Alice Bailey

Alice Ann Bailey (June 16, 1880 – December 15, 1949), known as Alice A. Bailey or AAB, was born as Alice LaTrobe Bateman, in Manchester, UK, but moved to the U.S. in 1907, where she spent most of her life as a writer and teacher. Bailey's twenty-five books are published worldwide, and have been translated into nine languages, with three more in progress. Writing on spiritual, occult, esoteric and religious themes, Bailey was among the earliest authors to popularize the terms New Age and Age of Aquarius. Her writings are still influential and there are many groups, schools and organizations that study and implement her ideas worldwide.

She stated that most of her books were telepathically dictated to her by a "Master of the Wisdom" she referred to as "The Tibetan". Her writings range from the psychological to the cosmic, and expound a system of esoteric thought that includes subjects such as meditation, healing, spiritual psychology, the destiny of nations, and prescriptions for society in general.

Her writings have much in common with those of her predecessor Madame Blavatsky, yet they differ from Theosophy in many respects. She wrote about religious themes, especially Christianity, but her writings are fundamentally contrary to many aspects of orthodox Christianity and to orthodox religions in general. Her vision of a unified society includes a global "spirit of religion" but is fundamentally different from traditional religious forms, which she regarded as largely divisive human creations.

Life

Childhood

Alice Bailey was born to a wealthy aristocratic British family, and as a member of the Anglican Church, received a Christian education. She describes a lonely and "over-sheltered" childhood and was unhappy despite the luxury of her physical circumstances. (Bailey, 9. 12). Of this early life she wrote:

"Looking back, I can imagine nothing more appalling than the perpetuation of the Victorian era, for instance, with its ugliness, its smugness, and the excessive comfort of the upper classes (so-called) and the frightful condition under which the laboring classes struggled. It was in that well-padded, sleek and comfortable world I lived when a girl. I can imagine nothing more blighting to the human spirit than the theology of the past with the emphasis upon a God who saves a smug few and condemns the majority to perdition. I can imagine nothing more conducive to unrest, class war, hate and degradation than the economic situation of the world, then and for many decades—a situation largely responsible for the present world war (1914-1945)."

Bailey wrote, that at age 15, was visited by a stranger, "...a tall man, dressed in European clothes and wearing a turban." She supposed this individual was Jesus, but later she identified him as a theosophical master Hoot Koomi. In her autobiography she identified the date of the visit as June 30th, 1895, and wrote:

"He told me there was some work that it was planned that I could do in the world but that it would entail my changing my disposition very considerably; I would have to give up being such an unpleasant little girl and must try and get some measure of self-control." (Bailey, pp 35)

Adult life

At age 22 Bailey did Evangelism evangelical work in connection with the Y.M.C.A and the British Army. This took her to India where, in 1907, she met her future husband, Walter Evans. Together they moved to America where Evans became an Episcopal priest. However, this marriage did not last. She stated that her husband mistreated her and in one of his fits of temper, threw her down the stairs. Bailey pushed for and received a divorce. (Bailey, p. 121–122) She left with their three children after formal separation in 1915. Then followed a difficult period in which she had to work as a factory hand to support herself and the children. (Bailey, p. 121–122)

Bailey's break was not only with her Christian husband, but with Orthodox Christianity in general. In her autobiography she wrote that “a rabid, orthodox Christian worker [had] become a well-known occult teacher.” (Bailey, p. 1 & p. 47).

In the United States, in 1915, Bailey discovered the Theosophical Society and the work of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (Bailey, pp 134–136). In 1918 she became a member of the Esoteric section of the this society. While there, she claimed to recognize Koot Hoomi, the master that had visited her in her childhood, from a portrait she saw in the Shrine Room of the Theosophical Society. (Bailey, pp 156) . Bailey wrote much about those she called the “Masters of the Wisdom,” which she believed to be a brotherhood of enlightened sages working under the guidance of "the Christ." In part, she stated her writings were an effort to clarify the nature of these Masters, and their work.

