Compilation on ‘true server’ as applied in the writings of Djwhal Khul and Alice Bailey.
What are the Characteristics of the true Server?
These characteristics can be easily and briefly noted. They are not exactly what one may have been led to believe. I am not here speaking of the qualifications required for the treading of the Path of Discipleship or the Probationary Path. These are well known. They are the platitudes of the spiritual life, and constitute the battleground, or the Kurukshetra of most aspirants. We are here concerned with those qualities which will emerge when a man is working under the impulse of the Law of Service. They will appear when he is a real channel for the life of the soul. His major characteristics will then be three in number:
- He will be distinguished, as might be expected, by the quality of harmlessness, and by an active refraining from those acts and that speech which might hurt or cause any misunderstanding. By no word, suggestion, implication, innuendo or voiced dissatisfaction will he hurt his group. You will note that I do not say “will not hurt any individual.” Those working under the Law of Service need no reminder not to hurt any individual. They often need, under the exuberance of spiritual stimulation and the intensity of their aspiration, to be reminded to demonstrate group harmlessness.
- The second characteristic is a willingness to let others serve as seems best to them, knowing that the life flowing through the individual server must find its own channels and outlets, and that direction of these currents can be dangerous and prevent the rendering of the intended service. The server’s efforts will be turned in two directions:
- To the task of helping others to “stand in spiritual being”, as he himself is learning to stand.
- To aiding the individual to express his service in his chosen field as he desires to express it, and not as the onlooking helper deems that he should do it.
One point might here be made clear. The task of those who are working under the Law of Service is not exerted primarily with that group in the world today which is working under the effect of that general response to which we earlier referred. These effects are easily shepherded into those activities which, en masse, work out as philanthropic endeavor, as educational experiments, or social efforts in the life of the community. The name of those who thus respond is legion, and the will to serve in this particular way needs no impetus. The remarkable response to the many recent campaigns to good will definitely evidenced this. But the work of the new type of server is directed towards those who are establishing soul contact and who can therefore work under the new incoming Aquarian Law. This centers around the capacity to stand, not only in spiritual being, but together with others, working with them subjectively, telepathically, and synthetically. This distinction merits attention for one can easily waste effort by entering fields already well handled from the point of view of the attainment of the units in that field.
- The third characteristic of the new server is joyfulness. This takes the place of criticism (that dire creator of misery) and is the silence that sounds.
It would be well to ponder on these last words, for their true meaning cannot be conveyed in words, but only through a life dedicated to the newer rhythms and to the service of the whole. Then that “sounding joy” and that “joyful sounding” can make its true meaning felt.
Source: Esoteric Psychology II
We have seen that service is not simply an activity of some person or group doing something with good intention for another person or group. Service itself is definitely the result of a tremendous inner happening, and when that result is brought about, it will be found to have produced a number of creative secondary causes. These are, primarily, a change in the lower consciousness, a tendency to turn away from the things of the personal self to the larger issues of the group, a reorientation which is real and expressive and a power to change conditions (through creative activity) which is the demonstration of something dynamically new. As this inner event stabilizes into an equilibrized inner condition, the demonstration of the above changes becomes more regular and less spasmodic and the effects of the new forces flowing into the personality, to be later used creatively, will be seen in all three bodies. Thus the true server comes into possession of his instruments for service, and thenceforth creative work in accordance with the Plan can go forward on all three planes.
Esoteric Psychology II
Ambition is, in the last analysis, only the personality urge towards betterment, and in its right place and time is a divine asset, but it has to be rooted out when the personality becomes the instrument of the soul. In other cases, the server will come into a wider and more loving vision, and, taking his eyes off his own accomplishment, will go to work in silent unison with the groups of all true servers. He will submerge his personality tendencies, his ideas and his ambitions in the greater good of the whole, and self will be lost to sight. Perhaps no better suggestion can be made to the man or woman who seeks to function as a true server than to ask them to repeat daily, with their whole hearts and minds behind the words, the dedication at the conclusion of the Esoteric Catechism, which is included at the end of Initiation, Human and Solar. I would remind such servers that if they revolt or are dismayed by the ideas embodied in the words, that is perhaps an indication of how much they need the impression of this life objective upon their consciousness. That pledge runs as follows:
“I play my part with stern resolve; with earnest aspiration; I look above, I help below; I dream not, nor I rest; I toil; I serve; I reap; I pray; I am the Cross; I am the Way; I tread upon the work I do, I mount upon my slain self; I kill desire, and I strive, forgetting all reward. I forego peace; I forfeit rest, and, in the stress of pain, I lose myself and find Myself and enter into peace. To all this I solemnly pledge myself, invoking my Higher Self.”
