roots in a higher world. Wherefore H. P. Blavatsky speaks of:

At this point it may be useful to distinguish between a principle and a sense. In The Secret Doctrine it is stated that:

The distinction here is between a field of consciousness as yet unexplored, and the faculty which ultimately results from the conquest of that field. To the Atlanteans the lower Manas was a principle - until, towards the end of their history, it became a sense. With the Aryans lower Manas is definitely a sense, or a faculty, since logic is now a science and no longer a form of mysticism. Similarly the higher Manas has been for us a principle, the fifth, but is now in process of being converted into a sense, because Buddhi is emerging above the threshold of self-consciousness. At present intuition is not a sense. It remains somewhat of a mystical experience, not yet having been brought under self-conscious control. It will become a sense in the future.

Since the unfoldment of consciousness belongs to the Second Ray line of work, religion has always played a major part in this process. During the earlier or recapitulatory phase of Aryan history successive religious teachers have appeared, whose task it has been to awaken the various levels of self-consciousness each in their due order. Thus Vyasa came to ancient India in order to establish, with the help of the Laws of Manu, the foundation of brotherhood upon which the whole purpose and intention of the Aryan Race are based. Highly metaphysical on its inner side, ancient Hinduism is outwardly intensely real as regards its emphasis on the right relationships of man to man, and to the non-human kingdoms of nature. The orthodoxy of Hinduism is one of active observance and not, as with Christianity, a matter of belief. Its watchword was Dharma, meaning that which is due to be done.

Vyasa was succeeded by Thoth or Hermes Trismegistus in Egypt, who called forth a realisation of the hidden forces which give to facts in the outer world their spiritual significance. In Parsee lands Zarathustra came to awaken right feeling, inviting man's self-consciousness to function through the emotional nature in the proper way. Hence his insistence upon purity and happiness as the chief essentials in human life. Orpheus, his Greek successor, sought to awaken the lower Manas to the true measure of its function as a window for the intelligence of spiritual man, through which he could look out upon the complex multiplicity of forms in nature, could see the intrinsic worth of each, and could establish that delicate balance of right relationship between them which is the very essence of Beauty. So compelling was the beauty which thrilled through his music that it is said the very beasts and birds and trees responded to his song. Thus were the Greeks stimulated to a mental perception of right relationships in philosophy, and to an expression of these relationships in arts and crafts, which have left an undying mark upon the pages of Aryan history.

These four teachers, while not losing sight of universal and transcendental values, gave their messages in a form which was peculiarly adapted to the needs of the first four Aryan sub-races, awakening in them the perceptions, the actions, the emotions, and the analytical faculties of mind which are appropriate to the Race.

There followed the Lord Buddha to close the recapitulatory period by giving a magnificent summary of the principles of intellectual understanding of the meaning of life, and by opening wide the door to self-realisation on the pathway of understanding. As an example of what Manas can achieve in terms of right perception and a balanced estimation of true values, Buddhism stands unrivalled in the world today

He was followed by Christ, the essence of whose teaching lies in the unique and supreme value of the individual soul of man. So great is this that the ninety-nine sheep were temporarily left to their own devices in order that the hundredth might be sought and found. "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" The spiritual significance of the Aryan Race being the synthetic nature of higher Manas, the human individual is not left by Christianity in the enjoyment of a splendid isolation, but is envisaged as a social unit. Hence the two great commandments of Christendom: to love God, because the true man is fashioned in His image; and to love one's neighbour.

This religion, with its emphasis on spiritual brotherhood, is the one specifically needed for the fifth sub-race. It has not yet succeeded in producing a markedly Christian civilisation, but it is scarcely 2,000 years old and will doubtless have several more millennia of existence before its effects become fully manifest and its usefulness outworn.

A new age demands a new teaching to inspire and mould its consciousness. Signs are already apparent that such a teaching is in process of emergence. Mr. Krishnamurti is probably its clearest exponent at the present time, but there are a number of others in the world who are also expressing some aspects of such a teaching in their own special departments of life. It is, of course, too early to give definition to this teaching, but evidently it will be such as will transcend the ordinary reasoning processes of the mind and awaken the intuition in man. For this reason alone it will be impossible to understand such a teaching in purely mental terms, and in so far as Mr. Krishnamurti and others are giving expression to this teaching it will prove unintelligible to all save the few who have already developed some measure of intuition. Anything which the intellect alone is unable to grasp and which also arouses a faculty beyond in an endeavour to understand it, may be said to form part of that training of consciousness which will enable an individual to take his place as a member of the sixth sub-race.

