There is more to this movement that you have yet had an inkling of, and the work of the T.S. [Theosophical Society] is linked with similar work that is secretly going on in all parts of the world…know you anything of the whole brotherhood and its ramifications ? The old women [Madame Blavatsky] is accused of untruthfulness and inaccuracy in her statements. "Ask no questions and you will receive no lies". She is forbidden to say what she knows. You may cut her to pieces and she will not tell. Nay - she is ordered in cases of need to mislead people…

Mahatma Morya
The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett. Pages 271-2


One of the more bizarre facets of the New Age movement is in the currently held belief in Ascended masters. While this doctrine seems modern in its diverse applications, its origins are in the earliest machinations of Theosophical history. The original advent of the Mahatmas was within the framework of the system developed by Madame Blavatsky, this system was modified, transformed and many would say distorted by the various factional movements that developed within Theosophy and dragged it in different directions. Certainly the Theosophy of Leadbeater and Besant seems at odds with the esotericism found in the "Secret Doctrine". (Blavaskty's major theosophical treatise). The problem was that the "Ascended Master" mythos which began with Blavatsky took on a life of its own, when confronted with the egalitarian democracy of the USA, the masters became democratic. And so, the Masters began to speak to everyone.

 With the early "I AM" movements the masters changed from "high and mighty" Hindu  Supermen to homely religious figures, even including Jesus and Buddha. They also partook of American commercialism and the value of good marketing and the dollar seemed to enter the equation. Here consumer culture and middle-class values became coupled with a lollie-pop version of the perennial wisdom. This reached its "nth" extent in such modern sects as the Church Universal and Triumphant of Elizabeth Claire Prophet. In some sense these masters are also found in the more anarchistic experience of channeling, spiritualism and UFO cults. The masters of the Aetherius society, where Jesus comes from a sector on Mars, are a further extension of this weltanschauung.


The key question is what is the origin of this "Ascended Master" mythos, if it could be shown to be questionable, then like a house on sinking sand, the whole edifice of New Age syncretism would fall with it. The traditional way of appraising this myth is to either accept it at face (faith) value or reject it totally as a construct of a mad Russian psychic who has seen just one too many spirits. However, the work of K.Paul Johnson (as found in such titles as the Masters Revealed and Initiates of the Theosophical Masters, State University of New York Press), offers a appealing alternative. By deconstructing Blavatsky's life and work Johnson has been able to decode her "master mythos" as referring not to ethereal spectres but to living religious, political and esoteric figures. He proves (I think conclusively) from her work that since these figures (many of them at least) were involved in political agitation of various forms (including the liberation of India from the British), then to cloak their identities became a necessity. Blavatsky commandeered the earlier Freemasonic concept of Unknown Superiors or Secret Chiefs and used it as a gloss to cover the identities of her "comrades" in revolution. While Blavatsky certainly understood the use of the Masters as metaphor, her followers did not. Indeed in one letter she wrote to Franz Hartmann " Where you speak of the "army" of the deluded - and the "imaginary" Mahatmas of Olcott - you are absolutely and sadly right. Have I not seen the thing for nearly eight years ? Have I not struggled and fought against Olcott's ardent and gushing imagination and tried to stop him every day of my life".(From Blavaskty's Collected Writings, Volume 3).

 
Throughout her works there are hints to the observant that the Mahatmas she had "created" were myths and figureheads to hide real figures. If we were to trace the development of the Master mythos within her work, we can clearly see it changing from the "spirit" guides that appeared in her earlier spiritualistic period, to figures which are ambivalent, withdrawn and seem to be "more than human". These figures were coupled with obvious slight of hand tricks (in Adyar), which the more critical might see as "camp" additions to a sideshow, a sideshow which was in some way meant to be seen through by those who possessed the perception. While Blavatsky couldn't tell you that the masters were metaphors, her behavior, erratic descriptions and illusionist tricks would have done the job. These figures should not be seen as spiritual alone. Blavaskty's view of "manipulating reality" was not that of an outside observer. While Theosophy today may wish to paint her as a "saint", from available records we know that she smoked (tobacco and hashish), swore and had a hell of a temper. Her political views were untempered and many of the "so-called" Mahatmas would not have been offended if we labeled them as terrorists. Many of the secret societies she worked with battled using every possible means to destroy what they saw as the "imperialist and capitalist" monster. Depending on where you are locating on the political spectrum, they were revolutionaries or terrorists.


Accordingly as time progressed real revolutionary spiritual figures were replaced with ethereal nonsense. The sad fact is that from this nonsense a whole "Ascended Master" movement developed, melding itself with spiritualism, channeling and other superficial spiritual forms, it has resulted in the counter-initiatory tradition we have today. When we see the original meaning behind the master metaphor we can start to appreciate the shallow vision of modern spirituality.

 
While there is some truth in the original "Secret Chief" or "Unknown Superiors" teaching, this is very different from the archaistic, egalitarian American package of "McDonald" masters and apple pie wisdom. The sources of light were seen as transmitting wisdom through a traditional hierarchical structure to those prepared to receive truth in both an experiential and cognitive form. It had little in common with either political ferment, eastern guruism or spiritualistic practice. In a world where hierarchy is a dirty word and intellectual prowess is confused with elitism and in a world where excellence is decried as discriminatory. It becomes difficult to expound the real ethos of Unknown Superiors in juxtaposition to the easy going, yet facile and vacuous messages of Ascend Masters, Extra Terrestrials and age-old spirits.
 

The most dangerous aspect of these new Masters is that they are not all benign, they do not all give "spiritualist" candy and meaningless cliches from the other side. As we head towards the millennium a "darker side" to this madness is arising. Many of the UFO, Masters and Spirit guides are offering messages and encouragement which seem aligned to the development of a New World Order and collective forms of mind control. While we may accept that the Mahatmas of Blavaskty were metaphors alone, it is a terrifying possibility that "principalities and dominions" may be using the Ascended Master mythos as a means of mass mind control. If leaders of modern spiritual movements are more than willing to open their minds and souls to any being who calls itself "Jesus", or any spirit than seems benign, or any extra-terrestrial who says it comes in peace, then the minds of their followers are surely in jeopardy. In recent years various UFO cults have come to untimely ends and so many others seem to be moving towards fascistic forms of social structure, it is possible that as the Kali Yuga accelerates the Ascended Master mythos will become more and more a mechanism of control. The New Age is perhaps a little different than we thought. The age of Aquarius is dawning, however, Aquarius is ruled by Uranus (or Saturn in more ancient astrological forms). These planets are not those of enlightenment, but forces of dispersion, destruction and crisis. Saturn itself being the glyph on which the legends of Satan and Set were grafted. The Ascended Masters, the New Age and Aquarius should be carefully reconsidered as we slouch towards 2000 and a dangerous enlightenment becomes the practice of the day.

 
A good place to start studying the origins of the Master Myth is in Masters Revealed, State University of New York Press,1994 and Initiates of the Theosophical Masters, State University of New York Press, 1995.
 

Reposted from the former website of the Institute of Gnostic Studies