Source: Esoteric Psychology II
Long patience will be needed. Mistakes will be made. There will be periods of indecision, of ineffective action and of negative yet deep discouragement. Workers will be prone to attitudes of despair, and at times the task will appear to them to demand too much, to be too difficult and the forces opposing what they seek to do too strong. But behind all the reconstruction with which humanity is faced is the potency of inevitable resurrection, the constant flow of enlightened thinking into and directing the mass consciousness, plus a growing realization that humanity is not alone, that the spiritual values are the only real values, and that the Hierarchy stands, immovable in its spiritual strength, steadily oriented towards world salvation, and acting ever under the direction of that great divine yet human Leader, the Christ. The Christ has passed through all human experiences, and has never left us; with His disciples, the Masters of the Wisdom, He is drawing closer to humanity decade after decade; when He said at the Ascension Initiation, “Lo, I am with you always even until the end of the age,” He meant no vague or general idea of helping humanity from some distant locality called “the Throne of God in Heaven.” He meant just what He said – that He was staying with us. The fact of His Presence upon earth in physical form is known today by many hundreds of thousands, and will eventually be realized by as many millions.
Therefore, my brothers, believe in the reality of the work to be done by these great spiritual Potencies, invoked during the three Full Moons of April, May and June. Go forth to the task of helping humanity, of establishing goodwill, of bringing about right human relations and of restoring a true spiritual perspective, with undaunted courage, sure faith and the firm conviction that mankind is not alone.
May the blessing of the Christ and of the Hierarchy rest upon all true servers and may they stand tranquil in the midst of strife.
Source: The Externalization of the Hierarchy
The way into the sphere of your richest service is, for you, the way of the heart. It is the way of renunciation but always the way of joy. So, as you pass on to fuller surrender and to a more complete usefulness, I give you simply some words on which to brood. These words have held the key for me and for many other servers. In understanding them and in integrating them into your life, you will join the ranks of all true servers.
- 1st month – I go the way of deep surrender.
- 2nd month – The way of joy enriches all my life.
- 3rd month – Renunciation takes the place of grasping for the little self.
- 4th month – Before me stands The Presence.
- 5th month – Behind me lies the road of broken toys.
- 6th month – Peace rests upon my life.
You will understand, my brother, the purpose of these particular phrases.
Source: Discipleship in the New Age I
[…] time is a great factor in service. For the masses of humanity, time is not of very great importance; but for the servers of the race, it matters much. Lose not time, therefore, in undue self-analysis, self-depreciation or self-defense. Go forward with discrimination where your unfoldment is concerned, and with love and understanding where your group is concerned. Where I, your teacher, am concerned, give to my words the attention which is due and endeavor to cooperate with me. I shall then some day have the joy of welcoming you to the “Secret Place” where all true servers and initiates must eventually meet and unite.
Source: Discipleship in the New Age I
One of the essential conditions imposed upon the personnel of the group is that they must be willing to work without recognition, on the subjective levels. They must work behind the scenes as do the Great Ones. Its members therefore must be free from all taint of ambition, and from all pride of race and of accomplishment. They must be also sensitively aware of their fellowmen and of their thoughts and conditioning environment.
It is a group that has no exoteric organization of any kind, no headquarters, no publicity, no group name. It is a band of obedient workers and servers of the WORD – obedient to their own souls and to group need. All true servers everywhere therefore belong to this group, whether their line of service is cultural, political, scientific, religious, philosophical, psychological or financial. They constitute part of the inner group of workers for humanity, and of the world mystics, whether they know it or not. They will be thus recognized by their fellow group members when contacted in the casual ways of world intercourse.
Source: A Treatise on White Magic
True servers of the race and those who have contacted the world of the soul, through meditation, have no time for platitudes; these can safely be left to the parrots of the world; they are too busy serving constructively to care to pick up mantles which are only a veil to pride; they are not interested in the good opinion of any person, incarnate or discarnate, and care only for the approval of their own soul, and are vitally interested in the pioneering work of the world. They will do nothing to feed hatred and separativeness or to foster fear. There are numbers of people in the world only too ready to do that. They will fan the flame of love wherever they go; they will teach brotherhood in its true inclusiveness, and not a system which will teach brotherhood to a few and leave the rest outside. They will recognize all men as sons of God and will not set themselves upon a pedestal of righteousness and knowledge from whence they proclaim the truth as they see it and consign those to destruction who do not see as they do, or do not act as they feel they should, placing them outside the pale; they will not regard one race as better than another, though they may recognize the evolutionary plan and the work that each race has to do. They will, in short, occupy themselves by building up the characters of men, and not waste their time in tearing down personalities, and dealing with effects and with results. They work in the world of causes, and enunciate principles. The world is full of those who tear down, and who feed the present hatreds, and who widen the divisions between races and groups, between rich and poor. Let the true student of meditation remember that when he makes a contact with his soul, and becomes at-one with Reality, he is entering into a state of group awareness, which breaks down all barriers, and leaves none of the sons of God outside its field of knowledge.
Source: From Intellect to Intuition
[…] if true impersonality is cultivated, if the power to stand steady is developed, if every situation is handled in a spirit of love and if there is a refusal to take hasty action and to permit separation to creep in, then there will be the growth of a group of true servers, and the gathering out of those who can materialize the plan and bring to birth the new age and its attendant wonders.
