Great White Brotherhood
Encyclopedia
The Great White Brotherhood, in belief systems akin to Theosophical and New Age
, are said to be supernatural beings of great power who spread spiritual teachings through selected humans. The members of the Brotherhood may be known as the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom
or the Ascended Masters
. Various people have said they have received messages from these beings, including most notably Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (Theosophy
), Aleister Crowley
(Thelema
), Alice A. Bailey (New Group of World Servers), Guy Ballard
("I AM" Activity), Geraldine Innocente (The Bridge to Freedom
), Elizabeth Clare Prophet
(Church Universal and Triumphant
) and Benjamin Creme
(Share International
).
in his book The Cloud upon the Sanctuary; Eckartshausen called this body of mystics, who remained active after their physical deaths on earth, the Council of Light. Eckartshausen's proposed communion of living and dead mystics, in turn, drew partially on Christian ideas such as the Communion of the Saints
, and partially on previously circulating European ideas about secret societies
of enlightened, mystical
, or magic
adepts typified by the Rosicrucian
s and the Illuminati
.
The Mahatma Letters
began publication in 1881 with information purportedly revealed by "Koot Hoomi" to Alfred Percy Sinnett
, and were also influential on the early development of the tradition. Koot Hoomi, through Sinnett, revealed that high ranking members of mystic organizations in India
and Tibet
were able to maintain regular telepathic
contact with one another, and thus were able to communicate to each other, and also to Sinnett, without the need for either written or oral communications, and in a manner similar to the way that spirit mediums claimed to communicate with the spirits of the dead. The letters published by Sinnett, which proposed the controversial doctrine of reincarnation
, were said to have been revealed through this means.
Eckartshausen's idea was expanded in the teachings of Helena P. Blavatsky as developed by Charles W. Leadbeater, Alice Bailey
and Helena Roerich
. Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society
, attributed her teachings to just such a body of adepts; in Isis Unveiled
, she called the revealers of her teachings the "Masters of the Hidden Brotherhood" or the "Mahatma
s". Blavatsky claimed that she had made physical contact with these adepts' earthly representatives in Tibet
; but also, that she continued to receive teachings from them through psychic channels, through her abilities of spirit mediumship.
Ideas about this secret council of sages, under several names, were a widely shared feature of late nineteenth century and early twentieth century esotericism
. Arthur Edward Waite
, in his Book of Black Magic and of Pacts, hinted at the existence of a secret group of initiates who dispense truth and wisdom to the worthy. A young Aleister Crowley
, reading this, wrote Waite and was directed to read von Eckartshausen's book. Crowley's search for this secret wisdom eventually led him to become a neophyte in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
, which represented itself to be the visible and earthly outer order of the Great White Brotherhood. Within the Golden Dawn itself, its teachings claimed to be derived from a similar body of initiates which in that tradition were called the Secret Chiefs
.
The actual phrase "Great White Brotherhood" was used extensively in Leadbeater's 1925 book The Masters and the Path. Alice A. Bailey also claimed have to received numerous revelations from the Great White Brotherhood between 1920 and 1949, which are compiled in her books known collectively by her followers as the Alice A. Bailey Material. Since the introduction of the phrase, the term "Great White Brotherhood" is in some circles used generically to refer to any concept of an enlightened community of adepts, on earth or in the hereafter, with benevolent aims toward the spiritual development of the human race, and without strict regard to the names used within the tradition. Dion Fortune
adopts the name to refer to the community of living and dead adepts.
The ritual magicians of the Western mystery tradition
sometimes refer to the Great White Brotherhood as the "Great White Lodge", a name that appears to indicate that they imagine it constitutes an initiatory
hierarchy
similar to Freemasonry
. Gareth Knight
describes its members as the "Masters" or "Inner Plane Adepti", who have "gained all the experience, and all the wisdom resulting from experience, necessary for their spiritual evolution in the worlds of form." While some go on to "higher evolution in other spheres", others become teaching Masters who stay behind to help younger initiates in their "cyclic evolution on this planet". Only a few of this community are known to the human race; these initiates are the "teaching Masters." The AMORC Rosicrucian order maintains a difference between the "Great White Brotherhood" and the "Great White Lodge", saying that the Great White Brotherhood is the "school or fraternity" of the Great White Lodge, and that "every true student on the Path" aspires to membership in this Brotherhood. Some of Aleister Crowley's remarks appear to indicate that Crowley identified the Great White Brotherhood with the A∴A∴, his magical secret society.
