The Group of World Servers

This group is united by a common aim and certain qualities such as goodwill, humanitarian sentiment, and a broad vision for unity in diversity

By Roberto Assagioli[i], (Assagioli Archives – Florence)[ii]. Original Title: Il Gruppo di Servitori Mondiali. Translated and Edited With Notes by Jan Kuniholm[iii]

Abstract: The Group of World Servers (GWS) is a unique group with no formal organization or membership. Its members are united by a common aim and certain qualities such as goodwill, humanitarian sentiment, and a broad vision for unity in diversity. World Servers are pioneers and innovators, working towards creating a new civilization and culture based on higher principles. They do not engage in combative or destructive actions but spread new ideas and set examples of dedication and service. World Servers can collaborate within their fields of work or across different fields, based on mutual respect and the common good. They operate externally through practical methods and internally through psychological and spiritual means. Collaboration and cooperation among World Servers are essential for their collective impact and the advancement of humanity.

It is appropriate to clarify well what this Group is and who belongs to it. It is not easy to explain the nature of the Group of World Servers (“GWS”), for when we speak of a “group” we naturally think of an organization, membership, bylaws, board of directors, membership fees, etc. Here, however, we are faced with a paradoxical situation. In the GWS there is none of this — there is no external organization, no membership, no Board of Directors. Not only do the members of this Group not meet, and often they do not know each other; but there is more — many people do not even know that they are part of it. Moreover, they act in different and even opposite fields.

So, one may ask, in what sense can it be said that they constitute a Group? It can be said because they are united by what is essential, by what should constitute the “soul,” so to speak, of every group: that is, a common aim, a common purpose; moreover, the members all have certain fundamental qualities, necessary to be part of it.

Let us examine what these qualities are. First of all, goodwill and humanitarian sentiment. But the former must not only be a disposition of benevolence toward others; it must be an active will, that is, manifesting itself as a dynamic will for good. Thus, compassion for human suffering must transmute into action, into social service to alleviate it, but even more so to eliminate its cause.

These are the basic qualities, but they are not enough to constitute a World Server. For him to merit the name “world” he must have the capacity for a broad, “planetary” vision: the ideal of synthesis, of the union of all people. Note that unity does not mean uniformity or imposed unanimity, but unity in diversity. Such unity consists in cooperating for the common good, albeit in different fields and in different ways. Therefore, everyone’s particular activity, in whatever field it is carried out, must be directed toward bringing about this unification.

A biological analogy can clearly illustrate this fact. Every cell in our body is well-differentiated; heart cells are different from nerve cells and perform entirely different functions. There are also cells belonging to organs that perform opposite functions; but all their activities are directed and coordinated to the preservation and development of the life of the whole organism. Let us imagine that a cell has its own individual consciousness; it may believe, in its small consciousness, that everything happens for its own interest, for its own benefit, and it may act only for its own preservation. But suppose that this cell, little by little, widens its circle of interest, of participation in the whole organ of which it is a part; then in the system of organs that perform a given function, such as nutritive, circulatory, etc., and finally it may widen its consciousness until it identifies with the consciousness of the whole organism. Well, it will continue to perform its small particular function in the organ to which it belongs, together with the neighboring cells, but it will know that this function cooperates in the welfare of the whole organism, and it can be assumed that it will perform its small particular function with greater goodwill and zeal. The same can be said of human individuals, of the small groups to which they belong, of the larger groups, such as nations, parties, professional classes, etc., up to the whole of humanity.

But beyond the fundamental goodwill and spirit of service, besides the synthetic, unified, universal vision, there is another quality peculiar to World Servers. They are pioneers, innovators. They are not attached to the past. They are aware that current forms and systems do not and cannot work in a radically changed world, and therefore a new order must be created in all fields, based on higher principles, on true human and spiritual values. Therefore, the World Servers aim to create a new civilization and a new culture.

In doing this, however, they differ markedly from other innovators: that is, they are not combative, in the sense that it is not their desire or function to fight what is old or to destroy what exists and, above all, to use violent methods. It could be said that their motto is “to overcome evil with good.” Their mode of action is to spread the new ideas, to present and propose the new ideals, and to set an example of a spirit of dedication and service for their implementation. All this has a dynamic power that, in itself, replaces and eliminates what is contrary or limited — the forms that are no longer adequate to contain the new breath, the new current of life.

It could be argued that the active destruction of certain forms, whether of ideas or institutions, may also be necessary. This is true, but it is not the function of World Servers. There are others who can perform it and do it more or less well, that is, not infrequently going to the opposite extreme, or using violent and inhumane methods. But this does not concern World Servers. They inspire, they build, always in a positive way and with forces of good.

From this definition, from this characterization of World Servers, another paradoxical fact emerges: they are spiritually “close” to each other and can understand and appreciate each other despite being and acting in different and even conflicting fields — for example, different religions, nations, political parties — while they can feel “distant” and be in conflict with [some of] those who belong to their own religion, nation, or party, but who have narrow and separative conceptions, who are attached to the forms of the past, or who use inhuman and violent methods.

Membership in the Group of World Servers, therefore, is primarily of an inner, psycho-spiritual nature. Moreover, it can be said that such membership may not be total, but relative; that anyone can be a World Server; indeed everyone is, to the extent that he possesses and demonstrates the [needed] qualities. The “position” of World Servers and the relationships between them have been very well expounded by Hermann Keyserling:

. . . the task of this very small minority — for a long time it could be only a question of a minority — would by no means consist in opposition. The state of things is not the same today as it was at the beginning of the Christian Era, when martyrdom for certain ideas was the best service man could render to the Spirit. The new expansion of the earth-forces is not in itself by any means an evil, and it is not a case of merely opposing the antithesis to the thesis. We should now have left far behind the abrupt antitheses of the Christian era, if we wish to pursue the supreme end of an integral culture resting on the total revelation, a culture which would combine all the elements of human nature in a new and richer synthesis. . . . all truly free and independent men and women, purely conscious of their own quality and uniqueness yielding to no outside pressure or suggestion, should band themselves together; not as a party, a class, or an organization, or an order secular or monastic, but in the form of an outwardly loose and therefore inwardly all the more coherent community, united by one and the same consciousness of value and responsibility. [iv]

Having made this clear, it can be said that the connection between World Servers is not only ideal and inward. They can get to know each other and cooperate externally as well; they already do in many cases, and they can and should do so more and more. There are numerous opportunities and a variety of ways to implement these collaborations.

