Relationship is essentially what the three festivals will accomplish. They will bring together humanity with a greater sense of unity and oneness, because they will recognize their relationship with the divine by way of these three festivals.
Robert: Welcome to Inner Sight. Inner sight is simply seeing that which is always present, but not yet fully recognized, for 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 subject for today is the three spiritual festivals. There’s something about large groups of people getting together and hoping for the best, praying for the best and perhaps even focusing on one particular positive thought that seems to have a lot of power to it. That particular idea is tangential to what we’re going to speak about today: the Festival of Easter, the Wesak Festival and the Festival of Goodwill. “The time is coming when all three festivals will be kept simultaneously throughout the world and by their means a great spiritual unity will be achieved.” And that’s from the founder of Lucis Trust, Alice Bailey, who spent a lot of time writing literature and all of the dialogue from this show emanates from her twenty-four volumes of books which can best be defined as spiritual philosophy. What’s the significance of these three festivals?
Sarah: Well, having participated in them for almost thirty years now, I can say without a doubt that they are the most powerful spiritual moment of the year. Every year, when what we call the higher interlude rolls around—the time of the three spiritual festivals, usually in the months of April, May and June, but this year in March, April and May—there’s a sense of a real momentum building spiritually, a kind of a marshalling of spiritual energies that we feel as a worldwide group. But how to convey the significance of these festivals is a little more challenging because they are events that really have their impact in consciousness and it’s hard to convey the significance of something that occurs in consciousness because that develops and manifests its effects over a long period of time and in a very subtle way. So, we can’t point to any particular drama or exterior effect of these festivals, but we can try to explain to our listeners what the significance is in consciousness.
Dale: These festivals have been going on and have been present in the world for thousands of years. So, for those who work on the inner side of life, they’re not new festivals. They’re new to us perhaps here in the West. As you said, they take place and the significance and the impact really happens in human consciousness and as human consciousness expands and becomes more sensitive, we become more sensitive to these inner events that are taking place. There is an event that goes on with each one of these festivals, although not so physically, perhaps; we can’t see it, but we do know that they do go on.
Sarah: We have perhaps reached a point in human evolution when a more massive participation in the festivals is possible. Today there are meditation gatherings that are organized by groups of people at the time of these festivals, literally throughout the world. We know of such meetings taking place throughout Africa and South America, as well as Europe, North America, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan. So, the festivals are worldwide and becoming of more interest. I think it’s because humanity is reaching a point where there is a real hunger for a sense of the common ground among world religions. I think in spite of what’s going on in the world today in terms of religious strife, there is a parallel of much more widespread desire to have religious unity among people of different traditions, and that’s part of the appeal of the festivals.
Dale: Yes, because as the opening quote says, the time is coming when all three festivals will be kept throughout the world and they will produce a unity among the spiritually minded peoples of the world. That’s because the central figures, or the central participants in these festivals on the inner plains are the main characters in the major world religions of Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism, and that’s where the relationship to all these religions comes together.
Sarah: Yes, we’ve talked before about how Buddha arose out of the Hindu tradition in India and spent his eighty years on Earth teaching the spiritual doctrine that’s now become the religion of Buddhism, but there is a close affinity between a lot of the Buddhist principles and the Hinduism from which they arose, and the same with Christianity which has its foundation in Judaism. The Judaeo-Christian ethic is of great importance to the West, so there is this merging of Eastern and Western approaches to spiritual belief that is emphasized at the time of the festivals. It begins with the festival of Easter, which, as we all know is the great Western and Christian festival. Unfortunately, in today’s times when you hear “Easter”, you think of Easter bunnies and eggs and new spring clothes but there is more to it than that. Easter, in the view of the Ageless Wisdom, is the release of spiritual energies that quicken the human mind. It’s said in the Ageless Wisdom that the spiritual force that pours into the world at the time of Easter emanates from the mind of God and our listeners who know the Great Invocation—which we sound at the end of the programme—know that the first stanza invokes light from the mind of God and it’s this force that pours into the world at the time of Easter and quickens human thinking and human intelligence so that we can approach our own human created problems with new insight, maybe new creativity, new planning.
