Throughout history, discipleship training has changed as each Age has provided its unique emphasis and humanity has evolved. In earlier times the focus for those in discipleship training centred on the feeling relationship of the individual to his soul and to his or her master. During the past two thousand years it has been this feeling response in Pisces, with its resultant outpouring of compassion and genuine heart-based love, which has been of tremendous use in lifting humankind toward the light. Over the past three hundred years, however, with the growing impulse of Aquarian (and seventh ray) energies, humanity as a whole has begun to be more mentally focussed. This has already begun to call forth discipleship training with a far greater emphasis on the dual rational-intuitive development and use of the mind, a shift foreshadowed by Jesus’ addition of the words ‘with all your mind’ to the Great Commandment.

Clearly, discipleship itself, like everything else, is in an ongoing process of unfoldment (growing up) and the twenty-first century Aquarian disciple will look very different from his or her twentieth century and still largely Piscean influenced counterpart.

At the cusp of a new Age, worlds come into collision. In this context it is helpful to think of each two thousand year Age, with its unique energies, challenges and possibilities, as an intrinsic part of Divine purpose and plan, and a divinely ordered catalyst to human and planetary unfoldment. It becomes clear that if the greater cosmic energies remained fixed or static throughout history then unfoldment would occur at a much slower pace than it does. Great changes on the planet (including profound changes to the nature of discipleship), and the movement of humanity to a new life stage, are catalysed by complex interactions between God’s will and purpose, the flux of impacting cosmic energies, and human responses and initiatives based on freedom of choice.

Already the changes are becoming very apparent as disciples are being called to act far more maturely, autonomously and free of dependency. In fact, over this century the expectations on disciples will be far greater than they have ever been, the standard of discipleship that much higher, and the level of global outreach and service initiative far more intense.

What is being asked in this new millennium of those who consciously serve the furthering of the Plan? What type of awareness and focus is crucial? What needs to be the nature of both their training and their world service?