Chapter 8 - Administrative Organization

Chapter 8 - Administrative Organization

For the first time after some weeks under intense treatment I ventured out in Lysias’ company. The sight of the streets impressed me. The wide avenues, bordered with shady streets, which stretched out before us, were filled with pure air and an atmosphere of profound spiritual tranquility. Yet I saw no signs of inactivity or idleness anywhere. Instead, the city streets were crowded. I watched as the crowds passed by me. Some seemed absorbed in thought, while others smiled cordially as they passed. Lysias, seeing my surprise, quickly began to explain.

“We are now in the district of the Ministry of Assistance. Everything you see here, all of the buildings and houses, are either institutions where the activities of our jurisdiction are carried out or home for our working staff and

instructors. In the Ministry, patients are assisted, prayers are heard and sorted, earthly reincarnations planned and rescue groups promoted on behalf of those inhabiting the lower spirit zones or suffering on Earth. Here all problems related to human suffering are examined and solutions studied.” “So there is a Ministry of Assistance in the Astral City?” I asked.

“And why not? All of our activities here are controlled by an organization which is constantly improving under the efficient supervision of those watching over our destinies. During our collective prayers, didn’t you notice our Governor, surrounded by his seventy-two assistants? They are the Ministers of the Astral City. The colony, whose purpose is essentially work and accomplishment, is divided into six Ministries, each under the direction of twelve Ministers. The six Ministers are named: Regeneration, Assistance, Communication, Elucidation, Elevation, and Divine Union. The first four connect us with the Earth; the other two link us to the higher spheres. So you see our spiritual city is really a transition zone. The coarsest, most material activities are carried out by the Ministry of Regeneration. The most sublime is the Ministry of Divine Union. Clarence, our friendly instructor, is one of the Ministers of Assistance.”

I never imagined the possibility of finding such a complete organization after the death of the physical body.”

“Yes”, Lysias continued, “the evil of illusion is very dense in the spheres of the flesh. The average man is unaware that all manifestations of order around him proceed from higher planes. Just as Nature becomes a garden when tended by man, so the mind, dull in primitive creatures, is transformed into a creative force when inspired by consciousness functioning in higher spheres. Every useful organization on the material plane has its first roots in higher spiritual worlds.” “But those the Astral City have a history like the great cities of Earth?”

“Certainly. All of the planes near the Earth possess their own specific nature and unique history. The Astral City is an old settlement, founded by a group of distinguished Portuguese pioneers who, after passing on, settled in

the spirits planes over Brazil in the sixteenth century. According to the annals of our Colony, these settlers at first encountered tremendous and exhausting difficulties here. There are obstacles in the invisible zones close to

the Earth, just as there are on the Earth itself. Enormous areas with undeveloped potential here are comparable to the great tracts of forbidden terrain on Earth.”

“The pioneers’ work was indeed hard and discouraging, even for the stronger spirits. The area where delicate vibrations and majestic buildings now abound was also peopled with other more primitive inhabitants whose

architecture reflected their elementary minds and who filled the atmosphere with their undeveloped thoughts. Still the founders did not lose heart. They proceeded with their efforts, following the example of the Old World settlers

on the physical plane. Only they substituted persevering work, brotherly solidarity and spiritual love for violence, war and slavery.”

By this time we had reached a large, artistically designed square, filled with beautiful gardens. In its center stood a magnificent palace crowned with majestic and lofty towers whose tips reached so high they disappeared from

sight.

“Here, where the Government House now stands, the settlers placed the cornerstone of the Colony.”

Pointing to the palace, he went on:

“This square is the converging point of the six Ministries I told you about. They start at the Government House and stretch out in a triangular shape. Our devoted Governor lives here. A staff of three thousand individuals

assist him in his administrative duties. He is the most earnest and untiring worker in the Colony. The Ministers travel at times to other spheres to renew their energies and acquire new knowledge, and we, too, have our habitual

amusements. Only the Governor has no leisure time whatsoever. While he insists that we take periodic vacations to rest, he himself works ceaselessly, sacrificing even his sleeping hours. It seems he finds his reward in neverending service. I have been here for forty years, and except for the collective prayers, I have never seen the Governor at any public entertainment. Yet the radiation of his powerful mind reaches every branch of activity and his fatherly assistance involves everybody and everything here.”

After a long pause, the friendly attendant continued:

“Only a short time ago, we celebrated the one hundred fourteenth anniversary of his magnanimous administration.”

Lysias went on walking in reverent silence, while I, keeping pace with him, gazed in awe at the marvelous steeples which seemed to pierce the skies.

From the book The Astral City "Nosso Lar" - Chapter VIII - Administrative Organization