Dale: Right. Traditionally Easter has been the time of the crucifixion of Christ and the resurrection and it is still the festival in which the risen Christ is celebrated. That’s the real significance of this festival because it represents the risen Christ, the living and spiritual evidence of the Christ spirit in the world.
Sarah: The forces that are associated with this Easter festival are said to be the forces of restoration. These are described in a book that Alice Bailey wrote called the Externalization of the Hierarchy, if people want to read more about the forces. The forces of restoration have their effect, mainly it’s said, on psychological levels. So, when we speak of restoration, we’re not talking about restoring old institutions or forms of any sort, but of restoring humanity to a psychological health, to vivify the morale of humanity. And when you think of what’s happening in the world today, how meaningful the Easter festival is in terms of a restoration of psychological well-being within humanity after all the terror and grief, not only in America, just look at what’s happening in India at this very moment with the terrible strife between Moslems and Hindus. There are large parts of the world that have experienced terrible grief and terror and the idea of forces coming into the world that would work toward a restoration of psychological well-being, I would think, would inspire anyone to want to work with those forces in meditation and give them strength and distribution.
Dale: Yes, it’s the emphasis of the main energy that’s present because it has to do with the Christ and the energy of love and wisdom. That’s the primary energy that is present and emphasized during this festival. It’s always determined by the spring equinox, the first full moon of the spring, which usually occurs in April, but sometimes in March. That is also significant because all of these festivals are associated with a particular time of the month having to do with the time of the full moon.
Sarah: We’ve talked about that before and it may strike some as rather odd until you think about the fact that Passover, Easter and Ramadan are all calculated according to the lunar cycle, so it’s not that unusual.
Dale: No, and esoterically the time of the full moon each month is like an open door, as it’s been described in the Bailey teachings; it’s like an open door and the energies pour in freely, unimpeded. That’s because the moon is out of the way and we have this direct inflow of energy, of love that’s flowing in and that’s what we work with in meditation.
Robert: All of this is certainly very noble and there’s so much meaning to it and it has a lot to do with divinity. Do all three festivals have anything to do with mankind actualizing his highest potential? And if so, how and what is man’s highest potential?
Sarah: Well, yes, I guess they do. What they have to do with the potential within humanity is that they invoke the spiritual source, which is the soul. They stimulate the realm of consciousness, which is the soul consciousness, and quicken the inner divinity within humanity. Not only does it have its effects within those who participate in the festivals, but we can also radiate these energies into human consciousness on a massive level. In other words, you can reach human beings with the radiation of energy through group meditation, even though they may not be aware of, or even particularly desirous of, the impact of these spiritual energies. Still, if they are people of goodwill and of some intelligence, some mental capacity, they will respond. So, this time of the festivals is a moment when we can work to radiate energies of light and love into human consciousness and have more of an effect than at any other time of the year because there is this door that is open, as Dale said.
Dale: Yes, the emphasis on the soul brings out this idea of relationship and that’s essentially what the three festivals will accomplish. As it says in the quote, in the future it will bring together humanity with a greater sense of unity and oneness, because they will recognize their relationship with the divine by way of these three festivals.
Sarah: Maybe we should move on to the second of the festivals, the Wesak Festival, which will be celebrated on April 26th this year. It’s the great Buddhist festival and there is a bit of a dispute between the people who follow the Ageless Wisdom approach to Buddhism and the more traditional Buddhists who observe this festival on the full moon of May, whereas the Ageless Wisdom relates the festival of Wesak to the full moon of Taurus, which this year comes in late April. So, I should just warn some people that there might be a bit of a divergence of opinion on when the true Wesak is celebrated. The reason that the full moon is the moment is because the Buddha is said to have been born on the full moon of Taurus, to have attained his enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at the full moon of Taurus and to have died at that full moon also. So, it is very definitely the full moon of the Buddha and it is the high point of the spiritual year in the tradition of the Ageless Wisdom. It’s the moment of supreme energy stimulation in terms of the forces that pour into the world at that time. To me, that’s absolutely thrilling to think that our world is subject to the impact of spiritual energies. We might not be accustomed to thinking in those terms. We might think that we have to resolve all of the problems that we have created through our own effort, and we do, but we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that we are aided by powerful spiritual energies and at the time of Wesak the energies are the forces of enlightenment which work especially, it’s said, through those who serve in the fields of education, through the media, through communication. Through workers in those areas, these forces of enlightenment can pour into the world at the time of Wesak and when we have our group meditations we can help to stimulate and radiate those forces.
