The content of this post is directly from the work of The Lucis Trust.
This Study can be found here:
Service of The Plan
Study Two: Department of Religion
Keynotes
The thoughts of men have ever been religious. There has never been a time when religion or the thoughts of men about God, about the infinite, and about the Life which has brought all into being has not been present. Even the most ignorant of savage races have recognized a Power and have attempted to define their relationship to that Power in terms of fear, of sacrifice or of propitiation. From the rudiments of nature worship, from the fetishism and degraded idol worship of primitive man we have built up a structure of truth which, though as yet imperfect and inadequate, does verily lay the foundation of the future Temple of Truth where the light of the Lord will be seen and which will prove adequate as an expression of Reality.
God ... is the binding element in the world. The consciousness which is individual in us, is universal in Him; the love which is partial in us is all-embracing in Him. Apart from Him there could be no world, because there could be no adjustment of individuality. His purpose in the world is quality of attainment. Alfred N. Whitehead, Religion in the Making
Today we are watching the death of a civilization or cycle of incarnation of humanity. In all fields of human expression, crystallization and deterioration had set in. Worn-out religious dogmas and the grip of theology and the orthodox churches have no longer sufficed to hold the allegiance of the potent, inner, spiritual life; humanity is deeply spiritual and innately religious but needs today a new form with which to clothe the ancient verities.
A spiritual bond links every manifestation of religion throughout humanity. At first sight the history of religion displays a pure diversity. But when we look closer, the religious life is seen to be an essential unity, a single aspiration of desire and love of God aroused by the Divine Spirit Himself. Not only from the intellectual, but from the religious standpoint the whole of mankind constitutes a single unit. For it possesses a common store of fundamental religious truth. Otto Karrer, Religions of Mankind
We are in process of passing from one religious age into another.... The hearts of men have never been more open to spiritual impression than they are at this time, and the door into the very centre of reality stands wide open.
Through the increasing sensitivity of men and through the steady thinning of the separating veil, more and more during the coming years will the telepathic faculties of men and their power to respond to inner inspiration be developed and demonstrated. By the growth of intuitional telepathy and the increasing comprehension of the power of color and sound will the work of the Christ and of the Great Ones be contacted and understood, and the peoples released from the thralldom of the past and enabled to enter into the liberty of the Kingdom of God.
All clear thinking about life and about the great laws of nature, if carried forward with persistence and steadfastness, leads eventually into the mystic world, and this the foremost scientists of our day are beginning to realize. Religion starts with the accepted hypothesis of the unseen and the mystical. But science arrives at the same point by working from the seen to the unseen and from the objective to the subjective.... It seems to be unalterably true that all paths lead to God – viewing God as the ultimate goal, the symbol of man’s search for Reality. It is no longer a sign of superstition to believe in a higher dimension and in another world of Being.
IF the world religions were really controlled by concrete knowledge or science, they would not be the vague, speculative, mystical and glamour controlled systems which they are at present. Some day the minds of men – illumined by the light of the soul – will formulate the one universal religion, recognizable by all. Then the Kingdom of God will be known for what it is, another kingdom in nature. Speculation, wishful thinking and hopeful aspiration will disappear. The science of occultism is the first step upon the way of true religion, and the scientific investigation of human psychology will greatly help towards this end.
Religion must eventually be composite, gathered from many sources and composed of many truths.... Exponents of all faiths are today meeting to discuss the possibility of finding a platform of such universality and truth that upon it all men may unite, and on which the coming world religion may be based.... There is nothing but a valuable gain to us, an enriching of our consciousness, when we realize the unity and, at times, the uniformity of the teaching as it is given in both the East and the West.
[One factor of] the synthesis which will later be produced [is] ... the fusion of man’s differentiated spiritual aspirations, as expressed today in many world religions, into the new world religion. This new religion will take the form of a conscious unified group approach to the world of spiritual values, evoking in its turn reciprocal action from Those Who are the citizens of that world – the planetary Hierarchy and affiliated groups.
[Love] is the theme of the Christian teaching, just as Will, divinely expressed, will be the theme of the coming world religion....
From the highest spiritual Being upon our planet, through the graded spiritual groups of enlightened and perfected men who work upon the inner side of life, on into the outer world of daily living, where thinking, loving men and women serve, the tide of the new life sweeps. The Plan is ready for immediate application and intelligent implementing; the workers are there, and the power to work is adequate to the need.
Work To Be Done
It may be helpful for the student to organize his or her thoughts around certain key questions.
1. What is mankind's “next spiritual step forward”?
2. What are the real spiritual needs of humanity now, and how can they be formulated and met?
To correct incorrect quotations of religious books in order to sow separation and divisiveness between the “different” religious groups.
3. Two basic principles of synthesis and of relationship should underlie all religious teaching and training. How can these be formulated into the major and universal tenets all religions can adopt?
4. What does the redemptive process really entail in terms of planetary relationships and unfoldment of the divine potential in mankind?
5. Where should the basic responsibility be placed for spiritual development?
The Eternal Quest in PDF Format (Arabic Version):
The Eternal Quest in Word Format (Arabic Version):
