B.I. The Seven Creative Builders, the Seven Rays

We have now completed our first section, and have therefore laid the groundwork for our future studies. First, I seek to give a brief exegesis of the basic theory of The Secret Doctrine, called the hylozoistic theory. This posits a living substance, composed of a multiplicity of sentient lives which are continuously swept into expression by the "breath of the divine Life." This theory recognizes no so-called inorganic matter anywhere in the universe, and emphasizes the fact that all forms are built up of infinitesimal lives, which in their totality - great or small - constitute a Life, and that these composite lives, in their turn, are a corporate part of a still greater Life. Thus eventually we have that great scale of lives, manifesting in greater expression and reaching all the way from the tiny life called the atom (with which science deals) up to that vast atomic life which we call a solar system.

This is a briefly and inadequately expressed definition of the doctrine of hylozoism, and is an attempt to interpret and find a meaning in the manifested phenomenal world, with its three main characteristics of life-quality-appearance. Forget not to find the meaning behind all forms and life experiences, and thereby learn to enter into that world of subjective forces which is the true world wherein all occultists work.

Let us take these three words and seek to understand their significance in relation to the rays. [150]

As to the significance of the word "life" our task is well-nigh insuperable, for no human being has, or can have, any comprehension of the nature of life until he has attained the third initiation. I repeat this with emphasis, and in order to impress upon you the futility of idle speculation upon this subject. Disciples who have undergone the third initiation and have climbed the mount of Transfiguration can - from that high point - glimpse the radiance of the subjective center of energy (the central spiritual sun of The Secret Doctrine) and so gain a flash of realization as to the meaning of the word "life." But they cannot, and they dare not, pass on the knowledge gained. Their efforts to convey such information would be futile, and language itself would be inadequate to the task. Life is not what anyone has hitherto surmised. Energy (in contradistinction to force, and using the word to express the emanating center which differentiates into forces) is not what idle speculation has portrayed it to be. Life is the synthesis of all activity - an activity which is a blend of many energies, for life is the sum total of the energies of the seven solar systems, of which our solar system is but one. These, in their totality, are the expression of the activity of that Being Who is designated in our hierarchical archives as the "One About Whom Naught May Be Said." This sevenfold cosmic energy, the fused and blended energies of seven solar systems, including ours, sweeps automatically through each of the seven, carrying the qualities of

1. Impulse towards activity.
2. Active impulse towards organization.
3. Active organized impulse towards a definite purpose.

I have worded these impulses as above in order to show the emergent tendency through their mutual interplay. This triple energetic impulse, borne on the impetus of the seven great [151] breaths or rays, started the world process of Becoming, and manifested as the urge towards evolution, - towards an evolution which is active, organized, and which works undeviatingly and unerringly towards a specific goal. This goal is known in its fullest measure only to that incomprehensible Existence Who works through seven solar systems (in their turn the expression of seven great Lives) just as our solar Deity works through the seven planetary Logoi. All this has been hinted at and outlined in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, and I do not purpose enlarging upon it here. I would point out, however, because it has a definite bearing on the evolution of quality in the human family, that the seven creative Builders or planetary Logoi of our solar system are embodiments of the will, energy, and magnetic force which streams through Them from the seven solar systems into Their various spheres of activity. Thus, through Their united activity, the organized solar system is produced, whose energies are in constant circulation and whose emerging qualities are balanced and demonstrated throughout the entire system. All parts of the solar system are interdependent; all the forces and energies are in constant flux and mutation; all of them sweep in great pulsations, and through a form of rhythmic breathing, around the entire solar atom; so that the qualities of every solar life, pouring through the seven ray forms, permeate every form within the solar ring-pass-not, and thus link every form with every other form. Note therefore the fact that each of the seven rays or creative Builders embodies the energy, will, love and purpose of the Lord of the solar system, as that Lord in His turn embodies an aspect of the energy, will, love and purpose of the "One About Whom Naught May Be Said." Therefore the first proposition to be grasped by the student of the rays is as follows: [152]

I. Every ray Life is an expression of a solar Life, and every planet is consequently...

1. Linked with every other planetary life in the solar system.
2. Animated by energy emanating from one or other of the seven solar systems.
3. Actuated by a triple stream of life forces coming from:
   1. Solar systems outside our own.
   2. Our own solar system.
   3. Its own planetary Being.

It is impossible for the average thinker to grasp the significance of this statement, but he can understand somewhat the statement that every planet is a focal point through which forces and energies circulate and flow ceaselessly, and that these energies emanate from the outer cosmos or universe itself, from the solar system of which his own planet is a part, and of which our sun is the center, and from that Being Who constitutes our own particular planetary Lord or Life.

I should like at this point to make clear the distinction between a constellation and a solar system, according to the esoteric teaching, even though the modern scientist may not agree.

A solar system consists of a sun as the central focal point, with its series of attendant planets, which are held in magnetic rapport in their orbits around that sun.

A constellation consists of two or more solar systems or series of suns with their attendant planets. These systems are held together as a coherent whole by the powerful interrelation of the suns, whose magnetic rapport is so balanced that occultly "they tread the Path together within the radius of each other's power;" they preserve their relative distances, and vitalize their planets, but at the same time they preserve an equality of balance and of influence. In a few rare cases this balance is disturbed, and there is a waxing or a waning of influence and of magnetic power. [153]

This condition is governed by a cosmic law of rhythm so obscure as to be incomprehensible at this time.

An illustration of this waxing and waning of influence and of radiance (synonymous terms in occultism) on a large scale can be seen today in the constellation Gemini, wherein one of the twins is increasing in brilliance and power, and the other is decreasing. But this is a somewhat unique example, esoterically.

The relation of the constellations to the solar system, which is the basis of astrological research, will be considered later. I seek to point out here only the dual fact that the seven rays are themselves

1. Expressions of energies emanating from the seven solar systems, which are, in their turn, animated by the Life of the "One About Whom Naught May Be Said."
2. Influenced by, and therefore under the astrological control of, the twelve constellations whose energies are contacted by our solar system during the course of the journey of our sun through the greater Zodiac, during the vast period of approximately 25,000 years, and in a lesser degree during the course of the twelve months of the year, wherein the lesser path of the Zodiac is trodden.

The complexity of the subject is very great, and only the broad general outline of the system, and the basic principles governing the law of evolution, can be dimly sensed and grasped. The sweep of the subject is so vast that the concrete mind and the rationalizing nature lose themselves in the realized complexities and problems. But the illumined intuition, with its power to synthesize (which is the emerging characteristic of the disciples and initiates under training), can and does lead them into a measured sequence of expansions of consciousness which eventually land them at last on the summit of the Mount [154] of Transfiguration. From that eminence the disciple can gain the vision which will enable him to see the whole world scheme in a moment of time, and to share with Arjuna the experience of the Gita wherein he "saw all forms gathered together in the body of that God of Gods." He can then descend from that mountain with his personality transfigured and radiant. Why? Because he now knows that spirit is a fact and the basis of immortality; he knows, past all controversy, that there is a Plan, and that the love of God is the basic law of all manifestation and the origin of all evolutionary momentum; and he can rest back upon the knowledge that the fact of spirit, the immediacy of love and the synthetic scope of the Plan provide a foundation upon which he can place his feet, take his stand with assurance, and then go forward in certain confidence of an assured goal.

Our second statement of fact is therefore:

II. Each one of the rays is the recipient and custodian of energies coming from

1. The seven solar systems.
2. The twelve constellations.

Each ray passes these energies through its body of manifestation (a planet), and thereby imparts them to the planetary form, and to all forms upon and within it. These differentiated forms are therefore animated by energy coming from the cosmic Life, from the solar Deity, and from the planetary Life, and are consequently colored by qualities from the seven solar systems and the twelve constellations. This blend of energies, working on substance, produces the forms, and each subjective form, in its turn, produces the outer appearance.

It is not possible for us to study these forces and qualities in detail, especially in connection with an individual human being, for the scale is so minute, relatively, and the detail to be considered is so intricate. But the nature of the qualities [155] and energies can be somewhat grasped as we study the seven ray Lives with their seven psychological types, and the twelve creative Hierarchies, as outlined for us in The Secret Doctrine. The 7 + 12 = 19, and if you add to these 19 expressions of the Life the 3 major aspects of Deity, which we call the life of God the Father, the love of God the Son, and the active intelligence of God the Holy Ghost, you arrive at the mystic number 22, which is called (in esotericism) the number of the adept. This simply means that the adept is one who comprehends the nature of the 19 forces as they express themselves through the medium of the triple divine manifestation, as it in its turn relates itself to human consciousness. It does not mean that the adept has mastered and can wield these 19 types of energy. They are consciously wielded only by the three synthetic Builders or Creators, Who are:

1. The Life which expresses Itself through seven solar systems.
   The One About Whom Naught May Be Said.
2. The Life which expresses Itself through seven planets.
   The Solar Deity - God.
3. The Life which expresses Itself through seven planetary centers, or continents.
   The Planetary Logos - The Ancient of Days.

What the adept has done has been to bring his seven centers of force, located in the etheric body, into a responsive condition to the higher spiritual forces; as he progresses he will find that he will gradually and sequentially become equally responsive to the above three types of synthetic force.

On the path of discipleship, and until the third initiation, he learns to respond to the energy and to the spiritual purpose of the Life of his own planet. At the first and second initiations, and until the third initiation, he has been led on and initiated by the influence of the Christ, and under His direction he has submitted to two expansions of consciousness and [156] has prepared himself for a third. When ready for this, he comes under the initiatory power of the planetary Logos; and through the mediating activity of that great Being the initiate becomes actively aware of energy emanating from the solar Deity. He is therefore learning to respond to the second type of synthetic force.

After he has taken the highest initiation possible on this planet, he is, for the first time, responsive to energy emanating from the outer cosmic Center. This last stage of expansion is rare indeed, and only one hundred and eleven human beings, during our planetary history, have passed on to this state of awareness.

Of what use is this information to you or to any student? Practically none, beyond indicating the vastness of the Plan and the amazing scope of the human consciousness. What that contact with the highest type of synthetic force may mean, I cannot tell you. The planetary Logoi themselves walk in the light of that sublime Consciousness, and towards that privilege the Christ Himself, and His great Brother, the Buddha, with the three Buddhas of Activity, are at this time aspiring. More than that I know not, nor may I further enlarge upon the matter. But the wonder and the immensity of the drama unfolding in the universe is a proof of its reality, and the grasp of man, small though it may appear to be, is a guarantee of his divinity. Stage by stage we slowly make our approach to the goal of conscious and intelligent awareness. Step by step we are mastering matter and making more adequate the mechanism of awareness and of contact. Little by little we (and by that I mean the human family, as a whole) are approaching the "place of recognition," and are preparing to climb the mountain of vision. If aspirants but realized the wonders of that revelation, and if they grasped the magnificence of the reward [157] given to their efforts, we would have less failure, more courage, a greater and steadier achievement, and consequently a more rapidly illumined world.

The scope of that imparted vision warrants careful study, and the proffering of the divine ambition to the soul for recognition. It is not the multitude of words read which is of moment, but the accuracy of the recording by the brain and the adaptation of the teaching to the individual need. The vision cannot be appropriated. It is ever on ahead, but if the entire life is given to vision, and if the serving of one's fellow man is overlooked, the vision profits not. I have sought to convey the magnitude of the Plan and the steps upon the evolutionary stairway which lie ahead of every aspirant and of every member of the hierarchy.

B.I.1. The Rays and Life-Quality-Appearance

We come at this time to consideration of the rays, which brings us immediately into the realm of psychology and of the various psychological influences. As we deal with the second of the ray manifestations, with the Quality aspect, we are dealing with those predetermining factors which produce the myriad differentiations in the phenomenal world. The quality, the coloring, or the type nature of living energy (which is our inadequate definition of the word "life") settles or determines the aspect assumed and the characteristics expressed by all the forms in the four kingdoms of nature; the individual form emanations are settled thereby, and under the modifying influence of the contact of the living quality with the substance affected and with the kingdom which is the focus of attention, there is consequently produced the characteristic appearance, the specialized activity and the [158] intrinsic emanation of any form in any kingdom. In my earlier books, I divided the rays into two groups:

• Group I - Rays of Aspect, the three major rays.
• Group II - Rays of Attribute, the four minor rays.

The three great rays, which constitute the sum total of the divine manifestation, are aspect rays, and this for two reasons:

First, they are, in their totality, the manifested Deity, the Word in incarnation. They are the expression of the creative purpose, and the synthesis of life, quality and appearance.

Secondly, they are active in every form in every kingdom, and they determine the broad general characteristics which govern the energy, the quality and the kingdom in question; through them the differentiated forms come into being, the specialized lives express themselves, and the diversity of divine agents fulfil their destiny in the plane of existence allocated to them.

Along these three streams of qualified life-force the creative agencies of God make their presence powerfully felt, and through their activity every form is imbued with that inner evolutionary attribute which must eventually sweep it into line with divine purpose, inevitably produce that type of consciousness which will enable the phenomenal unit to react to its surroundings and thus fulfil its destiny as a corporate part of the whole. Thus intrinsic quality and specific type radiation become possible. The interplay of these three rays determines the outer phenomenal appearance, attracts the unity of life into one or other of the kingdoms in nature, and into one or other of the myriad divisions within that kingdom; the selective and discriminating process is repeated until we have the many ramifications within the four kingdoms, the divisions, groups within a division, families and branches. Thus the creative process, in its wondrous beauty, sequence and unfoldment, [159] stands forth to our awakening consciousness, and we are left awestruck and bewildered at the creative facility of the Great Architect of the Universe.

Looking at all this beauty from a symbolic angle, and thereby simplifying the concept (which is ever the work of the worker in symbols), we might say that Ray I embodies the dynamic idea of God, and thus the Most High starts the work of creation.

Ray II is occupied with the first formulations of the plan upon which the form must be constructed and the idea materialized, and (through the agencies of this great second emanation) the blue prints come into being with their mathematical accuracy, their structural unity and their geometrical perfection. The Grand Geometrician comes thus to the forefront and makes the work of the Builders possible. Upon figure and form, number and sequences will the Temple be built, and so embrace and express the glory of the Lord. The second ray is the ray of the Master Builder.

Ray III constitutes the aggregate of the active building forces, and the Great Architect, with His Builders, organizes the material, starts the work of construction, and eventually (as the evolutionary cycle proceeds upon its way) materializes the idea and purpose of God the Father, under the guidance of God the Son. Yet these three are as much a unity as is a human being who conceives an idea, uses his mind and brain to bring his idea into manifestation, and employs his hands and all his natural forces to perfect his concept. The division of aspects and forces is unreal, except for the purpose of intelligent understanding.

The readers of this treatise who really want to profit by this teaching must train themselves ever to think in terms of the whole. The arbitrary tabulations, the divisions into triplicities and septenates, and the diversified enumeration of forces [160] which are seen as emanating from the seven constellations, the ten planets, and the twelve mansions of the zodiac, are but intended to give the student an idea of a world of energies in which he has to play his part. From the standpoint of esoteric psychology, it should be noted that all the schools of psychology go astray in their handling of the human unit, for just this reason; they do not judge a man as a synthetic whole, and - owing to the lack of knowledge, and to the failure, as yet, of the intuitive faculty - the average psychologist seldom enters into the realms of true quality and of the life aspects; the man under investigation is considered more or less objectively, and the true sources of the phenomenal nature are seldom touched. The determining aspects of the personality ray which produce the sum total of the physical, emotional and mental qualities is in process of tabulation and research and much has been done of a valuable nature. A man's physical reactions, his emotional habits, and his mental processes - normal and abnormal - are far better understood than they were twenty-five years ago. Nevertheless, until there is a more adequate knowledge of ray qualities, and until a man's soul ray is determined and the effect of that ray upon the personality ray is charted and known, the true nature of his temperament and the real subjective cause of his varied reactions, his complexes and inhibitions will remain a problem most difficult to handle. When, for instance, psychologists realize that it is the play of soul quality and energy which determines whether a man in any particular life will function as an introvert or an extrovert, then they will work to produce that balancing of the ray forces which will make the man able to express himself in such a way that the path to the outer world is left open, and that to the inner world is also cleared of obstacles.

What is the real nature of a true mystic or introvert? He is [161] one whose soul force, ray or quality is too strong for the personality to handle. The man then finds that the path to the inner worlds of desire-emotion, of mind and of spiritual vision are, for him, the line of least resistance, and the physical plane integration and expression suffer as a consequence. The "pull" of the soul offsets the outer "pull," and the man becomes a visionary mystic. I refer not to the practical mystic who is on the way to becoming a white occultist. The reverse condition can also be true, and then you have the pure extrovert. The personality ray focuses itself upon the physical plane, and the inner lure of the soul is temporarily offset, sometimes for several lives. Where this outer condition and "pull" is over-strong, and when all the personality ray qualities are focused to a point, you will have either a display of exhibitionism, as it is called, or a constructive high grade personality, expressing genius and the creative possibilities of a coordinated physical, emotional and mental expression. The manifestation of this coordination will be outward into the world of doing, and not inward into the world of being or of the soul. Both these conditions indicate the "genius towards perfection;" where the equipment is mediocre, you have a thwarted or frustrated complex and a strong sense of inferiority which may diverge towards an abnormal exhibitionism. Where the equipment is fine and trained, you will have a brilliant worker in the varying fields of human endeavor. When, as is occasionally the case, you have added to the above a tendency to introvert, with the consequences of soul knowledge and of intuitional development, you then have a leader of men, a teacher from the gods, and a spiritual power. Hence the value to psychologists in these modern days (temporarily at least) if they will interest themselves in the hypotheses of the school of esoteric psychology. They may gain thereby, and in any case they lose nothing. [162]

The four rays of attribute, which find their synthesis in the third ray of aspect, produce the varying qualities in greater detail than do the three rays of aspect. It might generally be stated, as we endeavor to clarify our problem, that the three rays of aspect find their main expression in relation to mankind through the medium of the three periodical vehicles:

Ray I	Power	Life	Ideas	The Monad.
Ray II	Love-Wisdom	Consciousness	Ideals	The Soul.
Ray III	Active Intelligence	Appearance	Idols	Personality.

They find their secondary expression in the three bodies which form the personality of man:

Ray I	Power	Ideas	Mental body	Purpose, Life.
Ray II	Love	Ideals	Astral body	Quality.
Ray III	Intelligence	Idols	Physical body	Form.

The rays of attribute, though expressing themselves equally on all the planes and through the periodical vehicles and the three aspects of the personality, find their main expression through one or other of the four kingdoms in nature:

• Ray IV - Harmony, Conflict - 4th kingdom - Human.
  The Balance.
• Ray V - Concrete Knowledge - 3rd kingdom - Animal.
• Ray VI - Devotion - 2nd kingdom - Vegetable.
• Ray VII - Ceremonial Ritual - 1st kingdom - Mineral.

These are their main fields of influence in the three worlds, and upon this we shall later enlarge.

In relation to mankind, these four rays of attribute find a wide expression in connection with the four aspects of the personality, or with the quaternary. The relationship is as follows:

• Ray IV - Harmony through Conflict - the Physical body.
• Ray V - Concrete Knowledge - the Etheric body.
• Ray VI - Devotion - the Astral body.
• Ray VII - Organization - the Mental body. [163]

But again remember that the interrelation and interplay is synthetic on all planes, on the formless levels and also on the planes of form, and in this connection, with all states of consciousness and throughout the created universe.