It is, of course, possible to set oneself deliberately to the task of awakening the intuition through meditation - but it is meditation of a particular kind. It begins as usual with concentration upon some particular idea. Patanjali calls this "meditation with a seed." Taking, for example, generosity as the seed, one begins by eliminating the unessentials. A gift of money for some altruistic purpose may be generous; but it is not the amount of money which is significant, for one calls to mind the story of the widow's mite. Nor is money itself an essential to generosity, for those who have it not may still be generous in giving comfort to the distressed, friendship to the lonely, food to the hungry, understanding and sympathy to those in difficulty, protection to the weak, encouragement to the young, and in many other ways. Gradually eliminating each of these unessentials, one arrives at the underlying idea of generosity as an attitude of readiness to give to each according to his need. Beyond this point of highest concentration the mind alone cannot go, and this is where most people are inclined to stop. But it is only now that the real meditation begins, which Patanjali terms "meditation without a seed." Retaining the intense but untrained concentration of mind, one drops even the idea itself of generosity and, if successful, into the silence of the void thus created there enters a new realisation, wherein one experiences the dynamic source of life, which is both individual and universal, and which is the creator not only of generosity but also of all the other ways in which Life chooses to manifest its own inherent nature. By constant practice along such lines as these the student may deliberately awaken first of all his mental intuition and, later, the Buddhic self-consciousness also, and may thus prepare himself of set intention for the pioneer work needed in establishing the sixth sub-race, and in due time the Sixth Root-Race. This is the true purpose of occultism, that certain individuals may fit themselves to become the pioneers of new Races and sub-races.

In Man: Whence, How and Whither an interesting description is given of the early community of the Sixth Root-Race. Superficially it would appear that the chief qualification is that of living happily in a community with others. This is no mean achievement, for one is reminded of the witty saying of an Anglican Bishop who found it easier to love the brothers whom he had not seen rather than the ones whom he had seen. But the essential qualification for this work of pioneer race-building is for the sixth sub-race an awakened intuition, and at least some measure of the Buddhic consciousness for the Sixth Root-Race. Nowhere is the purpose and nature of this self-training so clearly and so openly given as in The Theosophical Society. Would that its members could be brought to realise the value of their membership and the precious opportunity and privilege which it bestows upon them. There could never then be loss of interest, or the running after other organisations whose methods may be more spectacular or sensational, for the theosophic life would be known as one continuous adventure in cosmic experimentation, full of the joys of fresh and uncharted discovery.

Occultism is sometimes regarded as a path different from the road by which ordinary humanity is travelling, but it is not. There is but one road which all are following. On it the occultist is a pioneer who goes ahead in order to prepare the way for others. The laws and practices of occultism today represent the nature and achievements of humanity tomorrow. The aspirant should ever feel himself to be an integral part of the human family even while striving to represent in himself the next stage of its development.

In terms of consciousness, progress towards the Sixth Race means, therefore, first an awakening of intuition in the individual, this being needed for the sixth sub-race, and later an absorption of Manas into Buddhi, which is required for the Sixth Root-Race. When this is achieved, Manas will cease to be a principle and will have become a sense or faculty. The Sixth Root-Race consciousness is well described in The Secret Doctrine as follows :

Having dealt to some extent with the development of consciousness leading towards the Sixth Race, it is now necessary to consider the other two departments of evolution connected with race-building and with environment and civilisation. Concerning the former there is not very much that can be said. On its physical side the work of the Manu is that of moulding the physique of the Aryan Race with its various sub-races and nations in such a way that the structure of the human body, its nervous organisation and its mental equipment, shall be such as will express most fittingly the consciousness that is to function through it. By intermarriage he therefore mixes and blends the various types of human body as an artist mixes his colours. His instrument is heredity. His method of bringing suitable types into juxtaposition is by migration either of individuals, tribes, or nations, by using warfare and conquest when necessary, by trading instincts, by the spirit of adventure, or by any of the various means of inducing people to leave their homes and to travel abroad. National pride, greed for colonisation or conquest, and many another human weakness can be turned to good account. Indeed, the skill and wisdom of the Inner Government of the world is perhaps nowhere more apparent than in those instances where folly, weakness, or so-called evil is made to serve a useful purpose. The ruthlessness of an Attila, or, in modern days, of a Mussolini in respect of Abyssinia, may well be deplorable in itself, but who can assert with assurance that it is contrary to the purposes of the Great Plan and a retrogression in evolution? After some centuries, when history can estimate more truly the value and significance of past events, it will be more possible to pass sound judgment upon present-day events.