“This I will enlarge upon later and show how I personally came to know of Their existence. In everyone's life there are certain convincing factors which make living possible. Nothing can alter one's inner conviction. To me, the Masters are such a factor and this knowledge has formed a stabilizing point in my life.” (Bailey, p. 4)

In 1917, Bailey became deeply involved in the Theosophical Society. "She quickly rose to a position of influence in the American Section of the Adyar society, moving to its headquarters at Krotona in Hollywood. She became editor of its magazine, "The Messenger, and member of the committee responsible for Krotona."

Bailey claimed that, in 1919, she was contacted by an anonymous teacher she called "The Tibetan" (Later, she identified him as the Master Djwhal Khul):

“I heard what I thought was a clear note of music which sounded from the sky, through the hill and in me. Then I heard a voice which said, 'There are some books which it is desired should be written for the public. You can write them. Will you do so?' Without a moment's notice I said, 'Certainly not. I'm not a darned psychic and I don't want to be drawn into anything like that.'" Bailey, pp. 162–163)

Bailey states that she was eventually persuaded to write down the communications from this source. She wrote for 30 years, from 1919 to 1949.. The result was 24 published books on ancient wisdom, philosophy, religion, contemporary events, science, psychology, nations, astrology, and healing. Also in 1919, 32nd degree Freemason Foster Bailey (1888-1977), who was to be her second husband, became National Secretary of the Theosophical Society; (Bailey, p. 157) they married in 1921.

"The Theosophist published the first few chapters of her first work, Initiation, Human and Solar, but then stopped for reasons Bailey called 'theosophical jealousy and reactionary attitude.' Bailey, "objected to the neo-Theosophy of Annie Besant" and worked with Foster Bailey to gain more power in the American Section" She became part of a progressive, " 'Back to Blavatsky movement, led mainly by Mr. and Mrs Foster Bailey," She outlined her vision for the Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society, annunciating ideals of tolerance and brotherhood. However, her efforts to influence the society failed, and she and her husband were dismissed from their positions.

In 1923, with the help of Foster Bailey, Alice Bailey founded the Arcane School, which gave, and still gives, a correspondence course based on her books (Bailey, pp. 192–193). The Arcane School is part of the Lucis Trust, a not-for-profit foundation that also publishes Bailey's works. Together with Foster Bailey, she organized an International Goodwill Movement About 100 of Alice Bailey's public talks and private talks to her more advanced Arcane School students are available online. Bailey continued to work right up to the time of her death in 1949 .

Teachings

Comparison with Theosophy

Campbell writes that Bailey's books are a reworking of major Theosophical themes, with some distinctions, and that they present a comprehensive system of esoteric science and occult philosophy, cognizant of contemporary social and political developments. Sutcliffe points out that both Bailey and Blavatsky's work evoke a picture of Tibet as the spiritual home of the Masters and that Bailey claimed a more-or-less direct lineage to Blavatsky. Sutcliffe writes:

"What of the content and style of Bailey's texts? Despite incorporating elements of debates in psychology, social planning and international relations, these are indebted to Theosophical cosmology and indeed Bailey can only be described as a 'post-Theosophical' theorist. For example, by her own account she received instruction from former personal pupils of Blavatsky at the start of the 'new spiritual era' in her life, and she later admitted that 'none of my books would have been possible had I not made a very close study of The Secret Doctrine. ' Her third book, A Treatise on Cosmic Fire (1925), is not only dedicated to Blavatsky but even reproduces the apocryphal 'Stanzas of Dzyan' upon which Blavatsky's own text had supposedly been based, while as late as 1936 the frontispiece of Esoteric Psychology carried a Blavatsky epigraph."