B.I.1.a. The Seven Rays

We are told that seven great rays exist in the cosmos. In our solar system only one of these seven great rays is in operation. The seven subdivisions constitute the "seven rays" which, wielded by our solar Logos, form the basis of endless variations in His system of worlds. These seven rays may be described as the seven channels through which all being in His solar system flows, the seven predominant characteristics or modifications of life, for it is not to humanity only that these rays apply, but to the seven kingdoms as well. In fact there is nothing in the whole solar system, at whatever stage of evolution it may stand, which does not belong and has not always belonged to one or other of the seven rays.

The following table may explain the various characteristics of the seven rays:

No.	Characteristics	Methods of development	Planet (according to Besant)	Color (according to Besant)
I	Will or Power.	Raja Yoga.	Uranus representing Sun.	Flame.
II	Widsom. Balance. Intuition.	Raja Yoga.	Mercury.	Yellow. Rose.
III	Higher Mind.	Exactitude in thought. Higher Mathematics. Philosophy.	Venus.	Indigo. Blue. Bronze.
IV	Conflict. Birth of Horus.	Intensity of struggle. Hatha Yoga, the most dangerous method of psychic growth.	Saturn.	Green.
V	Lower Mind.	Exactitude in action. Practical Science.	The Moon.	Violet.
VI	Devotion.	Bhakti Yoga. Necessity for an object.	Mars.	Rose. Blue.
VII	Ceremonial order.	Ceremonial observances. Control over forces of nature.	Jupiter.	Bright. Clear. Blue.

It will be clear that each of the kingdoms - elemental, mineral, vegetable, and animal as well as the human - is divided into seven primary types or rays, and as individualization (i.e. the transition from the animal to the human kingdom) can take place at present only through association with man, it follows that there must stand at the head of the animal kingdom, on each ray, some species of animal susceptible to human influence through which such individualization can take place. The elephant is said to stand at the head of the second ray type of animal, while the cat and dog occupy a similar position on the fourth and sixth rays respectively. We have had no information as to the others, with this exception, that the animals of the first ray are no longer in existence on earth.

Besides regarding the rays as the channels through which all being flows, we must recognize them as influences operating on the world in turn. Each ray has its period of greatest [165] influence, to which all are subject to a considerable extent, not merely those belonging by nature to that particular ray, but those on all the other rays as well. The long period of influence of each is divided into seven stages, each of which is qualified by the influence of the greater ray period, being intensified when its own subray period is reached (i.e. the sixth ray influence is greatest during the period of the sixth subray). We must carefully note that the term "subray" is used merely for convenience to designate the shorter period of influence, not as indicating any difference in the nature of the ray.

We are told that the dominant ray at the present time, though passing out, is the sixth, the Ray of Devotion, and that this ray was already in operation before the dawn of Christianity; also that the seventh subray became the modifying influence about seventy-five years ago (1860), and of course will continue as such. The first outcome of this seventh subray influence was the Ecumenical Council at Rome (1870), with its declaration of Papal Infallibility. The Tractarian Movement in England started at the same time, whilst the progress of the seventh subray influence, still going on, is marked by the steady increase of ritualism and sacerdotalism in the various churches, and even in the church of Rome there has been a distinct tightening of priestly authority in all matters of dogma and practice. So much for its influence on religious thought; its other aspects will be considered later.

We have also been told that the religious revival under Wesley and Whitfield in England was under the sixth subray, and I think we are justified in drawing the inference that the rise of Molinos and the Quietists in Spain and Central Europe, and of St. Martin and his band of spiritual philosophers in France and elsewhere, may have also marked the [166] progress of the same period, during which the Ray of Devotion was accentuated by its own sixth subray.

With these few isolated facts before us we may perhaps conclude that the time during which each subray exerts its modifying influence is between one hundred and fifty and two hundred years.

We do not know how often (perhaps seven times?) the subrays are repeated successively within the cycle of the great ray. It must manifestly be more than once, seeing that the great sixth ray was operating before the rise of Christianity. It is also apparent that Buddhism cannot have been, as was at one time thought, the last outcome of the great second ray period, for the interval between the rise of Buddhism and that of Christianity was only five hundred years. It seems probable that Buddhism arose under the influence of the second subray of the great sixth ray period. In attempting to trace back the influence which was the last outcome of the subrays, 5 4 3 2 and 1, it has been suggested that this period of the Alchemists and Rosicrucians may have been dominated by the fifth subray; the epoch of the Flagellants and other fanatical enthusiasts who practiced self-torture and mutilation was influenced by the fourth subray; and the time when astrology was widely practiced as representing the third subray; while the earlier epoch of the Gnostics may have been the outcome of the second subray. But these are only conjectures, and while the last named is possible, there can be no such correspondence of time in the previous cases, as the Alchemists, Flagellants, and Astrologers were all more or less contemporary during the Middle Ages.

The rise of modern spiritualism is no doubt due to the seventh subray influence, and it may also be a foreshadowing of the great seventh ray still to come. It is interesting to note chat this movement was started by a secret society which has [167] existed in the world since the last period of seventh ray dominance in Atlantean times.

Every great religion which arises is under the influence of one or other of the rays, but it does not necessarily follow that each successive ray should have a great far-reaching religion as its outcome. We have heard that Brahmanism is the last great religion which arose under first ray influence; we do not know what may have been the religion which was the outcome of the last second ray period; but the Chaldean, the Egyptian and the Zoroastrian religions may be taken as representing the third, the fourth, and the fifth rays respectively. Christianity and probably Buddhism were the result of sixth ray influence. Mohammedanism, which numbers so large a following, is also under sixth ray influence, but it is not a great root religion, being a hybrid offshoot of Christianity with the tinge of Judaism.

The rays are sometimes considered as divided into three classes; the first ray by itself, the second ray by itself, and the other five in a group. When regarded in this way, they are spoken of as the three rays, and typify the various Trinities. Another suggestive fragment of symbology describes the three rays as using respectively three kinds of fire to light the sacrifice of the altar, - the electric, the solar, and the artificial, or fire by friction.

Before proceeding to consider the virtues, the vices and the special human characteristics which differentiate the individual belonging to one ray from the individual on another ray, it will be well to refer to the origin of the two ray influences which constitute the dominant and the modifying factors in the character of every human being, as well as to the planetary influence, or the ray of the personality, which again modifies these two great influences during any given life. [168]

We have seen that seven rays are seven differentiations of one great cosmic ray, effected within the very being of our solar Logos before He began His creation. Now we know that the divine spark, the divine center of consciousness in each one of us, comes from the highest principle of our Logos; it has therefore within it the potentiality of all the rays, but from the time when our Logos formed within Himself the countless centers of divine consciousness, each one of these centers was colored by the special attributes of one or other of the rays. Seeing that the moment each became limited (i.e. separated from the absolute consciousness of the Logos by even the finest veil of differentiation) it must necessarily belong to one or other of the rays, the very essence of our being, the central spark of the divine in each one of us, may thus be said to belong to one or other of the seven rays, and this may be spoken of as a man's primary ray.

It will be remembered that the first great outpouring from the Logos vivified universal substance and caused every atom of matter within the "ring-pass-not" of His system to vibrate in seven different measures of vibration. The second outpouring caused molecular combinations, thus forming the six subplane below the atomic on each plane, and produced form. It was at the time of the second outpouring that each of the divine centers of consciousness put forth a thread of being into an atom of the highest subplanes of the atmic, the buddhic, and the manasic planes, - atoms destined to be the nuclei of the future bodies, each on its respective plane, the three forming the upper triad so often referred to. Now every atom is under the influence of one or other of the rays, and the atmic, buddhic and manasic atoms referred to all belong to the same ray; but this is not necessarily the same ray as that to which the over-shadowing center of consciousness belongs. In fact in the majority of cases, the ray of the [169] center of consciousness and the ray of the triad are different; the one modifies the other, the former being the primary (called by Mrs. Besant the monadic ray), the other being the secondary or individual ray, since the manasic atom is the nucleus of the future causal body in which the individual passes from life to life. This body is of course gradually built up of particles of matter belonging to the same quality and type as its nucleus atom, and when it is so built through long ages of evolution, the over-shadowing divine center of consciousness, which has through the ages also evolved individually, unites with it, and the immortal individual Ego starts on its upward climb through the human kingdom. This is the third outpouring for each soul. The influence of this secondary or individual ray constitutes the main factor in the earlier stages of evolution, i.e., in the elemental, mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms; but of course the deepest rooted influence must be that which affects the divine center of consciousness; therefore when the union above referred to takes place, and the entity has become the reincarnating ego, the primary ray becomes and remains the dominant force.

But there is still another influence to be spoken of. This is the planetary ray under which each human being is born. It must of course be understood that the so-called influence of a planet is really the influence of the Hierarchy ruling over that planet. This personal ray is an important factor in the character of a man during the one lifetime of its operation. I say one lifetime, but it may of course be one or more, if the karmic conditions demand it, for the moment of birth for every individual is fixed in accordance with karmic necessities, and probably all of us - whatever our primary or individual rays - have passed lifetimes again and again under the personal influence of all the seven rays. [170]

B.I.2. The Present Ray Plan and the Workers

The work of the first and second rays is primarily instrumental in the work of materializing the Plan of God for our world and causing its manifestation. It would be of interest at this point to consider the Plan as it is at present working out, for the reason that these two types of ray force, that of power-will and that of love-wisdom, are predominantly operative at this time. All the workers along other lines of force - whether manifesting objectively or active subjectively - have temporarily subordinated their interests and to some degree cancelled their previous arrangements, in order to meet the need of the world. There is a Plan now coming into effect, and this has demanded the attention and called for the loyal cooperation of all departments of the world government. In all organized endeavor and in all wide schemes of construction and of work there must ever be the subordination of certain factors to other factors, and never more so than in the working out, at this time, of the Hierarchical Plan.

If the teachings in this treatise are to achieve the purpose, for which they are intended, it is essential that scattered through the occult generalities and the universal concepts there should be those points of immediate and imperative interest which will make this treatise of practical usefulness and of living application.

In A Treatise on White Magic I outlined one of the first steps taken by the Hierarchy in the work of inaugurating the new Plan. This Plan was tentatively formulated in 1900, at one of the great quarterly meetings of the Hierarchy. In 1925, at the next great meeting for cooperation, the new Plan was discussed in greater detail, certain necessary changes [171] (growing out of the results of the World War) were negotiated, and the members of that important Council determined two things:

• First, that there should be a united effort by the collective members of the planetary Hierarchy, over a period of several years (that is until 1950), to bring about certain definite results, and that during that time the attention of the Great Ones should be turned towards a definite attempt to expand the consciousness of humanity and to institute a sort of forcing process, so that men's horizon of thought would be tremendously enlarged, and their faith, assurance and knowledge be equally increased and strengthened. It was decided that certain areas of doubt should be cleared up.
• Secondly, it was determined to link more closely and subjectively the senior disciples, aspirants and workers in the world. To this end, all the Masters put Their personal groups of disciples in touch with each other, subjectively, intuitively, and sometimes telepathically. Thus the New Group of World Servers came into being.

Instead, therefore, of seven groups of workers in the world, all engrossed with activities along the seven major lines of force - their place in the scheme determined by their ray - the Masters, Their disciples and the probationers grouped themselves into three main divisions, so that the political, the religious, and the educational departments of human evolution might be adequately served.

At the same time They organized the intermediate group of World Servers, who could act as liaison officers, interpreters, and intermediaries between the inner active Hierarchy and the thinkers of the world, and also serve as agents in every country and in every group. Thus all groups which were animated by any desire to serve, and which were (in spite of errors in technique and method) of any usefulness in [172] aiding their fellow men, were swept into a current of spiritual stimulation with the intent to increase their effectiveness. Groups that were crystallized and sectarian as a whole would fail to respond, but in all of them, even the most dead, there were found a few who were responsive to the new impulse.

The institution of this new Plan automatically brought about an augmented training of those men and women who showed signs of being responsive to subjective influences and to the intuition. It was found wise to bring about a forcing process, in order to make mankind more sensitive and to develop certain latent but hidden powers, and also to attempt to bring the more advanced types of men up to a standard of sensitivity and to a spiritual receptivity which had been hitherto the prerogative of the few mystics and intuitive. During the past few years this process has been going on, and the results have proved better than had been anticipated. The war, which devastated the world, cleared away much débris.

Roughly speaking, the Plan fell into three divisions in the minds of its organizers:

B.I.2.a. First, Political

The objective of the work here planned was the development and the establishment of an international consciousness. This was an effort along the line of power or will, of government, or along the line of the first ray. Disciples and aspirants working in the field of organization, and the mass of idealists, were organized in this work, and the seventh and sixth ray workers were brought into line. The groups therefore ranged themselves into one group in this endeavor. It was also determined to demonstrate the need for economic synthesis, as part of the work of relating the nations to each other, so that the spirit which is evidenced by such an organization as the Red Cross, for instance, might also be evidenced internationally [173] in the interplay of the nations with each other. It is needless to point out that material stress and strain and the wrecking of old political parties and trade relations had to play their part. It was determined to demonstrate the necessity of establishing a spirit of international dependence and interrelation, so that the nations would be forced to realize politically that isolation, separativeness, and the cultivation of a national egoism must go, and that a national spirit colored by a sense of superiority, by class hatreds and racial antagonisms, constitutes a barrier to the true development of humanity. The people must be taught that the longing to increase possessions is a deterrent to real expansion. Thus plans were laid whereby the Brotherhood of Nations, based on mutual need, mutual understanding, and mutual helpfulness, should gradually come into being.

It was the establishing of a state of mind which was the primary objective, and not the establishing of some impossible and mythical Utopia, or of those material conditions whereby one group is entirely subordinated by the will-to-power of another group which enforces a standardized and uniform condition through the use of power in some form or another. The work indicated, and therefore set before the New Group of World Servers, is to enunciate those principles of national relations which underlie a world state or federation, and their instructions were to get the ear of the leaders in various countries, and thus slowly and gradually awaken the masses (through them) to the true significance of that easily spoken, but little understood word, Brotherhood.

This work is perhaps one of the hardest of the tasks which the Society of Organized Minds has ever set itself. Racial hatreds and national aspirations are so strong, and the ignorance of the masses is so great, that all the resources of the workers along the line of government and power (the first [174] ray) were necessary to make the needed impact upon the public consciousness. There has been, and there still is, much to destroy before the nations are reduced to the point where they will become sensitive to the new vision, and able to recognize their need of each other.

It has been interesting to note how the idea of the controlled and beneficently applied power of those who work with and through ideas has - during the past few years - materialized on the physical plane through the medium of the dictatorship of the proletariat, of the workers of a nation, as set up in Russia. This has been subversive of the rule and control of the aristocracy, of the bourgeoisie and of the intelligentsia; it has glorified work and the workers, and has driven out of the country (by death or exile) some of its best elements. Yet behind all the mistakes and cruelty, and behind the rank materialism, there lie great ideals, - the supply of the need of all, the beauty of mutual service, and the divinity of constructive work.

In Germany, you have the dictatorship of racial superiority, and the attempt to deify a race. Without humor and real understanding, one race is preparing to dictate terms to other races, by the weight of its thought and its achievements rather than by war. Yet the ideal of a superman is a true ideal, and it needs upholding before the world. Temporarily, it has been forgotten that the superman is the goal for all, and that Asiatic, Nordics, Jews, Gentiles, Americans, and Anglo-Saxons, the Africans and all other world races are children of the same Father, fed from the same source of Life, and saved by the same divine Christ principle. Therefore the superman has been and will be found emerging out of the ranks of every people, to find his way into the ranks of the Spiritual Hierarchy and the New Group of World Servers.

In America, you have the dictatorship of organized business [175] seeking to regulate and control every department of the economic life of the nation, and cutting deep down, through the trained minds in the government, to the very roots of the national existence. That certain types of mind may regard this as an infringement of the liberty of the subject is of small importance, relatively speaking, compared to the gradually emerging synthesis which aims subjectively to kill out greed and end the exploitation of the many by the few. In Great Britain, we find the dictatorship of empire (if such a paradoxical term may be employed), but it is an empire of the middle classes, controlling and balancing. In Italy, in Turkey and elsewhere other great experiments are going on.

The originators of these various national movements are often ignorant of the impulses which lie back of their work, and are frequently unable to explain the ideals toward which they are working, except in terms of human ambition and power. Nevertheless, unknown to themselves, they are really sensitive to the great ideas thrown into their minds by the Minds behind the scenes. They respond to the idea of general good, of human equality, of the superman, of universal trade requirements, and of the distribution of wealth, but - and here is the important point - because the inner synthesis of effort is not emphasized, because there is no general knowledge as to the source of the great concepts, and no understanding of the inner Brotherhood which is guiding humanity towards an outer Brotherhood, these great principles are being widely distorted, selfishly applied, and separately utilized. The fires of class hatreds, of racial antagonisms, and of national pride are burning intensely strong.

Such is the problem before the Great Ones at this time. What will They do to bring the nations, through the agency of the inner department of government and the political rule which we have been considering, to a realization of their [176] essential unity, and so further that "peace on earth, good will to men" of which we all dream.

B.I.2.b. Second, Religious

The aim before this department is to establish a universal understanding of the nature of reality, and to foster the growth of the spiritual consciousness. Though in some ways religious differences are the hardest to bridge or heal, yet real progress has been made in this phase of the Hierarchical work. There is today in the world a very large number of those who fundamentally believe in the brotherhood of religions. Though the unintelligent masses everywhere have little or no idea of things spiritual, they can be more easily brought to believe in the one God and to the idea of a universal faith than to any other idea. Many thousands of them are frankly agnostic or believe in nothing, whilst many other thousands are restive under the control of theological authority. They have nevertheless within them that germ of the spirit of love which is normally inclusive and intuitive. Curiously enough, along this line the seething millions of the Orient present a more serious problem to the Great Ones than do the peoples of the Occident, for ignorance is deeply prevalent among the masses of Asia as to the trend of affairs in the world of religion, owing to the widespread illiteracy of the races, and their consequent easy exploitation and control by the religious demagogues, fervent prophets and reactionaries.

Disciples or workers on the second ray are now actively handling this problem. It is interesting to note that the reason for the success in breaking down old barriers and in bringing about a condition of spiritual readiness everywhere in the Occident, is largely due to the work of the Orientalist scholars in France, Germany and England. They have made the literature of the East available, in all its beauty, to the West, [177] and so have linked the spiritual truths of all ages with the truth of the Christian presentation, showing them all to be of equal progressive value. Now the masses in India, China, and northern Africa must be awakened to the inner significance of their own faiths, and to the part that Christianity plays in the same great religious program. This is occupying the close attention of certain second ray teachers in India, Japan and Syria.

During the next ten years the work of the Fellowship of Religions (of which the outer organizations are an externalization) will greatly increase. Soon we shall have the inner structure of a world-faith so clearly defined in the minds of many thousands that its outer structure will inevitably make its appearance before the end of the century.

The inner structure of the World Federation of Nations will eventually be equally well organized, with its outer form taking rapid shape by 2025. Do not infer from this that we shall have a perfected world religion and a complete community of nations. Not so rapidly does nature move; but the concept and the idea will be universally recognized, universally desired, and generally worked for, and when these conditions exist nothing can stop the appearance of the ultimate physical form for that cycle.

