What Is An Ascended Master, Anyway?

WHAT IS AN ASCENDED MASTER, ANYWAY?

The Source for this information is an Ascended Master Himself, That One Who is known as Djwhal Khul, The Tibetan. He had a great deal to say about The Initiates and Masters of The Spiritual Hierarchy through his amanuensis, Alice A. Bailey, from 1919 to 1949. Many of these Masters (40) will be physically walking the Earth in the early portion of the New Age in Aquarius, will be founding Mystery Schools and Ashrams, and will be preparing the way for the appearance of the next Avatar of The Christ Consciousness. They want to be more widely known to Humanity now, and I thought it might be helpful to offer a little elucidation about Those Who are called Ascended Masters of the Wisdom (for an overview, go to "Who Are The Spiritual Hierarchy?").

An Ascended Master is One Who has taken the 5th Initiation, called the Revelation (also the Resurrection). In this evolutionary scheme Sanat Kumara (Head of The Hierarchy) has made the Path of Initiation the path of evolutionary progress ever since the Middle Atlantean Times. The first 5 Initiations are called the Birth, the Baptism, the Transfiguration, the Renunciation, and the Revelation. An Ascended Master is One Who has attained freedom from the Wheel of Rebirth and need nevermore to experience incarnate physicality. If They choose to interact with Humanity at this level, They create the mayavirupa, the body of manifestation, by an act of the will and visualization. They may also project a holographic image for such interaction. Some of Them have retained the old physical form in which They took Ascension and which has been transmuted into a Light Body that is not restrained by known laws of physics (e.g. Djwhal Khul).

The Ascended Masters have all gone through eons of lifetimes on this planet and have all experienced the sorrows and pains and trials and vicissitudes and setbacks that we all have experienced. They have tasted the bitter lash of retribution (karma) for misdeeds. They have undergone all of the difficulties and joys and challenges that earth life has to offer, and They have succeeded in raising Themselves up out of the quagmire through stupendous self-effort and discipline, through meditation and sacrificial service, and through following the instruction of their Master Teachers.

The Ascended Masters have all been Initiated by The One Initiator, Sanat Kumara, and have seen the 5-pointed Star flash overhead and have been touched by the Flaming Diamond, the Rod of Initiation of The Lord of the World. They have come before Humanity as the most exemplary and influential lives the Race has known (please check out "The Initiates Of Earth"). They have advanced civilizations and have offered the greatest spiritual teachings the world has known. They are known as The Immortals in the Orient (and The Society of Organized and Illumined Minds).

A Master of the Wisdom is One Who can now work in many of The Departments of The Solar Hierarchy and, having taken the 5th Initiation, is considered an "Entered Apprentice" or 1st Level Initiate of The Hierarchy on Sirius, which is The Higher Self of our Solar Logos. A Master of the Wisdom stands at the threshold of the 7 Paths of Higher Evolution and is presented with the choice of which Path will be taken for the rest of the journey of return to The Godhead. The bulk of The Ascended Masters choose the Path to Sirius, and The Ones Who choose the Path of Earth Service do so out of love and compassion for the Human Race and profound respect for Sanat Kumara.

There are 63 Ascended Masters associated with the evolution of the Human Kingdom, but there are many others unknown to Humanity Who are associated with the evolutionary progress of the other Kingdoms: Mineral, Plant, Animal, and Deva. They serve the Will of The Planetary Logos, The Higher Self of Sanat Kumara. The name They choose in communicating with Humanity is usually the name of their last lifetime when They took the Ascension Initiation, and that is usually the form that They create for any interaction.

There is no personality left anymore in an Ascended Master. They have transcended personality. They have transcended the Higher Self or Soul by the 4th Initiation, and They have merged with Monadic Consciousness (Higher Self of the Higher Self). They might be considered as Gestalts of Consciousness. They have Ashrams of disciples and lower Initiates and are The Heart Flame of their ashramic effort and purpose, which is an aspect of the Plan of Sanat Kumara. The work is carried out by mental inspiration and telepathic impression of their disciples and Initiates in incarnate form.

Addendum

I want to dispel the erroneous and confused notion by many that an Ascended Master is an Individuated Consciousness, such as that which is perceived about the self by the ego-centered incarnate human personality. There is no I consciousness but rather a We Consciousness at that Level of Existence (the Buddhic Plane, which is beyond the Manasic or Mental Plane).

The confusion arises in the human mind out of a need to simplify and make more readily comprehensible, however those Entities Who are known as Masters are actually Group Minds, if you will. As the Ladder of Evolution is ascended in a double helical spiral (reflected in the human DNA molecule), there is greater and greater merging of consciousness as the Higher Planes are approached, the closer to returning to The Triune Godhead the more immense the Group Consciousness. So, the higher the Initiatory Status and the higher the Plane of Existence, the vaster the size of the Group Mind or Gestalt. On the involutionary spiral toward physicality there is fragmentation of consciousness, while on the evolutionary spiral toward Divinity there is coalescence of consciousness.

Contributing to the confusion is the human appearance of an Ascended One when choosing to interact with Humanity and the images that have been portrayed by intuitively-guided artists, and there certainly is no sexual polarity (such as male or female) to these Great Ones regardless of the form chosen for the mayavirupa (or holographic projection). They are, in down-to-earth terms, asexual Collectives of Consciousness upon much Higher Planes of Existence with a state and a status of consciousness that is incomprehensible to the human mind operating as the intellect (through the left brain) rather than the Soul-inspired intuition (through the right brain).

For example, Hilarion or El Morya or Serapis Bey are Great Group Minds (Senior Monads) assisting Sanat Kumara with the Master Plan for all the Kingdoms of Life on Planet Earth. Each one of these so-called Masters in Earth's Spiritual Hierarchy wields the forces of one of the 7 Rays in a grand cooperative effort to advance the Divine Plan as visualized in the Cosmic Mind of The Planetary Logos (to learn more about the Rays, go to "The Seven Rays Explained").

Be that as it may and having thusly explained the nature of consciousness of our Ascended Masters to a marginal extent, if it makes it any easier for people to think of these Lofty Ones as Individuals with the appearance of a human being in order to follow Their example or to draw Them into their mental world for blessing and inspiration, then let it be so with the approval of The Masters. For They wish to be known more widely throughout the Human Race prior to what is called the Externalization of The Spiritual Hierarchy at the outset of the Aquarian Age when 40 of the 63 Masters associated with Human Evolution will be physically present on the Earth, pointing the way toward the Christing of the Race and an era of oneness, joy-filled harmony, and peace without measure in the human experience.

I hope that this brief introduction leads to a better understanding of The Lofty Benefactors of Humankind and gives inspiration to follow in their brilliantly-lighted footsteps. Submitted with ever-enduring and ever-expanding love on behalf of The Masters of the Wisdom.