A woman who has been a follower of the Christian faith all her life, was engaged in missionary service during the First World War, gave lectures on theology in Ireland and the United States. But at the same time, she was an ardent popularizer of mysticism, supported the doctrine of esotericism and hermeticism, organized the Theosophical School itself, taught and wrote books in it, and even participated in mysteries. And that’s all about one man, Alice Bailey.
Childhood and youth
Alice Bailey was born into a family consisting of two ancient noble families. Her parents were rich enough to provide a child with a comfortable life, but they passed away too early, struck down by the tuberculosis epidemic. The relatives brought up the girl. Discipline was observed very strictly, and for the slightest disobedience, retribution immediately followed, which made the child very shy and quiet. In addition, the family was very religious, so from childhood Alice Bailey positioned herself as a true Christian and could not imagine that she would preach mysticism over time. Despite her religious orientation, the girl tried several times to commit suicide. This was prompted by loneliness and dissatisfaction with the surrounding world.
At the age of fifteen, in broad daylight, in her own living room, the girl first encountered a vision. He was a tall man in European clothes, but with a turban on his head. And what he said forever changed the life of Alice.
The stranger said that she was chosen to carry out important work. But for this it will be necessary to leave a cozy house and spend many years wandering, studying and changing. He also mentioned that success depends only on the girl, on how much she can transform her character during this time and succeed in business. His last words were a promise to appear every seven years with new instructions. This meeting made a strong impression on the young girl.
Missionary activity
At 22, Alice Bailey, whose photo could adorn the cover of a fashion magazine, left home in one of the British colonies to conduct preaching work among soldiers there. She organized a school for the military, where they studied the Bible, helped in hospitals, and looked after the wounded. Sometimes I had to give fifteen to twenty lectures a day.
It was in such circumstances that Alice met her future husband Walter Evans. Together they left for the United States, where the husband received the post of priest. At first, the future seemed cloudless. But this marriage was not long, and after seven years, the future writer Alice Bailey decided to divorce. Having three small daughters, the woman was forced to work long and hard to grow them and give them a good upbringing. She did not leave her mission, although she could return under the wing to her relatives in the UK.
Second marriage
The second time she chose Foster Bailey, and after the official divorce from her first husband, they were married by law. Together, the couple became members of the Theosophical Society of the United States, where Foster was the head of the national section. This allowed the opening of several schools in which mysticism could be spread.
Alice Bailey met with Elena Petrovna Blavatsky, whose works The Secret Doctrine and Isis Exposed became an inspiring impulse to continue the hard work.
Writing
In the same 1919, Bailey again came under the guidance of her Master, who asked her to sit down for writing a number of works, and people from all over the world should read them. The author of the books is Alice Bailey, but, as she herself claimed, they were dictated to her by the Teacher, appearing in these works under the name Tibetan. In more than thirty years, twenty books have come out of her pen. In one way or another, they all contained recommendations, explanations, and instructions for readers regarding mystical, esoteric, and religious events. Sometimes she allowed herself to insert there a description of her
spiritualistic sessions, during which Bailey was transported over long distances, communicated with the late historical figures and gained knowledge.
School
Together with her husband, the founder of Lucis Trust, Alice Bailey, organized the Arcana School. It provided knowledge about how a person should move along the Path of Evolution, how to enter the Spiritual Hierarchy, how to achieve success in spiritual purification, and the like. Over the entire period of its existence, hundreds of people have passed through this educational institution who want to acquire knowledge associated with mysticism and hermeticism. The Lucis Trans mentioned above was engaged in publishing Bailey's books, popularizing them in the media.
Autobiography
In their declining years, students persuaded their mentor to write a book on their own behalf. At first, she resisted for a long time, but then yielded, deciding that her experience would help others embark on the path of faith and achieve significant success. In addition, this would be material evidence of the existence of the Hierarchy of spiritual mentors, world Masters, which Alice Bailey also mentions. The biography remained unfinished - the author died. But the followers still published it, albeit in an abridged version, as a tribute to the memory of their teacher.
Classification of esoteric schools
In this autobiography, Alice Bailey gives characteristics and classifies all schools of spiritual development that existed at that time. In her opinion, they could be divided into four groups:
- School aspirants. They are taught there mainly by ambitious authorities who are hungry for power. They cannot bring something new to the life of their students, since they themselves are still poorly versed in the subject. Their lectures are full of platitudes compiled from books on the occult and old manuals. Among other things, leaders do not recognize any criticism of themselves and constantly check their students for loyalty.
- Schools of teachers. There are few such institutions, in them the teacher only transfers knowledge, not analyzing them from the point of view of his experience, since he understands that he cannot do this. He does not make claims to higher forces, rarely comes into contact with them and is more focused on his own experience.
- Schools of a new type. In such institutions, already advanced students who have reached a certain position in the Spiritual Hierarchy teach. They strive to teach their followers something new and explain existing truths from a different perspective. This always presents a certain difficulty, because it is human nature to react with a negation to something that does not correspond to his ideas about the truth. People who teach in these schools have a stronger influence on others due to powerful internal radiation. They expand their areas of work, seek to reach as many followers as possible. It was they who were entrusted with the difficult mission of founding new schools.
- False schools. There are taught distorted truths that lead believers astray. Fortunately, Bailey noted, they are few in number, and their influence is short-lived, so people who nevertheless fall under it have a chance to return to their starting point and start moving in the right direction again.
Last years
Alice Bailey, whose years of life fell on the First and Second World Wars, left behind a rich spiritual heritage, was a wife and mother, and also a Teacher for many of her followers. She was able to abandon the familiar world, comfort, security in favor of spiritual enlightenment. This one
act is worthy of respect.In our time, mysticism and esoteric acquired a slightly different meaning. They are popularized by mass culture as something supernatural, giving magical powers or dooming to the fight against evil spirits. It is hoped that the allegorical nature of these images can still be understood by those who actually seek to expand the boundaries of their knowledge.