B.I.2.c. Third, Scientific

The workers along this line have definitely set themselves the goal of expanding man's consciousness and so widening his horizon that a synthesis of the tangible and the intangible will take place. This will bring about the entrance of mankind into a new and subjective realm, and his apprehension of new states of awareness. These developments will be brought about by the workers in the fields of education, of science, and of psychology. Great things are on the way at this time, and the [178] activities of workers on the third and fifth rays have never been so well directed nor so potent as today.

As I told you, and as I now repeat, the workers on all the rays are organized to take part in one supreme effort, - an effort towards which the entire Christian era has been tending and for which it has been a preparation. The seventh and sixth rays are occupied with the work of government and with the task of producing a new synthesis, and thus the force of all the workers along those lines is combining with the energy of the first ray. The energies of the aspirants and disciples on the third and fifth rays are turned to the work of expanding the human consciousness, of bringing to light the hidden wonders of the universe, and of hastening the unfoldment of the latent powers in mankind. These powers, when awakened, will be extensions of many of the present senses and will admit man into that world which lies behind the veil of ignorance and matter.

You will note that so strenuous is the work of breaking down national group isolation and separativeness that it takes the united energies of three groups of workers to bring about the desired results. The seven groups of workers are organized therefore as follows:

1. In the department of politics - First, sixth and seventh rays.
2. In the department of religion - Second and fourth rays.
3. In the department of education - Third and fifth rays.

Do not forget that, though the work is being carried forward in three fields of human thought and activity, the net result is one directed effort towards the production of synthesis and a great preparatory drive towards a revelation of such wonder that I cannot yet detail it. Recognition of its truth is dependent upon inner growth and illumination, and this growth is being speeded up, leading to an easier recognition of that which is on the way. Remember, revelation seldom [179] comes along the expected lines. There will be a pouring in of light upon mankind which will alter his conditions of living, change his outlook upon world affairs, and inaugurate a new age which will be distinguished by an aptitude for group synthesis and cooperation, and by new mental powers, leading to a reorientation of the mind so that it can function with equal facility in two directions. It will be able to turn outward into the world of manifested forms, and inward into the world of synthesis, of unity and of spirit. There will be a fresh attitude towards life which will evidence itself in a better sense of values, for life will have a meaning hitherto unknown, and we shall have an interpretation of that meaning which will enrich our daily experience. Towards this end all true workers are now bending every effort.

Earlier in this treatise I referred to the areas of doubt which now exist in man's mind, and I should like briefly to refer to the three major areas which - when cleared up - will facilitate the bringing in of the new age with its new civilizations, new sciences and new religion. There are three problems which the next few years will see well on the way towards an intelligent solution in the minds of the most conservative, but which will be regarded as definitely solved by the intuitive and illumined. These three problems might be regarded as constituting the three main objectives in the fields of science, of politics and of religion. With their solution will come the more rapid success of the world problems of government, of faith and of matter. Please note the distinction and significance of these last three words.

B.I.2.d. The Problem of Ideas

In the final analysis, the main problem of world government is the wise use of ideas. It is here that the power of [180] speech makes itself felt, just as in the department of religion or of education the power of the written word, of the printed page, is felt. In the field of politics, the masses are swayed by their orators, and never more so than now through the use of the radio. Great ideas are dinned into the ear of the public without cessation - theories as to dictatorship, communism, nazism, fascism, marxism, nationalism, and democratic ideals. Methods of rule by this or that group of thinkers are presented to the public, leaving them no time for consideration, or for clear thinking. Racial antipathies are spread, and personal preferences and illusions find expression, bringing about the deception of the unthinking. The man who has a golden tongue, the man who has the gift of playing with words and can voice with emphasis people's grievances, the juggler in statistics, the fanatic with a certain and sure cure for social ills, and the man who loves to fan race hatreds, can ever get a following. Such men can with facility upset the balance of the community and lead a body of unthinking adherents to a transient success and power, or to obloquy and oblivion.

In the aggregate of this play with ideas, and in the constant impact upon the human consciousness of the great concepts which lie back of our evolutionary process, the race is developing the power to think, to choose, and to build a sure foundation. Through the evolutionary presentation of these ideas there is a steady march towards a liberty of thought (through the old method of experiment, of discard, and of renewed effort with ever newer concepts) which will enable mankind to build true to the great thought patterns which underlie the outer structure of our world. The attentive minds of the age are constantly being made sensitive to these patterns, so that the individual mind can recognize them and wrest them out of the darkness into the light of day. Thus [181] will the true patterns be made available, to play their part in leading the race towards its destiny, towards those deeper realizations which mould the racial types, and to that synthesis of understanding which will result in a realization of Brotherhood. Thus thoughts play their part, and the problem of ideas will be increasingly understood, until the time may come when we shall have our trained intuitive and thinkers who will be able to work directly in the world of concepts and bring through (for the use of the race) the pattern ideas upon which to build. In saying this I realize that I may be accused of romancing and of communicating the impossible; but time will demonstrate the truth of that which I predict. The world structure emerges from and is built upon certain inner thought patterns, and it is these thought patterns which are producing the present flood of governmental experiments among all nations. But today there is no training given upon the process of contacting the world of patterns and upon the true interpretation of ideas, and hence the problems. Later, when the race sees its problem with clarity, it will act with wisdom and train with care its Observers and Communicators. These will be men and women in whom the intuition has awakened at the behest of an urgent intellect; they will be people whose minds are so subordinated to the group good, and so free from all sense of separativeness, that their minds present no impediment to the contact with the world of reality and of inner truth. They will not necessarily be people who could be termed "religious" in the ordinary sense of that word, but they will be men of good will, of high mental caliber, with minds well stocked and equipped; they will be free from personal ambition and selfishness, animated by love of humanity and by a desire to help the race. Such a man is a spiritual man. [182]

B.I.2.e. The Problem of God

In the world of religion we shall see the solution of the second problem, and the ridding of the human consciousness of another area of doubt. The fact of God will be established and men's questioning in this respect will end. Such a God will not be a national or a racial God; not Christian, Hindu or Buddhist. Such a God will not be a figment of man's creative imagination or an extension of his own consciousness, but a Deity of essential life, who is the sum total of all energies; the energy of life itself, the energy of love, the energy of intelligence, of active experience, and that energy which produces the interplay between the seen and the unseen; a God most surely transcendent, but at the same time most assuredly immanent; a God of such immensity that the Heavens proclaim Him, and so intimate that the humblest child can recognize Him.

How can this be? you ask. I give a simple reply to your question, and yet one so scientific and so profound in meaning that only when it is realized to be a fact in a natural process will it be appreciated with accuracy. Out of the flesh God will be seen and known, yet with the eye of the inner vision can God be seen even when a man is occupying a body of flesh. Not with the physical eye can Deity be seen, though the hallmark of divinity is everywhere. There is an eye which can be developed and used, and which will enable its possessor to see God working on the inner side of Life, within Himself and within all forms, for "when thine eye is single, thy whole body is full of light." In that light shall we see light, and so see God. The three words: electricity, light and life, express divinity, and their synthesis is God. When we know the three as one in our own experience, then we know God. The lowest aspect we are now using, and of it we are [183] increasingly aware. The second aspect of light is on the point of revelation, through the right understanding of electrical phenomena. There lies the clue to the new age, the age of light, of illumination and of revelation. The esotericists of the world will understand a little of that to which I refer, and in their hands lies the training of humanity so that men may use that true vision and learn to utilize the "single eye." I would have you note, however, that the majority of true esotericists are found outside, and not within, the bulk of the schools which call themselves esoteric.

B.I.2.f. The Problem of Immortality

The third area of doubt, - doubt as to the fact of immortality - will be solved before long in the realm of science, as the result of scientific investigation. Certain scientists will accept the hypothesis of immortality as a working basis upon which to base their search, and they will enter upon that search with a willingness to learn, a readiness to accept and a desire to formulate conclusions based upon reiterated evidence. These conclusions will, in their turn, form the basis for another hypothesis. Within the next few years the fact of persistence and of the eternity of existence will have advanced out of the realm of questioning into the realm of certainty. The problem will have shifted further back. There will be no question in anyone's mind that the discarding of the physical body will leave a man still a conscious living entity. He will be known to be perpetuating his existence in a realm lying behind the physical. He will be known to be still alive, awake and aware. This fact will be demonstrated in several ways. The development of a power within the physical eye of a human being (a power which has always been there, but which has been very little used) will reveal the etheric body, the "double," as it is sometimes called; and men [184] will be seen occupying that body in some definite spatial area whilst their dead or disintegrating physical body has been left behind. Then again, the growth in the number of those people who have the power to use the "single eye," sometimes called the "reawakened third eye," will also add to the demonstration of the truth of immortality, for they will with facility see the man who has discarded his etheric body, as well as his physical body. By the very weight of their numbers, and by the reputability of their position, they will carry their point. Through a discovery also in the field of photography, now being investigated, will the fact of survival be proven. Through the use of the radio by those who have passed over will communication be eventually set up, and reduced to a true science.

Nevertheless, certain imminent happenings will do more to annihilate the veil between the seen and the unseen than any other line of activity hitherto initiated. Of this I may not speak beyond telling you that an illumination will be set up and a radiance revealed which will result in a tremendous stimulation of mankind and bring about an awakening of a new order. Man will be keyed up to a perception and to a contact which will enable him to see through, which will reveal the nature of the fourth dimension, and will blend the subjective and the objective together into a new world. Death will lose its terrors, and that particular fear will come to an end.

Men are so occupied with their demand for light, so earnest in their cry for release from the present blindness, and so anxious for relief from the surrounding chaos, that they are apt to forget that from the inner side there is also a great effort and "push" to help, on the part of the Custodians of the Plan and Their assistants. This urge on Their part to help is more active than ever before, as human beings demand more [185] potently the privilege of light. A demand from the race, plus a response from the waiting Hierarchy, must inevitably produce potent results. The urge to know and the urge to teach are assuredly related and a part of the natural process of conscious development. The next few decades will mark a happening of such profound and widespread consequences that the present era in which we live will come to be looked upon as the dark ages. Science will penetrate deeper into the realm of the intangible, and work in mediums and with apparatus hitherto unknown. The release of the potencies in an atom will mark a revolutionary era, and science will have much to discard and much to give as it works with energies and forms of life hitherto unrecognized. The spiritualists will make a discovery whereby the means of contact with those who function out of the physical body will be greatly facilitated, and a group of mediums will begin to act as intermediaries for a number of scientists on the inner side of life and those who are still in physical bodies. Through the activity of the real esoteric schools, a technique of training will be instituted which will develop the new powers that will substantiate the old truth and turn men's beliefs into certainties. Through the stimulating and occultly scientific work of the department of religions, men will come to new knowledge and awareness, and will arrive at an uplift that will bring mankind to the Mount of Transfiguration. Through the work of the department of government, men will come to an understanding of those ideas which are needed to carry the nations the next step forward to mutual help.

I shall try to express the deepest objective of the Brotherhood, so that you can understand and cooperate. Humanity is intended to act as a power house through which certain types of divine energy can flow to the various forms of life found in the subhuman kingdoms. This flow of energy must be [186] intelligently apprehended and intelligently directed, and thus will be brought to an end conditions of decay and of death now prevalent everywhere. Thus mankind can link the higher and the lower manifestations of Life, but this will be possible only when men themselves have (within themselves) linked their higher and their lower aspects. This is, and should be, one of the objectives of all esoteric training. Men are intended to acquire the facility to function freely in either direction, and so with ease contact the life of God as it flows through those forms we call superhuman, and those which are subhuman. Such is the emerging goal.

The next few years will mark an intensive effort on the part of the hierarchy and on the part of the New Group of World Servers. There is a term set to their effort, and later this type of activity will end, and workers will enter into more extensive fields, if the work proves effective. Should the spiritually minded and intellectually constituted people of the race fail at this time to initiate the Plan, to wrest it out of the unseen and carry it into the realm of the seen, then we shall see a period of difficulty and of slower growth, but no entire collapse of the fabric of civilization as the fear-mongers indicate. But we shall anticipate no such failure and no such setback to the carefully laid plans of the Watchers on the inner side. The word has gone out to rally all the disciples and aspirants of the world to an intensive work, and with that appeal from the Great Ones I seek to occupy myself. Everyone is needed and must go forward with hope and certainty. The Hierarchy is, with concentration, working and bending every effort to make the plan a success. The New Group of World Servers are being more closely integrated, and the work they are to do is being carefully planned. In London, in New York and in Geneva are three centers of their activity, and at Darjeeling and in Tokyo there is a mustering of forces. [187]

I challenge the thinkers of the world to drop their sectarianism, their nationalism, and their partisanships, and in the spirit of brotherhood to work in their particular nation, regarding it as an integral part of a great federation of nations, - a federation that now exists on the inner side but waits for the activity of the world thinkers to bring it to materialization on the outer side. I charge them to work in the cause of religion and in the field of that particular religion in which they, by an accident of birth or by choice, are interested, regarding each religion as part of the great world religion. They must look upon the activities of their group, society or organization as demanding their help, just in so far, and only so far, as the principles upon which they are founded and the techniques which they employ serve the general good and develop the realization of Brotherhood.

I ask you to drop your antagonisms and your antipathies, your hatreds and your racial differences, and attempt to think in terms of the one family, the one life, and the one humanity. I ask for no sentimental or devotional response to this challenge. I would remind you that hatred and separateness have brought humanity to the present sad condition. I would add to that reminder, however, the fact that there is in the world today a large enough number of liberated men to produce a change in the attitudes of mankind and in public opinion, if they measure up by an act of the will to what they know and believe.

I challenge you also to make sacrifices; to give yourself and your time and your money and your interest to carry these ideas to those around you in your own environment and to the group in which you find yourself, thus awakening your associates. I call you to a united effort to inculcate anew the ideas of brotherhood and of unity. I ask you to recognize your fellow workers in all the groups and to strengthen their [188] hands. I ask you to seal your lips to words of hatred and of criticism, and to talk in terms of brotherhood and of group relationships. I beg of you to see to it that every day is for you a new day, in which you face new opportunity. Lose sight of your own affairs, your petty sorrows, worries and suspicions, in the urgency of the task to be done, and spread the cult of unity, of love and of harmlessness.

I ask you also to sever your connection with all groups which are seeking to destroy and to attack, no matter how sincere their motive. Range yourself on the side of the workers for constructive ends, who are fighting no other groups or organizations and who have eliminated the word "anti" out of their vocabulary. Stand on the side of those who are silently and steadily building for the new order - an order which is founded on love, which builds under the impulse of brotherhood, and which possesses a realization of a brotherhood which is based on the knowledge that we are each and all, no matter what our race, the children of the One Father, and who have come to the realization that the old ways of working must go and the newer methods must be given a chance.

If you cannot yourself teach or preach or write, give of your thought and of your money so that others can. Give of your hours and minutes of leisure so as to set others free to serve the Plan; give of your money so that the work of those associated with the New Group of World Servers may go forward with rapidity. Much time you waste on non-essentials. Many of you give little or nothing of time. The same is the case with money. Give as never before, and so make the physical aspects of the work possible. Some give of their very need, and the power they thereby release is great. Those on the inner side are grateful for the giving by those who can give only at great personal cost. Others give of what they can spare and only when it needs no sacrifice to give. Let that [189] condition also end, and give to the limit, with justice and understanding, so that the age of love and light may be more rapidly ushered in. I care not where or to whom you give, only that you give, - little if you have but little of time or money, much if you have much. Work and give, love and think, and aid those groups who are building and not destroying, loving and not attacking, lifting and not tearing down. Be not taken in by the specious argument that destruction is needed. It has been needed, no doubt; but the cycle of destruction is practically over, could you but realize it, and the builders must now get busy.

I challenge you above all to a deeper life, and I implore you for the sake of your fellow men to strengthen your contact with your own soul so that you will have done your share in making revelation possible; so that you will have served your part in bringing in the light, and will therefore be in a position to take advantage of that new light and new information, and so be better able to point the way and clear the path for the bewildered seeker at that time. Those who are not ready for the coming events will be blinded by the emerging light and bewildered by the revealing wonder; they will be swept by the living breath of God, and it is to you that we look to fit them for the event.

Before we proceed further I want to touch upon the apparent contradictions which occur (and which may continue to occur) in this treatise. Sometimes a ray will be spoken of as being in manifestation. At other times it may be referred to as being out of manifestation. We may speak about its influence upon a particular kingdom in nature, and then again still another ray may be regarded as of prime importance. These discrepancies are only apparent, and their cause lies hid in the right understanding of the Law of Cycles. Until this basic [190] Law of Periodicity is comprehended (and this will not be possible until man has succeeded in developing fourth dimensional vision) it will not be easy to avoid what may look like contradictions. At one time a certain ray may be in incarnation and thus of paramount influence, and yet, at the same time, still another ray may govern the major cycle, - a cycle of which the ray under consideration may be only a temporary aspect. For instance, the seventh Ray of Ceremonial Organization is now coming in, and the sixth Ray of Devotion is going out; yet this sixth ray is a major ray cycle and its influence will not entirely disappear for another 21,000 years. At the same time, this sixth ray might well be regarded as the sixth subray of the fourth Ray of Harmony through Conflict, which has been in manifestation for several thousand years and will remain operative for another 40,000 years. Yet at the same time, this fourth ray is out of manifestation as regards its minor and cyclic influence.

I fully realize that this information is of a most confusing nature to the beginner in occultism, and only those students who conform to the requirement of grasping the general outline and the broad basic propositions will be able to gather out of these instructions the true, intended perspective. If the reader loses himself in the mass of possible analyses and intricacies of the imparted detail, he will not emerge into the realm of that clear vision which is intended. When he eliminates the detail and deals with the general conformation of the solar Plan, he will then be enabled to cooperate with the needed intelligence. Read therefore constructively and not critically, knowing that it is not easy to see the Plan as it exists in the minds of the Builders, Who work in the closest cooperation, conforming to the initial Plan, and yet carrying forward Their individual efforts with concentration and sustained enterprise. [191]

B.I.3. Three Major Propositions

We have been studying the significance of the work of the seven creative Builders, as They express the life aspect and qualify the phenomenal appearance through which the One Life manifests. It is the quality in time and space that determines the phenomenal appearance, and this is the third major proposition of which the two previous are:

1. Every ray Life is an expression of a solar Life, and every planet is therefore linked with every other planet, animated by energy from one or other of the seven solar systems, and actuated by a triple stream of force.
2. Every one of the rays is the recipient and custodian of various energies, coming from varying sources.

   To these two we add:

3. It is the quality of a ray Life, in time and space, which determines the phenomenal appearance.

In these three propositions you have summed up the basic teaching of this Section. Here I can point out with success, I believe, the practical efficacy of a true understanding of these rather advanced occult teachings. If, for instance, you study the first proposition, you will note how a ray Life is an expression of a solar Life. Now take this broad idea and make it personally specific by referring the same proposition to an individual man, grasping the fact that every personality is intended to be an expression of a solar angel, and is consequently linked to every other solar angel in the kingdom of souls. Each is animated by the energies coming from all the seven groups of solar angels, and is likewise A in touch with the life of the planet, of the solar system, and with extra-systemic [192] force also. Is this not of vital, practical import? Does it not warrant close study and consideration of the attitude of the personality towards life, and of the measure of success of the solar angel at any given point in time and space (which is all that the personality is, in the last analysis) as it builds and qualifies its phenomenal appearance? Here we can see the scientific value of the study of ideals, of concentration upon the virtues and divine qualities, and upon an intellectual analysis of the divine attributes of any of the great sons of God.