Bulgaria
n Gnostic master Peter Deunov
referred to his organization of followers as the Universal White Brotherhood
, and it is clear that he too was referring to the Western esoteric community-at-large
. When ex-communicated as a heretic on 7 July 1922, he defended the Brotherhood as follows:
Similarly, Bulgaria
n teacher Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov
(Deunov's principal disciple) formally established Fraternité Blanche Universelle as an "exoteric" esoteric organization still operating today in Switzerland, Canada, the USA, the UK and parts of Scandinavia.
The term Great White Brotherhood was further developed and popularized in 1934 with the publication of "Unveiled Mysteries" by Guy Ballard's
"I AM" Activity. This Brotherhood of "Immortal Saints and Sages" who have gone through the Initiations of the Transfiguration, Resurrection, and the Ascension was further popularized by Ascended Master Teachings
developed by The Bridge to Freedom
, The Summit Lighthouse
and the Church Universal and Triumphant
, and The Temple of The Presence.
Benjamin Creme
has published numerous books--he claims the information within them has been telepathically transmitted to him from the Great White Brotherhood.
, Messenger for The Bridge to Freedom, delivered this Address purported to be from Sanat Kumara
describing the founding of the "Great White Brotherhood":
Members of The Bridge to Freedom
believe that on July 4, 1954 Sanat Kumara
stated through Geraldine Innocente:
who have risen from the Earth into immortality, but still maintain an active watch over the world. C.W. Leadbeater said "The Great White Brotherhood also includes members of the Heavenly Host (the Spiritual Hierarchy
directly concerned with the evolution of our world), Beneficent Members from other planets that are interested in our welfare, as well as certain unascended chelas
".
The Masters of the Ancient Wisdom
are believed by Theosophists to be joined together in service to the Earth under the name of the Great White Brotherhood. The use of the term "white" is supposed to refer to their advanced spirituality (i.e., that they have a white colored aura
) and has nothing to do with race. The later versions of Blavatsky described the masters as ethnically Tibetan
or India
n (Hindu
), not European
. Recent skeptical research indicates, however, that this description was used by Blavatsky to hide the real identity of her teachers, some of whom are said to have really been simply well known Indian rulers or personalities of her time.
Most occult groups assign a high level of importance to the Brotherhood, but some make interaction with the Ascended Masters of the Brotherhood a major focus of their existence. Of these several, the most prominent are the "I Am" Activity - the original Ascended Master organization founded in the 1930s, The Bridge to Freedom, the Church Universal and Triumphant
, and The Temple of The Presence. Belief in the Brotherhood and the Masters is an essential part of the syncretistic
teachings of various organizations that have continued and expanded the Theosophical philosophical concepts. Information given by the Summit Lighthouse and the I AM movement is suspect, since none of the writers of these groups are Masters of any Brotherhood. Examples of those believed to be Ascended Masters would be, according to different unconfirmed sources are the Master Jesus
, Confucius
, Gautama Buddha
, Mary the Mother of Jesus, Hilarion
, Enoch
, Paul the Venetian
, Kwan Yin
, Saint Germain, and Kuthumi
. These sources say that all these peoples put aside any differences they might have had in their Earthly careers, and unite instead to advance the spiritual well-being of humanity.
and his wife, Helena Roerich
, inspired by the Theosophical
writings of H.P. Blavatsky, published the "Agni Yoga
" series of books. Their contents, claimed to be inspired by the Master Morya, described the work of the White Brotherhood and the Spiritual Hierarchy.
wrote in his 1971 book Real Magic, Bonewits dismisses the "Great White Brotherhood" as part of his rejection of what he sees as the Manichean dualism
of the implied opposition of whiteness and darkness, white magic
versus black magic
. He mentions in his book Real Magic that magic actually comes in different colors, not simply just "black
" and "white
"-- there is red
magic to increase the health of the physical body
, such as might be performed by a personal trainer
; orange magic is business
(a businessperson); yellow
magic is science
(a scientist
or technician
); green
magic is medicine
(a physician
or nurse) as well as agriculture
and horticulture
(farming and gardening
); blue
magic is spiritual service and philosophy
(e.g. social work
); indigo
magic is theurgy
(working as a priest
) ; violet
magic is thaumaturgy
(a person who is a magician
); and magenta
magic is art
(an artist
). These colors are the colors that are generally attributed by psychic
s to be the colors of the auras of people in professions that do the types of work associated with each of these kinds of "magic".
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
, are said to be supernatural beings of great power who spread spiritual teachings through selected humans. The members of the Brotherhood may be known as the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom
Masters of the Ancient Wisdom
The Masters of the Ancient Wisdom are reputed to be enlightened beings originally identified by the Theosophists Helena Blavatsky, Henry S. Olcott, Alfred P. Sinnett, and others. These Theosophists claimed to have met some of the so-called Masters during their lifetimes in different parts of the...
or the Ascended Masters
Ascended master
Ascended Masters, in the Ascended Master Teachings is derived from the Theosophical concept of Masters of the Ancient Wisdom or "Mahatmas", though they differ in important aspects...