Dr. Jon Klimo, in Investigations on Receiving Information from Paranormal Sources, writes, "As with Blavatsky/Theosophical material, and more recent contemporary channeled material from other sources, we find in the Bailey work the same occult cosmological hierarchy: physical, etheric, astral, mental, causal, and higher inhabited levels of existence." Hammer, in the book Claiming Knowledge: Strategies of epistemology from theosophy to the new age, highlights Bailey's Theosophical similarities as well as noting what he thinks are some differences between them:

"To a large extent, Bailey's teachings are a restatement and amplification of theosophy of the Secret Doctrine. Bailey inherited from Blavatsky and Leadbeater a predilection for profuse details and complex classificatory schemes. Thus Bailey's cosmology rests on the belief in mult-level hierarchy of spiritual masters and in a classification of the entire cosmos according to a sevenfold scheme. Her books have also introduces shifts in emphasis as well as new doctrinal elements. Her interests in esoteric astrology, her doctrine of the seven rays (i.e. seven spiritual principles that underlie manifest reality) and her messianic belief in the imminent arrival of New Age are original contributions to theosophical doctrine."

In contrast to the above, some Theosophical critics of Bailey contend that there are major differences between the Theosophy of H. P. Blavatsky, and Alice Bailey. One key differences relates to Bailey's embrace of some mystical Christian terms and concepts.

"Bailey asserted that her teachings are grounded in and do not oppose in any fundamental way Theosophy as lived and taught by HPB and her Gurus. This assertion is false. Her books are rooted in the pseudo-theosophy pioneered by CW Leadbeater. For example, one of CWL's favorite revelations was the return to earth of "Maitreya" the Christ. Bailey accepted this fantasy. She placed an immense spiritual value on the Great Invocation which is supposed to induce Christ and his Masters to leave their hidden ashrams, enter into major cities and begin to dictate the redemption of Aquarian society. Contrariwise, the Theosophy of HPB and her Gurus emphasizes reliance on the Christos principle within each person. As Blavatsky thought: "Christian theology enforces belief in the Descent of the Spiritual Ego into the Lower Self; Theosophy inculcates the necessity of endeavoring to elevate oneself to the Christos … state." The discovery and altruistic expression of our innate divinity uplifts each individual and thus, very slowly, all of humanity."[1]

Theosophists are divided on their assessment of Alice Bailey's writings. For instance, the noted contemporary Theosophical writer Geoffrey Hodson wrote a highly favorable review of one her books, saying, "Once more Alice Bailey has placed occult students in her debt." And Gallagher writes, "Her first book, Initiation Human and Solar, was at first favorably received by her fellow theosophists. Soon, however, her claims to be recipient of ageless wisdom from the Masters met with opposition." The conflict is understandable since her works contain some criticisms of Theosophy, and at the time of the break she voiced her criticism of what she saw as dogmatic structures within the society, while questioning the pledges of loyalty to Theosophical leaders that were required. "During the annual convention of 1920 in Chicago, there was a power struggle between forces loyal to Besant and the Esoteric Section and others who believed that the ES had become too powerful. Below the surface was a hidden controversy regarding Alice's work with the Tibetan." For a more recent example of Bailey/Theosophy division, see the Theosophy in Scandinavia [2]

With regard to terminology, Reigle points out Blavatsky's aversion to the word "God," then in a critique of Bailey's acceptance and use of the term he writes:

"Some have regarded this utilization of the term 'God' in the Djwhal Khul/Alice Bailey writings as 'skillful means'; that is, the use of teachings that are not ultimately true in order to benefit a spiritually immature audience, one that is presently incapable of assimilating the actual truth. To move a largely Christian audience from an anthropomorphic conception of God to a much more abstract conception of God as the Solar Logo, rather han causing them to reject the Ageless Wisdom teachings altogether as being Godless, would be considered in Buddhism as skillful means."

With respect to the similarities of the two schools, in her book The Key to Theosophy, in a subsection titled "The Unity of All in All," H. P. Blavatsky writes:

"In their origin and in eternity the three, like the universe and all therein, are one with the absolute Unity, the unknowable deific essence I spoke about some time back. We believe in no creation, but in the periodical and consecutive appearances of the universe from the subjective onto the objective plane of being, at regular intervals of time, covering periods of immense duration."

