By Sensei Erwin L. Rimban
The Age of Aquarius is upon us.
All over the world subtle and complex changes that accompany the changing of the seasons are being felt in small and large measures alike. The seasons have changed and with this change comes startling new developments that will help catapult mankind to finer and higher spirals of evolution. First, let us compare this new age with its predecessor then examine the multi-faceted features of the age where we are in right now.
The previous age, the Age of Pisces, was an age characterized by secrecy. Secret groups and organizations filled the earth. The teachings of the spiritual masters remained in private in many parts of the planet. There were reasons for this secrecy.
The the masses were mired in the quicksand of ignorance. World education was badly needed and so people all over the world did not easily comprehend spiritual teachings. The result? Most esoteric teachings were articulated underground in the halls of secret mystical organizations.
Now, in this new age, this status quo is changing. The Age of Aquarius is characterized by world education in a way we have not yet achieved. Fundamental learning (which is necessary to grasp the higher principles of spiritual evolution) is now disseminated to a large portion of humanity. The advent of the global village and the creation of the internet have become the building blocks of world education in this new age.
The internet has made the great spiritual teachings accessible to large masses of mankind. Humanity is now undergoing a renaissance of learning in the arts, sciences and humanities. In addition, the esoteric realms of thought are becoming known by more and more people.
Secrecy, so prevalent in the previous age, is now replaced by openness. Openness to new ideas. Openness to new cultural systems. Openness to the influx of new races which often occurs through tourism and immigration. Openness to new disciplines. Openness to new ways of expression and new ways of living.
Mystical groups and spiritual organizations of an esoteric nature will have increasingly more importance as this age goes on. Unlike the previous age; there will be more openness rather than secrecy. Esoteric groups that have a service component in their mission statement will find more success. Preferably they must combine their esoteric curriculum with a background in philosophy, psychology, the sciences and mathematics. Only those groups, which combine the spirit of scientific inquiry with a love for esoteric learning will become the new torches of humanity and will help advance spiritual evolution.
Another feature of this age is the exaltation of the mental realm. This does now mean the lower mind but the higher mind, its concepts, precepts and paradigms. Mentation and cognition will reach a level beyond the previous eras of evolution. The previous stages can be seen as the necessary initial steps of the ladder that leads to higher and rungs of glory.
Philosophy (the mother of the sciences) provided the initial spark. The great philosophers of East and West blazed the pioneering trails to glory. Names like Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Socrates, Plato, Zoroaster, Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Vardhamana Mahavira, and Plotinus were the champions of philosophy. Then this mother field gave birth to eventual children like chemistry, biology, physics, ecology, mathematics, sociology, history and psychology. In turn, these children gave birth to sub-disciplines of their own. For example psychology is very fortunate to have Carl Jung grace its presence and quicken the sub-disciplines of Analytical Psychology and Archetypal Psychology.
Now the game becomes more interesting as more players are entering the scene and contributing to the eternal symphony of evolution.
In the Age of Aquarius, the esoteric realms, which were accessible to only a few in the past; will now become widespread. Today, more and more people are interested in esoteric philosophy. Younger generations composed of intelligent and curious teenagers are delving into arcane stuff like astrology, tarot, kabbalah, runecraft, divination, astral phenomena, meditation, wicca, nature magic, shamanism, psychic powers, gnosticism, the grail quest and spirituality in general.
There are advantages and disadvantages of this curiosity. The advantage is the acquisition of knowledge and participation in the great dance of spiritual development. The disadvantage is that these people may obtain the wrong information from the wrong hands. Or they may obtain only partial knowledge about certain aspects of the spiritual path without the synthesis that is absolutely necessary for correct understanding.
Synthesis is extremely important in the esoteric realm. It is synthesis of knowledge that leads to wisdom. It is synthesis that leads to spiritual insight. It is synthesis that leads to spiritual illumination. Therefore, synthesis is a goal to be achieved at all costs.
The spiritual teachers and masters of the Age of Aquarius must possess both knowledge and wisdom both in the exoteric and esoteric realms. A multi-faceted spiritual teacher must be preferred over a narrow-minded one. The new generation of spiritual teachers must have a good background in the natural sciences, philosophy, mathematics, social sciences, literature and the humanities in order to be able to serve a diversity of people. Of course, spiritual teachers must also be knowledgeable about the esoteric realms of thought.
The best spiritual teachers are those who will be able to merge both the exoteric and the esoteric realms. This is a prime requirement of the Age of Aquarius: to merge the feminine and the masculine mind. To synthesize insights from various fundamental fields of thought. Above all, spiritual teachers who have a good background in psychology and counselling will have a paramount place in this new age.
The Age of Aquarius is upon us. Only by transforming our inner selves can we gain mastery of our outer selves; and that is the central message of this Age of Accelerated Evolution.