For 900,000 years the Manu of the Fifth Root-Race patiently laboured at certain Atlantean individuals, gradually evolving from them a bodily and mental organism of Aryan type. 100,000 years ago the first actual Aryan appeared in corporeal form. Since then four additional subdivisions have been evolved, comprising the nations of the second, third, fourth, and fifth sub-races. In its early stages this work had to be carried out in seclusion, and so colonies were established in separate valleys running up from the shores of the Gobi sea, which had been chosen as the cradle of the Aryan Race. A few years ago Sven Hedin visited this region and discovered there traces both of the sea itself, now but a tiny lake, and also of the valleys leading upwards from its former shores.*

It is interesting to note how this admixture of nations has been brought about. First the pure spirit of exploration which led Columbus to the discovery of North America. Then greed for gold, which caused the Spaniards and others to extend their conquests southwards and westwards. Religious persecution in England drove people to seek shelter and freedom across the Atlantic. Traders and colonists gradually spread westwards, while economic factors [ See Across the Gobi Desert, by Sven Hedin.] in Europe caused a continuous flow of emigrants from almost every country to take the places of those who had moved from the eastern seaboard. In such ways as these the Manu brought together those individuals - who were needed to fashion the sixth subdivision of our Race.

The refusal of the United States to take part in European affairs and disputes has been deplored by many, since it weakens the attempt to form a League of Nations, and so forth. But the Monroe doctrine of American isolation is a necessary part of the Plan, for by its means the segregation of this incipient sub-race is being guarded and maintained. The quota system of immigration is another factor operating towards the same end. In ways such as these does a study of the Great Plan give significance to national policies which otherwise seem arbitrary, pointless, or incomprehensible.

Although only the physical side of race-building and a few of the methods by which it is brought about have been discussed, let it not be forgotten that the whole personality of man is characteristic of his racial and national type. The Manu's work therefore includes also a fashioning of the astral and mental vehicles to the required pattern: and behind all this lies the sense of unalterable purpose for which the race is born, to the fulfilment of which it must steadily and inevitably move. In this respect the Manu's work is one of fixation, demanding stern and relentless concentration over a period of millennia during which the Race is prepared, born, nurtured, sent upon its appointed way, and finally brought to dissolution when the harvest has been gathered in.

The Lord Vaivasvata Manu is concerned only with the Fifth Root-Race and its subdivisions, of which the incipient sixth sub-race is the latest development, but the future Manu of the Sixth Root-Race is also already at work upon the materials out of which his people will be fashioned. The Theosophical Society includes a number of Monads who are set apart for this great work. Under the stimulus of Theosophy in its deeper aspect they are slowly but surely being changed into the pattern of the Sixth Root-Race. The discipline of occultism is transforming their personalities, physical, astral and mental, that they may become vehicles of Buddhic consciousness, and the practice of meditation and study is stimulating their consciousness, and awakening its Buddhic qualities.

Attention must now be given to the third great department of the work, which is in the care of the Mahachohan. It has already been pointed out that this work includes an almost overwhelming array of details from which it is difficult to make a suitable selection. From the standpoint of the ordinary person the most important part is that which deals with personal, national, and international affairs of civilisation, and it would be well to study this first.

What is the source of civilisation? Being the third term in the trinity of human life, the phrase " proceeding from the Father and the Son " is applicable to it. This means that civilisation is the product on the one hand of the transcendental purpose for which any race or nation exists, and on the other hand of the immediate stage of evolution of mankind. It contains the two elements of future destiny and present achievement. Thus does the future ever exert a pressure upon the present. So far as the Fifth Root-Race is concerned, the transcendent aspect of civilisation is to be found in the principles underlying the Laws of Manu, for details of which the student is referred to the published literature on the subject.* All that can be said here is that among Aryans humanity is envisaged as a spiritual hierarchy of self-conscious interrelated individuals. In the hierarchical sense the world consists of those who stand higher than, upon a level with, or beneath any particular individual. Since brotherhood is a spiritual fact, he owes the duty of right relationship to those in each of these three categories. The nature of this relationship is expressed by the words reverence, goodwill, and compassion respectively.

