Education in the New Age

*The books of Alice A. Bailey, written in cooperation with a Tibetan teacher between 1919-1949, constitute a continuation of the Ageless Wisdom--a body of esoteric teaching handed down from ancient times in a form which is always suitable to each period. Intended to precede and condition the coming era, the Alice A. Bailey writings offer an unparalleled spiritual approach to such subjects as the teaching on Shamballa and the Path of spiritual evolution; the spiritual Hierarchy; the new discipleship and training in meditation as a form of service; the teaching on the seven rays and the new psychology of the soul; the teaching on esoteric astrology; and the new world religion, which emphasizes the common thread of truth linking all the major world faiths. *Of the few specialised subjects included in these books by Alice Bailey and the Tibetan, education is of primary importance. Today we are losing the tendency to associate "education" only with the instruction of the young and with academic matters. Education is, or should be, a continuous process from birth to death concerned not so much with the acquisition of knowledge as with the expansion of consciousness. Knowledge of itself is a dead end, unless it is brought into functioning relationship with environment, social responsibilities, historical trends, human and world conditions and, above all, with the evolution of consciousness which brings the infinite vastness of an unknown universe within the range of the finite human mind. To oversimplify, can we say that education is a continuous process of learning how to reconcile the human and the divine elements in the constitution of man, creating right relationship between God and man, spirit and matter, the whole and the part? If this is education in the broader sense, it is more specific and more concentrated when considered in the light of child training. This book is so concentrated and specific. While presenting the need for wholeness - development of the whole person, spirit, soul and body as an integrated unity, and acceptance of the planetary whole as the area of personal experience and responsibility - the educational needs of the child today are set out in specific terms. Faults and inadequacies in the present educational systems existing in many parts of the world are enumerated, and methods for the future suggested. Emphasis is placed on the need for education in world citizenship. Even before this book was first published this need had become startlingly apparent. It is also clear, however, that since children naturally tend to accept without question those of other nations, other races, colour, belief and social background, a world consciousness and inclusiveness must first be generated in those adults responsible for the education and the training of the young. Therefore, this book includes a brief final chapter on "the science of the Antahkarana"' that is, with the creative effort to bridge in consciousness between the lower analytical, knowledge-gathering mind, the soul, and the higher mind which is an aspect of the divine Self, the spiritual man. This is a scientific process which can be studied and practiced as a meditation technique, combined with the effort to apply spiritual principles to the daily life under any and all circumstances. The building of the Antahkarana, literally a bridge between the subjective and objective worlds, creates a channel for the transmission of spiritual energies - light and love and power. These energies transform the daily life, irradiate the personality and infuse the mind with creative thought consistent with the needs of the emerging Plan at the dawning of a new age. So the enlightened adult can stimulate the soul of the child, enrich and enliven the mind, and provide right opportunities for full development of the spiritual potential.