Beginning of the Manifestation of the Synthetic Ashram

In The Externalization of the Hierarchy we find:

Hierarchical Preparation At The Wesak Festival – April-May 1946

“I have delayed writing my usual Wesak message until this late date because of a certain event in the Hierarchy which was maturing and which necessitated my entire attention. This event was connected with the Wesak Festival and involved among other matters the formation of a new Ashram in which the Wisdom aspect would be of particular importance and not the Love aspect; this Ashram would also be related in a peculiar manner to the Buddha. It had to be formed at this time in order to be the recipient, and then the custodian, of certain ‘endowments’ which the Buddha will bring at the time of the May Full Moon. The endowments concern the Will-to-Good of the Lord of the World, the Ancient of Days, though they do not concern goodwill as you understand that phrase. This Ashram, when duly formed and established, will enable the Member of the Hierarchy to respond to this aspect of the Divine Purpose — the Purpose which as you know lies behind and implements the Plan; this Ashram, related to the Buddha, will be specifically under the close supervision of the Christ, and also of the Lord of Civilization – at this time the Master R. They are the only two Members of the Hierarchy able to register the Divine Purpose (in regard to its immediate objective) in such a manner that the entire Hierarchy can be informed and can then work unitedly and intelligently at its implementation. More than this I may not tell you about this particular hierarchical move, affecting as it does both Shamballa and the Hierarchy.”

The Externalization of the Hierarchy, by Alice A. Bailey, p. 541

This concept is further elaborated in Ashramic Projections:

“In this particular effort, something new has been added to the general Plan of Ashramic activity. The Ashram out of which this particular Thought Form of the Wisdom is being presented is a synthesis. It is a new Ashram, a synthesis of First, Second and Seventh Ray energies and expressions. In other words, the Master M., the Master D.K., and myself, the Master R., have come together to form an Ashramic Center.

“With us, we have brought into relationship those of our Ashram, those of our Ashramic membership, who are karmically (and I refer here, to Service Karma), related with this particular Ashramic effort, with that particular expression of the Divine Plan which we are focusing.

“So, this Ashram is made up of disciples functioning on the First, Second, and the Seventh Rays.”

Ashramic Projections, by Lucille Cedercrans, pp. 35-36

These two quotes both reveal and clarify several aspects of the Synthetic Ashram and the work begun by Lucille.

First, we note that in the quote from D.K. he mentions that the Synthetic Ashram is “…a new Ashram in which the Wisdom aspect would be of particular importance and not the Love aspect.” This explains why The Nature of The Soul and its sister courses refer to The Wisdom rather than The Ageless Wisdom, The Ancient Wisdom, etc. It is referring to a New Thought-Form Presentation of the Wisdom Aspect.

In The Nature of The Soul, page 3, “…a New Thought-Form Presentation of The Wisdom has been created and placed in availability for those who seek it. It can be contacted as an abstraction via the activity of meditation, and must then be translated into a concrete form by the one who meditates.”

Second, the work of Lucille was primarily under the Seventh Ray (Master R.) aspect of the Ashram. It is not surprising, as briefly mentioned in section one, to realize that her writings stress practice/wisdom rather than knowledge/wisdom. The Seventh Ray method, as described by R. in The Nature of The Soul, page 361, is by application (another word for ritual): “True ceremony is an inner state of being, which is channeled into every outer act.” The application of The Wisdom from this perspective is described in the following fragment by R./Lucille: “The work of my ashram, during this particular period in the evolutionary development of humanity, is related specifically to the growth and development of the consciousness aspect. Since this is a seventh ray ashram its service during this period can be defined as ‘the magic of the consciousness aspect.’ The Seventh Ray Ashram has previously concerned itself with the magic of the form, that is, with the evolution of the form aspect…”

Thus, while in the past the Seventh Ray Ashram concerned itself with the evolution of the form, it now concerns itself with the evolution of the consciousness.