Within the general framework of a social order based on these principles there exist four types of people, who are represented in India by the four castes. These are not arbitrary social divisions but represent natural functions. [See The Science of Social Organisation, by Bhagavan Das.]

The first type comprises those who are the purveyors of wisdom to the nation. They include priests and teachers, and to it belong all those whose spiritual insight is most highly awakened. The second type is the purveyor of justice to the nation. To it belong the statesmen, the warriors, the judges, and other ministers of justice and protection. Both these types are non-productive in the material sense of that word. The third group is composed of the merchants, and is the purveyor of material prosperity to the nation, it being always understood that the primary function of commerce is to render service to the community, and not to earn profits for a few individuals. Lastly comes the operative or wage-earning group, together with all those who work upon the land. To this group belongs the bulk of the population. In general these are people whose spiritual perceptions are not yet sufficiently awakened to enable them to see the inner significance of Life in such a way that they consciously align themselves with its real purposes.

Leonardo da Vinci perceived something of this truth when he divided humanity into three groups: firstly, the few who see by themselves; secondly, those who can see when they are shown; and lastly, the many who cannot see even when they are shown. The type of vision implied is that concerned with eternal values as the raison d'etre of temporal circumstances.

Such a hierarchical system implies differences both of temperament and degree of evolution, and hence the need for sub-races and nations. Each nation has a different purpose to fulfil, though all of them come within the scheme for the Root-Race as a whole. In these days of world chaos and political cross purposes it is well to bear in mind the necessary distinctions between the different national types. One speaks theosophically of an Inner Government of the world. It is the source whence national destiny is inspired and a nation's policy is guided. It is essential for the leaders of a nation either to perceive clearly its purpose, or at least to be capable of being inspired to work along the right lines. And not alone the leaders who, according to da Vinci, can presumably see for themselves, but also those who are capable of seeing when they are shown, owe it as a duty of good citizenship to be aware of the contribution of their nation to the welfare of the Root-Race as a whole. If they can also perceive something of the unique contributions of neighbouring peoples then so much the better, since it would enable happier relations to be established between one nation and another. The great need of the day in political affairs is vision and understanding.

It is easier to see the special contribution of past nations than of present peoples because the former have already left their mark on the pages of history. For the ancient Greeks it was beauty, for the Romans law, for the Phoenicians commercial enterprise, for the Egyptians knowledge of the hidden forces of Nature. The Aryan Race is the richer for all of these. But what of modern times? Do Britons understand their own contribution, and do they perceive something of what other nations have to give? This is a matter of vital importance, for it has been said truly that "where there is no vision the people perish." Theosophy should give one clearer knowledge of these matters than might otherwise be possible, for it offers three clues which are not to be found elsewhere. These are, firstly, the spiritual evolution of the individual by the help of racial and national experience; secondly, reincarnation, which brings to each individual the experience of citizenship in many different lands; and, thirdly, a knowledge of karmic law, which gives an entirely new meaning to the attitude, belligerent or pacific, friendly or suspicious, of one nation towards another.

These unique contributions can best be discovered by a study of racial and national psychology. The special work of the Aryan Race is to unfold the powers and qualities of the fifth principle or higher Manas. Its quality is synthetic. In the thought world it expresses itself in a philosophy of fundamental categories in a manner of which Kant is, perhaps, the most outstanding exponent. In emotional terms it gives rise to that sense of right feeling which demands harmony for the satisfaction of aesthetic values. In practical affairs it is represented socially in an understanding of the right relationships of man to man, and of man to nature, in the fulfilment of which it looks for brotherhood and co-operation.

In accordance with cyclic law, these factors are most prominent in the fifth sub-race, and especially in its fifth nation which comprises the Anglo-Saxon peoples. It is among these that the typical Aryan mode of civilisation will ultimately find its most perfect expression. The preceding sub-races and nations are to a certain extent recapitulatory, manifesting a blend of Aryan psychology with pre-Aryan modes of living; while the sixth sub-race marks a preliminary step towards post-Aryan achievements.

