I think the greatest example of hierarchy is the relationship of our planet to the sun because all of the planets in our solar system circulate or revolve around the sun, which is the life-bearing orb at the very center and all the planets are held in being by the magnetic power and force field of the sun.
Robert: Welcome. Inner sight is simply seeing that which is always present, but not yet fully recognized. You have, within you, the ability to see yourself and the world around you in a new way, with new eyes, so stay with us and together we’ll look at the world and ourselves with inner sight. Our topic for today is the Hierarchy. All the dialogue that you hear on this show emanates from the works of Alice Bailey. Alice Bailey is the founder of the Lucis Trust organization and she wrote twenty-four volumes of books and is the author of the following thought: “The great Hierarchy of Being is that chain of life in which the smallest link is of importance and the greatest link is related to the smallest. Through the electrical interplay of spiritual energy, there is naught but Hierarchy.” That’s a very interesting thought. It relates very much to some of the quantum physics I read on a very basic level. How would you define hierarchy then?
Sarah: It has a number of meanings. There’s the kind of general meaning of hierarchy with a small h, which is any system of persons or things ranked one above another. It’s also, in the dictionary, described as: a rank order of sacred persons. The hierarchy, in general, is a concept of ranking of greater than and lesser than. In the spiritual sense, it’s a more specific term for a group of Beings called the Masters or the Kingdom of Souls, the White Brotherhood, not in terms of the race at all, but in terms of light. They have a number of different meanings, but the spiritual Hierarchy is those Beings who have progressed through the strictly human limitations of consciousness and have surmounted the limitations of being human and have stayed yet with our planet to guide and foster its evolution.
Dale: Yes, the concept of hierarchy, though, I think is familiar and most everybody has heard the word and evidence of it is all around us, actually. We’re all part of a hierarchy, whether we realize it or not and it’s easily recognized. You could think of it in terms of a coordinating function, in other words, that which coordinates is higher on a given scale of complexity than that which is being coordinated. So, for example, the nucleus of a cell coordinates the activity of a single cell.
Sarah: Complexity coordinates simplicity?
Dale: Complexity is a relative term because things become more complex as we move on up the scale. Another example might be the queen bee, who coordinates the activities of a hive. The mayor of the city and the city council coordinate the activities of the city. So, it goes on up the scale, and just like the government or the legislature or the parliament coordinates the activities of the whole country.
Sarah: Those are examples in a mundane sense of what hierarchy signifies. In a spiritual sense, it’s more of a magnetic condition, wouldn’t you say? A transmission of energy or a charge, just as the opening thought said, “an electrical interplay of spiritual energy.” The basic idea, I think, is that the impact of a greater energy field upon the lesser is transformative. Just by the very impact of two energy fields, one greater, one lesser, transformation is generated in the sense of evoking resources and potential within the lesser that might have remained dormant otherwise.
Dale: Yes, each one of us is a part of this series of gradations, if you will. We’re part of a larger organism, and at the same time, we each coordinate the smaller organisms within our body, for example, the atoms and the molecules and the organs. We are the coordinating factor of all of that within our body, but at the same time, we are a small part of a much larger organism, and we are in turn coordinated by this larger organism.
Sarah: Yes, I think most people may not think of their own body, their own physical being, being a hierarchy of systems, but when you become health conscious, you begin to realize you have a responsibility for all these different organs and glands within your body, and you should do right by them by feeding them and giving them proper nutrients and care and so on. I think the greatest example of hierarchy is the relationship of our planet to the sun because all of the planets in our solar system circulate or revolve around the sun, which is the life-bearing orb at the very center and all the planets are held in being by the magnetic power and force field of the sun. So that would be the supreme example in nature of a hierarchy, wouldn’t it?
Dale: Yes, and that just shows you that this whole structure and concept of hierarchy extends throughout the universe.
Sarah: You see it in the animals also. Not too long ago, I was watching a program on television about dogs, and dogs very quickly establish a hierarchy. Anytime two dogs get together, they have to sort out between themselves their rank, and the less dominant dog becomes submissive and sometimes will roll over on its back to show that he’s not a threat to the more powerful dog, so they instinctively sort things out immediately. But I don’t think it means in their dog minds that the one dog is a lesser dog in his worth or value, but it’s more I think of a physical power and dominance, don’t you think? I don’t know. How do I know, I’m not a dog? (laughter)
Robert: I’ll be complimented when somebody calls me top dog. I’ve been called that before. (laughter)
Dale: Well, that’s the same: top dog is the top of the hierarchy. This ranking of organisms, I think is necessary because if you think about it, evolution wouldn’t proceed without this structure, everything would just come to a halt without this hierarchical structure because inspiration comes from above, and guidance comes from above. We see this even in the family unit. The parents guide the child, and the teachers guide the child, and the children guide their dog when they get a new puppy, so there is the hierarchy there between the animal kingdom and the human kingdom. Without this kind of structure, nothing would really move. If everything were even, there’d be no incentive to move forward.