. Various people have said they have received messages from these beings, including most notably Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (Theosophy
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
), Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
(Thelema
Thelema
Thelema is a religious philosophy that was established, defined and developed by the early 20th century British writer and ceremonial magician, Aleister Crowley. He believed himself to be the prophet of a new age, the Æon of Horus, based upon a religious experience that he had in Egypt in 1904...
), Alice A. Bailey (New Group of World Servers), Guy Ballard
Guy Ballard
Guy Warren Ballard was an American mining engineer who became, with his wife, Edna Anne Wheeler Ballard, the founder of the "I AM" Activity....
("I AM" Activity), Geraldine Innocente (The Bridge to Freedom
The Bridge to Freedom
The Bridge to Freedom, an Ascended Master Teachings religion, was established in 1951 by Geraldine Innocente and other Students of the Ascended Masters, after she received what was believed to be an "anointing" to become a "messenger" for the Great White Brotherhood. This organization believed...
), Elizabeth Clare Prophet
Elizabeth Clare Prophet
Elizabeth Clare Prophet was an American spiritual author and lecturer who was the leader of The Summit Lighthouse and Church Universal and Triumphant, a New Age religious movement which gained media attention in the late 1980s and early 1990s while preparing for potential nuclear disaster.During...
(Church Universal and Triumphant
Church Universal and Triumphant
Church Universal and Triumphant is an international New Age religious organization founded in 1975 by Elizabeth Clare Prophet. It is an outgrowth of The Summit Lighthouse, founded in 1958 by Prophet's husband, Mark L. Prophet...
) and Benjamin Creme
Benjamin Creme
Benjamin Creme is a Scottish artist, author, esotericist, and editor of Share International magazine, a monthly non-profit magazine and website....
(Share International
Share International
Share International Foundation is a spiritual movement founded by Benjamin Creme with its main offices in London, Amsterdam, Tokyo and Los Angeles...
).
History
The idea of a secret organization of enlightened mystics, guiding the spiritual development of the human race, was pioneered in the late eighteenth century by Karl von EckartshausenKarl von Eckartshausen
Karl von Eckartshausen was a German Catholic mystic, author, and philosopher.Born in Haimhausen, Bavaria, Eckartshausen studied philosophy and Bavarian civil law in Munich and Ingolstadt. He was the author of The Cloud upon the Sanctuary , a work of Christian mysticism which was later taken up by...
in his book The Cloud upon the Sanctuary; Eckartshausen called this body of mystics, who remained active after their physical deaths on earth, the Council of Light. Eckartshausen's proposed communion of living and dead mystics, in turn, drew partially on Christian ideas such as the Communion of the Saints
Communion of Saints
The communion of saints , when referred to persons, is the spiritual union of the members of the Christian Church, living and the dead, those on earth, in heaven, and, for those who believe in purgatory, those also who are in that state of purification.They are all part of a single "mystical body",...
, and partially on previously circulating European ideas about secret societies
Secret society
A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...
of enlightened, mystical
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
, or magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
adepts typified by the Rosicrucian
Rosicrucian
Rosicrucianism is a philosophical secret society, said to have been founded in late medieval Germany by Christian Rosenkreuz. It holds a doctrine or theology "built on esoteric truths of the ancient past", which, "concealed from the average man, provide insight into nature, the physical universe...
s and the Illuminati
Illuminati
The Illuminati is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically the name refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on May 1, 1776...
.
The Mahatma Letters
Mahatma Letters
The Mahatma Letters are letters that were claimed to be written by the Theosophical Mahatmas or Masters of the Ancient Wisdom to certain Theosophists, especially A. P. Sinnett, A. O. Hume, Henry Steel Olcott, Helena Blavatsky, C. W. Leadbeater and others....
began publication in 1881 with information purportedly revealed by "Koot Hoomi" to Alfred Percy Sinnett
Alfred Percy Sinnett
Alfred Percy Sinnett was an English author and Theosophist.- Biography :Sinnett's father died while he was young, by 1851 Sinnett is listed as a "Scholar - London University", living with his widowed mother Jane whose occupation is listed as "Periodical Literature", and his older sister Sophia age...
, and were also influential on the early development of the tradition. Koot Hoomi, through Sinnett, revealed that high ranking members of mystic organizations in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
were able to maintain regular telepathic
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
contact with one another, and thus were able to communicate to each other, and also to Sinnett, without the need for either written or oral communications, and in a manner similar to the way that spirit mediums claimed to communicate with the spirits of the dead. The letters published by Sinnett, which proposed the controversial doctrine of reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
, were said to have been revealed through this means.
