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Autobiography of Alice A. Bailey - Appendix - The Principles of the Arcane School
VII. The Arcane School presents the Fundamental Doctrines of the Ageless Wisdom It simply presents them for consideration and for acceptance or rejection, according to the thinking and wish of the student. There is, as you well know, no official, theological, dogmatic imposition of truth. What are the essential doctrines from the angle of the Arcane School? What are the teachings which they feel it necessary to present? That the Kingdom of God, the Spiritual Hierarchy of our planet, can and will be materialized on earth. We believe that it is already present and will later be recognized as the culminating kingdom in nature. That there has been a continuity of revelation down the ages and that from cycle to cycle God has revealed Himself to humanity. [295] That God Transcendent is equally God Immanent, and that through human beings, who are in truth the sons of God (if the words of Christ and all the world Teachers mean anything) the three divine aspects - knowledge, love and will - can be expressed. That there is only one divine Life, expressing itself through the multiplicity of forms in all the kingdoms of nature, and that the sons of men are, therefore, One. That within each human being is a point of light, a spark of the one Flame. This, we believe, is the soul, the second aspect of divinity and that of which Paul spoke when he referred to "Christ in you, the hope of glory." It is the demonstration of the divine livingness in each person which is our goal, and discipleship is a step upon the way to that attainment. That an ultimate perfection (though relative in nature) is possible for the individual aspirant and for humanity as a whole through the action of the evolutionary process. This process we seek to study and to recognize the myriad of developing lives, each with its place within the scheme, from the humblest atom up through the four recognized kingdoms of nature, and on through the fifth kingdom (of which the Christ is the supreme Head) to those exalted spheres where the Lord of the World works out the divine Plan. That there are certain immutable laws governing the universe; man becomes progressively aware of these as he evolves. These laws are expressions of the will of God. That the basic law of our universe is to be seen in the manifestation of God as Love. Upon these eight fundamentals all the esoteric teaching rests. There are necessarily subsidiary factors and other presented teachings which the student is asked to study but which he again accepts or not as he likes. Such are the teaching on Reincarnation, governed by the Law of Rebirth, the cyclic nature of all manifestation, the nature and aim of the evolutionary process, the existence of the Spiritual Hierarchy, the existence of the Masters and Their work, and the nature of consciousness with its various stages of individualized consciousness, [296] self consciousness and spiritual consciousness, demonstrating upon the Path of Evolution and culminating in the Path of Initiation. The great primary truths are presented for acceptance because they exist as the foundational truths of all the world religions and have evoked universal recognition; man instinctively knows them, either as working hypotheses which he feels have no sane opposition or as facts which he accepts owing to his point in evolution. The second category of truths are offered simply for consideration and as aspects or details, implementing or growing out of the more fundamental body of truth. They are more frankly controversial but are held as beliefs by millions of people. These, therefore, are the seven governing factors in the work of the Arcane School. Students are asked to study them and accept them as long as they work with us. They come to us voluntarily and can leave us at any time. It is not an easy Way. We shall all have moments of discouragement and we shall none of us see the world as perfect as we hope it some day will be, nor will we see ourselves as perfect as we would like to be. But we can work for (and see) many great improvements, both in ourselves and in the world. The vision ever lies on ahead; if it did not there would be nothing to incite us to effort. It is helpful however to realize that some part at least of our vision can become an attained fact. It is for this that we work. [297] 1947
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