Sarah: There’s an element of sacrifice in that, isn’t there? Even in the lower kingdoms, the mineral kingdom sacrifices, gives up something of itself to the vegetable kingdom in terms of minerals and nutrients that the plant kingdom receives from the earth. And then the plant kingdom sacrifices or gives up its value to the animal kingdom by nourishing the animal kingdom. And you can carry that by extension higher and higher. The lesser sacrifices to the higher, and it’s all part of the great chain of being. It’s all part of the Plan. And it’s utterly beneficent.
Dale: And it doesn’t stop, of course, with human beings. We’re not the top of the heap, because there’s more in the spiritual kingdoms where this same structure of hierarchy continues on.
Sarah: I suppose people would be the most familiar with that idea in terms of angels. There’s been a lot of interest in the angels in the last few years, or the kingdom of saints that some religions hold in very high regard.
Dale: Right, and there’s a lot to learn about angels or in the books of Alice Bailey they call them the deva kingdom. There’s a whole separate kingdom: the deva kingdom. And that’s fascinating because here again, this world depends on this kingdom to provide us with the necessary sustenance and materials that we’re made of.
Sarah: Within every human being—I think this hierarchy that we spoke of in terms of the body being composed of organs and glands and systems—the energy component of that is the centers. And we had a program not too long ago about the centers along the spinal column. That also is symbolic of the hierarchical structure of the human being because the lower centers at the base of the spine–the sacral center, the solar plexus–the energy has to be lifted up from those centers and transferred into the higher centers of the heart, the throat, and the head. And that’s the hierarchical pattern of the lesser giving way to the higher or greater energy field. So, this pattern of hierarchy carries out throughout nature and throughout different kingdoms and we see it within the human being, we see it in the solar system.
Dale: Yes and you carry that also from the centers to where you have this hierarchical ranking in the physical and the emotional and mental nature and then on top of that is the soul. And the soul is the guiding factor in all of this. It oversees the guidance of its incarnated existence in the physical world and provides sustenance and life and consciousness. So, it is very much there in the background guiding and providing us with inspiration.
Robert: Why do you think the concept of hierarchy is in such disrepute today?
Sarah: I’m not sure, but the term is really used in a very pejorative way these days. I don’t remember that from earlier times that hierarchy was even—maybe it was a sign of my own consciousness or lack of it that I don’t remember the word coming into use, but now you hear quite often the term hierarchy denigrated. I think it has to do with people’s fierce resistance to authority, the demand and expectation of complete freedom and free will, and the feeling—which I think is mistaken—that hierarchy would infringe free will and independence and be some kind of authoritarianism that would require submission and obedience and domination. And certainly, we’ve had some bad examples of the misuse of authority just in the past century. Totalitarianism has done some terrible things within the world and people are right to resist that kind of abuse of human freedom. But the idea of a hierarchy, as we’ve said, pervades nature and it’s found within all aspects of the natural world. It’s completely normal and not only that, it’s also necessary. As you said, life couldn’t exist without hierarchy, so I don’t know why it has such a bad press.
Dale: Well, the hierarchy in the church probably hasn’t helped our understanding of that.
Sarah: Yes, the word is often used to apply to the church.
Dale: Yes, in fact, the dictionary definition singles out that ranking.
Sarah: A rank order of sacred persons.
Dale: Yes, and lately the abuses of some of the church officials and some of those who are members of this hierarchy doesn’t help appreciation of that term.
Sarah: Right, I suppose it feeds that mistrust of hierarchical structure when these examples you mentioned have used their power and their authority over young people and children in such an abusive way. It’s absolutely criminal to misuse that kind of power.
Dale: And also, you’ve seen examples of it more and more coming out in the corporate world and the business world. The structure of the hierarchy in the corporate structures, corporate life, and the abuse that goes on there. That’s really what makes hierarchy bad: the human misuse of this divine gift, of divine structure, really. It’s our human misuse of it.