Eckartshausen's idea was expanded in the teachings of Helena P. Blavatsky as developed by Charles W. Leadbeater, Alice Bailey
Alice Bailey
Alice Ann Bailey , known as Alice A. Bailey or AAB to her followers, was an influential writer and theosophist in what she termed "Ageless Wisdom". This included occult teachings, "esoteric" psychology and healing, astrological and other philosophic and religious themes...
and Helena Roerich
Helena Roerich
Helena Ivanovna Roerich was a Russian philosopher, writer, and public figure. In the early 20th century, she created, in cooperation with the Teachers of the East, a philosophic teaching of Living Ethics . She was an organizer and participant of cultural and enlightened creativity in the U.S.,...
. Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is an organization formed in 1875 to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy. The original organization, after splits and realignments has several successors...
, attributed her teachings to just such a body of adepts; in Isis Unveiled
Isis Unveiled
Isis Unveiled, published in 1877, is a book of esoteric philosophy, and was Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's first major work.The book discusses or quotes, among others, Plato, Plotinus, the Chaldean Oracles, the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Bible, Pythagoras, Ammonius Saccas, Porphyry, Iamblichus,...
, she called the revealers of her teachings the "Masters of the Hidden Brotherhood" or the "Mahatma
Mahatma
Mahatma is Sanskrit for "Great Soul". It is similar in usage to the modern Christian term saint. This epithet is commonly applied to prominent people like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Jyotirao Phule and Branch Rickey...
s". Blavatsky claimed that she had made physical contact with these adepts' earthly representatives in Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
; but also, that she continued to receive teachings from them through psychic channels, through her abilities of spirit mediumship.
Ideas about this secret council of sages, under several names, were a widely shared feature of late nineteenth century and early twentieth century esotericism
Esotericism
Esotericism or Esoterism signifies the holding of esoteric opinions or beliefs, that is, ideas preserved or understood by a small group or those specially initiated, or of rare or unusual interest. The term derives from the Greek , a compound of : "within", thus "pertaining to the more inward",...
. Arthur Edward Waite
Arthur Edward Waite
Arthur Edward Waite was a scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. As his biographer, R.A...
, in his Book of Black Magic and of Pacts, hinted at the existence of a secret group of initiates who dispense truth and wisdom to the worthy. A young Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
, reading this, wrote Waite and was directed to read von Eckartshausen's book. Crowley's search for this secret wisdom eventually led him to become a neophyte in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was a magical order active in Great Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which practiced theurgy and spiritual development...
, which represented itself to be the visible and earthly outer order of the Great White Brotherhood. Within the Golden Dawn itself, its teachings claimed to be derived from a similar body of initiates which in that tradition were called the Secret Chiefs
Secret Chiefs
The Secret Chiefs are said to be transcendent cosmic authorities, a Spiritual Hierarchy responsible for the operation and moral calibre of the cosmos, or for overseeing the operations of an esoteric organization that manifests outwardly in the form of a magical order or lodge system...
.
The actual phrase "Great White Brotherhood" was used extensively in Leadbeater's 1925 book The Masters and the Path. Alice A. Bailey also claimed have to received numerous revelations from the Great White Brotherhood between 1920 and 1949, which are compiled in her books known collectively by her followers as the Alice A. Bailey Material. Since the introduction of the phrase, the term "Great White Brotherhood" is in some circles used generically to refer to any concept of an enlightened community of adepts, on earth or in the hereafter, with benevolent aims toward the spiritual development of the human race, and without strict regard to the names used within the tradition. Dion Fortune
Dion Fortune
Violet Mary Firth Evans , better known as Dion Fortune, was a British occultist and author. Her pseudonym was inspired by her family motto "Deo, non fortuna" , originally the ancient motto of the Barons & Earls Digby.-Early life:She was born in Bryn-y-Bia in Llandudno, Wales, and grew up in a...
adopts the name to refer to the community of living and dead adepts.