Dale: And maybe we should say, too, that this is not a commemoration. Even though physically the Buddha died centuries ago, he’s still very much alive on the inner side, and he acts as an intermediary between the Godhead and the Christ at this very particular festival and in fact, as I said, it’s not a commemoration for something that happened way in the past. It’s an actual ongoing event which happens every year in a secluded valley in the mountains of Tibet.
Sarah: We’ve seen video of the Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims who do go to this mountain, Mount Kailash, every year on this pilgrimage. It is very definitely a living festival.
Dale: Yes, it’s a definite place in Tibet and it does take place. It’s not just a commemoration of something that happened centuries ago.
Sarah: They believe deeply in the reality of this release of energy and make a tremendous pilgrimage—for some of them a real physical hardship, traveling for days and days, if not weeks.
Dale: We had friends of ours that attended this festival some years ago and they videotaped the whole thing and it’s quite fascinating—the trip just to get there!
Sarah: Masses of Buddhists converge in this valley hidden in the Himalayas at this moment of the full moon. Those of us who can’t travel there can gather in meditation groups and there are meditations that are held all over the world at that time, so you can participate subjectively through meditation in consciousness to uplift humanity.
Dale: Alice Bailey said in her description of the Wesak festival that she had attended that festival herself in a dream state two times and other friends of hers also attended it in the same way. So, it takes place on different levels: there is that outer physical level that can be seen and then there is the inner spiritual level where the Buddha returns every year to give his blessing from God to the assembled hierarchical members. Then this energy is held in trust by the Christ and the members of the hierarchy for distribution.
Sarah: That’s an unusual idea to think about: that the Buddha and the Christ work in cooperation on behalf of humanity, but that’s very much the theme of Wesak and the following festival, which is called the Festival of Goodwill or the Festival of Humanity, which is observed this year on May 25th. At that time, the spiritual impulse or impact that has been brought into the world by the Buddha and held by the Christ on behalf of humanity is released into human consciousness at the full moon of Gemini, and it’s a day when a deep love urge is quickened within humanity. I can remember myself several Festivals of Humanity when the sense of love has been overwhelming. It’s a very quiet, calm energy that I think is associated with the Spirit of Peace who rules over our planet. It is a beautiful, quiet, deeply calm wave of love that washes over the world at that time.
Dale: Yes, it’s referred to as the Festival of Goodwill and sometimes the Festival of Unification—that’s another name for it, or the Christ Festival as it’s also called. I think it’s significant to mention that at all three of these festivals, the Christ is present. He is the central figure in all three: first the Easter Festival, then at the Wesak Festival where he stands and receives the energy directly from the Buddha, then at the Christ Festival or the Festival of Goodwill a month later, he acts as a distributor with the assembled hierarchy where this energy is then radiated into human consciousness.
Sarah: I think we should mention when we speak of Christ, we don’t mean the traditional Christian view of Jesus, but the Being greater than that, who is known as the World Teacher and who we’re told is recognized and known by people of all faiths, but by different names. It’s the Christ who came for all humanity and it’s he that we speak of when we speak of these festivals, so one need not be a Christian to be able to take part in them or be affected by them; that’s a very important point. Christ said, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring,” and he was referring to his identification with the whole of humanity. There’re also the forces of materialism that we should mention; it’s a very interesting phrase associated with the three spiritual festivals. They are said to concern the new materialism, which has to do with the spiritualization of matter and the materialization of spirit; in other words bringing together spirit and matter so that divinity on Earth can be fully manifested. That’s what lies behind the observance of these festivals year after year, century after century. This spiritualization of Earth will happen only through human cooperation and consent. It can’t be imposed upon us. So, as I understand it, these forces are quickening within the human mind and heart the urge to cooperate with the divine Plan.
Dale: All of this is a forerunner type of work that is ushering in the new Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Souls on Earth. Eventually in the future, under that Kingdom, these festivals will grow in prominence.
Robert: That’s about all the time we have for our discussion today. You have been listening to Inner Sight. Now we’d like to close with the 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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