Again, the second proposition states that the seven rays, being each the recipient and custodian of energies coming from the universe, bring in the basic concept of interrelation, of inter-communication, of interdependence, of cooperative responsibility, and of service. These relationships, as we well know, underlie the principle of Brotherhood, which the race is just beginning to grasp and to discuss. Thus one of the major propositions which govern the building forces of the universe is of real practical application to the mental life and attitude of man today.

• The first proposition relates to the ego, or solar angel, and its realization.
• The second proposition relates to the mental grasp of the "inspired" man - inspired from on high by his solar angel.
• The third proposition, which states that quality determines the appearance, is intended to control or direct the feeling or desire life of the personality, for according to the quality of his desires will be the gradually emerging appearance.

Man is innately and truly divine, but the quality of the solar angel only makes its presence felt slowly and during the evolutionary cycle; it demonstrates only dimly as yet, and only emerges occasionally; though the sum total of characteristics in any one life is colored by divine quality according to the egoic capacity to control or express, it is distorted by [193] substance in the early stages almost past all recognition. These three propositions warrant careful thought and even meditation, for as they express the laws under which the seven creative Builders work, so do they express the laws under which the aspirant can now begin to work.

B.I.4. Quality in the World of Appearances

We now take up the definition of the word "quality," which embodies the second ray aspect. This second aspect is the determining ray or the second manifesting aspect of divinity. It is the Christ or Vishnu aspect; it is the sentient consciousness aspect of deity in form. I stated also that we would consider its expression in the world of phenomena, meaning by this the world of external appearance and of tangible forms.

The quality that emerges through the process of manifesting, and under the impulse of the divine Life, is love, which functions through the medium of the Law of Attraction, with the aim of producing an ultimate synthesis in consciousness. Let us not forget that the objective of our present evolutionary process is the unfoldment of conscious awareness. The entire process is directed towards that consummation.

Quality, in the last analysis, is neither more nor less than the nature of that awareness, and the response in terms of quality to sentient contact. Through the gradually unfolding mechanism of contact (itself the result of active quality, determining the life of the unit cells which compose the form) the range of contacts extends indefinitely, and the response of the living entity to contact becomes more vital, more understanding in its capacity, and more synthetically comprehended. This response develops in two directions: [194]

1. It leads to a comprehension of the response apparatus and to a wise use of the mechanism of contact.
2. It leads also to an understanding of the response of the individual consciousness to the consciousness contacted. This is brought about through the medium of the response mechanism. This other response apparatus may be either more developed or less developed than the one that does the contacting.

It is this interplay between the consciousness using the mechanisms that confers an understanding of quality. This interplay confers an understanding of the activity underlying the appearance, and motivating it. Exoteric science enables the activity aspect of the phenomenal forms to be apprehended and studied, and all the many manifestations of the many schools of human thought, which enlarge through their researches the range of human knowledge, have the same objective. At the same time, they increase our capacity to grasp the intense activity of every form in every kingdom in nature, and of every atom and cell within those forms. Science has led us on from pinnacle to pinnacle of achievement, till today we are lost in a world of energies. We have been taught to picture to ourselves a world of vibrating points of force which constitute in the aggregate all forms of life, and which present to our astonished and bewildered intellects a planetary life which is the sum total of all known forms. Each form is a universe in itself, and all forms are alive, vibrating with divine activity. We use the word "energy" to express this activity, and beyond that we are as yet unable to pass. Energy is life, and energy is also death. Activity is to be sensed and known in the organic and in the inorganic, - a vast series of atomic lives built up into structure after structure and found to be in ceaseless motion. A vast series of living structures, built up [195] into still greater and more inclusive forms, are all found, again, to be in equally ceaseless motion. These greater structures, in their turn, are found to be vibrant organisms, and so there unfolds before man's conscious vision nothing but life and activity, naught but motion and energy, and always a coherence, an ordered purpose, a growing synthesis, a Plan, and a Will. To this, science sets its seal, for scientific knowledge is the indication of man's response, through the collective response apparatus of humanity as a whole, to the mechanism of awareness of the great Life in which we live and move and have our being, the planetary Logos of our Earth.

The esoteric sciences carry us within the form or forms, and enable us to penetrate to the quality aspect. Students would do well to remember that occultism may be the study of forces, and that the occultist moves in the worlds of force, but these are also the worlds of quality and of those qualifying energies which are seeking to manifest through the world of appearances. As they achieve this, they will dominate the activity of the form units which constitute the phenomenal world. There are energies which lie behind the phenomena produced by the activity of the atomic structures; these are latent and unseen and often unfelt; they are subjective. The esoteric sciences have one purpose in view, and that is to produce the gradual emergence of these energies, so that the skilled occultist can eventually work in a dual yet unified world of force, and be the creative will which guides, blends and utilizes the world of appearances and the realm of qualities. These two types of active creative energies must be controlled by the creating Will or Life aspect so that they function as one.

Therefore the aspirant is taught to turn within; to study motives; to acquaint himself with the qualities which are seeking [196] expression in the outer world through the medium of his outer mechanism. As he learns to do this, the nature of that outer world of mechanisms alters, and he increasingly becomes aware of the qualities struggling for expression behind the outer forms. Thus the range of his conscious contacts extends, and he passes (through scientific research) from an exoteric understanding of the world of phenomenal appearances to an esoteric comprehension of the world of qualities. Never forget, therefore, that this dual apprehension must be emphasized, and that as a man learns to "know himself," he automatically learns to know the quality underlying all appearances. Look therefore for the quality everywhere. This is what we mean when we speak of seeing divinity on every hand, of recognizing the note sounded by all beings, and of registering the hidden motif of all appearing. The unawakened man or woman sees the form, notes its forms of activity, and "judges by appearances." The awakening aspirant begins to sense some of the beauties that lie unrevealed behind all forms; the awakened disciple lays the focus of his attention upon the emerging world of qualities, and becomes steadily aware of color, of new ranges of sound, of an inner evolving and newer response apparatus which is beginning to enable him to contact the unseen, the intangible, and the unrevealed. He becomes aware of those subjective impulses which condition the quality of the life, and which are slowly and gradually revealing themselves.

It is this unrevealed inner beauty which lies back of the emphasis laid by the churches upon the cultivation of the virtues, and by the occultists upon the use of a seed thought in meditation. These seed thoughts and virtues serve a valuable and constructive purpose. The Biblical truism that "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he," is based on the same basic [197] realization, and the distinction between the spiritual man and the man of worldly and material purpose consists in the fact that one is attempting to work with the quality aspect of the life, and the other is focusing his attention upon the appearance aspect. He may and does employ certain qualities as he so works, but they are those qualities which have been developed during the evolutionary process of the divine Life as It has cycled through the subhuman and human kingdoms.

Each of the kingdoms in nature has developed, or is developing, one outstanding quality, with the other divine attributes as subsidiary.

• The mineral kingdom has the quality of activity primarily emphasized, and its two extremes are the tamasic quality, or the static inert nature of the mineral world, and the quality of radioactivity, of radiation which is its beautiful and divinely perfected expression. The goal for all mineral atomic forms is this radioactive condition, the power to pass through all limiting and environing substances. This is initiation, or the entering into a state of liberation, for all mineral appearances, and the organizing of all forms in this kingdom under the influence of the seventh ray.
• The vegetable kingdom has the quality of attractiveness, expressed in color, and its liberation, or its highest form of activity, is demonstrated by the perfume of its highest forms of life. This perfume is connected with its sex life, which has group purpose and which calls to its aid the initiating wind and the insect world. This is not just a pictorial way of portraying truth. The very nature of perfume, its purpose and intent, is to affect those agencies which will produce the spreading and the continuity of the life of the vegetable kingdom. The "aspirants" in the vegetable kingdom, and the most evolved of its forms, have beauty and perfume, and are [198] susceptible to the hidden influences of Those to Whom is confided the initiating of the life-forms and their bringing to a desired perfection. Hence the influence of the sixth Ray of Devotion upon this kingdom, and the application of the Ray of Devotion which (symbolically expressed) "fixes the eye upon the sun; turns the life ever to the rays of warmth, and causes the blending of the colors and the glory of the perfumed radiance."
• The animal kingdom has the quality of growing instinctual purpose which - in its highest form - works out as the domesticity of the more evolved animals, and their devotion to man. Behind the appearance of the animals is to be found a steady orientation towards understanding, and a consequent gravitation towards the forms of life which evidence that which they desire. Hence the influence of the fifth Ray of Concrete Knowledge, which pours through the human family upon the third kingdom in nature. Man is the initiating factor here, and to man is committed the task of leading the animal kingdom towards liberation - a liberation into the fourth kingdom, for that is the sphere of its next activity. The vegetable kingdom is liberated into another evolutionary process altogether, and its lives pass into the so-called deva, or angel, evolution. Hence the wind and the insect world are its agents, just as man and the agency of water are the initiators of the animal world. The secret of release for the animal nature is hidden in the "watery nature;" this is the blood aspect, and in the shedding of the blood, esoterically understood, lies the clue to the liberation of the animal kingdom. Hence certain initiatory processes are working out on a large scale in the shedding of blood through the slaughter of the animal form of the human being in the Great War, for instance. In the war the blood of thousands was poured out upon the soil, and from the standpoint of living [199] purpose, certain esoteric results have been achieved. This fact is a difficult one for man to understand, for his awareness is as yet primarily that of the form and not of the quality of the life. It is difficult for men to comprehend the divine purpose working out behind the evils of animal slaughter and the shedding of blood down the ages, prehuman and human. But through the "pouring out of that water which is of the color red" there is eventuating a liberation which will initiate the life of that kingdom into new states of consciousness and of awareness. The whole problem of slaughter, whether in the animal or the human kingdom, originated in events which occurred during the original "war in heaven," when Michael and his angels were cast down and our planetary system came into being. Until a man's consciousness is such that he can, through an inner mechanism as yet unevolved in the majority, respond to the planetary consciousness and "enter into the secrets of the Ancient of Days," the problem of pain, of bloodshed, of war and of suffering must remain an inscrutable mystery. It will be solved - and this is the keynote of most importance - only when man has himself changed the initiating process for the animals from that of bloodshed to that of domesticity and of mutual love. When the mentality of the race is more developed, then man can, by arbitration and the right use of speech, settle all differences, and thus change the mode of animal initiation, whether this refers to the animal kingdom or to his own animal body.
• In the fourth kingdom, the emerging quality is that aspect of synthetic love or understanding which is the intuition. This intuition is a quality of mental matter and of the "chitta" or mind stuff. Man is also intended to be radioactive; the incense or the perfume of his life must ascend, and thus attract the attention of the initiating factors which wait to lead him to [200] liberation. These factors are the fire and the members of the fifth kingdom in nature. The growing purpose of his animal form must give place to the dynamic will of the spiritual entity, released from form limitations by the fire of life and of initiation. Thus he harmonizes in himself all ways of approach and of release, and all achievements, and synthesizes in his life the aspirations of the other three kingdoms.

Radioactivity, the perfume of the aspirant, the devotion to other human beings (the sublimation of domesticity), and the "shedding of blood" or the sacrifice of the life, the expression upon earth (the mineral kingdom) of the devotion and sex life of the vegetable kingdom, plus the sacrifice through blood of the animal kingdom, bring man to the portal of initiation. There the fire awaits him with its purifying uses, and thus earth, air, fire and water (the four elements) prepare him for the great liberation and for the release of that quality of synthetic apprehension of the underlying truth which we call the intuition. This is after all the response of the mechanism to the symbolic appeal of divine quality, expressed in the whole and seen as illumination. Thus the qualities emerge and appear in their full glory as man develops himself and unfolds within himself the needed apparatus of response, training himself to recognize the subjective realities or the divine qualities as they seek to manifest. The processes of manifestation produce results upon and in the gradually awakening consciousness of man.

B.I.5. Analysis of the Rays and Their Expression,
from an Earlier Manuscript.

There is a vast fund of interesting knowledge as to the action and results of the ray activity in the lower kingdoms of nature, but on this point no details can be given; and [201] the following summary of what we have been told is necessarily imperfect and admits of endless amplification.

B.I.5.a. First Ray of Will or Power

• Special Virtues:
  Strength, courage, steadfastness, truthfulness arising from absolute fearlessness, power of ruling, capacity to grasp great questions in a large-minded way, and of handling men and measures.
• Vices of Ray:
  Pride, ambition, wilfulness, hardness, arrogance, desire to control others, obstinacy, anger.
• Virtues to he acquired:
  Tenderness, humility, sympathy, tolerance, patience,

This has been spoken of as the ray of power, and is correctly so called, but if it were power alone, without wisdom and love, a destructive and disintegrating force would result. When however the three characteristics are united, it becomes a creative and governing ray. Those on this ray have strong will power, for either good or evil, for the former when the will is directed by wisdom and made selfless by love. The first ray man will always "come to the front" in his own line. He may be the burglar or the judge who condemns him, but in either case he will be at the head of his profession. He is the born leader in any and every public career, one to trust and lean on, one to defend the weak and put down oppression, fearless of consequences and utterly indifferent to comment. On the other hand, an unmodified first ray can produce a man of unrelenting cruelty and hardness of nature.

The first ray man often has strong feeling and affection, but [202] he does not readily express it; he will love strong contrasts and masses of color, but will rarely be an artist; he will delight in great orchestral effects and crashing choruses, and if modified by the fourth, sixth or seventh rays, may be a great composer, but not otherwise; and there is a type of this ray which is tone-deaf, and another which is color-blind to the more delicate colors. Such a man will distinguish red and yellow, but will hopelessly confuse blue, green and violet.

The literary work of a first ray man will be strong and trenchant, but he will care little for style or finish in his writings. Perhaps examples of this type would be Luther, Carlyle, and Walt Whitman. It is said that in attempting the cure of disease the best method for the first ray man would be to draw health and strength from the great fount of universal life by his will power, and then pour it through the patient. This, of course, presupposes knowledge on his part of occult methods.

The characteristic method of approaching the great Quest on this ray would be by sheer force of will. Such a man would, as it were, take the kingdom of heaven "by violence." We have seen that the born leader belongs to this ray, wholly or in part. It makes the able commander-in-chief, such as Napoleon or Kitchener. Napoleon was first and fourth rays, and Kitchener was first and seventh, the seventh ray giving him his remarkable power of organization.

B.I.5.b. The Second Ray of Love-Wisdom

• Special Virtues:
  Calm, strength, patience and endurance, love of truth, faithfulness, intuition, clear intelligence, and serene temper.
• Vices of Ray:
  Over-absorption in study, coldness, indifference to others, contempt of mental limitations in others. [203]
• Virtues to be acquired:
  Love, compassion, unselfishness, energy.

This is called the ray of wisdom from its characteristic desire for pure knowledge and for absolute truth - cold and selfish, if without love, and inactive without power. When both power and love are present, then you have the ray of the Buddhas and of all great teachers of humanity, - those who, having attained wisdom for the sake of others, spend themselves in giving it forth. The student on this ray is ever unsatisfied with his highest attainments; no matter how great his knowledge, his mind is still fixed on the unknown, the beyond, and on the heights as yet unscaled.

The second ray man will have tact and foresight; he will make an excellent ambassador, and a first-rate teacher or head of a college; as a man of affairs, he will have clear intelligence and wisdom in dealing with matters which come before him, and he will have the capacity of impressing true views of things on others and of making them see things as he does. He will make a good business man, if modified by the fourth, fifth and seventh rays. The soldier on this ray would plan wisely and foresee possibilities; he would have an intuition as to the best course to pursue, and he would never lead his men into danger through rashness. He might be deficient in rapidity of action and energy. The artist on this ray would always seek to teach through his art, and his pictures would have a meaning. His literary work would always be instructive.

The method of healing, for the second ray man, would be to learn thoroughly the temperament of the patient as well as to be thoroughly conversant with the nature of the disease, so as to use his will power on the case to the best advantage.

The characteristic method of approaching the Path would be by close and earnest study of the teachings till they become [204] so much a part of the man's consciousness as no longer to be merely intellectual knowledge, but a spiritual rule of living, thus bringing in intuition and true wisdom.

A bad type of the second ray would be bent on acquiring knowledge for himself alone, absolutely indifferent to the human needs of others. The foresight of such a man would degenerate into suspicion, his calmness into coldness and hardness of nature.

B.I.5.c. The Third Ray of Higher Mind

• Special Virtues:
  Wide views on all abstract questions, sincerity of purpose, clear intellect, capacity for concentration on philosophic studies, patience, caution, absence of the tendency to worry himself or others over trifles.
• Vices of Ray:
  Intellectual pride, coldness, isolation, inaccuracy in details, absent-mindedness, obstinacy, selfishness, overmuch criticism of others.
• Virtues to be acquired:
  Sympathy, tolerance, devotion, accuracy, energy and common sense.

This is the ray of the abstract thinker, of the philosopher and the metaphysician, of the man who delights in the higher mathematics but who, unless modified by some practical ray, would hardly be troubled to keep his accounts accurately. His imaginative faculty will be highly developed, i.e., he can by the power of his imagination grasp the essence of a truth; his idealism will often be strong; he is a dreamer and a theorist, and from his wide views and great caution he sees every side [205] of a question equally clearly. This sometimes paralyses his action. He will make a good business man; as a soldier he will work out a problem in tactics at his desk, but is seldom great in the field. As an artist his technique is not fine, but his subjects will be full of thought and interest. He will love music, but unless influenced by the fourth ray he will not produce it. In all walks of life he is full of ideas, but is too impractical to carry them out.

One type of this ray is unconventional to a degree, slovenly, unpunctual and idle, and regardless of appearances. If influenced by the fifth ray as the secondary ray, this character is entirely changed. The third and the fifth rays make the perfectly balanced historian who grasps his subject in a large way and verifies every detail with patient accuracy. Again the third and the fifth rays together make the truly great mathematician who soars into heights of abstract thought and calculation, and who can also bring his results down to practical scientific use. The literary style of the third ray man is too often vague and involved, but if influenced by the first, fourth, fifth or seventh rays, this is changed, and under the fifth he will be a master of the pen.

The curing of disease by the third ray man would be by the use of drugs made of herbs or minerals belonging to the same ray as the patient whom he desires to relieve.

The method of approaching the great Quest, for this ray type, is by deep thinking on philosophic or metaphysical lines till he is led to the realization of the great Beyond and of the paramount importance of treading the Path that leads thither.

B.I.5.d. The Fourth Ray of Harmony through Conflict

• Special Virtues:
  Strong affections, sympathy, physical courage, generosity, devotion, quickness of intellect and perception. [206]
• Vices of Ray:
  Self-centeredness, worrying, inaccuracy, lack of moral courage, strong passions, indolence, extravagance.
• Virtues to be acquired:
  Serenity, confidence, self-control, purity, unselfishness, accuracy, mental and moral balance.

This has been called the "ray of struggle" for on this ray the qualities of rajas (activity) and tamas (inertia) are so strangely equal in proportion that the nature of the fourth ray man is torn with their combat, and the outcome, when satisfactory, is spoken of as the "Birth of Horus," of the Christ, born from the throes of constant pain and suffering.

Tamas induces love of ease and pleasure, a hatred of causing pain amounting to moral cowardice, indolence, procrastination, a desire to let things be, to rest, and to take no thought of the morrow. Rajas is fiery, impatient, ever urging to action. These contrasting forces in the nature make life one perpetual warfare and unrest for the fourth ray man; the friction and the experience gained thereby may produce very rapid evolution, but the man may as easily become a ne'er-do-well as a hero.