The ritual magicians of the Western mystery tradition
Western mystery tradition
Western esotericism or Hermeticism is a broad spectrum of spiritual traditions found in Western society, or refers to the collection of the mystical, esoteric knowledge of the Western world...
sometimes refer to the Great White Brotherhood as the "Great White Lodge", a name that appears to indicate that they imagine it constitutes an initiatory
Initiation
Initiation is a rite of passage ceremony marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components...
hierarchy
Hierarchy
A hierarchy is an arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another...
similar to Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
. Gareth Knight
Gareth Knight
Dr. Basil Wilby, aka Gareth Knight is a British esotericist and occult author who began his esoteric training in 1953 as a member of the Fraternity of the Inner Light, founded by Dion Fortune....
describes its members as the "Masters" or "Inner Plane Adepti", who have "gained all the experience, and all the wisdom resulting from experience, necessary for their spiritual evolution in the worlds of form." While some go on to "higher evolution in other spheres", others become teaching Masters who stay behind to help younger initiates in their "cyclic evolution on this planet". Only a few of this community are known to the human race; these initiates are the "teaching Masters." The AMORC Rosicrucian order maintains a difference between the "Great White Brotherhood" and the "Great White Lodge", saying that the Great White Brotherhood is the "school or fraternity" of the Great White Lodge, and that "every true student on the Path" aspires to membership in this Brotherhood. Some of Aleister Crowley's remarks appear to indicate that Crowley identified the Great White Brotherhood with the A∴A∴, his magical secret society.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n Gnostic master Peter Deunov
Peter Deunov
Peter Konstantinov Deunov was a spiritual master and founder of a School of Esoteric Christianity. He is called Master Beinsa Douno by his followers.-Biography:Born on 11 July 1864 in Hadarcha , Bulgaria, around 60 km from Varna...
referred to his organization of followers as the Universal White Brotherhood
Universal White Brotherhood
The Universal White Brotherhood is a New Age-oriented new religious movement founded in Bulgaria in the early 20th century by Peter Deunov and established in France in 1947 by Mihail Ivanov , one of his followers, then renamed Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov...
, and it is clear that he too was referring to the Western esoteric community-at-large
Western mystery tradition
Western esotericism or Hermeticism is a broad spectrum of spiritual traditions found in Western society, or refers to the collection of the mystical, esoteric knowledge of the Western world...
. When ex-communicated as a heretic on 7 July 1922, he defended the Brotherhood as follows:
‘Let the Orthodox ChurchBulgarian Orthodox ChurchThe Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6.5 million members in the Republic of Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2.0 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas and Australia...
resolve this issue, whether Christ has risen, whether Love is accepted in the Orthodox Church. There is one church in the world. But the Universal White Brotherhood is outside the church - it is higher than the church. But even higher than the Universal White Brotherhood is the Kingdom of Heaven. Hence the Church is the first step, the Universal White Brotherhood is the second step, and the Kingdom of HeavenKingdom of GodThe Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is a foundational concept in the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.The term "Kingdom of God" is found in all four canonical gospels and in the Pauline epistles...
is the third step - the greatest one that is to be manifested.’ (24 June 1923).
Similarly, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n teacher Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov
Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov
Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov was a Bulgarian philosopher, pedagogue, alchemist, mystic, magus and astrologer...
(Deunov's principal disciple) formally established Fraternité Blanche Universelle as an "exoteric" esoteric organization still operating today in Switzerland, Canada, the USA, the UK and parts of Scandinavia.
The term Great White Brotherhood was further developed and popularized in 1934 with the publication of "Unveiled Mysteries" by Guy Ballard's
Guy Ballard
Guy Warren Ballard was an American mining engineer who became, with his wife, Edna Anne Wheeler Ballard, the founder of the "I AM" Activity....
"I AM" Activity. This Brotherhood of "Immortal Saints and Sages" who have gone through the Initiations of the Transfiguration, Resurrection, and the Ascension was further popularized by Ascended Master Teachings
Ascended Master Teachings
The students of "Ascended Master Teachings" organizations believe that the Presence of Life/God - Individualizes as the "I AM", and incarnates throughout the created universes until it achieves The Ascension . The "Teachings" as all Religious Teachings.....
developed by The Bridge to Freedom
The Bridge to Freedom
The Bridge to Freedom, an Ascended Master Teachings religion, was established in 1951 by Geraldine Innocente and other Students of the Ascended Masters, after she received what was believed to be an "anointing" to become a "messenger" for the Great White Brotherhood. This organization believed...
, The Summit Lighthouse
The Summit Lighthouse
The Summit Lighthouse is an international New Age spiritual organization founded in 1958 by Mark L. Prophet. Today it is the outreach arm of Church Universal and Triumphant, founded in 1975 by Prophet's wife, Elizabeth Clare Prophet...
and the Church Universal and Triumphant
Church Universal and Triumphant
Church Universal and Triumphant is an international New Age religious organization founded in 1975 by Elizabeth Clare Prophet. It is an outgrowth of The Summit Lighthouse, founded in 1958 by Prophet's husband, Mark L. Prophet...
, and The Temple of The Presence.
