For the most up-to-date information on the guiding hands of the Hierarchy of Masters the Alice Bailey book, The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, which was printed in 1957 but written in stages up to 1949, is the most comprehensive and this article is only a brief overview. In this book the whole sweep of the Plan of the Hierarchy for humanity is covered together with much teaching of significance such as that on the Great Invocation, the third stanza of which was given out in 1945 and reprinted from Discipleship in the New Age, Volume II. The second section of the book details the general world picture and the last section gives the stages in the externalisation process of the Hierarchy with headings such as;

The Subjective Basis of the New World Religion
The Externalisation of the Ashrams
The Return of the Christ
Work in the Coming Decades
The Ashrams Concerned at the Coming
Organising the Ashrams into Form on Earth
The Effects of the Externalisation
Ashramic Adjustment to Exoteric Living

In this last section of the book, under the first heading of  ‘The Subjective Basis of the New World Religion’, details are given of the Masters who were already working in the preparations at that time through Their disciples. These are Master Morya, Master K.H., Master Jesus, Master Hilarion, Master D.K. together with another unnamed Master linked with the preparatory work in India. Two others are also mentioned; one of the English Masters and the Master in America. It is said that all of these constitute a nucleus of Workers around the Christ.

Not all the lines of work in which this group of Masters are engaged are given. However, it is given out that the national executives of the world are under inspiration of the Master Morya, the first ray Master having to do with government and politics. Amongst others, Internationalism is also mentioned as part of His work, and no doubt the inspiration for both the United Nations and the European Union owe something to  political leaders under His inspiration, albeit unknowingly. However, there is also another Master, known as the  Regent of Europe who undoubtedly would have been involved too, to whom reference is made later.

The second ray teaching Master K.H.  is said to be working with the churches in preparation for the Coming One. This work is said to include the prelates of the Greek, Roman and Anglican Catholic Churches as well as with Protestant leaders and the main leaders in the field of education.

The masses of the Christian people in the west are said to be inspired by the Master Jesus, Who also works on the esoteric, inner council of the churches.

The Master Hilarion works in America in the field of intuitive perception and throughout the world with a variety of psychical research movements.

The Master D.K.’s field of service is that of “those who heal with pure altruism” and those in the world laboratories and other great philanthropic and welfare movements in the world such as the Red Cross. He also has assumed a great teaching role, taking many of the other Masters’ disciples which then leaves Them free for other work.

The seventh ray Master Rakoczi has work to do with synthesising all aspects of the Plan as the seventh ray energies of Organisation and Ceremonial Order comes in at this the start of the Aquarian Age.

Under a section entitled Approach, via Certain Ashrams it is said that disciples and initiates from only three out of the seven major Ashrams were being sent to do the preparatory work at that time. These Ashrams were the second ray building one under Master K.H,, the first ray synthesising one under Master Morya and the fifth ray Ashram to do with the scientific use of energy. All this is the preparatory stage of the externalisation process and when sufficient work has been done by the workers of these Ashrams then workers from other Ashrams can come in. The first to do so will be that of the third ray which will be concerned with an overall financial adjustment in the world to do with the principle of sharing. It is said that certain ideals will be forced upon businesses by public opinion and as this seems to have been happening in more recent times, perhaps this could be an indication of the workers of this Ashram externalising now.

The initiates and disciples of the seventh and sixth ray Ashrams will come into physical incarnation at a later stage and the final one to begin the externalisation process will be that of the fourth ray of Harmony through Conflict and it is said that it will be much, much later.

Under the section entitled ‘The Ashrams Concerned at the Coming’ is the information that the Master R. is the Regent of Europe and working at that time, so yet again this is evidence of Hierarchical inspiration surely, for those involved in the formation of the European Union. There is also information on another Ashram whose Master had been involved in the organisation of Labour from the later part of the nineteenth century onwards and Who is stated to be English.

Details of the five centres on the planet are given in the section headed ‘The Effects of the Externalisation’which are New York, London, Geneva, Darjeeling and Tokyo. These are said to be centres of energy at each of which an Ashram of the Masters will be found and though this will be a gradual and slow process eventually all will be working in these centres for the coming of the new world cycle. It is these five centres that are used in the Full and New Moon meditations.

INFORMATION ON THE MASTERS AND THEIR WORK IN OTHER BOOKS BY ALICE A. BAILEY

In Esoteric Psychology, Volume I, which was published in 1936, there are details of another Master, P., of whom it is said that His headquarters are in America and together with His group of initiates and disciples had the task, at that time, of stimulating the variety of psychological schools throughout the world. This Master, it is said, works through schools of thought and movements and never with individuals. His work is almost always on the mental plane, unrecognised and unknown, except, that is, by His workers throughout the world and by fourth ray disciples, as He is the Master of that ray, the ray of Harmony through Conflict. No contact on the physical plane is made with individuals. [p. 105]

Further revelations on the way the Masters work is also given on page 108 when it is stated categorically that, at that time, no Master of the sixth initiation, for example, the Master Morya and the Master Koot Humi, were working through dictation to Their disciples. The reasons given are that firstly they are too occupied with a much wider field of work with world problems and world figures and that secondly, there is sufficient teaching for individual disciples to proceed unaided.

However, it is also said that two of the Masters were working with several disciples both telepathically and with dictation. The aim was to give inspiration to these disciples, who were already world servers, so that they could be of greater use in the fulfilment of the Plan for humanity. The field of science and of social welfare are mentioned specifically in this context as the most prominent thinkers being subject to impression at that time but in no other field of work. It is said that the work in other fields had been delegated to initiates and disciples and that this accounted for an increasing flood of information from the subjective side of life then.

Later in the same book is further information on the ray groups of workers who have the aim of breaking down the separativeness and group isolation that characterised nations at that time. This work is acknowledged to be such a vast task that there are details of three main groups.

1. First, sixth and seventh ray workers in the department of politics.
2. Second and fourth ray workers in the department of religion.
3. Third and fifth rays in the department of education. [p. 178]

Three seventh ray disciples are mentioned on page 226 of the same book and they are named as the Curies and Millikan (Robert A.) in connection with the discovery of the cosmic rays and the increased radio-activity due to the incoming seventh ray of the Aquarian Age. The seventh ray is that of Ceremonial Order and Organised Ritual and in this section of the book it is made clear that these qualities are needed in form building where “the processes found in the mineral kingdom are profoundly geometrical”.

In Discipleship in the New Age, Volume I, which was published in 1944, there are details too of the efforts of the disciples of three Masters, Morya, Koot Humi and Rakoczi as they approach “a period of the intensest activity”. It is said that in their hands the destiny of the world depends. It is also said that an Ashram is “a centre through which both force and energy flow in order that the vision may be materialised”.