Like Theosophy, Alice Bailey’s writings repeatedly emphasize unity. A representative example is:

" I will endeavor, above all else, to demonstrate to you that all-pervading unity and that underlying synthesis which is the basis of all religions and of all the many transmitted forces; I will seek to remove you, as individuals, from out of the center of your own stage and consciousness and—without depriving you of individuality and of self-identity—yet show you how you are part of a greater whole of which you can become consciously aware when you can function as souls, but of which you are today unconscious, or at least only registering and sensing the inner reality in which you live and move and have your being."

She believed her works were part of an unfolding revelation of ageless wisdom to humanity, of which Theosophical teachings were the predecessor and preparation. Her writings have much in common with Theosophy, and both contain these ideas. [3] [4] [5]

• Unity is the fundamental fact of spiritual life and realization
• The entire universe is alive—all is energy and energy expresses life
• Divinity is both transcendent and immanent
• Man lives within a hierarchy of spiritual lives
• Divinity unfolds through spiritual evolution
• All life is cyclic
• Man is a soul (consciousness) and reincarnates many times to gain experience
• Life is governed by the interplay of karma and free will
• Will, love, and intelligence are the essential attributes of the evolving soul
• Seven fundamental energies underlie all things—seven centers, seven planes, etc.

There are several themes that, in some degree, distinguish her writings from Theosophy and related traditions. These include:[6]

• A marked emphasis on the importance of service to humanity
• Emphasis on the importance of group consciousness and group service
• A shift away from personal devotion to spiritual teachers or masters
• A lengthy treatment of the seven rays as expressions of evolving life
• An elaboration of the glamours or illusions of the spiritual path
• Teachings on the return of the Christ or Christ consciousness
• Teachings on the importance of full moon cycles in relation to meditation

The Seven Rays of energy

Underlying her writings is the idea that all is energy and that spirit, matter, and the psychic forces intermediate between them are forms of energy. This energy is life itself. From one essential energy, divinity, proceeds seven rays that underly and shape the evolution of human life and the entire phenomenal world. On a cosmic level, she saw these seven rays of energy are the creative forces of planets and stars. On a microcosmic level saw them as the creative forces conditioning the physical, psychic, and spiritual constitution of man. (Jurriaance, p. 73-152)

In Bailey's concept the rays and all things manifest in centers of energy and their relationships. All rays and centers are focuses of some type of evolving life or consciousness. (Jurriaance, p. 35-52) This includes everything from atoms to centers or chakars in the human constitution, and upwards through the human aura to groups of humans as centers, and cities and nations as centers. (Jurriaance, p. 79- 90 ) Humanity as a whole is conceived as a center of energy as are the masters of wisdom of which she writes. Likewise, planet Earth as a whole, with all its subsidiary centers of life, is viewed as a center of life within the large life or divinity of our solar system.

The concept of the rays can also be found in Theosophical works. Campbell writes that Bailey, "...was the first to develop the idea of the seven rays, although it can be found in germ in earlier Theosophical writings."

The constitution of man

In line with previous Theosophical teachings, Bailey taught that man is a soul working through a personality where the personality consists of mind, emotions, and body. Mind and emotions are conceived, not simply as ephemeral brain effects but as psychical energies that are part of the aura or inner constitution of individuals. She uses the traditional Theosophical terms for these of etheric body, astral body and mental body. These auric aspects of the human being are defined as partial emanations or expressions of the soul. In her terminology, "Soul" is the synonym for evolving consciousness.

In Bailey's writings, evolution is defined as a process of personality integration and alignment of personality with soul. It is this transformation that leads toward right human relationships and spiritual revelation or awakening. (Bailey, p. 378) Steps on the spiritual path are "initiations," which is to say an evolution that is an entering into new and wider fields of consciousness, relationships, responsibilities, and power. In terms of her ray concept, the note of the soul is imposed on or superimposed on the note of the personality.