The higher Manas, being both the centre of individuality and the home of synthetic thinking, has caused the Anglo-Saxon peoples to sound the note of freedom for the individual within a co-operative social framework. Their unique contribution is expressed partly in the phrase "Britons never, never, never shall be slaves" and partly in a phrase of Dr. Besant's wherein she spoke of a "federation of free peoples" in contradistinction to an empire of force. Based on individual freedom and on hierarchical relationships, the democratic system of a limited monarchy such as Great Britain has evolved is the typical social system for the Aryan Race as a whole. Extended internationally, this means a commonwealth of nations in which each country is a free individual associating voluntarily with other free peoples, each managing its internal affairs for itself and placing its external relationships in the hands of a superior or imperial government. This is the real meaning of dominion status. Essentially democratic in its foundations, the social and political organisation of the Anglo-Saxons needs to include also a clear perception of hierarchical principles of government. In this respect democracy will need some readjustment before the real fulfilment of Aryan idealism becomes possible. 'True democracy is not majority rule whereby out of an electorate of, say, twenty-five million, the will of thirteen million shall prevail over the remainder. In a higher mind type of civilisation it is not the rule of the people by the people, but rather the rule of the wise among the people by consent of the people, which is implicit. The pressure of circumstances is driving the Anglo-Saxons towards this culmination. The sooner people can be brought to realise these things, and to understand the forces which are at work to bring them about, the more quickly and happily will it be possible for national destiny to be fulfilled.

For this reason also neither communism nor fascist dictatorship will ever be acceptable to Anglo-Saxons, and there is not the slightest danger that either of these systems will prevail.

In dealing thus far exclusively with the Anglo-Saxons it must not be forgotten that there are other nations belonging to the fifth or Nordic sub-race. With suitable modifications the same general principles apply to them also, and it is therefore not surprising to find that the Nordic nations on the whole favour democratic forms of government whereas, for equally cogent reasons, the Alpine or Latin peoples are, on the whole, subject to some form of dictatorship. Each type of government is appropriate in its own setting and is necessary to the fulfilment of the Plan. Danger lies in the assumption by any group that all countries ought to be organise upon the same basis as themselves, giving rise to a policy of interference, active or passive, in the internal affairs of other nations.

It would be well to understand why, in Latin countries, dictatorship is generally appropriate, for with understanding comes tolerance and the possibility of real co-operation. Among nations of the Latin temperament, which belong mainly to the fourth sub-race, there is a less clearly objective sense of individuality and a tendency, therefore, to live in terms of a group-soul mode of consciousness. There is consequently less insistence upon individual freedom. This is due to the fact that the fourth sub-race lives with its consciousness focused in the lower Manas, with which the karmic or astral principle is almost inextricably interwoven. The latter produces a more or less strongly marked devotional element, which needs to express itself either through art, through idealism, or in devotion to a personal leader. Politically it is generally the last of these. If someone arises in whom the people have confidence, they will follow him wholeheartedly to almost any extent. Dictators are such people. The depth and reality of the devotion which is given to Mussolini and to Hitler, for instance, can scarcely be realised until one experiences it at first hand. There is criticism in plenty of the effects of their policy, but the blame for this is laid upon the subordinates who are said not to be carrying out the dictator's real intentions. Inspired leadership and devoted following are the elements of which social and political Organisation in the fourth sub-race are made up.

To all of this, however, a new and powerful force is being added in these modem times. To say that one is entering a new age with the appearance of a new sub-race is not merely to fix one's eyes upon western America. The effects of the new age are becoming apparent throughout the whole of the Aryan Race. The awakening of intuition is not confined to America. Through this awakening, for the first time in history, something of the real force of Buddhi is incident in human affairs. It has already been noted that motive is astral until it can become Buddhic. Today we are witnesses of the beginning of that time. The mind period from which mankind is emerging was a mechanical one, ranging from a mechanical Deity through a mechanical education to a mechanical mode of conduct in accordance with a mechanical moral law. Civilisation comprised a number of separate compartments in each of which specialists sought to know more and more about less and less.