It is the ray of the dashing cavalry leader, reckless of risks to himself or his followers. It is the ray of the man who will lead a forlorn hope, for in moments of excitement the fourth ray man is entirely dominated by rajas; of the wild speculator and gambler, full of enthusiasm and plans, easily overwhelmed by sorrow or failure, but as quickly recovering from all reverses and misfortunes.

It is pre-eminently the ray of color, of the artist whose color is always great, though his drawing will often be defective. (Watts was fourth and second rays.) The fourth ray [207] man always loves color, and can generally produce It. If untrained as an artist, a color sense is sure to appear in other ways, in choice of dress or decorations.

In music, fourth ray compositions are always full of melody, and the fourth ray man loves a tune. As a writer or poet, his work will often be brilliant and full of picturesque word-painting, but inaccurate, full of exaggerations, and often pessimistic. He will generally talk well and have a sense of humor, but he varies between brilliant conversations and gloomy silences, according to his mood. He is a delightful and difficult person to live with.

In healing, the best fourth ray method is massage and magnetism, used with knowledge.

The method of approaching the Path will be by self-control, thus gaining equilibrium amongst the warring forces of the nature. The lower and extremely dangerous way is by Hatha Yoga.

B.I.5.e. The Fifth Ray of Lower Mind

• Special Virtues:
  Strictly accurate statements, justice (without mercy), perseverance, common sense, uprightness, independence, keen intellect.
• Vices of Ray:
  Harsh criticism, narrowness, arrogance, unforgiving temper, lack of sympathy and reverence, prejudice.
• Virtues to be acquired:
  Reverence, devotion, sympathy, love, wide-mindedness.

This is the ray of science and of research. The man on this ray will possess keen intellect, great accuracy in detail, and [208] will make unwearied efforts to trace the smallest fact to its source, and to verify every theory. He will generally be extremely truthful, full of lucid explanation of facts, though sometimes pedantic and wearisome from his insistence on trivial and unnecessary verbal minutiae. He will be orderly, punctual, businesslike, disliking to receive favors or flattery.

It is the ray of the great chemist, the practical electrician, the first-rate engineer, the great operating surgeon. As a statesman, the fifth ray man would be narrow in his views, but he would be an excellent head of some special technical department, though a disagreeable person under whom to work. As a soldier, he would turn most readily to artillery and engineering. The artist on this ray is very rare, unless the fourth or seventh be the influencing secondary ray; even then his coloring will be dull, his sculptures lifeless, and his music (if he composes) will be uninteresting, though technically correct in form. His style in writing or speaking will be clearness itself, but it will lack fire and point, and he will often be long-winded, from his desire to say all that can possibly be said on his subject.

In healing, he is the perfect surgeon, and his best cures will be through surgery and electricity.

For the fifth ray, the method of approaching the Path is by scientific research, pushed to ultimate conclusions, and by the acceptance of the inferences which follow these.

B.I.5.f. The Sixth Ray of Devotion

• Special Virtues:
  Devotion, single-mindedness, love, tenderness, intuition, loyalty, reverence.
• Vices of Ray:
  Selfish and jealous love, over-leaning on others, partiality, [209] self-deception, sectarianism, superstition, prejudice, over-rapid conclusions, fiery anger.
• Virtues to be acquired:
  Strength, self-sacrifice, purity, truth, tolerance, serenity, balance and common sense.

This is called the ray of devotion. The man who is on this ray is full of religious instincts and impulses, and of intense personal feeling; nothing is taken equably. Everything, in his eyes, is either perfect or intolerable; his friends are angels, his enemies are very much the reverse; his view, in both cases, is formed not on the intrinsic merits of either class, but on the way the persons appeal to him, or on the sympathy or lack of sympathy which they shew to his favorite idols, whether these be concrete or abstract, for he is full of devotion, it may be to a person, or it may be to a cause.

He must always have a "personal God," an incarnation of Deity to adore. The best type of this ray makes the saint, the worst type, the bigot or fanatic, the typical martyr or the typical inquisitor. All religious wars or crusades have originated from sixth ray fanaticism. The man on this ray is often of gentle nature, but he can always flame into fury and fiery wrath. He will lay down his life for the objects of his devotion or reverence, but he will not lift a finger to help those outside of his immediate sympathies. As a soldier, he hates fighting but often when roused in battle fights like one possessed. He is never a great statesman nor a good business man, but he may be a great preacher or orator.

The sixth ray man will be the poet of the emotions (such as Tennyson) and the writer of religious books, either in poetry or prose. He is devoted to beauty and color and all things lovely, but his productive skill is not great unless under the [210] influence of one of the practically artistic rays, the fourth or seventh. His music will always be of a melodious order, and he will often be the composer of oratories and of sacred music.

The method of healing for this ray would be by faith and prayer.

The way of approaching the Path would be by prayer and meditation, aiming at union with God.

B.I.5.g. The Seventh Ray of Ceremonial Order or Magic

• Special Virtues:
  Strength, perseverance, courage, courtesy, extreme care in details, self-reliance.
• Vices of Ray:
  Formalism, bigotry, pride, narrowness, superficial judgments, self-opinion over-indulged.
• Virtues to be acquired:
  Realization of unity, wide-mindedness, tolerance, humility, gentleness and love.

This is the ceremonial ray, the ray which makes a man delight in "all things done decently and in order," and according to rule and precedent. It is the ray of the high priest and the court chamberlain, of the soldier who is a born genius in organization, of the ideal commissary general who will dress and feed the troops in the best possible way. It is the ray of the perfect nurse for the sick, careful in the smallest detail, though sometimes too much inclined to disregard the patients idiosyncrasies and to try and grind them in the iron mill of routine.

It is the ray of form, of the perfect sculptor, who sees and produces ideal beauty, of the designer of beautiful forms and patterns of any sort; but such a man would not be successful [211] as a painter unless his influencing ray were the fourth. The combination of four with seven would make the very highest type of artist, form and color being both in excelsis. The literary work of the seventh ray man would be remarkable for its ultra-polished style, and such a writer would think far more of the manner than of the matter in his work, but would always be fluent both in writing and speech. The seventh ray man will often be sectarian. He will delight in fixed ceremonials and observances, in great processions and shows, in reviews of troops and warships, in genealogical trees, and in rules of precedence.

The bad type of seventh ray man is superstitious, and such a man will take deep interest in omens, in dreams, in all occult practices, and in spiritualistic phenomena. The good type of the ray is absolutely determined to do the right thing and say the right word at the right moment; hence great social success.

In healing, the seventh ray man would rely on extreme exactness in carrying out orthodox treatment of disease. On him the practices of yoga would have no physical bad results.

He will approach the Path through observance of rules of practice and of ritual, and can easily evoke and control the elemental forces.

From many of the above remarks it may have been inferred that the characteristics of any given ray find closer correspondence with one of the other rays than with the rest. This is a fact. The only one which stands alone and has no close relationship with any of the others is the fourth. This brings to mind the unique position which the number four occupies in the evolutionary process. We have the fourth root race, the fourth planetary chain, the fourth planet in the chain, the fourth planetary manvantara, etc.

Between the third and the fifth rays there is a close relationship. [212] In the search after knowledge, for example, the most laborious and minute study of detail is the path that will be followed, whether in philosophy, the higher mathematics or in the pursuit of practical science.

The correspondence between the second and the sixth rays shews itself in the intuitive grasp of synthesized knowledge, and in the common bond of faithfulness and loyalty.

Masterfullness, steadfastness, and perseverance are the corresponding characteristics of the first and the seventh rays. [213]

B.II. The Rays and the Kingdoms in Nature

Introductory Remarks

In starting upon a consideration of the relation of the rays to the seven kingdoms I shall refer to the seven kingdoms on the upward or evolutionary arc, and not to the seven kingdoms as they can be enumerated on the involutionary or downward arc. This latter (according to the Theosophical literature) includes three kingdoms - nebulous, relatively formless, and unexpressed - and the four kingdoms as enumerated by modern science. With the involutionary arc we have nothing to do. The understanding of it is well nigh impossible to the finite mind of the average reader. Though these three involutionary kingdoms exist, and though the little known about them in the West has received written form, any real comprehension of the implied truths is entirely lacking. This is quite unavoidable. Their comprehension lies hid in the capacity to "recover" the past and to see that past as a whole.

The kingdoms which we shall consider in connection with the rays may be enumerated under the following terms:

1. The Mineral Kingdom. - VII
2. The Vegetable Kingdom. - VI
3. The Animal Kingdom. - V
4. The Kingdom of Men. - IV
5. The Kingdom of Souls. - III
6. The Kingdom of Planetary Lives. - II
7. The Kingdom of Solar Lives. - I [216]

These kingdoms might be regarded as differentiations of the One Life, from the angle of:

1. Phenomenal appearance, objective manifestation, or the externalization of the solar Logos.
2. Consciousness or sensitivity to the expression of quality, through the medium of the phenomenal appearance.

Certain of the rays, as might be expected, are more responsible than certain others for the qualifying of any particular kingdom. Their effect is paramount in its determination. The effect of the other rays is subsidiary, but not absent. We must never forget that, in the close interrelation of forces in our solar system, no one of the seven possible forces is without effect. All of them function, qualify and motivate, but one or other will have a more vital effect than the rest. The following tabulation will give the major effect of the seven rays and the result of their influence upon the seven kingdoms with which we are concerned:

No.	Kingdom	Ray	Expression
1.	Mineral	VII. Ceremonial Organization I. Will or Power	Radio-Activity. The basic Reservoir of Power.
2.	Vegetable	II. Love-Wisdom IV. Beauty or Harmony VI. Idealistic Devotion	Magnetism. Uniformity of Color. Upward Tendency.
3.	Animal	III. Adaptability VI. Devotion	Instinct. Domesticity.
4.	Human	IV. Harmony through Conflict V. Concrete Knowledge	Experience. Growth. Intellect. [217]
5.	Egoic or Souls	V. Concrete Knowledge II. Love-Wisdom	Personality. Intuition.
6.	Planetary Lives	VI. Devotion to Ideas III. Active Intelligence	The Plan. Creative Work.
7.	Solar Lives	I. Will or Power VII. Ceremonial Magic	Universal Mind. Synthetic Ritual.

You will note one interesting difference in this tabulation, and that is the fact that the vegetable kingdom is the expression of three rays, whereas the others are expressions of two. Through these three the vegetable kingdom has been brought to its present condition of supreme beauty and its developed symbolism of color. The vegetable kingdom is the outstanding contribution of our Earth to the general solar plan. Each of the planets contributes a unique and specialized quota to the sum total of evolutionary products, and the unique production of our particular planetary system is the vegetable kingdom. Other planets contribute forms and appearances which are their specific offering. It is needless for me to enumerate them here, for our language has no equivalent terms, and where there is no equivalent in language there is for mankind no equivalent in consciousness. The Earth, then, contributes the vegetable kingdom, and this is possible because it is the only kingdom in which three rays have finally succeeded in coalescing, in fusing and blending; they are also the three rays along a major line of forces, 2-4-6. When we come to a more detailed analysis of the rays and their effects on a kingdom in nature, we shall see why this has produced so unique a contribution. Its success is demonstrated in the uniformity of its production of green in the realm of color, throughout the entire planet.

You will note also that the mineral kingdom and the kingdom [218] of solar lives (the first and seventh kingdoms) are the result of the activity of the first and the seventh rays. There is a close numerological interlocking here. These two kingdoms are respectively at the point of the greatest tenuity and the greatest density, and are produced by the will and the organizing ability of the solar Deity. They embody the nebulous plan and the concretized plan. In the case of the seventh or highest kingdom (counting from below upwards) the Will aspect predominates and is the most powerful, whilst in the case of the mineral kingdom, the organization aspect is of the most importance. This was to be anticipated, for the energy of Will is the first effect of the initiating divine activity, whilst the densest aspect of ceremonial organization is the counterpart of the initial impulse, its concretization, if I might so express it. The other kingdoms in nature, as can be seen in our tabulation, are not so related.

It will be of value if we now analyze our tabulation with a measure of care and get a little clearer grasp of the effect and influence of the seven rays.

As long as the true nature of the atom and its internal organization remains a matter of investigation and of speculation and theory, the reader should regard what I here have to say in connection with this densest of all kingdoms as symbolically and pictorially true, but not to be taken literally. Just as the center at the base of the spine is the last one to be aroused into full functioning activity, and is thus aroused only when the head center is awakened and alive, so this lowest of all the kingdoms will be rightly understood only when all the seven kingdoms vibrate in unison. Until such time as this occurs, this kingdom and its life will remain an enigma, except to the initiate of high degree. All I can do is to make such suggestions as will arouse the abstract mind to activity and awaken interest to such a degree that the work of analysis and study will proceed. [219] Conclusions cannot be reached, however, and this must be realized.

Two rays are of prime importance in the Life of God as It pours through this basic substance of our planet. In the work of the seventh ray, we have earthy substance, the solid material of our planetary life, organized into the varying mineral forms. These mineral forms, in their turn, hold latent those sustaining and vitalizing elements from which other forms draw their sustenance. It must be remembered that each kingdom in nature is dependent upon and draws life from the kingdom which precedes it in the time sense, during the evolutionary cycle. Each kingdom is a reservoir of power and of vitality to the next kingdom which emerges under the divine Plan.

The vegetable kingdom, for instance, draws its vital strength from three sources, - the sun, the water and the earth. - In the building process it is the mineral content from the two latter sources that is of prime importance. The true structure of all forms is produced by the fabric of mineral products which is gradually built upon the etheric body, and which takes shape and form under a vital etheric urge, desire or impulse. It is the magnetic quality of the etheric body which attracts to itself the minerals needed for this skeleton form.

The animal kingdom, in turn, draws its sustenance primarily from the sun, the water and the vegetable kingdom. The mineral content required for the skeleton structure is therefore offered in a more advanced and sublimated form, being gathered out of the offering of the vegetable kingdom instead of out of that of the mineral kingdom. Each kingdom offers sacrifice to the next succeeding kingdom in the evolutionary sequence. The Law of Sacrifice determines the nature of each kingdom. Therefore each kingdom may be regarded as a [220] laboratory wherein are prepared those forms of nutriment which are needed for the building of ever more refined structures. The human kingdom follows the same procedure, and draws its life (from the form angle) out of the animal kingdom as well as from the sun, water and the vegetable world. In the early stages of human unfoldment, animal food was, therefore, both karmically and in essence, the correct food for man; and for unevolved men, and from the standpoint of the animal form, such food is still right and proper. This brings up the whole question of vegetarianism, and I shall deal with it when we come to consider the fourth kingdom. The situation is not at all what is often thought, or as presented by the thinkers of today, and meat eating - at a certain stage of human unfoldment - incurs no evil doing.

Out of the great experimental school of human existence the kingdom of souls draws sustenance and vitality, and in the interlocking and interrelation of these four divine organisms does the world of form live and move and have its being. There are certain parallels in the human organism and certain correspondences which are of interest, and they may be presented in the following manner:

 

The human kingdom	Brain Vocal organs	The two head centers.
The animal kingdom	Stomach Liver	The solar plexus.
The vegetable kingdom	Heart Lungs	The heart center. The throat center.
The mineral kingdom	Generative organs	The sacral center. The base of spine.

 

The relation of the seven centers to the various kingdoms in nature can be here seen, and the symbolism of the human form can be noted. The seven kingdoms as a whole can also be seen as having the following relations: [221]

 

1. Mineral kingdom	base of spine	Adrenals.
2. Vegetable kingdom	heart center	Thymus.
3. Animal kingdom	solar plexus	Pancreas.
4. Human kingdom	sacral center	Gonads.
5. Egoic kingdom	throat center	Thyroid.
6. Planetary kingdom	ajna center	Pituitary.
7. Solar kingdom	head center	Pineal.

 

A study of these correspondences will be of value if the student will remember that these are the correspondences studied at the first initiation. They differ at the later expansions of consciousness.

The influence of the organizing seventh ray is best seen in the amazing and geometrically perfect structure of the elements, as revealed by the microscope and by a study of the atom. As this treatise is intended for the reader who has no academic or scientific training, it will suffice to say that the mineral kingdom is a result of the "ritual of rhythm," as are all the basic forms upon which the myriad of structures in manifestation are constructed and founded. The system of numbers demonstrates in its fullest beauty in this kingdom, and there is no form and no numerological relation which cannot be discovered in minute form in this foundational kingdom, under the occult microscopic vision. Two factors determine the structures found in the mineral kingdom:

1. The seventh great impulse, or the will to organize.
2. The urge to create, or the initial rhythm which led the solar Logos to take form.

The work of the seventh Lord and of the first Lord is essentially the work of the architect and of the magician, and Their efforts are seen to perfection in the mineral world. This will not, however, be realized in full potency and magical revelation until the inner eye of true vision is developed and the forms underlying the creative work in the other kingdoms in [222] nature are seen in their real values. The secrets of transmutation are the true secrets of this particular kingdom, and the two words expressing the process and the secret are condensation and transmutation. Each kingdom has its key words, which can be translated, though most inadequately, as follows:

 

Kingdom	Process	Secret	Objective
1. Mineral	Condensation	Transmutation	Radiation.
2. Vegetable	Conformation	Transformation	Magnetization.
3. Animal	Concretization	Transfusion	Experimentation.
4. Human	Adaptation	Translation	Transfiguration.
5. Egoic	Externalization	Manifestation	Realization.

A general picture of the creative intent emerges as one considers the significance of these words. The objectives and processes of the two highest kingdoms are too advanced for the average student to grasp, and constitute likewise two of the secrets of the higher initiation.

As this treatise is intended to be a practical attempt to elucidate the new psychology, and as its objective is to increase man's understanding of himself, it is not my intention to do more than convey a few ideas anent the rays and their relation to the three subhuman kingdoms in nature. In all esoteric writings it is necessary to show the synthesis and the continuity of the whole process of evolution, for only as man appreciates his position, midway between the higher three kingdoms and the lower three, will the true significance of the contribution of the fourth kingdom to the entire scheme of evolution appear. I have given several tabulations of correspondences and of the ray influences, and these warrant careful study. It is, for instance, apparent that if the seventh ray is now coming into power, and if its effect upon the lower kingdoms is beginning to be felt, then humanity must be prepared for such changes as are inevitable.

Left alone and unaided, man would eventually discover for [223] himself the designated events; but it would take much time and only in retrospect would the broad general outlines of the evolutionary process emerge from the mass of detail in which they are lost in the immediate present and foreground. By a willingness to study the truths that are sent out, from time to time, from the occult centers of the world, and through a readiness to act on suggested hypothesis will man increase his capacity to see life whole, and be able therefore to cooperate (with power and intelligence) in the working out of the Plan.

I dealt above with the Process, the Secret and the Purpose. For right understanding I shall now give you a synopsis of the information, concerning each kingdom, as it comes under consideration.