Benjamin Creme
Benjamin Creme
Benjamin Creme is a Scottish artist, author, esotericist, and editor of Share International magazine, a monthly non-profit magazine and website....
has published numerous books--he claims the information within them has been telepathically transmitted to him from the Great White Brotherhood.
Founding of the Great White Brotherhood
In 1952, Geraldine InnocenteGeraldine Innocente
Geraldine Innocente is the founder of a New Age church she named The Bridge to Freedom, which was established in 1951 by her and other Students of the Ascended Masters, after she received what was believed to be an Anointing to become a Messenger for the Great White Brotherhood in 1944...
, Messenger for The Bridge to Freedom, delivered this Address purported to be from Sanat Kumara
Sanat Kumara
According to the post-1900 publications of Theosophy, i.e. the writings of C. W. Leadbeater, Alice A. Bailey, and Benjamin Creme, as well as the Ascended Master Teachings of Guy Ballard, Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Geraldine Innocente, Joshua David Stone, and other Ascended Master Teachings teachers,...
describing the founding of the "Great White Brotherhood":
- " . . . I had nothing to work with but Light and Love, and many centuries passed before even two lifestreams applied for membership - One, later became Buddha (now, Lord of the World, the Planetary Logos Gautama BuddhaGautama BuddhaSiddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
) and the Other, became the Cosmic Christ (Lord MaitreyaMaitreya (Theosophy)Maitreya or Lord Maitreya is described in Theosophical literature of the late 19th-century and subsequent periods as an advanced spiritual entity and high-ranking member of a hidden Spiritual Hierarchy, the so-called Masters of the Ancient Wisdom...
, now the Planetary Buddha). The Brotherhood has grown through these ages and centuries until almost all the offices are held now by those belonging to the evolution of Earth and those who have volunteered to remain among her evolution. . .."
Members of The Bridge to Freedom
The Bridge to Freedom
The Bridge to Freedom, an Ascended Master Teachings religion, was established in 1951 by Geraldine Innocente and other Students of the Ascended Masters, after she received what was believed to be an "anointing" to become a "messenger" for the Great White Brotherhood. This organization believed...
believe that on July 4, 1954 Sanat Kumara
Sanat Kumara
According to the post-1900 publications of Theosophy, i.e. the writings of C. W. Leadbeater, Alice A. Bailey, and Benjamin Creme, as well as the Ascended Master Teachings of Guy Ballard, Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Geraldine Innocente, Joshua David Stone, and other Ascended Master Teachings teachers,...
stated through Geraldine Innocente:
- " . . . Thus We took Our abode upon the sweet Earth. Through the same power of centripetal and centrifugal force of which I spoke (cohesion and expansion of the magnetic power of Divine Love), We then began to magnetize the Flame in the hearts of some of the Guardian Spirits who were not sleeping so soundly and who were not too enthusiastically engaged in using primal life for the satisfaction of the personal self.
- "In this way, the Great White Brotherhood began. The Three-fold Flame within the heart of Shamballa, within the Hearts of the Kumaras and Myself, formed the magnetic Heart of the Great White Brotherhood by Whom you have all been blessed and of which Brotherhood you all aspire to become conscious members. . . . "
Great Brotherhood of Light
The Great White Brotherhood, also known as Great Brotherhood of Light, is perceived as a spiritual organization composed of those Ascended MastersAscended master
Ascended Masters, in the Ascended Master Teachings is derived from the Theosophical concept of Masters of the Ancient Wisdom or "Mahatmas", though they differ in important aspects...
who have risen from the Earth into immortality, but still maintain an active watch over the world. C.W. Leadbeater said "The Great White Brotherhood also includes members of the Heavenly Host (the Spiritual Hierarchy
Spiritual Hierarchy
Spiritual Hierarchy is a term often used in Neo-Theosophy, and the Ascended Master Teachings, a group of religions based on Theosophy. It represents the concept of a group of self-realised Masters of the Ancient Wisdom, referred to by those adherent to the Ascended Master Teachings as Ascended...
directly concerned with the evolution of our world), Beneficent Members from other planets that are interested in our welfare, as well as certain unascended chelas
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
".
The Masters of the Ancient Wisdom
Masters of the Ancient Wisdom
The Masters of the Ancient Wisdom are reputed to be enlightened beings originally identified by the Theosophists Helena Blavatsky, Henry S. Olcott, Alfred P. Sinnett, and others. These Theosophists claimed to have met some of the so-called Masters during their lifetimes in different parts of the...
are believed by Theosophists to be joined together in service to the Earth under the name of the Great White Brotherhood. The use of the term "white" is supposed to refer to their advanced spirituality (i.e., that they have a white colored aura
Aura (paranormal)
In parapsychology and many forms of spiritual practice, an aura is a field of subtle, luminous radiation surrounding a person or object . The depiction of such an aura often connotes a person of particular power or holiness. Sometimes, however, it is said that all living things and all objects...