The Buddhic world, however, is not mechanical but dynamic. It does not require compartments because its nature is expansive and unifying. This unifying force is today everywhere at work in the affairs of men. In the individual first, it draws together the different sides of human nature-mental, aesthetic, moral, active-making of them a true individuality endowed with dynamic purpose. It performs a similar work in the larger life of a nation, drawing together the different compartments of its life into a real national unity. It is being found that these compartments are not, in fact, separate one from another, but are aspects of a unified national life. The trades unions, for example, were formed originally to deal with purely industrial affairs. It now appears that industry is not an isolated factor, but has connections with both politics and social conditions. Hence the trades unions have been obliged to enter the field of politics. Political parties, on the other hand, have been driven to consider both economic and educational affairs, and even domestic issues. Education is intimately connected with health; health is affected by housing and sanitation, and also by food; this last involves agriculture, transport and trade relationships with other lands. Health also involves mothercraft, marriage conditions, national insurance, and the regulation of labour, especially for women and children. In this and in many other ways does the unifying dynamism of intuition gather together the threads of human activity and make a unity of the whole of national life. Under our eyes there is growing up a sense of national unity, national solidarity, national purpose, all of which belong to the working out of the Plan.

Fascism is an example of this. It is one way of establishing national unity under dictatorial leadership, which is appropriate to the fourth sub-race and also to those nations of the fifth sub-race which reflect the fourth stage of growth. Among the nations of the fifth sub-race this same result of unification has to be achieved, not by compulsion of leadership, but by persuasion of usefulness. It is a slower process, but ultimately more stable.

Behind this lies an interesting and important lesson. Consciously or unconsciously the Aryan Race is being taught Discrimination, which is the first lesson on the path of future progress. Desirelessness is the lesson which the Sixth Root-Race must learn, Good Conduct, or right Will, being reserved for the Seventh Root-Race, by the end of which the average man should arrive at the stage of the first Initiation. It has already been shown that the pathway of occultism is also the main road of evolution. Hence it is part of the Plan that Aryan humanity should learn Discrimination, for this is a faculty of the enlightened Manas. The Real stands for spiritual or Eternal values such as character, friendship, and inner freedom, while the Unreal implies temporal or material conditions. For our Race spiritual values are expressed in terms of Brotherhood; hence the importance of our First Object, which is the guiding star of the Fifth Root-Race.

World conditions today are compelling men to learn this lesson. It is becoming clear that the individual cannot solve his problems - unemployment, for example - in isolation. He is dependent upon his neighbours. The nation cannot solve its problems - disarmament, for instance - in isolation. It is dependent upon other nations. Even the League of Nations cannot overcome its difficulties alone, because it is dependent upon humanity. Brotherhood alone holds the key to these problems. For this reason affairs cannot be put right merely by the adjustment of organisation, by the substitution of a new for the existing system of politics, industry, finance, or education. A change of consciousness is needed first, as the basis for these external adjustments. Only Discrimination can bring about this change, for it means converting humanity from an attitude of acquisitive greed leading to disaster to one of outgoing brotherhood which is the road to happiness.

Desireless being the lesson for the Sixth Root-Race, one would expect to find its adumbration among the members of the incipient sixth sub-race. Already these people are placing far less value upon possessions and security. Saving for old age, for instance, while being a virtue for the fifth sub-race, holds no place in the lives of new age people. They realise something of the indestructible nature of Life which is characteristic of Buddhi, even through its intuitional reflection. And as Life is the creator of its environment, this last can be left more or less to take care of itself. Life has the power to deal with every situation as it arises; it need not anticipate. Intuitional people tend to live in the present, which for them is the only reality. Past and future lie outside the immediacy of intuition. With Buddhi, past present and future become merged into the Eternal Now.

Changes in other aspects of human life are equally significant. Among scientists certain discoveries are being made which point to the future. At a time when Physics was the handmaid of Chemistry, H. P. Blavatsky prophesied that in the near future the former would make discoveries of profound importance. She has been amply justified, for physicists have discovered something at least of the etheric structure of chemical atoms, and have shown the common basis of all the elements. In The Secret Doctrine it is stated that :

Under the guidance of the Mahachohan, modern science would seem to have made a good beginning towards the fulfilment of this task.

But there are other aspects of work connected with the department of the Mahachohan which are now due for consideration. The emergence of a new Race is coincident with changes in both animal and vegetable life. The Secret Doctrine reminds us :

The most obvious example of such a change is concerned with the horse. Once a prominent and indispensable feature of industrial and domestic life, this animal is now rapidly disappearing. Against this there is a quick growth in the cult of the dog, of which many new varieties are being bred, and which is becoming an almost universal domestic pet. Is it only a coincidence that the horse is a Third Ray animal with its characteristic mental quality, while the dog is a Sixth Ray creature expressive of the devotion which has its roots in the Buddhic world? Changes such as these have a deeper meaning than mere chance or fashion can dictate.