B.II.1. The Mineral Kingdom

• Influence: The seventh ray of organization and the first ray of power are the dominant factors.
• Results: The evolutionary results are radiation and potency, a static potency, underlying the rest of the natural scheme.
• Process: Condensation.
• Secret: Transmutation. The Treatise on Cosmic Fire defines this as follows: "Transmutation is the passage across from one state of being to another through the agency of fire."
• Purpose: To demonstrate the radioactivity of life.
• Divisions: Base metals, standard metals, precious stones.
• Objective agency: Fire. Fire is the initiating factor in this kingdom.
• Subjective agency: Sound.
• Quality: Extreme density. Inertia. Brilliance. [224]

Students must remember that we are not dealing with the elements and atoms, as we study this kingdom. They are the substance out of which all the mineral forms are made. But we are dealing with the mineral forms as they manifest in the concrete world. We are considering the tangible and objective world. The internal constitution and geometrical formation of the minerals do not come under our subject matter. This is not a scientific treatise, as usually understood, but a study in quality and consciousness as they affect the form aspect. Much, if not nearly all that exoteric science has posited regarding the mineral kingdom can, for ordinary uses, be accepted as relative fact. But two points should be considered, and they are:

1. The consciousness aspect of the mineral world.
2. The transmutation of forms by fire in that kingdom, leading to an ultimate radiation.

The best known example of the effect of the initiation of the mineral by fire can be seen in the great transition and transformation, allotropically brought about, from the carbon stage to that of the perfect diamond. A further qualitative stage can be seen as the radiation or the throwing off of rays, as in radium.

That there are three stages in the evolutionary processes in the mineral kingdom must be borne in mind, and these (though apparently unrelated to each other from the angle of modern science) are nevertheless subjectively and essentially part of a tremendous inner process. These stages are the correspondences in the mineral kingdom to the stages of animal consciousness, of self-consciousness, and of the radiant group consciousness of the soul. There is a fourth stage of potency or of organized expressed power, but this lies ahead, and is the analogy in this kingdom to the life of the Monad, as expresses in the solar consciousness of the initiates of high degree. [225]

Just as science has discovered the ninety-two elements so that the list of the possible elements is relatively complete, so eventually science will have arranged the progressive tables which will show the three stages of the life cycle of every mineral leading from the static mineral stage, such as carbon, through that of the crystal, semi-precious stone and precious stone to that of the radioactive substance. In the determining of this development it is impossible for man as yet to see the relations, for the cycles covered are so vast, the action of the fire in these tremendous periods so varying, and the recognition of the intermediate stages so difficult, that aught that I could say would but feed amusement and incredulity. But two basic premises can be laid down:

1. That the many mineral substances fall naturally into seven main groups, corresponding to the seven subdivisions of the influencing rays, those of organization and power.
2. That only in those world cycles when the seventh ray is in manifestation, and therefore supremely powerful, do certain hidden changes take place in these seven groups. These are the correspondences, in the mineral evolution, to the seven initiations of man.

At these times there is an increased radiatory activity. This can be noted at this time in the discovery of radioactive substance, as the incoming ray increases its potency, decade by decade. A certain amount of radiation is basic and fundamental in any world cycle. But when the seventh ray comes in there is an intensification of that radiation, and new substances appear to come into new activity. This intensification leaves the entire mineral kingdom, as a whole, more radioactive than before, until this increased radiation becomes in its turn basic and fundamental. As the seventh ray passes cyclically out of [226] manifestation a certain measure of inertia settles down on the kingdom, though that which is radiatory continues its activity. In this way the radiation of the mineral world steadily increases as the cycles come and go, and there is necessarily a paralleling effect upon the higher three kingdoms. People today have no idea what effect this radiation (due to the incoming ray) will have, not only upon the surrounding mineral world but on the vegetable kingdom (which has its roots in the mineral kingdom), and upon men and animals in lesser degree. The power of the incoming cosmic rays has called forth the more easily recognized radioactivity with which modern science is now concerned. It was three seventh ray disciples who "interpreted" these rays to man. I refer to the Curies and to Millikan. Being themselves on the seventh ray, they had the necessary psychic equipment and responsiveness to enable them intuitively to recognize their own ray vibration in the mineral kingdom.

The seventh ray is one of organized ritual, and in form building this quality is basic and necessary. The processes found in the mineral kingdom are profoundly geometrical. The first ray is that of dynamic will or power, and - speaking symbolically - when perfected forms and organized vehicles and dynamic power are related and unified, then we shall have a full expression, at the point of deepest and densest concretion, of the mind of God in form, with a radiation which will be dynamically effective.

Again speaking symbolically (and what else is possible when dealing with a mechanism as yet so inadequate as the mind and brain of the average aspirant?), the mineral kingdom marks the point of unique condensation. This is produced under the action of fire and by the pressure of the "divine idea." Esoterically speaking, we have, in the mineral world, the divine [227] Plan hidden in the geometry of a crystal, and God's radiant beauty stored in the color of a precious stone. In miniature and at the lowest point of manifestation, we find the divine concepts working out. The goal of the universal concept is seen when the jewel rays forth its beauty, and when radium sends forth its rays, both destructive and constructive. If you could really understand the history of a crystal, you would enter into the glory of God. If you could enter into the attractive and the repulsive consciousness of a piece of iron or lead, you would see revealed the complete story of evolution. If you could study the hidden processes which go on under the influence of fire, you would enter into the secret of initiation. When the day comes when the history of the mineral kingdom can be grasped by the illumined seer, he will then see the long road that the diamond has traveled, and - by analogy - the long road that all sons of God traverse, governed by the same laws and unfolding the same consciousness.

The seventh ray, when manifesting on the seventh plane (as is now the case), is peculiarly potent, and its effect upon the mineral kingdom is consequently dynamically felt. If it is true that there is only one substance and one spirit, that "matter is spirit at the lowest point of its cyclic activity" and spirit is matter at its highest, then the ray of ceremonial order or ritual is but an expression of its polar opposite, - the first ray of will or power. It is the expression of the same potency under another aspect. This means therefore that:

1. The power or will of God expresses itself through the organized systematized processes of the seventh ray. The geometrical faculty of the Universal Mind finds its most material perfection on the physical or seventh plane, working through the seventh ray. So the mineral kingdom came into being as this major expression. It holds in [228] solution all the forces and those chemicals and minerals which are needed by the forms in the other material kingdoms.
2. The mineral kingdom is therefore the most concrete expression of the dual unity of power and order. It constitutes the "foundation" of the ordered physical structure or the universe of our planet.
3. The rhythmic ritualistic adaptability of the seventh ray, plus the dynamic will of the power ray, are needed in conjunction for the full working out of the Plan, as it is found in the mind of God.

This is why, in this present period of transition, the Lord of the seventh ray is taking over the control of affairs and the ordered working out of the Plan, so as eventually to restore stability to the planet and give the incoming Aquarian influences a stable and extended field in which to work. This we shall later elaborate when we take up the study of the zodiacal signs and their relation to the rays.

We shall now touch upon the next two points, - condensation and its hidden secret, transmutation. From the standpoint of external matter, the mineral kingdom marks the densest expression of the life of God in substance, and its outstanding, though oft unrealized, characteristic is imprisoned or unexpressed power. Speaking in symbols, a volcano in eruption is a mild expression of this power. From the standpoint of esoteric substance, the four ethers are far more dense and "substantial." This modern science has also told us, positing the hypothetical ether. This fifth kingdom (counting occultly from the egoic kingdom downwards) is a reflection of these four ethers, and the point of their densest concretion. Just as they "substand" or form the basis of the manifested world, and are regarded as the "true form," so the mineral kingdom is the fundamental kingdom in the three worlds, under the Law of Correspondences. [229] It is, in a most peculiar sense, "precipitated etheric substance," and is a condensation or externalization of the etheric planes. This solidification or precipitation - resulting in the production of dense objective or solid matter - is the tangible result of the interplay of the energies and qualities of the first and seventh rays. Their united will and ordered rhythm have produced this Earth and the molten content of the planet, regarding the earth as the crust.

In the turning of the great wheel, cycle after cycle, these two rays come into functioning activity, and in between their objective cycles the other rays dominate and participate in the great work. The result of this interplay of psychic potencies will manifest in the eventual transmutation of the earth substance, and its resolution back again into that of which it is the objective condensation. Again language fails to find the needed terms. They are as yet non-existent. I mention this as an indication of the difficulty of our subject. Intangible etheric substance has been condensed into the dense tangible objective world. This - under the evolutionary plan - has to be again transmuted into its original condition, plus the gain of ordered rhythm and the tendencies and qualities wrought into the consciousness of its atoms and elements through the experience of externalization. This resolution is noted by us as radiation and the radioactive substances. We are looking on at the transmutation process. The resolving agencies are fire, intense heat and pressure. These three agencies have already succeeded in bringing about the divisions of the mineral kingdom into three parts: the baser metals, as they are called, the standard metals (such as silver and gold and platinum), and the semi-precious stones and crystals. The precious jewels are a synthesis of all three, - one of the basic syntheses of evolution. In this connection, some correspondences between the [230] mineral kingdom and the human evolutionary cycles might here be noted:

1. The base metals - physical plane. Dense consciousness.
   The first initiation.
2. The standard metals - astral plane. Self-consciousness.
   The second initiation.
3. The semi-precious stones - mental plane. Radiant consciousness.
   The third initiation.
4. The precious jewels - Egoic consciousness and achievement.
   The fourth initiation.

The correspondences of fire, heat and pressure in the evolution of the human being are self-evident, and their work can be seen paralleling that in the mineral kingdom.

The mineral kingdom is governed astrologically by Taurus, and there is a symbolic relation between the "eye" in the head of the Bull, the third eye, the light in the head, and the diamond. The consciousness of the Buddha has been called the "diamond-eye."

We have been technical, and much has been given which seems to have no bearing upon the psychological development of man. But to understand the rays and their bearing on life as a whole, it is necessary that man should grasp the fact that he is only a small fraction of that whole. Man has his roots in all the three kingdoms; all have contributed to his equipment; he is the macrocosm of the lower microcosm; he is the link which unites the three lower kingdoms to the three higher. Let it ever be borne in mind that the sign of man's spiritual unfoldment lies in his ability to include in his consciousness not only the so-called spiritual values and the power to react to soul contact, but also to include the material values, and to react divinely to the potencies which lie hidden from him [231] in the custody of the other forms of divine life, found in the three subhuman kingdoms.

In the urgency of the present world situation, it might be well to ask: What need is there to study the rays and kingdoms of nature? Of what profit is it to speculate on matters of which it is as yet impossible for the average student to apprehend the truth? Such questions are intelligent and worth while and merit an intelligent reply. I shall make answer by asking another question: What indication has the would-be server that his mental equipment makes him of any use in this present world crisis?

One of the first things that any teacher of the race has to do is to increase the mental equipment of the would-be server. The work is oft-times handicapped by the devoted offering of the emotional aspirant. The Plan is oft-times delayed in its fruition by the ill-timed and ill-judged efforts of the earnest follower of the Great Lord. Above all else the work is handicapped by the personality reactions of the leaders of the groups dedicated to esotericism. All personality reactions are, in the majority of cases, based upon emotion of some kind or another. Personal ambition, the desire (sometimes unrecognized) to be the supreme authority in a particular group, fear of interlopers and of terminologies (expressing identical truths), and jealousy of other leaders, plus a sincere though foggy and deluded interpretation of truth, are a great detriment to the cause of the Hierarchy. And everywhere these things are to be seen! The seat of all this trouble is to be found in the desire-feeling-emotional body, and in an undue attachment to externals and forms. These factors prevent that clear-seeing which leads to wise and cooperative action. If the mental equipment and the mental apprehension of truth can be increased, then it may be possible for real work to be done, and then the groups (that form the One Group) can go forward [232] into real usefulness. To this end it may be profitable to provide material whereby the mental bodies of the students can grow, and wherein they can find sustenance and the means to develop. Few people can evolve from within themselves the thoughts and the ideas which should lead them on in the realization of truth; and those of us therefore who are responsible for the teaching of the race must perforce provide that which is required. Also, in so doing we work for the coming generation of enquirers, knowing full well that the advanced teaching of today, and the new ideas which influence the pioneers of humanity, become the inspiration of the thinking public in the succeeding generation, and the theology, in due time, of that which follows them. The beliefs and knowledges of the esotericists today (of the real spiritual esotericists, not of the so-called esoteric groups) are resolved into the formulas of faith of their successors, and become eventually identified with religious beliefs and organizations.

Mental comprehension of the ray teaching, and the study of the rays in relation to evolving nature, are of mental importance and of spiritual import, but of no practical value in the living of the daily life, except in so far as they serve to shift the polarization of the aspirant off the emotional plane on to the mental, and thereby produce alignment and stabilization.

We now come to a consideration of the rays of the vegetable kingdom. It is difficult for us to grasp the significance of the consciousness and the activity of the mineral kingdom, for it is so far removed from our own. It is hard for us really to understand, with our seeing consciousness, the fact that, for instance, our nails and teeth and bony structure have a consciousness and an intelligent awareness that is the same in kind, though differing in degree, as that of the eye or of a sensory nerve. But so it is. As we approach the forms of life which approximate the living tissue of our animal bodies, our [233] appreciation of resemblance and of identical possibilities increases step by step. It is only by arguing from analogy that we grasp esoteric truth, and it might bring us some illumination if we realized that there are higher forms of life and consciousness in the cosmos who find it as difficult to throw their consciousness down into the animal forms of humanity as we would find it hard to project ourselves into the consciousness of an iron plowshare. But again, so it is.

Let us now tabulate some of the available ideas and information.

B.II.2. The Vegetable Kingdom

• Influences: The second Ray of Love-wisdom, working out in a vastly increased sensibility.
  The fourth Ray of Harmony and Beauty, working out in the general harmonization of this kingdom throughout the entire planet.
  The sixth Ray of Devotion or (as it has been expressed symbolically in The Ancient Wisdom) the "urge to consecrate the life to the Sun, the giver of that life," or again, the "urge to turn the eye of the heart to the heart of the sun."
• Results: These work out in the second kingdom as magnetism, perfume, color and growth towards the light. These words I commend to you for your earnest study, for it is in this kingdom that one first sees clearly the glory which lies ahead of humanity:
  1. Magnetic radiation. The blending of the mineral and vegetable goals.
  2. The perfume of perfection.
  3. The glory of the human aura. The radiant augoeides.
  4. Aspiration which leads to final inspiration. [234]
• Process: Conformation, or the power to "conform" to the pattern set in the heavens, and to produce below that which is found above. This is done in this kingdom with greater pliability than in the mineral kingdom, where the process of condensation goes blindly forward.
• Secret: Transformation. Those hidden alchemical processes which enable the vegetable growths in this kingdom to draw their sustenance from the sun and soil, and to "transform" it into form and color.
• Purpose: Magnetism. That inner source of beauty, loveliness and attractive power which lures to it the higher forms of life, leading the animal forms to consume it for food, and the thinking entities to draw from it inspiration, comfort and satisfaction of a mental kind.
• Divisions: Trees and shrubs.
  The flowering plants.
  The grasses and the lesser green things which do not come under the other two categories. A group of vegetable growths which are found under the general heading of sea growths.
• Objective agency: Water.
• Subjective agency: Touch.
• Quality: Rajas or activity.

It is not my intention to give in this treatise what the reader can discover in the academic textbooks of our colleges. It is not my work to parallel the information found in the exoteric teachings and theologies of our modern sciences. I seek to indicate the synthesis which underlies the whole, and to point out the continuity of consciousness which can be noted by the esotericist. In so doing the part is seen to be integrated in the [235] sum total, in a manner different to that which can be seen when considering the form. It is the world of causes with which we are primarily concerned, and even when we consider and study that which we include under the heading of "results," it is as they demonstrate as initiated causes that we best arrive at their significance. It is as we grasp the radiatory potency of the mineral kingdom that we can begin to investigate the base of the evolutionary ladder and grasp the first steps taken by the life of God, through the medium of manifested forms. If, at the close of this writing, the student can grasp somewhat the meaning of those symbolic words, - Radiation, Magnetism, Experiment, Transmutation and Realization - and can understand that they embody the purpose and goal of each of the five kingdoms in nature with which we are basically concerned, then the emerging reality of consciousness will be seen, and the prevailing synthesis will be grasped.

B.II.2.a. Life-Radiance-Magnetism

We are told in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali that "By mastery of the binding life comes radiance," and in these words can be found the clue to the relation existing between the mineral and the human kingdoms. In other words, by the conscious control of the static mineral nature, as it expresses itself in man, comes his eventual radiatory activity. Thus "the spark becomes the flame." (Patanjali: III.40, The Light of the Soul.) It will be found that in the sutras much effective correlation can be made, particularly when considering any of the various quintuples found in manifestation with such frequency. This book is a basic treatise for initiatory training. Take, as an illustration of this, the words found in Book III.44, and note the illumination thrown upon the evolutionary cycle and on the symbolic development of the five kingdoms in nature: [236]

"One-pointed meditation upon the five forms which every element takes produces mastery over every element. These five forms are the gross nature, the elemental form, the quality, the pervasiveness and the basic purpose."

You have, therefore, an analogy for consideration:

1. The gross nature - the mineral kingdom.
2. The elemental form - the vegetable kingdom.
3. The quality - the animal kingdom.
4. The pervasiveness - the human kingdom.
5. The basic purpose - the kingdom of souls.

Note also the correlation of ideas which can be found as we study the words:

"By one-pointed meditation upon the relationship existing between the body and the akasha, ascension out of matter (the three worlds) and power to travel in space is gained."
- Patanjali: III.42. (The Light of the Soul, page 338.)

Here it is apparent how valuable is the teaching of this sutra, when the consciousness aspect is held carefully in mind, and how the relationships, on a larger scale than the simply human, become clear:

1. The body - mineral kingdom
   the dense prison of life.
2. The akasha - vegetable kingdom
   the fluid conscious life.
3. Ascension out of matter - animal kingdom
   the evolutionary goal of the relation between body and akasha.
4. Power to travel in space - human kingdom
   the goal of the human consciousness through the realization of the above three.

It is the inner relations with which I deal in this treatise, [237] and with the inner ray influences, which bring about the desired outer results. It is the goal of the evolving consciousness which I seek to make clear. Science can handle with skill and insight the evolution of form. I shall endeavor to lay the ground for that coming science (of which modern psychology is the experimental beginning) which will deal as easily with the evolution of consciousness as modern science deals with the form expressions of life. Only when that newer science has been brought to the point of development at which material science now stands will it be possible to consider the evolution of life, through consciousness in form. I have here made a basic and synthetic statement which needs grasping. Those whose consciousness is expanding out of the human to the egoic will follow my reasoning with a measure of facility.

A very apposite question might here be asked: What determines the ray which should govern or predominantly influence any or all of the various kingdoms in nature? It should be remembered that every kingdom, viewing it as a whole, is an entity, and (from its form side) the sum total of all forms constitutes that entity's body of manifestation. In the last analysis also, the aggregate of self-initiated influences, or the magnetic radiation of that particular kingdom, is an expression of that entity's basic quality or qualities, - the aura of that entity's personality. Two rays govern each kingdom in nature, except in the case of the vegetable kingdom, where three rays indicate the nature of that kingdom's life. Students will possibly find it helpful to consider this problem from the angle of analogy, and to realize that they (as well as every other human being) are governed or actuated by two rays, i.e., the personality ray and the egoic ray. After the third initiation, the disciple has three rays active in him, for the ray of the Monad begins then to make its presence felt. An analogous condition is found in all the kingdoms in nature. Two rays are [238] dominant in each kingdom, but in the vegetable kingdom three rays control, for that kingdom is more evolved (along its own peculiar lines) than any other. What might be regarded as the monadic ray of the Life of that kingdom is functioning. This whole matter must not be viewed from the standpoint of human consciousness, and the human standards of unfoldment and of awareness must not be regarded as holding prominent place in this evolution of divine life. This living entity has a different objective to the Life which informs the fourth kingdom in nature. Nevertheless three basic logoic influences, three major breaths, or three ray vibrations account for this kingdom's life-quality and appearance. This whole matter is too intricate for real comprehension, and the reader would do well simply to accept the statements I make, with reservations, and realize that when he himself is a member of the great company of initiates of the wisdom, that which is at present inexplicable to him may be made clear, and when fitted into its rightful place in the scheme of things will not seem so extraordinary or peculiar.