The spiritual hierarchy

She wrote that, behind all human evolution stands a brotherhood of enlightened souls who have guided and aided humanity throughout history. For Bailey, the evolution of humanity is intimately bound up with its relationship to this spiritual hierarchy. The stimulating and uplifting influences of religions, philosophies, sciences, educational movements, and human culture in general are conceived by her as the result of this relationship. Though humanity debases all these developments, they are all in their original impetus conceived as the result of spiritual hierarchy working in concert with evolving human potentials.

Discipleship

Bailey elaborates the relation of humanity to hierarchy in her teaching on "Discipleship in the New Age." In this scheme, all awakening souls stand in some relationship--often unconscioussly but sometimes consciously--to a particular "Master of Wisdom." The integrated personality, coming under the influence of the soul, is simultaneously coming under the influence of a Master. This relationship is said to be conditioned by karma, by evolutionary status, and by the potential for work to be done on behalf of humanity. This "service" aspect is greatly emphasized in Bailey's writings. In her concept, the evolutionary master-pupil relationship is made possible in and through service to humanity. Bailey's writing downplays the devotional and aspirational aspects of the spiritual life in favor of service or work on behalf of humanity. According to her, this is primary, and everything hinges upon that. "Discipleship" in her thought means work, service, and the evolution of those sensitivities and powers that enhance that labor. (Bailey, p. 38)

Unity and divinity of nations and groups

Underlying Alice Bailey's writings are the central concepts of unity and divinity . And with regard to races and religions she asserted that, "Every class of human beings is a group of brothers. Catholics, Jews, Gentiles, occidentals and orientals are all the sons of God." She believed that an individual's primary allegiance is to humanity and not to any subgroup within it: "I call you to no organizational loyalties, but only to love your fellowmen, be they German, American, Jewish, British, French, Negro or Asiatic."

Douglas Russell, who cites Alice Bailey, writes of the "one humanity" concept as as belonging to Psychosynthesis:

"The Universal Self is experienced as complete transcendence of separate individual or group identity. Its awareness is planetary consciousness and its will is the unfolding evolutionary pattern of humanity and all life on earth-the Universal Will. It has been described as union with cosmic forces, at-one-ment with a Divine Being, or as identification with the one Humanity as an organism within a living planetary entity." [7]

This philosophy derives from the influence of Alice Bailey on Dr. Roberto Assagioli, founder of Psychosynthesis. Several sources state that Dr.Roberto Assagioli had a close association with Bailey, and that his philosophy as embodied in Psychosynthesis derives at least in part from her influence. Roberts states, "It should be noted that Assagioli was closely associated with Alice Bailey in the 1930s. He published early work in her magazine "The Beacon" and was for a time a trustee of the Lucis Trust, Bailey's umbrella organization after World War II." And according to Frank, "Assagioli worked in close collaboration with the theosophists Alice Bailey. Her ideas are clearly recognizable in the system of psychosynthesis."

Human equality and religion

Bailey emphasized the equality of all men everywhere, and believed that national and religious affiliations are accidents of birth and they should see their group identifications as something enabling them to contribute to humanity as a whole:

"World democracy will take form when men everywhere are regarded in reality as equal; when boys and girls are taught that it does not matter whether a man is an Asiatic, an American, a European, British, a Jew or a Gentile but only that each has an historical background which enables him to contribute something to the good of the whole, that the major requirement is an attitude of goodwill and a constant effort to foster right human relations. World Unity will be a fact when the children of the world are taught that religious differences are largely a matter of birth; that if a man is born in Italy, the probability is that he will be a Roman Catholic; if he is born a Jew, he will follow the Jewish teaching; if born in Asia, he may be a Mohammedan, a Buddhist, or belong to one of the Hindu sects; if born in other countries, he may be a Protestant and so on."