Collaboration among World Servers can be of two types: the first, more definite, is to recognize each other and collaborate in the same field: religious, political, social, etc., seeking to raise its psychological and spiritual level, to establish constructive methods in it, and to eliminate separative or unconstructive aspects; thus directing the activity of one’s group, or party, or community, toward the general good of humanity.

The second type of collaboration is more difficult (though even the first is not easy!), but also more important and necessary: that of cooperation between World Servers working in different fields, but who can and will also collaborate on common ground. The two things can go together, and we have current examples of this. For example, one can be a loyal citizen of one’s own nation and yet cooperate in bringing it into a federation or union with other nations, in their common interest and that of all mankind. Men of different parties, if animated by the ideal of the common good, may participate in the same government, or social body, for a common purpose. Indeed, it may have more value and give greater satisfaction to collaborate with those who are different from us or even, in some respects, appear to be in opposition. What is needed first and foremost is mutual respect and esteem, based on the humanitarian motives and higher purposes that animate each.

World Servers must therefore recognize each other, come in contact with each other, and pursue every possible [opportunity for] mutual cooperation, help and advancement, both individually and, above all, as a group. There are already large world service organizations in which this is already taking place and in which any person of good will can cooperate in some way. Chief among them is the United Nations Organization (UN) which, despite imperfections and errors, has done and is doing much more effective work than is generally known or recognized. It does this as much directly as through the World Organizations it has created and supports:

UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

FAO – Food Administration and Organization (Organization to Combat Malnutrition)

UNICEF – United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (organization to                       meet emergency needs of children)

WHO – World Health Organization

ILO – International Labor Organization

World Bank

There are also other important world service organizations and movements. We will name only:

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies [v]

The Religious Society of Friends (“Quakers”)

International Civil Service Commission

Various ecumenical movements in the religious field, such as the World Fellowship of Faiths,[vi] and those operating within the various churches. [vii]

How do World Servers operate? They do it in two different ways:

• Externally, using all effective practical methods, utilizing all the opportunities afforded by modern communications technology: by means of the spoken word in person or broadcast by radio or television, or recorded; by means of the printed word disseminated by publications of all kinds; by conventions — from small group conventions to large international meetings, etc.

• By psychological and spiritual means used directly. This is done by those individuals or groups who are convinced of the power of thought and will, the efficacy of prayer and invocation; or who admit the possibility.

They are far more numerous than one might assume from the outward and materialist appearances of our civilization. All who are genuinely religious believe in the power of prayer and the possibility of inspiration and help from Higher Beings. In addition, there are many who, on a strictly psychological and scientific level, now admit the power of psychic influences, primarily on the body, as has been demonstrated by psychosomatic medicine. Moreover, there is a growing number of those who, having an open mind and being informed of the plentiful existing evidence, admit the reality of telepathy, of direct mind-to-mind communication. This opens up what may be called an unlimited field of “internal action.” Of course, this activity can also be misused, for selfish purposes, and that seems to happen. But this would only confirm the need for those who are animated by the will to do good to actively use those means. In addition, there is a need for them to counterbalance the excessive importance that is often given to material and organizational aspects, and which sometimes causes them to lose sight of their purpose. Therefore, it is necessary to keep the channel of inspiration and insight open to the influx of spiritual forces that illuminate and enliven external activities.

[i] At some point in time there arose a “New Group of World Servers,” which is apparently a sub-group of the “Group of World Servers” consisting of members who have a greater level of spiritual consciousness or evolution, and who are aware of their membership in the group and its interconnections. Some of these are involved with formal meetings and activities. Members who identify themselves as such are often associated with Lucis Trust or the School for Esoteric Studies. Lucis Trust publishes a pamphlet titled “The New Group of World Servers,” which contains quotations and adaptations from books by Alice A. Bailey. Assagioli may have been directly involved in the creation of the original edition of this pamphlet and its sources. —Ed.

[ii] The original document of this essay is not found in the online Archives. It was clearly written after 1948, when the United Nations WHO was founded, but the exact date of writing is unknown. The sources of this edition is www.psicoenergetica.com. —Ed.

[iii] Editor’s interpolations are shown in [brackets.] —Ed.

[iv] From p. 209 of the English edition of From Suffering to Fulfilment by Count Hermann Keyserling, London, Selwyn & Blount, 1938. —Ed.

[v] This is an update of Assagioli’s original note, which read “International Red Cross.” —Ed.

[vi] Also associated with the World Congress of Faiths and the Parliament of Religions. —Ed.

[vii] There is a magazine entirely dedicated to promoting World Goodwill and disseminating information on its various service activities. It is: World Goodwill, published in Pondicherry (India), and distributed in Europe by the Good Will movement: 88 Edgeware Road – Marble Arch – London. —Author’s Note. This magazine is no longer published as of this editing (2024) however “World Goodwill,” founded in 1932, is an accredited non-governmental organization (NGO) at the United Nations, that is an activity of the Lucis Trust with which Assagioli was formerly associated. World Goodwill maintains a blog, a facebook page, and a website dedicated to establishing goodwill in the world. —Ed.