Sarah: Well, really, the problems you’re citing are problems of the misuse of power, and that really doesn’t have much to do with the concept of hierarchy, which is the gradation of life and consciousness.
Dale: Well, they see the ones at the top of this corporation, for example, getting away with all their perks and then being caught for it, fortunately. But it just adds to the bad press that we get on the concept of hierarchy, because it’s the hierarchical structure in the corporation that seems to be undergoing and expressing the abuse.
Sarah: But when you see abuse like that, you can be pretty certain that there is, in fact, no real hierarchical difference in consciousness if the people at the top of the power structure misuse their power rather than using it to evoke the best work and the best efforts of the staff. It’s an example of a lack of hierarchy in consciousness. They are no better than the least of the people.
Dale: It’s a lack of understanding of what hierarchy should be.
Sarah: Maybe we should talk about some good examples of hierarchy to reinforce the term. The first one that every human being enters into, the first experience of hierarchy is family. The mother and the father, the children are a hierarchical structure. And as parents know, it’s very difficult to convince willful children sometimes that “I am the mommy and you’re not.” Sometimes it ends up with “because I’m the mommy, that’s why.” (laughter) But that’s an experience of hierarchy that really is benign and protective and nurturing. Another hierarchical relationship is the teacher and the student. The greater gives to the lesser in the sense of the person with more knowledge, more understanding, transmitting, sharing that knowledge and understanding with one who wants to learn. Another example is the doctor and the patient. The doctor not being more spiritually worthy than the patient, it’s not that, but he has knowledge and training and experience that put him in the seat of superior understanding, and the patient is the recipient of that.
Dale: I wonder if since we live in this democracy and democracy is such a strong quality and calling for us—in this country especially—that maybe some people are turned off by the idea of hierarchy too.
Sarah: Yes. “All men are created equal,” the Constitution says, and yes, we are created equal in potential. We’re all equal before the law. We’re not all equal in present status and attainment, and I think that’s difficult for people to accept, and yet, if you look around, if you have any sense of rationality, you know it’s true.
Dale: Even a democracy can’t operate without a hierarchy. So, it’s a necessary structure, but it’s all these abuses that we see that poisons people’s thoughts on the idea, I think.
Sarah: Yes, the misuse of it. Really, a hierarchical structure that’s working properly should be one of service and sacrifice. Christ taught that the greatest of these is the servant of all, and there is the example of him washing the feet of his disciples. That’s the purest expression of hierarchy that I can think of: the greatest of these is the servant of all. If that understanding were applied to relationships that are hierarchical in nature, whether we’re talking about a teacher-student, parent-child, doctor-patient, priest-worshiper, there would be a proper expression of hierarchy as a transmission of magnetic energy, of a spiritual charge from the greater to the lesser. That’s the chain of hierarchy, and that’s literally what keeps the world turning on its axis. Without that, we would come to a static halt and die.
Dale: Absolutely. Everything would come to a stop and that’s what we were saying earlier. So, it’s pervasive throughout all of the kingdoms in the world and even the kingdoms above us, and this is what I think we have to keep in mind when we hear the word hierarchy and when we talk about hierarchy. I think in another program we’ll be talking more about the spiritual aspect of hierarchy on the inner side. So, it’s a concept that we have to really begin to accept and to think about more deeply, because this group of inner Beings are the ones that are really guiding us.
Sarah: And maybe we can close by coming back to your thought that you opened with: that hierarchy is a coordinating factor. The true hierarchy functions in alignment with a heart center, whether we’re talking about a business or a family or an institution or whatever. It’s a coordination of all the different units that are created by this hierarchical gradation of consciousness and so it’s a method of relationship, not of domination or of authority, but of relationship and coordination, and we’ll talk more about that.
Dale: Yes, I think that’s the key word: relationship, because if all these little parts were not related and not functioning as one unit, then there’d be chaos, so we have to keep that in mind.
Robert: You’ve been listening to Inner Sight. Now we would like to close with a world prayer called the Great Invocation. It’s a call for light and love and goodwill to flow into the world and into our hearts. Let’s listen for a moment to these powerful words.
Sarah: Closes the program by reciting the adapted version of the Great Invocation.
(This is an edited transcript of a recorded radio program called “Inner Sight.” This conversation was recorded between the host, Robert Anderson, and the then President and Vice-President of Lucis Trust, Sarah and Dale McKechnie.)
(Transcribed and edited by Carla McLeod)
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