Ross describes her writiings as emphasizing the "underlying unity of all forms of life," and the "essential onensss of all religions, of all departments of science, and of all the philosophies"

She believed that all religions originate from the same spiritual source, and that humanity will eventually come to realize this. As they do so, she claimed that it will result in the emergence of a universal world religion.

Then there will be neither Christian nor heathen, neither Jew nor Gentile, but simply one great body of believers, gathered out of all the current religions. They will accept the same truths, not as theological concepts but as essential to spiritual living; they will stand together on the same platform of brotherhood and of human relations; they will recognize divine sonship and will seek unitedly to cooperate with the divine Plan, as it is revealed to them by the spiritual leaders of the race, and as it indicates to them the next step to be taken on the Path of Approach to God. Such a world religion is no idle dream but something which is definitely forming today." (Bailey, p 140)

"World Goodwill has also promoted the idea of a 'new group of world servers': that is, a group of all races, classes and creeds who 'serve the Plan, humanity, the Hierarchy and the Christ'"

Campbell notes that the New Group of World Servers, was established for "...promotion of international understanding, economic sharing, and religious unity."

On orthodox Christianity

Bailey believed in the return of "Christ" but her concept had little in common with that of the orthodox Christian churches. She saw Christ as essentially the energy of love and his "return" as the awakening of that energy in human consciousness. She introduces the radical idea that the new Christ might be "no particular faith at all":

"The development of spiritual recognition is the great need today in preparation for His reappearance; no one knows in what nation He will come; He may appear as an Englishman, a Russian, a Negro, a Latin, a Turk, a Hindu, or any other nationality. Who can say which? He may be a Christian or a Hindu by faith, a Buddhist or of no particular faith at all; He will not come as the restorer of any of the ancient religions, including Christianity, but He will come to restore man's faith in the Father's love, in the fact of the livingness of the Christ and in the close, subjective and unbreakable relationship of all men everywhere."

In Bailey's thought, no one group can claim him—the new age Christ belongs to whole world and not to Christians or any nation or group. Bailey was highly critical of orthodox Christianity, and according to her, the Church-based theology about Christ's return is false:

"He will not come to convert the 'heathen' world for, in the eyes of the Christ and of His true disciples, no such world exists and the so-called heathen have demonstrated historically less of the evil of vicious conflict than has the militant Christian world. The history of the Christian nations and of the Christian church has been one of an aggressive militancy - the last thing desired by the Christ when He sought to establish the church on earth." (Bailey, p 110)

The divorce between orthodox Christianity and Bailey's thought can be seen in the fact that the book Nature Religion Today: paganism in the modern world contains seven references to Alice Bailey. , and the affinity of some of Bailey's concepts with paganism is also cited by Kemp in New Age: A Guide.

On fanaticism and intolerance

Alice Bailey spoke out strongly against all forms of fanaticism and intolerance." She saw this fanaticism in churches, in nationalism, and in competing esoteric schools. (Bailey pp. 15 & 453) She associated this fanaticism with unintelligent devotion:

"Those who look back to the past, who hang on to the old ways, the ancient theologies.… These are the followers of a Church and a government, who are distinguished by a pure devotion and love, but refuse recognition to the divine intelligence with which they are gifted. Their devotion, their love of God, their strict but misguided conscience, their intolerance mark them out as devotees, but they are blinded by their own devotion and their growth is limited by their fanaticism. They belong mostly to the older generation and the hope for them lies in their devotion and the fact that evolution itself will carry them forward …"

Races

For Bailey, the matter of prime importance was not race or religion but the evolution of consciousness that transcends these:

"… there is no new race in process of appearing, from the territorial angle; there is only a general distribution of those persons who have what have been called the sixth root race characteristics. This state of consciousness will find its expression in people as far apart racially as the Japanese and the American or the Negro and the Russian."