Equally striking, in the vegetable kingdom, is the modern cult of the grapefruit. Until recently an expensive luxury, it is now a common article of diet. There is also a tendency, in England at least, for oaks and elms to disappear. At one time England was renowned for its oak trees, but now they are becoming difficult to find. Their place is being taken by the conifers. It is noteworthy that, of all trees, the pine is the most friendly towards man, being able to share with him something of its vitality and healthgiving properties. Here is another indication of the unifying force of Buddhi.

These are, of course, only isolated instances of changes which are occurring in our midst. It would be an interesting and valuable contribution to our knowledge of the Plan if members from other parts of the world would take note of similar local happenings. The Theosophical Research Centre would form a useful clearinghouse for the information which would thus become available.

Climatic changes are also taking place. The old-fashioned December is now only to be found on Christmas cards so far as western Europe is concerned, while the climate of north America is said to be becoming increasingly extreme in its limits of heat and cold, of drought and deluge. Here again more exact information would be valuable.

There remains one other aspect of the Mahachohan's work of preparation for the new Race which needs consideration, even though men themselves have little or no conscious part to play in carrying it out. This is the work of building continents and changing the configuration of the earth. Each Root-Race has its own continent, so situated that its geological structure will conform to the needs of its inhabitants and its climate will provide the environment necessary for the flora, fauna, and human life which the continent is intended to support. Thus Lemuria, of which the south Pacific Islands are the remnants, was the home of the Third Root-Race. Atlantis, the bulk of which now forms the bed of the Atlantic Ocean, belonged to the Fourth Root-Race. One is accustomed to regard Europe, with parts of western Asia, as the home of the Fifth Root-Race, and to look upon north America as the "new world", and the habitat of the Sixth Root-Race. According to The Secret Doctrine, however, America is not a "new" world, save in terms of European exploration, for one reads that:

For this reason America as one knows it today is the field of growth, not for the Sixth Root-Race, but for the sixth sub-race, and it therefore forms part of the Aryan continent. It will serve as the cradle for the Sixth Root-Race, which will be born out of the sixth sub-race, and which in due time will enter into Shaka, its own continent. Concerning this one reads that :

It would appear that this continent is in process of slow upheaval from the bed of the northern Pacific, and that the Rocky Mountains will form its eastern boundary.

To destroy one continent and to build another in its place is a colossal undertaking needing millennia for its achievement. Once again one is reminded of the need for thinking in astronomical figures. H.P.Blavatsky makes this abundantly clear in the following quotation which summarises much of this process of form-building:

One is tempted to wonder what the Sixth Race will be like, what its purpose will be, what type of consciousness it will serve to express. It is, indeed, the plain duty of the occultist, and of all those who aspire to be of practical assistance to the Elder Brethren in their work of founding this new Race, to know something of the task in which they will be engaged. That there will be direct guidance at the start is certain, for :

But agents of the Elder Brethren are expected to use their own initiative, and not to wait until they are instructed what to do. One can begin to fit oneself for this by self-training here and now, but one needs a clear sense of objective and direction in order to do so intelligently. The objective is to awaken the consciousness of the Spiritual Soul. Signposts are not lacking to point the way, which is outlined briefly in the following words:

Is this "Fire produced by Friction" perhaps an explanation of the stress, struggle, and anguish of life in these modern days?

A task such as this involves initiation. Initiation, however, must not be thought of as a ceremony, but rather - in the literal meaning of the word - as a beginning. The First Initiation marks the commencement of the absorption ,of Manas by Buddhi, for the causal body ceases then to be a centre of consciousness and becomes a vehicle - part of the objective self or personality. It is only a beginning, however, and from the standpoint of that new birth one looks forward to a future of illimitable splendour whose ultimate possibilities are veiled in the blinding Light of Eternal Being. For though Buddhi itself seems to be nothing but Light Universal, yet even that is not the end. H. P. Blavatsky again points to further possibilities in these final words:

This document is a publication of the
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MANKIND: TODAY AND TOMORROW