{"id":21273,"date":"2024-05-01T12:02:49","date_gmt":"2024-05-01T11:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennethsorensen.dk\/?p=21273"},"modified":"2026-05-11T15:07:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T14:07:30","slug":"the-group-of-world-servers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethsorensen.dk\/en\/the-group-of-world-servers\/","title":{"rendered":"The Group of World Servers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Some members of the Group of World Servers don’t know they belong. Assagioli on what unites them, how they work, and how to tell if you’re already one.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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By Roberto Assagioli<\/strong> [i]<\/span><\/span><\/a>
Assagioli Archives, Florence. [ii]<\/span><\/span><\/a>
Original title: Il Gruppo di Servitori Mondiali<\/em>
Translated and edited with notes by Jan Kuniholm [iii]<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editorial Note<\/strong>
The abstract and contextual subtitle in this online edition have been added by the editor, Kenneth S\u00f8rensen, to support readability, navigation, and archival consistency. The original wording has not been altered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Abstract<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Roberto Assagioli wrote this essay sometime after 1948 (the article’s WHO reference is the firm dating clue). The subject is the Group of World Servers, a concept Assagioli drew from his deep engagement with Alice Bailey’s esoteric teachings. He explains that the Group has no membership rolls, no meetings, no board, no fees. Members are often unaware of each other, and some do not even know they belong. What unites them is a set of qualities, goodwill, humanitarian sentiment, a broad vision for unity in diversity, and a quiet practice of building a new civilization through ideas and example rather than opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It is appropriate to clarify well <\/span><\/span>what<\/span><\/span><\/em> this Group is and <\/span><\/span>who<\/span><\/span><\/em> belongs to it. It is not easy to explain the nature of the Group of World Servers (\u201cGWS\u201d), because when we speak of a \u201cgroup\u201d 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 \u2014 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 \u2014 many people do not even know that they are part of it. Moreover, they act in different and even opposite fields.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 <\/span><\/span>essential<\/span><\/span><\/em> , by what should constitute the “soul,” so to speak, of every group: that is, a common <\/span><\/span>aim<\/span><\/span><\/em> , a <\/span><\/span>common purpose<\/span><\/span><\/em> ; moreover, the members all have certain <\/span><\/span>fundamental qualities<\/span><\/span><\/em> , necessary to be part of it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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 <\/span><\/span>imposed<\/span><\/span><\/em> unanimity, but <\/span><\/span>unity in diversity<\/span><\/span><\/em> . Such unity consists in <\/span><\/span>cooperating for the common good<\/span><\/span><\/em> , albeit in different fields and in different ways. Therefore, everyone’s particular activity, in whatever field it is carried out, must be directed towards bringing about this unification.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 <\/span><\/span>own<\/span><\/span><\/em> 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.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n