Immigration as an Evolutionary Aspect of the Plan
“Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, / Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, / I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” These stirring words from The New Collusus, a poem written by Emma Lazarus and engraved in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, have always carried a dual effect: one that expresses the soul of the nation, and one that also pricks the national conscience in recognition of the historic failure to fully realize this central ideal: that the immigrant must be welcomed, not shunned; given shelter and opportunity, not turned away at the border. Increasingly, the conundrum posed by immigration—concern for the preservation of the society, its values and social customs, versus the immigrants’ appeal for sanctuary and opportunity—is becoming an almost worldwide problem. A new perspective is demanded, and the esoteric teaching found in the writings of Alice Bailey provides some important and perhaps surprising insights for consideration.
To begin with, the preservation of a society—any society—in a permanent condition of stasis is not a realistic aspiration, for the evolutionary force that drives life in all kingdoms on Earth creates ceaseless flux, constant adaptation, relinquishment and cyclic renewal. The desire to preserve the status quo, to want things in general to remain as they are, is both futile and devolutionary in effect. “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often”—the words of John Henry Newman— apply not only to the individual human being but to whole societies and nations, as well. Adaptation is an essential aspect of evolution. Adaptability is also closely related to the spiritual function of intelligence, and esoteric teaching tells us that humanity is the center for the expression of divine intelligence. During the past one hundred years or so, this fundamental esoteric truth has been tested over and over again, beginning with the World War and its aftermath, which initiated “a constant and ceaseless migration of peoples from one place to another”, Alice Bailey wrote. The War produced great migrations of armies and of the peoples fleeing from war, accompanied by those workers who sought to help them become re-established in new locations. Another factor behind this constant movement of peoples is the economic disparity between the very rich and the abject poverty in which much of the world’s population lives. Those with the fortitude and opportunity to seek better circumstances elsewhere inevitably and understandably leave their homelands in search of better lives for themselves and their children.
The result of all this movement and dislocation, she pointed out, tends to produce inevitable fusion and blending, which in turn produce “inter-racial life”, “thus constantly offsetting and negating what has been called ‘racial purity’”. Esoteric teaching makes it quite clear that any lingering desire to preserve “purity of blood” is not only a vain hope but an anti-evolutionary urge. “People today have in them all the strains and the blood of all races, and this will increasingly be the case”, Alice Bailey wrote. “This development is definitely part of the divine plan, no matter how undesirable it may appear to those who idealise purity or how ruthless its application”, she wrote. “Something intended is being brought about and it cannot be avoided.” In the eyes of the spiritual Hierarchy—Those Whose spiritual vision is higher and more expansive than ours can be—immigration is a force so powerful, and so unstoppable, that it is creating the foundation for a whole new civilization and, in esoteric terms, a new race of human beings—a “hybrid race”, which, if rightly developed through education and with understanding, will express “in embryo” the nature of the sixth root race (the present race being the fifth, in esoteric terminology). This coming root race will be “HUMANITY without any racial or national barriers”, we’re told, “with a new and virile sense of life because of the infusion of stronger stocks with weaker or worn-out types and of newer racial strains with older and more developed ones.” In spite of the manner in which this fusion is being accomplished, “it must inevitably break down the prejudices and racial barriers”, Alice Bailey wrote.
“The world today is very, very small and men are discovering that humanity is one…We are all intermingled today”, Alice Bailey wrote. The disruption caused by war, corrupt governments, and economic inequality has made migration a universal factor, and this movement will condition the new civilization. Writing towards the end of the first half of the twentieth century, Alice Bailey forecast that “in twenty-five years’ time [approximately 1975] men and women will be a hybrid race. Inevitably a more homogeneous humanity will appear during the next one hundred years”. she wrote. “ Many attitudes and many customary reactions…will vanish, and types and qualities and characteristics for which we have as yet no precedent will appear on a large scale…for this due preparation must be made”, she predicted. We can see this happening now, particularly in the large population centers of the world. Dispersion through immigration is bringing diverse cultures and races into contact, expanding awareness of different cultural values, and demanding the constant necessity to examine and sometimes readjust viewpoints and to differentiate between what is absolutely essential to living a life of integrity and what can be set aside for the sake of the common good.
Not only the nations that have traditionally been destinations for immigrants, but increasingly nations whose cultural and social traditions have been more centralized, less diversified, are being challenged to accept migrants from places far distant and, sometimes, vastly different in customs and worldviews. The challenge to offer accommodation according to the receiving nation’s policies, and the expectancy that it places on the incoming populations to adapt to the accepting society’s norms, are huge and often painful, both for immigrants and for native-born citizens alike. However, if rightly handled, something good and truly evolutionary is slowly being created.
In spite of the friction and sense of loss created by the forces of amalgamation, an invaluable educational experience of deep spiritual significance is underway which is slowly fostering the sense of synthesis and revealing the one Humanity. Paradoxically, the outer change created by the dispersion of the world’s peoples is fostering the development of a growing sense of synthesis. As the old and familiar ways of living give way to new patterns of relationship, the turmoil is generating examination of long-held attitudes towards racial, cultural and religious differences, as well as towards intermarriage, awakening a more tolerant spirit of understanding. “The power to consider, to choose, to think and to discriminate is rapidly developing among all classes everywhere as a result of the many cataclysmic happenings, the presentation of many changing circumstances and the many points of view and theories of government and of religion; these grow naturally out of new contacts and the rapid presentation of events through the medium of the press and the radio. It is this that is of importance from the standpoint of evolution and the growth of the world consciousness. The physical plane happenings are incidental and of no permanent lasting power”, Alice Bailey wrote.
Some seemingly simple, yet profoundly true words of Alice Bailey sum up the right approach to the challenges posed by the migration of the world’s peoples now underway: “Goodwill is the simplest expression of true love and the one most easily understood. The use of goodwill in connection with the problems with which humanity is faced releases the intelligence along constructive lines; where goodwill is present, the walls of separation and of misunderstanding fall.” Towards this goal we all can contribute.