Source: A Treatise on White Magic
It is in meditation that this work of accurate reception and correct building is learnt and hence the emphasis laid in all true schools of esoteric training upon a focused mind, a capacity to visualize, an ability to build thought-forms, and an accurate grasp of egoic intent. Hence also the need of the magician beginning the practical work of magic with himself as the subject of the magical experiment. He begins to grasp the vision of the spiritual man, as he is in essence. He realizes the virtues and reactions which that spiritual man would evidence in physical plane life. He builds a thought-form of himself as the ideal man, the true server, the perfect master. He gradually coordinates his forces so that power to be these things in external reality begins to take shape so that all men can see. He creates a pattern in his mind which hews as true as he can make it to the prototype, and which serves to model the lower man and force conformity to the ideal. As he perfects his technique he finds a transmuting, transforming power at work upon the energies which constitute his lower nature, until all is subordinated and he becomes in practical manifestation what he is esoterically and essentially. As this takes place, he begins to be interested in the magical work in which it is the function of all true souls to participate.
Source: A Treatise on White Magic
True service is the spontaneous outflow of a loving heart and an intelligent mind; it is the result of being in the right place and staying there; it is produced by the inevitable inflow of spiritual force and not by strenuous physical plane activity; it is the effect of a man’s being what he truly is, a divine Son of God, and not by the studied effect of his words or deeds. A true server gathers around him those whom it is his duty to serve and aid by the force of his life and his spiritualized personality, and not by his claims or loud speaking. In self-forgetfulness he serves; in self-abnegation he walks the earth, and he gives no thought to the magnitude or the reverse of his accomplishment and has no preconceived ideas as to his own value or usefulness. He lives, serves, works and influences, asking nothing for the separated self.
Source: A Treatise on White Magic
The […] Lords of Liberation are […] essentially related to desire-will, and are therefore more easily contacted by man. The place from which They issue forth to the aiding of humanity is a certain area of the divine Consciousness which is open to the human sense of awareness, if sufficiently enlightened and selfless. You can see from the above remark how the effective use of invocation is therefore dependent upon the point of spiritual development of the one who seeks the aid of true prayer and invocation. One thing which should be grasped anent all these great Lives is that what is commonly called “worship” is abhorred by Them. Worship, the power to adore and the sense of awe (which is one of the highest aspects of fear) are not desired by Them. Such attitudes are emotional in origin and based upon the sense of duality, and therefore upon feeling. These Lives are embodiments of service and can be reached by true servers with the appeal of service. Bear this in mind. As man progresses upon the Path he forgets worship; he loses all sense of fear, and adoration fails to engross his attention. All these attitudes are obliterated by the realization of an overpowering love and its consequent interplay and tendency to increase identification. The Lords of Liberation can be reached, therefore, by the call of the world servers, and They will then issue forth through the agency of One of Them, Who will unify the energies of all Three, and so produce those conditions which will bring about effective and recognized freedom. How They will do this is not for us to say; the most probable method will be through the over-shadowing of some man, or some group of men, so that they will be inspired to bring about the victory of liberty.
Source: The Externalization of the Hierarchy
As I told you before, the plans for humanity are not laid down, for humanity determines its own destiny; the effort is directed towards establishing a closer relationship between humanity and the Hierarchy.
It is possible for all aspirants and disciples to participate in this effort to the extent of rendering the task of the Masters easier by their clarity of thinking, their renewed spiritual effort, and the rededication of themselves to the task of service. To this effort I call you. It is a continuing effort which will be spread over many years. The opportunity will be offered to all true servers and aspirants and, above all, to the new group of world servers to participate in the establishing of the necessary momentum in the immediate cycle.
I call you, therefore, to a month of inner silence, of introspective thought, of self control and of meditation, to self-forgetfulness and attentiveness to opportunity and not to your own inner aspiration to achieve. I call you to concentrate upon the world need for peace, mutual understanding and illumination and to forget utterly your own needs – mental, emotional and physical. I call you to prayer and to fasting, though along what lines your abstinence should go is for you to decide. For the five days of meditation, I call you to a more complete ‘fasting,’ to a grave silence, to an inner focalization, to a purity of thought and to an active spirit of loving kindness which will make you a pure channel. Thus will the work of the Hierarchy be facilitated and the door opened to the regenerative forces of Those extra-planetary Beings Who offer Their help at this time and particularly during 1936. The response of this Festival will submit a gauge of opportunity for the guidance of the Great Ones.
Source: The Externalization of the Hierarchy
It would be of value if each student would link up every day at five o’clock by an act of the will with this rapidly integrating group of servers, mystics and brothers. To this end it might be wise to commit to memory the following brief dedication to be said silently at that hour with the attention focused in the head:
“May the Power of the one Life pour through the group of all true servers.
“May the Love of the One Soul characterize the lives of all who seek to aid the Great Ones.
“May I fulfill my part in the One work through self-forgetfulness, harmlessness and right speech.”
Then carry the thought forward from the rapidly forming group of world-servers to the Great Ones who stand back of our world evolution.
This can be done in a few seconds of time wherever one may be and in whatever company, and will not only aid in the magical work of the forces of light, but will serve to stabilize the individual, to increase his group consciousness, and to teach him the process of carrying forward interior subjective activities in the face of and in spite of outer exoteric functioning.
Source: A Treatise on White Magic