B.II.2.b. The Five Secrets of the Kingdoms in Nature

There is a secret anent each of the five kingdoms in nature. These secrets concern the relation of the human evolution to the whole, and they are revealed to the initiate at the five initiations. At each initiation one of the five secrets is explained to the initiate, and they are called by the following five names, which are an attempt on my part to interpret symbolically the ancient name or sign:

1. The mineral kingdom - The secret of the brilliance of the light.
2. The vegetable kingdom - The secret of the sacred perfume.
3. The animal kingdom - The secret of the following scent.
4. The human kingdom - The secret of the double path or of the double breath. [239]
5. The kingdom of souls - The secret of the golden rose of light.

The symbolic forms in which these five secrets are hidden, and so conveyed to the intelligence of the initiate, are as follows:

1. The mineral secret - A diamond, blue white in color.
2. The vegetable secret - A cube of sandalwood in the heart of the lotus.
3. The animal secret - A bunch of cypress, over a funeral urn.
4. The human secret - A twisted golden cord, with seven knots.
5. The egoic secret - A closed lotus bud with seven blue rays.

Be all this as it may, certain of the seven logoic influences are at this time dominant in the five kingdoms; in four cases, two rays control; in the case of the vegetable kingdom, three rays control. It must not be forgotten that these rays are related to each other, and in the great interlacing and interlocking of the planetary and the solar forces every kingdom comes under the influence of every ray, yet with certain rays always controlling and certain others dominating cyclically. The rays determine the quality of the manifesting life and indicate the type of the appearance.

In resuming our consideration of the three divisions of the vegetable kingdom it might be stated that...

• Ray VI - determines the type, family, appearance, strength, size and nature of the trees upon our planet.
• Ray II - is the beneficent influence, expressing itself through the cereals and flowers.
• Ray IV - is the life quality, expressing itself through the grasses and the smaller forms of vegetable life, - those which provide the "green carpet whereon the angels dance."

An important symbolic happening has been consummated [240] at the close of this Piscean Age, which is the period of the sixth ray influence. This has been the worldwide devastation of the forests of the world. Everywhere they have been sacrificed to the needs of man. Thus have been brought under the influence of fire, those vegetable forms of life which were ready for the initiation. The major agency in the development of this kingdom has been water, and this new development, this bringing together of fire and water in this kingdom, has constituted the subjective fact which brought the steam age into being. The vast forest fires, which form such a menace at this time in different parts of the world, are also related to this "initiation by fire" of a kingdom hitherto controlled and directed in its growth by the element of water.

Similarly, the coming in of the seventh ray inaugurated a tremendous event in the mineral kingdom. This I referred to in an earlier book. Through the effect of sound and fire, the mineral kingdom has also been initiated, and in the great world war, in the steel factories and the other factories where metal is transmuted into articles for the use of man, the world of minerals, and the entity which informs that world, are passing through a major initiation. This was made possible by the personality ray of the entity, manifesting through this kingdom, subjecting itself to the initiatory fire. This is of course expressed symbolically, - the only way in which any aspect of this planetary truth can be grasped by man. It is an interesting, though quite unimportant fact, that at all the initiations of the kingdoms in nature, the planetary Logos of a particular ray always functions as the Initiator. This ray cyclically alters. In the major initiations at this time, for instance, in connection with humanity, not only is the first Initiator, the Christ, officiating, not only is the Ancient of Days, the embodiment of our planetary Logos, participating (either actively or behind [241] the scenes), but behind Them both stands now the Lord of the fifth Ray of Knowledge and Understanding.

One point of interest might here be noted. It is known esoterically that the vegetable kingdom is the transmitter and the transformer of the vital pranic fluid to the other forms of life on our planet. That is its divine and unique function. This pranic fluid, in its form of the astral light, is the reflector of the divine akasha. The second plane therefore reflects itself in the astral plane. Those who seek to read the akashic records, or who endeavor to work upon the astral plane with impunity, and there to study the reflection of events in the astral light correctly, have perforce and without exception to be strict vegetarians. It is this ancient Atlantean lore which lies behind the vegetarian's insistence upon the necessity for a vegetarian diet, and which gives force and truth to this injunction. It is the failure to conform to this wise rule which has brought about the misinterpretations of the astral and akashic records by many of the psychics of the present time, and has given rise to the wild and incorrect reading of past lives. Only those who have been for ten years strict vegetarians can work thus in what might be called the "record aspect of the astral light." When they add to their purified astral and physical bodies the light of reason and illumination of the focused mind (which is very rarely found), then they become accurate interpreters of astral phenomena. Their link with the vegetable kingdom is then very close and unbreakable, and that link or binding chain will lead them through the door to the scene of their investigations. But unless the goal of a vegetarian diet is this field of service, the arguments for its following and for that form of diet are usually futile and of no real moment. From the standpoint of the eternal verities, what a man eats or wears are seen in a connotation very different to that of the one-pointed fanatic. Let me again reiterate [242] that this whole problem of the taking of life (whether in the vegetable or the animal kingdom) is a far bigger one than we know, and should be approached from an angle different (not only in degree but in kind) to that of the taking of life in the human family. The three aspects of divinity meet in man, and with the destiny of a divine son of God no one must interfere. Where the two aspects of divinity are concerned, as in the subhuman kingdoms, the attitude can be otherwise, and the emerging truth is different to that which the little minds believe.

The influence of the three rays, blended together in the vegetable kingdom, being also the three rays of even numbers, 2. 4. 6, has produced a fourfold perfection in this kingdom which is unparalleled in any other. The rays are responsible for this result, and their effect can be seen in the following analysis:

• Ray II - The result of this influence, pouring cyclically through the kingdom, has been to produce its magnetism, its attractiveness.
• Ray IV - This ray of struggle and of conflict has as its objective the production of harmony between form and life, and has brought about the synthesis and the harmony of color in nature. As we say the words, "color in nature," automatically we think of the vegetable kingdom and its achievement of harmony in vegetation.
• Ray VI - Growth towards the light is the effect of this ray influence, plus the normal tendency of all life-forms to evolve. It has brought the latent seeds of the vegetable kingdom, inherent within the soil, to the surface. It constitutes the energy of externalization.

The united effect of these three rays, working in unison, has been to bring forth the fourth result, the perfume of the flowers, as found in the higher units of the vegetable kingdom. This perfume can be either deadly or vitalizing, and can either [243] delight or repel. It attracts and constitutes part of the aroma of this kingdom which is sensed in the planetary aura, though unrecognized as a whole by humanity. You isolate a perfume. Yet the perfume of an entire kingdom is a well recognized phenomenon to the initiate.

Students would find it of interest to trace similar analogies in the other kingdoms in nature, remembering however that this kingdom is esoterically ahead of the others, for there are three rays participating in its perfecting. It might be stated that three rays will ultimately affect each of the other three kingdoms.

During the next subrace, ray two will begin to influence the mineral kingdom.

In the next root race, ray five will commence to pour its power into the animal kingdom, gradually stimulating the instinctual mind of the animal until it vibrates to the ray of the intellect, of knowledge. This will bring about an organizing of the animal brain, and the transfer of the power of the solar plexus center to the head center, and consequently a shift in the animal polarization and an added activity of the brain in the head.

Towards the close of this round, the monadic ray of the advanced units of humanity will be so powerful that there will be a marked pouring in of ray one, with its stimulation of the individual will. You will therefore have in this unfoldment of the will aspect of mankind the following stages, which are of psychological importance.

1. Instinct.
2. Emotional aspiration.
3. Intellect.
4. Mental one-pointedness.
5. Egoic purpose.
6. Spiritual will.
7. Divine intent.

These stages are latent in all of us, and are related to the seven principles of man. They will express themselves in [244] advanced humanity as "aspects of the psyche," and therefore psychologically, during the later stages of human development. They should begin to be of greater interest to investigators and to educators who should seek to develop them in the child and the adolescent. They work out today as marked stages in the development of all disciples and initiates. They indicate place upon the Path. Hence their practical usefulness.

In the kingdom of souls, ray four will complete the work of the next two rounds, but this period is so far distant that with it we need not concern ourselves.

In the vegetable kingdom, the work of the second ray of Love-Wisdom is seen, symbolically, in one of its major consummations. Attractiveness, in the sense of beauty, of color, of form, of distribution, and of perfume, is to be seen on every hand, and had you but the eyes to vision the reality, the synthesis of life would appear to you in all its glory. But just as the last of the five senses to make its presence felt in man, the sense of smell, is as yet but little understood, and its implications are not realized, whilst its relation to the analytical and discriminative mind is not appreciated scientifically, so the "attractiveness" (esoterically speaking) of the vegetable kingdom remains uncomprehended. It is the radiant garment of the planet, and is revealed by the sun; it is the achieved expression of the informing life of this kingdom in nature, and is the effect of the manifestation of the three divine and functioning aspects of this "peculiar" son of divinity, as he works out his destiny in form and through matter.

The entire problem of magnetism is closely connected with the problem of sex. In the occult study of the dissemination of the seed life and the germs of the vegetable kingdom, and in the understanding of the part played therein by those miraculously developed organisms, - the ants and bees - and later in the investigation of the work of the etheric builders, the elves [245] and fairies, by those with awakened vision, will come a new light upon sex and upon the function it serves in the interrelation of lives and the creation of forms. With this aspect of this deeply esoteric truth I cannot here deal, for it is the effect of activity in the solar lives of the solar system, and with these we cannot concern ourselves. It is not possible to handle the subject in such a way as to make it of constructive value to the average reader. What is not of immediate esoteric value at this time of world urgency may well be relegated to a later time.

B.II.2.c. The Planets and the Kingdoms

In the vegetable kingdom the influence of Venus is predominant, amazing as this may seem to some occult students. Venus and Jupiter together powerfully influence this world of forms.

It might be of interest to note that all the planets have a close relation to all the kingdoms, but that this relation should not be confounded with the planetary rays or with the fact that some of the planets are considered as "sacred planets" and some are not. I am here using the words "planetary influence" in the same sense as the astrologer uses them, for he is not dealing, either, with the basic planetary rays. It might be stated therefore that the planetary relations in this cycle are as follows:

1. The mineral kingdom - Pluto and Vulcan.
2. The vegetable kingdom - Venus and Jupiter.
3. The animal kingdom - The Moon and Mars.
4. The human kingdom - Mercury and Saturn.
5. The kingdom of souls - Neptune and Uranus.
6. Synthesizing these five - The Sun.

There are other planetary influences to be felt, and hidden forces likewise play upon our planetary life, but these are the [246] major influences bringing about the desired results in the kingdoms of nature under the Plan. It must be remembered that these are the cyclic influences dominant at this time, and that they change from cycle to cycle. For instance, a disciple who is upon the path is strongly influenced by Mercury and by Saturn, but when he begins his training for the first initiation he has to contend with the influences of Pluto and Vulcan; the training for the second initiation brings him under Neptunian influences, with Venus and Jupiter contending for control. The link with the vegetable kingdom is then strong, and hence the frequent recognition of "astral perfumes" which the disciple can note. Before the first initiation, the static mineral world within him has been broken up.

At the third initiation, the Moon and Mars struggle to assume ascendancy, and there is his battleground. Hence at the great Transfiguration, the body is "transfigured" as the indication of triumph. At the fourth initiation, Mercury and Saturn act as the great translators, and bring the disciple to the door of realization. When the final initiation is taken, it is the activity of Uranus and the inpouring force of Jupiter that bring about the reorganization which results in the final emancipation. The vastness and complexity of the subject thus become apparent.

In the emergence of color in the vegetable kingdom another vast influence is seen, and the problem of the ray influences becomes still more complicated. In the basic color, green, we have the indication of the potency of Saturn. Esoterically speaking, the vegetable kingdom is upon an advanced stage of the path of discipleship, and hence Saturn and Mars are active. The influence of the latter planet is to be seen in the prevalence of the colors red, rose, yellow and orange in the flowers at this time.

Again, readers would find it interesting to note mentally the relation of growth to the idealism of the sixth ray. They [247] could learn therefrom the part that the Ray of Devotion plays in bringing about the urge to evolve. It is growth towards an ideal, or towards a divine prototype or archetype. Here is where the secret of this kingdom appears. The secret is hidden in the word "transformation," for the rays 2.4.6 are the great transformers. The clue to the secret is to be found in the processes of assimilation and in the building forces that transmute the assimilated minerals, the absorbed moisture, the food in the air, and the proffered offering of the insect kingdoms into the manifested bodies, the radiant colors, the magnetic auras, and the distilled perfumes of this kingdom. Much along this line has been the subject of investigation by the modern scientist, but until he recognizes the fact of ray influences, and the part they play in the producing of these factors, he will fail to discover the true secret of the transformations which he notes.

It will appear, therefore, to the careful reader, that in the relation of the rays to the kingdoms in nature, and in the similarity of the rays found functioning in widely differing kingdoms, will be found their point of contact or door of entry, whereby they can contact each other.

For instance, the human and the vegetable kingdoms find their point of influential entry (using the words in the esoteric sense) through ray four, which influences the forms in both kingdoms. The relation between the vegetable kingdom and the kingdom of souls is found along the second ray. Ray two is beginning to make its presence felt in the mineral kingdom, and hence man's work with, and facility in using materially, the forms in this kingdom. Perhaps I should say, misusing them. Ray five will before long, as we have noted, make its power felt in the animal kingdom, and an ever closer relation will then be set up between men and animals.

Again, the rays in incarnation at any time will establish [248] relations between the kingdoms, increasing the interplay of forces and the interchange of energies, and thus producing new effects, new forms of life, and new wonders in the world of phenomena. Man is also apt to think that his ray influences (the ray predominant in his own kingdom) must be of paramount importance and the most potent. This is not so at this time.

A careful study and a true analysis of the effect and work of the rays in connection with the animal kingdom is not possible. Yet it must be remembered that the roots of human psychology lie hidden in this expression of God. Humanity is an expression of two aspects of the soul, - the animal soul and the divine soul, - and these two, blended and fused in man, constitute the human soul. It is this fact that is the cause of man's special problems, and it is these two factors which involve him in the long struggle which eventuates in the liberation of the divine soul, through the sublimation of the animal soul. In these words lie much food for thought. "The twain shall be one." This work is begun in the animal kingdom, and constitutes its "secret," and hence the use of the word "transfusion" in this connection. Individualization was the first result of this secret process. Its final consummating effect can be seen in the five stages of the initiatory process, leading to eventual transfiguration and liberation. The entire work is, however, one great unfolding revelation of the soul of God, and it is only when we divorce humanity from that process of revelation that we find the secrets, the problems, the difficulties and the mysteries insoluble. A consciousness, an awareness and a sensitivity to an ever-widening and more inclusive contact is gradually being developed, and this is the consciousness of God, the awareness of the solar Logos, and the sensitivity of the cosmic Son of God.

The form through which that Life expresses Itself, the [249] sensitive response apparatus through which that Consciousness works, are of secondary importance, and are in the nature of an automatic mechanism. It is the mechanism, nevertheless, with which we have hitherto identified ourselves, and we have forgotten that that mechanism is but an expression of an aspect of consciousness, and that it indicates, at any particular time, the point of evolution of the informing entity. Let me reiterate: The two factors which are of major importance, during manifestation, are the evolving consciousness and the manifesting life. When this is borne in mind, it will be noted how each stage upon the way can be seen whole as a kingdom in nature. Each of these kingdoms carries the consciousness aspect forward to a greater stage of perfection, and demonstrates a greater sensitivity and responsiveness to outer and inner environing conditions, than does the preceding kingdom. Each manifests a fuller revelation of the inner and hidden glory. When, however, a unit of life is immersed in form, and when the consciousness is identified (in time and space) with any particular form, it is not possible for it to realize its divinity or to express it consciously. Its psychology is that of the partial and the particular, and not that of the universal and the whole. The greater and closer the identification with the form aspect, the greater is the lower unity and synthesis, but at the same time, the greater the darkness and, speaking symbolically, the denser is the prison. Such is the consciousness in the lower or subhuman kingdoms in nature. The more the unit of life is identified with "the one who is conscious," the greater again is the higher, yet different, unity and synthesis. Such also is the consciousness of the three higher kingdoms, the superhuman. The tragedy, the problem and the glory of man is that he can identify himself with both aspects - the form and the life; and his psychological state is such that during the period wherein he forms part of the human kingdom, his kingdom, [250] his consciousness fluctuates between these pairs of opposites. He can identify himself with the subhuman forms, and this he invariably does in the early stages. He can identify himself with the life aspect, and this he does in the final stages. In the midway stage of the average man, he is torn violently between both, and is himself the battleground.

With this consciousness, incident upon an awareness of the pairs of opposites, is connected the entire problem of pain and of suffering, as we today understand it. The animal suffers, but suffers entirely physically and sentiently. Man suffers, but suffers physically, sentiently, and also mentally, and the mental suffering is due to the development in him of certain aspects of the lower mind - anticipation, memory, imagination, the power to visualize, remorse, and the inherent urge to reach out after divinity, which brings with it a sense of loss and of failure. The sufferings of God Himself (to which the scriptures of the world so often mysteriously refer) are divorced from sentiency, and are mental and intuitive. But on this mystery we need not enlarge. The sufferings of humanity are primarily personal; of God, they are pre-eminently impersonal and related to the whole. I have touched on this as I wanted you to get a picture of the synthesis of the unfoldment from the inchoate to the sentient, from the sentient to the mentally realized, and from the mentally realized to the "divinely appreciated," as it is occultly termed. I give you pictures, but they are pictures of a whole. Endeavor to think in wholes, and try not to fit every point of detail into the whole, but remember that what may appear to be a contradiction may be but a fragment of temporary detail for which you - as yet - see no place or explanation.

In the animal kingdom the first dim indication of sorrow and pain is seen, whilst in the higher and the domesticated animals these two educating processes are still more clearly [251] indicated. Man's work with the animals is potent in results, and will lead eventually to a reopening of the door into the human kingdom. Some of the work already done by man has outstripped divine expectation and may warrant a hastening of the Plan.

Let us now tabulate our points anent this kingdom and the rays, as we did with the other two kingdoms.

