A curious statement is made in the writings of Alice Bailey: that the task of the new group of world servers is to force the energy of the will-to-good into the world. “To force” conjures up thoughts of insisting upon “my way or the highway”, demanding that one’s views be considered carefully and taken on board because they are right, and so on. While those reactions might be deeply satisfying to the personality, they are not only wrongly oriented but futile, for as the old proverb goes, “A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.”

In addition to the futility of attempting to change anyone’s opinion by forceful domination, we need to remember that the forces at play in the present times, due in large part to the conflicting tides of the outgoing Piscean age and the incoming energies of the Aquarian age, are generating a miasma of confusion, anxiety, suspicion and deliberate distortion, a whirlpool from which none of us can claim independence. Each human being is the product of the experiences of countless lifetimes and the thoughtforms and values that have been created as a result. These can be deeply held convictions; they express “our truths” but they aren’t necessarily the truths held by others. Even when we think we’re thinking, it’s important to remember that every individual in the world is busy working in astral (emotional) matter, and the potency of human and world desire cannot be overestimated. When the astral plane is seen with the “opened eye”, Alice Bailey wrote, the appearance is one of dense fog, confusion, changing forms and colors, so that, she said, “the hopelessness of the enterprise seems overwhelming. It is not light, or starry or clear. It is apparently impenetrable disorder, for it is the meeting ground of forces.” This is why one of the first qualifications for spiritual development is discrimination, which uses the mind to analyze and to reason. Thus, it’s the better part of wisdom to be sincere and humble enough to constantly re-examine why we hold our convictions, as well as to discern the spiritual qualities they express (or lack), and allow as much of the light of reason to illumine them as we can summon.

In the aftermath of the World War, esoteric teaching forecast that the forces of evil would seek to cloud the issues confronting human minds to such a degree that the people of goodwill everywhere would be bewildered and would fail to see the clear outlines of the factual situation or to distinguish between what is true and what is false. Since that statement was written, in the 1930s, the emergence of mass communications has grown exponentially and now is entering a new phase called Artificial Intelligence, a development for which many of the people who have the deepest understanding of its implications believe that humanity is completely unprepared.

How shall we make our way through this challenging cycle? For we must; the fear that we will fail to navigate the vortex of swirling forces is not only intolerable but, more importantly, not in keeping with the divine Plan for the Earth, which is incorporated within a solar system governed by the energy of Love-Wisdom. These two words, love and wisdom, provide a clue to how humanity must respond. For reassurance, an ancient spiritual Law says that Perfection calls imperfection to the surface. Good drives evil always from the form of man in time and space. We’re told that the emergence of imperfection and the planned efforts of evil will be paralleled by the appearance of the new group of world servers, now so visibly at work throughout the world, and the preparation of the spiritual Hierarchy to externalize: to emerge on the world scene as an active presence within humanity.

With these thoughts in mind, and returning to the statement that the task of the new group of world servers is to force the energy of the will-to-good into the world, how shall this be accomplished? As a beginning, we can identify the myriad ways in which the forces of evil are fostering separation, working to create divisions between individuals, groups, and whole nations wherever a point of weakness allows ingress. Thus, the manner in which we take our stand on what we believe to be true and good is crucial. Turning one’s back on everything and everyone that appears to be alien to our sense of truth and goodness cuts off the possibility of establishing a relationship. Instead, looking for areas, no matter how minor they might seem, where consensus can be achieved highlights even tiny signs of progress and fosters optimism.

Perhaps the search for common ground might be best served, not by trying to sort out the present issues that cause division but instead, by focusing on establishing a collective vision of the future all people of goodwill hope to achieve. This approach releases the issues from entrapment in the pairs of opposites (right vs wrong, true vs false, etc., etc.) and re-orients the collective mind to search for a third, higher point where agreement and a sense of shared aspiration can emerge.

It also acknowledges the principle of liberty, a right that is fundamental to all human beings and, we’re told, the easiest aspect of the divine will for humanity to grasp. When liberty is viewed as a basic human aspiration, it breaks through self-interest and is recognized as an inalienable right of all people. It fosters right human relations and evokes the sense of responsibility for the freedom of all people to think independently and to work out their own destinies. We are all undergoing the grinding processes of life experience, being tested sometimes to our core and slowly gaining the fruits of wisdom thereby. This understanding recognizes that liberty serves as a guard rail, a protective wall against tyranny in all its forms. Many thoughtful people view the present times as offering an unparalleled opportunity to apply this principle, for the growth of autocrats, dictators and the pervasive drive for power in all areas of life are testing humanity’s desire for peace and threatening the essential basis of human rights—individual, group and collective. Yet, there is reason for optimism, for the response of humanity to the threat to human liberty can be seen particularly in the mobilization of young people in many parts of the world to express their resistance to corruption and the curtailment of personal liberty, and demanding a stronger voice in the future direction of their lives.

Many years ago the writings of Alice Bailey proposed, “The people of the world are coming to realize, through suffering…that there is something greater than peace and that is the good of the whole.” Peace will be the result when humanity has fulfilled its responsibility to lay the foundation for right human relationships. She asked, “Is it not possible that He Who may come [the Christ or world Saviour known to people of all faiths by various names] will unfold to us the nature of the Will or Purpose of God, thus presenting that will-to-good which must be called into activity if the evil will-to-power is to be swept from the Earth”? This question can only be answered by the response of human beings willing to take an active stand for universality, for right relationships between all the kingdoms of the Earth, and for the joy of sharing which leads to the upliftment of the whole. Alongside the separativeness and aggression and divisions that are so visible in today’s world, we can also see the growth of goodwill among “ordinary” men and women working to improve their communities; we can note the presence of goodwill in acts of selflessness and courage which place the greater need above self-interest; and we can witness the power of goodwill to reach out across apparent chasms of difference to establish ties based on our shared humanity. “Wherever goodwill is the goal and evokes effort in any form”, we’re told, “the energy of the will-to-good will make itself felt”. This is surely all the assurance and the invitation that are needed to begin creating a better world for all.