Bailey criticized many nations, groups and religions based on what she believed were violations of the spirit of unity and brotherhood. For example, while praising them in some respects, in the United States and France she saw political corruption. She regarded the talk about a free press as largely an illusory ideal and stated, "… particularly is it absent in the United States, where parties and publishers dictate newspaper policies." She believed the source of human problems is the spirit of separation that causes individuals and groups to set themselves apart from the rest of humanity:

"We could take the nations, one by one, and observe how this nationalistic, separative or isolationist spirit, emerging out of an historical past, out of racial complexes, out of territorial position, out of revolt and out of possession of material resources, has brought about the present world crisis and cleavage and this global clash of interests and ideals." (Bailey, p. 375)

Influence

Sir John Sinclair, Bt., gives a commentary on the seminal influence of Alice Bailey, which he says underlies the consciousness growth movement in the 20th century. In Perspectives on the New Age we find, "The most important—though certainly not the only—source of this transformative metaphor, as well as the term "New Age," was Theosophy, particularly as the Theosophical perspective was mediated to the movement by the works of Alice Bailey."

In a book on history of the Bollingen Foundation and its pervasive influence on American intellectual life, William McGuire wrote:

"In 1928 Olga[8] built a lecture hall on her grounds, overlooking the lake, for a purpose not yet revealed to her, and a guest house which she named Casa Shanti in a Hindu ceremony. A year or two later, she went to the United States and sought out Alice A. Bailey, in Stamford, Connecticut, a former Theosophists who led a movement called the Arcane School. Mrs Bailey, whom Nancy Wilson Ross[9] has described as a woman of great dignity, kindness, and integrity, aimed like Olga Froebe at the raising of consciousness and the bridging of the East and West. She lived with a mystic presence, ‘the Tibetan,’ presumably one of the Theosophical Masters, who used her as an instrument to write a number of books devoted to Higher Truth…”

Bailey has been cited in numerous professional journals, and Wessinger cites Bailey as one of the liberated women, "… sixty years before it became popular." She writes:

"The books produced in this manner express a millennial view similar to that of Besant, including the expectation of the World-Teacher or Christ. The Bailey works and their focus on the 'New Age' or 'Age of Aquarius' are an important source of the contemporary New Age movement." (Wessinger, p. 80)

Bailey's thought has had an influence in the field of Psychotherapy and Healing. "In Tansley as in Brennan you will find descriptions of a hierarchy of subtle bodies called the etheric, emotional, mental and spiritual that surround the physical body. (Interestingly Tansley attributed the source of his model to Alice Bailey’s theosophical commentary on The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the locus classicus of Hindu teaching.)"Pdf

Dr G. D. Chryssides of the University of Wolverhampton, cites Bailey's influence on the ideas of the Order of the Solar Temple and related organisations.

An article in Encyclopedia Britannica says that Alice Bailey founded the Arcane School to disseminate spiritual teachings and that she organized a world-wide 'Triangles' program to bring people together in groups of three for daily meditation. Their belief was that they received divine energy through meditation and this energy is transmitted to humanity, so raising spiritual awareness.

"After Bailey's death, former members of the Arcane School created a host of new independent theosophical groups within which hopes of a New Age flourished. These groups claimed the ability to transmit spiritual energy to the world and allegedly received channeled messages from various preternatural beings …"

Controversy

Accusations of racism and antisemitism

Bailey's writings stirred controversy because she spoke against orthodox Christianity, American isolationism, nationalism, Soviet totalitarianism, fascism, and Nazism. She also critisized Zionism and the Jewish religion and history. [10] She spoke against Zionism, believing it to be, "… contrary to the lasting good of mankind." (Bailey p. 680). At the same time she spoke out strongly against hatred of the Jews and believed in a future in which they would "fuse and blend with the rest of mankind." In her autobiography Bailey stated that she was on Hitler's "blacklist," and believed it was because of her defense of the Jews during her lectures throughout Europe. Bailey also criticized the cruelty of the Gentile for his treatment of the Jews:

"God has made all men equal; the Jew is a man and a brother, and every right that the Gentile owns is his also, inalienably and intrinsically his. This the Gentile has forgotten and great is his responsibility for wrong doing and cruel action." (Bailey, p. 401)

