This article was originally published in Rainbow News magazine in New Zealand and in New Dawn, Australia 2009
The old Piscean age is fading into history to make way for a new age of Aquarius, the age of universal brotherhood. Aquarius, the sign of universality and brotherly love, has been making it’s influence known for centuries now. Under the influence of this constellation, a new note is being sounded. The powerful Aquarian currents are creating evolutionary conditions that will gradually allow humanity’s cherished dream of brotherhood between all human beings, regardless of race or religion, to finally become reality. Despite the apparently contradictory evidence from the media, universal brotherhood is an idea whose time has come.
My optimism in making this statement stems from my experience of visiting some of the spiritual communities of the Universal White Brotherhood, which exist all over the world and from being a student of the spiritual teachings of Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov for over 30 years.
The name Universal White Brotherhood not only refers to an international, multi-racial group of human beings who strive towards the same ideal of self-transformation but to all the most luminous, noble beings who work tirelessly for the evolution of humanity. Universal consciousness, itself, embraces all life: rocks, trees and animals (vegetarianism is recommended) as well as the higher life forms of the invisible world, the angels, archangels and divinities.
Visitors to the Universal White Brotherhood communities try to put the spiritual philosophy and practical methods of two Aquarian masters into practice in everyday life, striving to create a warm, fraternal atmosphere of light and harmony; meditating together, listening to beautiful music, singing and taking meals together in the big meditation hall. The atmosphere that is created through these activities gives everyone conditions favourable to overcoming those negative humans tendencies that are the cause of conflict and hostility between people and nations.
The Universal White Brotherhood movement was originally founded in 1900 by the Bulgarian master, Peter Deuvov (Beinsa Deuno) who originally trained as a priest but whose universal consciousness made him unsuited to the rigidity and narrowness of the orthodox church. He rebelled against the church’s rejection of reincarnation and started to give public lectures which breathed new life into the traditional understanding of the gospels. These attracted large numbers of followers who participated in annual congresses in the Rila mountains. His work was continued by Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov who took his teaching to France in 1937.
The movement of the Universal White Brotherhood soon spread to Switzerland, then to the rest of Western Europe and North and South America.It has since then gathered momentum, with groups and centres flourishing in the former Soviet Union, in the Congo and on every continent in the world.Aotearoa, New Zealand was specifically mentioned by Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov as ‘an Aquarian country’ so it is exciting to speculate about how Aquarian influences will manifest in these islands.
The word ‘brotherhood’ is surprisingly mentioned just once in the Gospels and yet only the spirit of brotherliness, the recognition that all human beings are sons or daughters of the same creative force, is capable of resolving all the conflict and crime in the world today.This ‘brotherliness’ is by no means easy to achieve though, when you actually feel like wringing someone’s neck, and in such circumstances a high spiritual ideal is needed and practical methods to help transform the egotism of our lower nature.
The Aquarian currents will also help us as they will gradually bring about a shift in consciousness during the coming age.Humans will no longer limit their attention to their own personal lives; they will have evolved sufficiently to take an interest in answering much bigger questions, in thinking of issues that affect the wider community and, in their desire to create a world where all without exception live in freedom and happiness, they will stimulate unknown inner forces and become capable of making this altruistic ideal a reality.
The coming paradigm shift will be as great and as far-reaching as the shift in consciousness that took place when Copernicus’ geocentric view of the universe was replaced by Galileo’s revelation that the Sun, not the Earth, was at the centre of our solar system!
Through their Aquarian teachings, Peter Deunov and Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov were also attempting to restore the Sun to its rightful place in human consciousness; to provoke, as Galileo did, a renaissance!They considered it the most perfect symbol of universality that exists, a splendid image of the Cosmic Christ, for it pours its light, warmth and life on all creatures, saints and criminals alike.Whether or not humans appreciate it, it just keeps on shining, it continues to give unconditionally.And just as the Sun is the centre of our solar system, around which all the planets revolve, our spirit needs to be the centre of our inner life, for then it becomes a factor capable of harmonising our destructive instinctive and emotional tendencies, such as anger, jealousy and self-centredness.
Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov occasionally spoke of a long distant era, still alive to Hindu mythology, in which humans lived for millennia in a state of happiness, free from war, hostility and greed thanks to their universal consciousness. It is known as the ‘golden age’ of Ram and, similar to the ancient Egyptians, their inspiration was the warmth, light and life-giving properties of the Sun. They would breathe in its golden rays as the aurora spread over the horizon and in this way they regenerated themselves, living to a long age in a state of perfect health and inner equilbrium. He coined a term for this practice, ‘Surya Yoga’ (from the Sanskrit for Sun) and today it is the central spiritual exercise of participants at the summer and Easter congresses at centres of the Universal White Brotherhood.
Personally, I have many cherished memories of climbing up to the ‘rock of prayer’ while the stars were still throbbing in the clear, indigo skies of Southern France. There was often a long chain of brothers and sisters ascending the rock together and we would inwardly be saying prayers of gratitude to the creator as we climbed; or we would ask to vibrate in harmony with all universal life, greet the angels of the four elements and the nature spirits, the gnomes, undines, sylphs and salamanders; or link ourselves to the angels and the four cardinal archangels, Gabriel, Raphael, Mikhael and Uriel. Then we would sit totally still, breathing in deeply the early morning prana, listening to the birdsong and watching the display of pink and orange hues on the horizon until a total hush in nature announced the arrival of the Sun’s golden rays.
Concentrating on capturing these first rays is a practice that not only benefits us spiritually; it also improves our psychic states and our physical health and vitality. I believe it is thanks to this practice, as well as to the many other methods of the Universal White Brotherhood, such as the yoga of nutrition, working with music, singing and making exhanges with the vitalising forces of nature, that visitors to its communities are able to achieve such a state of harmony and brotherly/sisterly goodwill that they truly think they have landed in paradise!
If we humans welcome these new Aquarian currents with open hearts and minds, and if we succeed in rising to a universal, sun-centred consciousness and choose to manifest our more spiritual Self whose nature is generous, selfless, truly disinterested and intelligent, then I firmly believe that humanity is on the brink of a magnificent future.
There will be another renaissance. A new sunlit culture will arise as humans learn to fully manifest all the potential of their creative Selves, drawing inspiration from the Sun, from nature and from the spiritual science and philosophy of the great Aquarian masters.
Values will change when true intelligence and success are measured, not by how much money or status has been acquired, but by the ability to help others, to enlighten, heal, and comfort others, to make them happy and bring them peace.
Human beings will learn to love and respect the intelligent beings that animate nature and will no longer pollute and ravage the Earth, their mother. There will be new art forms truly expressing the beauties of life, a new education, a new science and a new universal religion, freed from dogma and sectarianism. Omraam has even described a new way of loving and bringing children into the world, a new way of eating, sleeping and working!
As Peter Deunov says in song:
“Brothers and sisters, the age of unity is dawning.
Forward! Let us create together a glorious future!
A future of peace and love.”
Originally published in Rainbow News magazine 2009 New Zealand
© Susan Johnson