) and has nothing to do with race. The later versions of Blavatsky described the masters as ethnically Tibetan
Tibetan people
The Tibetan people are an ethnic group that is native to Tibet, which is mostly in the People's Republic of China. They number 5.4 million and are the 10th largest ethnic group in the country. Significant Tibetan minorities also live in India, Nepal, and Bhutan...
or India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n (Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
), not European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
. Recent skeptical research indicates, however, that this description was used by Blavatsky to hide the real identity of her teachers, some of whom are said to have really been simply well known Indian rulers or personalities of her time.
Most occult groups assign a high level of importance to the Brotherhood, but some make interaction with the Ascended Masters of the Brotherhood a major focus of their existence. Of these several, the most prominent are the "I Am" Activity - the original Ascended Master organization founded in the 1930s, The Bridge to Freedom, the Church Universal and Triumphant
Church Universal and Triumphant
Church Universal and Triumphant is an international New Age religious organization founded in 1975 by Elizabeth Clare Prophet. It is an outgrowth of The Summit Lighthouse, founded in 1958 by Prophet's husband, Mark L. Prophet...
, and The Temple of The Presence. Belief in the Brotherhood and the Masters is an essential part of the syncretistic
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
teachings of various organizations that have continued and expanded the Theosophical philosophical concepts. Information given by the Summit Lighthouse and the I AM movement is suspect, since none of the writers of these groups are Masters of any Brotherhood. Examples of those believed to be Ascended Masters would be, according to different unconfirmed sources are the Master Jesus
Master Jesus
The Master Jesus in Theosophy and the Ascended Master Teachings, refers to the theosophical concept of Jesus as opposed to the Jesus Christ of the Christian religion.-Position in the Hierarchy of Masters of the Ancient Wisdom:...
, Confucius
Confucius
Confucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....
, Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
, Mary the Mother of Jesus, Hilarion
Master Hilarion
The Master Hilarion, in the teachings of Theosophy is one of the "Masters of the Ancient Wisdom" and in the Ascended Master Teachings is one of the Ascended Masters . He is considered to be the Chohan of the Fifth Ray...
, Enoch
Enoch (ancestor of Noah)
Enoch is a figure in the Generations of Adam. Enoch is described as Adam's greatx4 grandson , the son of Jared, the father of Methuselah, and the great-grandfather of Noah...
, Paul the Venetian
Paul the Venetian
Paul the Venetian is one of the "Masters of the Ancient Wisdom" in the teachings of Theosophy and is regarded as one of the ascended masters in the Ascended Master Teachings . He is regarded as the Master of the Third Ray...
, Kwan Yin
Kuan Yin
Guanyin is the bodhisattva associated with compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists, usually as a female. The name Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin which means "Observing the Sounds of the World". She is also sometimes referred to as Guanyin Pusa...
, Saint Germain, and Kuthumi
Kuthumi
The Master Kuthumi, sometimes spelled Koot Hoomi, Kut Humi, rarely Kut-Hu-Mi, Master K.H., or simply K.H. in Theosophy, is regarded as one of the "Masters of the Ancient Wisdom." According to Theosophy, Kuthumi is considered to be one of the members of the Spiritual Hierarchy called the Masters of...
. These sources say that all these peoples put aside any differences they might have had in their Earthly careers, and unite instead to advance the spiritual well-being of humanity.
Agni Yoga
The Great White Brotherhood is the name given in some metaphysical/occult circles to adepts of wisdom in or out of earthly incarnation who have assumed responsibility for the cosmic destiny of the human race, both individually and collectively. Nicholas RoerichNicholas Roerich
Nicholas Roerich, also known as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh , was a Russian mystic, painter, philosopher, scientist, writer, traveler, and public figure. A prolific artist, he created thousands of paintings and about 30 literary works...
and his wife, Helena Roerich
Helena Roerich
Helena Ivanovna Roerich was a Russian philosopher, writer, and public figure. In the early 20th century, she created, in cooperation with the Teachers of the East, a philosophic teaching of Living Ethics . She was an organizer and participant of cultural and enlightened creativity in the U.S.,...
, inspired by the Theosophical
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
writings of H.P. Blavatsky, published the "Agni Yoga
Agni Yoga
Living Ethics has also another equivalent but less widespread meaning Agni Yoga — a philosophical and ethical teaching which embraces all sides of being — from cosmological problems, down to daily human life...