Despite her identification with the Jewish people as show above, her severe criticism of the them evoked claims of antisemeticism, with some passages in her books being interpreted as racist Dr. Victor Shnirelman, a cultural anthropologist and ethnographer wrote that "… racist and antisemitic trends are explicit, for example, in the occult teachings of Alice Bailey (founder of the New Age movement). Shnirelman, Victor A. Russian Neo-pagan Myths and Antisemitism in Acta no. 13, Analysis of Current Trends in Antisemitism. The Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 1998. Retrieved 2007-08-22</ref>

Prophecies and obscurity

Stephenson analyzed the prophecies contained in the Alice Bailey works, breaking them down into dated and undated prophecies, prophecies confirmed, and non-determinable. While some some her prophecies appear to have been accurate, others do not. For instance, Bailey states, "From the chair of the Pope of Rome, the Master Jesus will attempt to swing that great branch of the religious beliefs of the world again into a position of spiritual power and away from its present authoritative and temporary political potency."

Roberts criticizes Bailey's writings as not empirical, naturalistic or humanistic but rather romantic and symbolical with a bewildering variety of terms.

Conflicts with competing schools of thought

Writing from a Christian church perspective, Bromley says:

"After World War II, Eastern thought was filtered through (and more or less distored by) the likes of Manley Palmer Hall, Alice Bailey, Baird T. Spaulding, and Edwin Dingle. Possibly more important than their individual teachings, however, occultists as a group hammered home the central idea, 'The East is the true home of spiritual knowledge and occult wisdom.'

Bailey has been criticized by some religious writers because her non-conformity to the orthodox belief systems of these religious traditions.

Bailey's books have also been criticized as a form of Neo-Theosophy by mainstream Theosophists who say that a great many of her ideas were borrowed from Theosophy while also including perspectives that were not part of the original Theosophical teachings of Blavatsky|Helena Petrovna Blavatsky.

Bibliography

The Lucis Trust is the official publisher of Alice Bailey's books. A few books of Alice Bailey that are no longer under copyright are also available online at independent web sites.

Credited to Alice Bailey (works containing the prefatory Extract from a Statement by the Tibetan, generally taken to indicate the book was a "received" work):

• Initiation, Human and Solar — 1922
• Letters on Occult Meditation — 1922
• A Treatise on Cosmic Fire — 1925
• Light of the Soul: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali — 1927 (commentary by Alice Bailey)
• A Treatise on White Magic — 1934
• Discipleship in the New Age — Volume I - 1944
• Discipleship in the New Age — Volume II - 1955
• Problems of Humanity — 1947
• The Reappearance of the Christ — 1948
• The Destiny of the Nations — 1949
• Glamor - A World Problem — 1950
• Telepathy and the Etheric Vehicle — 1950
• Education in the New Age — 1954
• The Externalization of the Hierarchy — 1957

• A Treatise on the Seven Rays:
  • Volume 1: Esoteric Psychology I — 1936
  • Volume 2: Esoteric Psychology II — 1942
  • Volume 3: Esoteric Astrology — 1951
  • Volume 4: Esoteric Healing — 1953
  • Volume 5: The Rays and the Initiations — 1960

Credited to Alice A. Bailey alone (works in which Bailey claims sole authorship of the material):

• The Consciousness of the Atom — 1922
• The Soul and its Mechanism — 1930
• From Intellect to Intuition — 1932
• From Bethlehem to Calvary — 1937
• The Unfinished Autobiography — 1951
• The Labors of Hercules — 1974
• The Labours of Hercules: An Astrological Interpretation — first published 1982

External links

• Lucis Trust
• The Seven Ray Institute
• Alice Bailey lectures
• Complete Works of Alice Bailey that can be downloaded
• Dissertation from the U of W. Sydney, The texts of Alice A. Bailey: An inquiry into the role of esotericism in transforming consciousness. (includes criticism of Bailey)