" series of books. Their contents, claimed to be inspired by the Master Morya, described the work of the White Brotherhood and the Spiritual Hierarchy.
Isaac Bonewits
One author in the Neo-Pagan tradition does not agree on the concept : Author Isaac BonewitsIsaac Bonewits
Phillip Emmons Isaac Bonewits was an influential American Druid who published a number of books on the subject of Neopaganism and magic. He was also a liturgist, singer and songwriter, and founded the Druidic organisation Ár nDraíocht Féin, as well as the Neopagan civil rights group, the Aquarian...
wrote in his 1971 book Real Magic, Bonewits dismisses the "Great White Brotherhood" as part of his rejection of what he sees as the Manichean dualism
Dualism
Dualism denotes a state of two parts. The term 'dualism' was originally coined to denote co-eternal binary opposition, a meaning that is preserved in metaphysical and philosophical duality discourse but has been diluted in general or common usages. Dualism can refer to moral dualism, Dualism (from...
of the implied opposition of whiteness and darkness, white magic
Left-Hand Path and Right-Hand Path
The terms Left-Hand Path and Right-Hand Path are a dichotomy between two opposing philosophies found in the Western Esoteric Tradition, which itself covers various groups involved in the occult and ceremonial magic. In some definitions, the Left-Hand Path is equated with malicious Black Magic and...
versus black magic
Black magic
Black magic is the type of magic that draws on assumed malevolent powers or is used with the intention to kill, steal, injure, cause misfortune or destruction, or for personal gain without regard to harmful consequences. As a term, "black magic" is normally used by those that do not approve of its...
. He mentions in his book Real Magic that magic actually comes in different colors, not simply just "black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
" and "white
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
"-- there is red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
magic to increase the health of the physical body
Physical body
In physics, a physical body or physical object is a collection of masses, taken to be one...
, such as might be performed by a personal trainer
Personal trainer
A personal trainer is a fitness professional involved in exercise prescription and instruction. They motivate clients by setting goals and providing feedback and accountability to clients. Trainers also measure their client's strengths and weaknesses with fitness assessments...
; orange magic is business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
(a businessperson); yellow
Yellow
Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...
magic is science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
(a scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
or technician
Technician
A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skills and techniques, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles. Experienced technicians in a specific tool domain typically have intermediate understanding of theory and expert...
); green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
magic is medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
(a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
or nurse) as well as agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
(farming and gardening
Gardening
Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...
); blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
magic is spiritual service and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
(e.g. social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
); indigo
Indigo
Indigo is a color named after the purple dye derived from the plant Indigofera tinctoria and related species. The color is placed on the electromagnetic spectrum between about 420 and 450 nm in wavelength, placing it between blue and violet...
magic is theurgy
Theurgy
Theurgy describes the practice of rituals, sometimes seen as magical in nature, performed with the intention of invoking the action or evoking the presence of one or more gods, especially with the goal of uniting with the divine, achieving henosis, and perfecting oneself.- Definitions :*Proclus...
(working as a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
) ; violet
Violet (color)
As the name of a color, violet is synonymous with a bluish purple, when the word "purple" is used in the common English language sense of any color between blue and red, not including either blue or red...
magic is thaumaturgy
Thaumaturgy
Thaumaturgy is the capability of a saint or magician to work miracles. It is sometimes translated into English as wonderworking...
(a person who is a magician
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
); and magenta
Magenta
Magenta is a color evoked by light stronger in blue and red wavelengths than in yellowish-green wavelengths . In light experiments, magenta can be produced by removing the lime-green wavelengths from white light...
magic is art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
(an artist
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
). These colors are the colors that are generally attributed by psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
s to be the colors of the auras of people in professions that do the types of work associated with each of these kinds of "magic".
See also
- Ascended masters
- BodhisattvaBodhisattvaIn Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
- Communion of SaintsCommunion of SaintsThe communion of saints , when referred to persons, is the spiritual union of the members of the Christian Church, living and the dead, those on earth, in heaven, and, for those who believe in purgatory, those also who are in that state of purification.They are all part of a single "mystical body",...
- Masters of the Ancient WisdomMasters of the Ancient WisdomThe Masters of the Ancient Wisdom are reputed to be enlightened beings originally identified by the Theosophists Helena Blavatsky, Henry S. Olcott, Alfred P. Sinnett, and others. These Theosophists claimed to have met some of the so-called Masters during their lifetimes in different parts of the...
- Secret ChiefsSecret ChiefsThe Secret Chiefs are said to be transcendent cosmic authorities, a Spiritual Hierarchy responsible for the operation and moral calibre of the cosmos, or for overseeing the operations of an esoteric organization that manifests outwardly in the form of a magical order or lodge system...