B.II.3. The Animal Kingdom

• Influences: The third Ray of Active Intelligence or of Adaptability is potent in this kingdom and will express itself increasingly as time goes on, until it has produced in the animal world that reaction to life and to environment which can best be described as "animal one-pointedness." Then, at this point and cyclically, the sixth Ray of Devotion or Idealism can make its pressure felt as the urge towards a goal, and thus produce a relation to man which makes of him the desired goal. This is to be seen through the medium of the tamed, the trained and the domestic animals.
• Results: In the one case we find the third ray producing the emergence of instinct, which in its turn creates and uses that marvelous response apparatus we call the nervous system, the brain, and the five senses which lie behind and which are responsible for them as a whole. It should be noted that, wide as we may regard the difference between man and the animals, it is really a much closer relation than that existing between the animal and the vegetable. In the case of the sixth ray, we have the appearance of the power to be domesticated and trained, which is, in the last analysis, the power to love, to serve and to emerge from the herd into the [252] group. Ponder on the words of this last paradoxical statement.
• Process: This is called concretization. In this kingdom we have for the first time a true organization of the etheric body into what are called by the esotericist "the true nerves and the sensory centers." Plants also have nerves, but they have in them nothing of the same intricacy of relation and of plexus as we find in the human being and in the animal. Both kingdoms share the same general grouping of nerves, of force centers and channels with a spinal column and a brain. This organization of a sensitive response apparatus constitutes, in reality, the densification of the subtle etheric body.
• Secret: This is called transfusion, which is a very inadequate word to express the early blending, in the animal, of the psychological factors which lead to the process of individualization. It is a process of life-giving, of intelligent integration and of psychological unfoldment, to meet emergency.
• Purpose: This is called experimentation. Here we come to a great mystery, and one that is peculiar to our planet. In many esoteric books it has been stated and hinted that there has been a mistake, or a serious error, on the part of God Himself, of our planetary Logos, and that this mistake has involved our planet and all that it contains in the visible misery, chaos and suffering. Shall we say that there has been no mistake, but simply a great experiment, of the success or failure of which it is not yet possible to judge? The objective of the experiment might be stated as follows: It is the intent of the planetary Logos to bring about a psychological [253] condition which can best be described as one of "divine lucidity." The work of the psyche, and the goal of the true psychology, is to see life clearly, as it is, and with all that is involved. This does not mean conditions and environment, but Life. This process was begun in the animal kingdom, and will be consummated in the human. These are described in the Old Commentary as "the two eyes of Deity, both blind at first, but which later see, though the right eye sees more clearly than the left." The first dim indication of this tendency towards lucidity is seen in the faculty of the plant to turn towards the sun. It is practically non-existent in the mineral kingdom.
• Divisions: First, the higher animals and the domestic animals, such as the dog, the horse and the elephant.
  Secondly, the so-called wild animals, such as the lion, the tiger, and the other carnivorous and dangerous wild animals.
  Thirdly, the mass of lesser animals that seem to meet no particular need nor to fill any special purpose, such as the harmless yet multitudinous lives found in our forests, our jungles and the fields of our planet. Instances of these in the West are the rabbits and other rodents. This is a wide and general specification of no scientific import at all; but it covers adequately the karmic divisions and the general conformation into which these groupings of lives fall in this kingdom.
• Objective agency: Fire and Water, - fierce desire and incipient mind. These are symbolized in the animal power to eat and drink.
• Subjective agency: Smell or Scent, - the instinctual discovery of that which is needed, from the activity of ranging forth for food and the use of [254] the power to scent that food, to the identification of the smell of a beloved master and friend.
• Quality: Tamas or Inertia, - but in this case it is the tamasic nature of mind and not that of matter, as usually understood. The chitta or mind-stuff can be equally tamasic.

The two problems which are of immediate concern to mankind in relation to the animal kingdom are:

• The problem of human relations and responsibility.
• The problem of animal individualization.

B.II.3.a. Human Relations to Animals

Only a few hints can as yet be given, and those must be along the line of information anent the rays at work in both kingdoms. The two problems, particularly the second one, are of vast intricacy, and would require many volumes to be properly elucidated. Right exegesis is not yet possible, nor could man yet understand.

The first point to be emphasized in connection with human responsibility in relation to the animals is that the animal world embodies two divine aspects, two divine principles, and two major rays are concerned with their expression or manifestation. These two aspects are found also in man, and it is along these two lines, which man shares in unison with the animals, that man's responsibility and work lie, and through the use of these two aspects of divine energy will he realize his task and carry it to completion. The same divine activity and the same divine innate intelligence are found in the form aspect of both kingdoms. They are inherent in matter itself. But this third Ray of Divine Intelligence functions more potently and influences more powerfully in the animal kingdom than in man. This is an item of information not hitherto given out. [255]

The second ray is of course present in its form-building aspect, as herd instinct and as the basis of the sex relation among animal bodies. It is found performing a similar function among human beings, and along these two lines of energy will the points of contact be found and the opportunity to assume responsibility. Yet it should be noted that, in the last analysis, animals have more to give men than men have to give animals, where these particular powers and functions are concerned. In the human family another divine aspect is found functioning, which is that of the will, of directed purpose, of planned objective, and of intelligent design or plan. These qualities are inherent in man, and constitute an aspect of the divine mind not found actively present in the animal, as a rule. However, as the animal kingdom comes increasingly under human influence and the steady trend towards domesticity makes itself felt, we shall see emerging a measure of purposive objective; and one means towards this end is to be found in the turning of the animal's love and attention towards his master. In this illustration some of the responsibility of man to the animal world is expressed. The domestic animals have to be trained to participate in the action of applied will. This, man seems as yet to interpret as the will of the animal to love his master, but it is something deeper and more fundamental than the satisfying of man's love to be loved. The true and intelligent training of the wild animals, and their adaptation to the conditions of ordered living, are part of the divine process of integrating the Plan and of producing an ordered and harmonious expression of the divine intent. It is through the power of thought that man will eventually bridge the gap existing between the animal kingdom and man, and it must be done by man's directed, controlled thought, controlling and directing the animal consciousness. It is not done through the evocation [256] of love, fear or pain. It is intended to be a purely mental process and a unique mental stimulation.

The relation of the animals to man has been purely physical in the long past ages. Animals preyed upon men in the days when animal-man was but little removed from them. It is oft forgotten that there was a stage in human development when animal-man and the existent forms of animal life lived in a much closer relation than today. Then, only the fact of individualization separated them. It was, however, an individualization so little realized that the difference between the mindless animal (so-called) and infant humanity was scarcely appreciable. In those distant aeons, much transpired which has been lost in the dark silence of the past. The animal world was then far more potent than the human, men were helpless before the onslaughts of the animals, and the devastation wrought by animals upon early animal-men in mid-Lemurian days was terrible and appalling. Little nomadic groups of human beings would be completely wiped out, age after age, by the powerful animal life of the period, and though instinct taught the animal-men to take certain precautions, it was an instinct but little removed from that found in their enemies. It was only as the millennia of years passed away, and human intelligence and cunning began to assert themselves, that humanity became more powerful than the animals and in its turn devastated the animal kingdom. Up until two hundred years ago the toll of life exacted by the animal world from the human, in the forests of the western continents, in Africa, in the primeval lands of Australia and in the islands of the tropic seas, was incalculable. This is a fact often forgotten in the sentimentality of a moment, but it lies at the root of man's cruelty to animals. It is but the inevitable karma of the animal kingdom working out. The question must be viewed from a larger scale than has hitherto been the case, and its true historic [257] values must be better understood before man can intelligently decide what constitutes his problem of responsibility and how it should be met and solved.

In Atlantean days the purely physical relation was tempered by an astral or emotional relation, and the time came when some of the animals were swept within the orbit of human life and were tamed and cared for, and when the first of the domestic animals appeared. A new era began, wherein certain of the animals evoked affection from certain humans, and a new influence was brought to play upon this third kingdom in nature. This started during a cycle when the second ray and the sixth ray were both functioning simultaneously, and wherein their major and their lesser cycles coincided. This is a rare occurrence, and when it happens the guardians of the race seize the opportunity to produce major results or to inaugurate new moves whereby the divine Plan may be more rapidly developed. To offset the fear found in humanity as a whole (as far as the animal world was concerned), the opportunity was offered by the guardians of the race to bring men and animals into a closer relation, and because a cycle was present in which love and devotion were pouring upon, into and through all forms, a good deal of the fear present was offset. Since that time the number of the domestic animals has steadily increased. The relation between the two kingdoms is now dual - physical and emotional.

To this there has been added, during the past two hundred years, a third relation, that of the mind. The mental power of humanity will, in the last analysis, be the controlling factor, and through its means the three subhuman kingdoms will be brought under the control of man. This has been happening with great rapidity in the mineral kingdom and in the vegetable kingdom. It is not yet accomplished where the animal kingdom is concerned, but the process is rapidly going forward. [258] Not much progress will be made during the incoming seventh ray cycle, though as law and order and rhythm are imposed upon the planet, and as chaos gives place to organization, we shall see those areas on the planet wherein the animals still rule increasingly lessened, and certain species will die out unless they are preserved in sanctuaries.

B.II.3.b. Individualization

It is of course apparent that the effect of the interrelation existing between animals and men is to produce in the former that step forward which is called individualization. This event is a consummation of the process of transfusion, and indicates the appearance of the three divine aspects in a unit of life in form. A son of God, a Lord of dedicated and directed Will, is born, and the third divine principle of purposive energy is fused with the other two and brings about an entire reorganization within the animal form. As esotericists have long pointed out, individualization is a great planetary experiment, and when it was instituted it superseded the earlier method, employed upon the Moon, wherein the urge to reach out and on (called aspiration where man is concerned) was the method employed. This really means that, when the evolving life within the form had reached a certain stage of growth in sentiency and awareness, and the inner urge was adequately strong, the life forced itself into contact with another stream of divine expression, with another major ray manifestation. This union of various activities caused a new being to emerge into manifestation. This is the basic truth lying behind the ideas put out at this time and classified under the general term "emergent evolution." It governs still in many departments of nature, and used to govern the appearance of human beings upon the planet. The urge and the development are from within the [259] organism itself, and are the result of growth, of a reaching out and of an expansion.

But the method usually employed at this time is in the nature of a great second ray experiment. This involves an activity from without, from above, from a higher or from the divine side, if such a use of relatively meaningless words can avail to depict the process. The urge or push in this case does not originate from the lower two expressions or earlier fusions of divine energies. It is the higher aspect of divinity which takes the initiative and which, through a stimulation applied from without, causes a response from the life in form. Hence the process is really in the nature of an initiation.

The animals which individualize are, in every case today, the domestic animals, such as the horse, the dog, the elephant and the cat. These four groups of animals are at this time in the "process of transfusion," as it is occultly called, and one by one the life units are prepared and brought to the door of that peculiar initiatory process which we call - for lack of a better term - individualization. They wait in that condition until the word goes forth that that door may be passed which will admit them to

"...the triple way that leads to the dual road, by treading which they stand at last before the golden door. This final door ushers them upon that Path which is the one, alone and single, and disappears into the Light."
- Old Commentary

The factors which determine individualization are several in number, and some of them might be enumerated as follows:

1. The response of the instinctive nature of the animal to the mental atmosphere of the human being, or beings, with which it is surrounded.
2. The outgoing love and interest of the people to which [260] the animal is attached by the bonds of affection or of service.
3. The ray impulses which are active at any time. These are, amongst others:
   1. The ray of the animal itself. Elephants are upon the first ray; dogs are expressions of the second ray; the cat is a third ray life manifestation, and the horse is sixth ray. Animals upon other rays are not yet ready for individualization."
      [See page 164 for a different enumeration of the rays. The apparent contradiction may be due to the use of the word "ray" without indicating whether a major ray, one of the seven subrays of a major ray or a complementary ray is implied. - The Publishers.]
   2. The ray of the particular person or persons with whom the animal is associated.
   3. The ray or rays of a particular periodic cycle.

I could give you the techniques with which the guardians of the races and kingdoms work when seeking to bring about individualization, but of what purpose would it be and what use would such information serve? Each ray affects the units found upon it at such a crisis as individualization in a manner differing from any other ray; each ray finds its point of prime contact through one or other of the centers in the etheric bodies of animals and men. It must be remembered in this connection that, in the animal, four centers are functioning, and three are present but latent in their effect and use. The process followed is that each ray works or pours its energy through one or other of the centers in the etheric body of that Entity Who informs an entire kingdom in nature, and then through that particular center galvanizes the individualizing unit into the needed activity. Later, when the ray effects, psychologically speaking, are better understood, and the centers, with their seven ray vibrations, have been more deeply studied, it will be found that through a particular center and along a particular ray vibration, forms of life and centers of consciousness can be contacted and known. This [261] applies to all forms in all kingdoms, subhuman or superhuman. One of the first ways in which man is learning this truth is through the discovery of that vibration - emanating from a particular Master - which produces a reaction in himself, and which calls forth a response. Thus he is enabled to find out upon which ray his soul is found and to which ray group he should be attracted. This is of importance to the aspirant, and should be considered more carefully than has hitherto been the case, for by it the aspirant determines the nature and the quality of his soul type, and of the center through which he (occultly speaking) goes out upon the Path. He discovers likewise the group of forms and of lives with which he is linked, to which he must render service, and by which he can be served.

The relation of the rays to the centers in the average aspirant might be classified as follows:

1. Head center - Ray of Will or Power. First Ray.
2. The Ajna center - Ray of Concrete Knowledge. Fifth Ray.
3. The Throat center - Ray of Active Intelligence. Third Ray.
4. The Heart center - Ray of Love-Wisdom. Second Ray.
5. The Solar plexus - Ray of Devotion. Sixth Ray.
6. The Sacral center - Ray of Ceremonial Magic. Seventh Ray.
7. Base of Spine - Ray of Harmony. Fourth Ray.

These rays and their corresponding centers warrant most careful study. They are comprehensive and revealing. Note, for instance, that at this time the seventh ray governs and expresses itself through the sacral center, that which controls the sex life and the building of forms of expression. Therefore it swings now into activity and pours through this particular center in order to organize and produce the appearance of those new forms through which all life in the new cycle (astrologically understood and periodically and cyclically understood) may express itself. Thus it was necessary for the sex life to be controlled by this type of energy [262] in order to bring about the needed changes, and hence also one of the great results of the influence of the incoming seventh ray has been the increase in the mental interest in sex. A study also of the ray influences in this present historic period, and their relation to the rays, will reveal the accuracy and suggestiveness of the above ray tabulation.

The relation of man to the animals is, as we have seen, physical, emotional and increasingly mental. Each race of men, in its turn, and working under the ray influences, produces definite effects upon the three subhuman kingdoms. Through humanity, when the great experiment of individualization was initiated, the energies or ray influences from the superhuman kingdoms were focused and the great function of humanity began, which is the transmitting of the ray forces cyclically. Though the six-pointed star is, at this time, the symbol of the creative work (viewing the work as a whole), the downward pointing triangle, balanced on an upward pointing triangle, will some day present a truer picture of the creative and preserving function of the fourth kingdom.

B.II.3.c. The Five Points of Contact

There are five points of contact whereby the material world can be occultly "raised" up into life and power, just as there are five centers always to be found in our planet, through which life and energy pour into the natural world. I refer here to certain centers which are active where the physical and material life of the planet are concerned. There are also, as I told you in my writing anent the developments during the next three years, five centers through which a new and energizing spiritual force is flowing, and these are the planetary correspondences to the five senses in man, both subjective and objective. But we find the rays pouring through humanity as a whole, and through the five races of [263] men (our present race, the Aryan, being the third - two are yet to come). This particular aspect of ray energy is that which stimulates the consciousness aspect, and it will raise and awaken the consciousness hidden in all material forms, both in man and in the three subhuman kingdoms. These five points, with their five "elevating" influences, are as follows, omitting the two earlier and intangible races which are not strictly human at all, and beginning with the first of the five races which are human throughout:

1. The Lemurian Race - fifth ray
   The coming of the Sons of Fire.
2. The Atlantean Race - sixth ray
   The devotion of the Lords of Love.
3. The Aryan Race - third ray
   The activity of the Men of Mind.
4. The Coming Race - fourth ray
   The vision of the Units of Light.
5. The Final Race - first ray
   The will of the Lords of Sacrifice.

The two earlier races were governed by the second and seventh rays, respectively, and embody the activity of the form builder and the constructive energy of the magical organizer. The reader must bear in mind, as he studies these major ray cycles, that they cover inconceivably long periods of time, and produce two effects which must be considered.

First, the ray energies, five in number, play upon the human kingdom itself, and in the course of the ages raise man from the dead to life; they lift him out of the dark prison of matter into the light of day. These are the five life-giving forces that raise the human consciousness to heaven, and the form to understanding. I know no word to express the concept except the word "understanding," and its true sense is seen when divided into its two component parts.

Secondly, these ray energies, working this time through [264] the human kingdom, raise the subhuman kingdoms in nature also (after much effort) to life and conscious understanding. Through the five points of spiritual contact, in each of the three kingdoms, is life brought to nature itself. For this "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth together in pain until now." Herein is found the secret of the resurrection, viewing it in the planetary sense, - a resurrection enacted also individually by each achieving son of God. This is the great Masonic secret, and the central mystery of the sublime or third degree in Masonry. It is sometimes occultly referred to as "the relation of death to the five life-giving energies seen working upon the third day of revelation" or, speaking still more symbolically:

"In the chamber of death, the blue light of dawning day reveals the group of workers who seek to raise the dead. Naught avail their efforts until they blend the five great forces of the Lord of Magic. When thus they work as one, in unity complete the work is done; they fuse the life-giving force; the dead are raised, and the work of building can proceed. The temple can be glorified and the Word be uttered forth within a chamber of life-giving force and not of death. Through death to life, from struggle in the dark to building in the light! Such is the Plan. Thus do we enter into life that is a death; pass onward through the door whose pillars twain stand there forever as a sign of strength and truth divine; thus do we enter quick within the tomb and die. Thus are we raised again upon a Word divine, upon a fivefold sign, and - springing forth - we live."

Then in relation to humanity, the Old Commentary says:

"The Lords of the fifth great ray of mind have sent us on our way. The Lords of the sixth great ray forced us to suffer in the cause, yet love it too, and through our deep devotion learn. The Lords of the third great ray bring us, through mind, unto the funeral pyre, to the stage wherein we die, yet rise again. In the third room, and on the third dark day, the Master disappears. He dies; is lost to sight. But the five great [265] Lords unite their forces. In fellowship sublime, they work to raise the dead. Only thus can that Word be spoken which brings the dead to life. Such is the work of man for God, of God for man."

B.II.3.d. Cyclic Manifestation

So the work proceeds. The rays stream forth in:

1. A solar cycle, such as the present one, in which the second Ray of Love-Wisdom is the major ray, and all the others are but subsidiary to it.
2. A planetary cycle, such as those we have just considered in connection with the races, - the five above enumerated and their five controlling rays.
3. Cycles connected with the twelve signs of the zodiac. These are primarily two in number:
   1. Those which are connected with a complete zodiacal round, about 25,000 years.
   2. Those which are connected with each of the twelve signs, and which come in and out of manifestation approximately every 2,100 years.
4. Those cycles when certain rays are in power for a period of racial evolution, such as the five major racial periods to which we have referred.
5. The lesser cycling in and out of manifestation, as referred to earlier in this treatise.
6. Cycles of ray activity which are determined by their numerical figures.

The first ray, for instance, governs all cycles such as those of one million years, one hundred thousand years, one thousand years, one hundred years and one year. The seventh ray controls such similar cycles as seven thousand years, and seven million years. The interchange and interplay of these ray cycles is so intricate and so great that it would serve only [266] to confuse should I further elaborate. Remember, however, that all of the seven rays are forever functioning, and functioning simultaneously, but that cyclically and under the directed plan of the Minds (who are embodied by the rays), certain of these influences and forces are more dominant at one time than at another, and certain lines of activity and certain results of this activity are demonstrated under one ray influence more than under another. These influences pour through all forms in all kingdoms, producing specific effects, definite and different forms of life, peculiar types of realization, and particular expressions of consciousness in form which are, for that period, the product of the united and concerted plan of the building forces, working in complete harmony, but temporarily under one or another of their number. They enter into constructive activity; they pass through that particular cycle; they then pass out, or die to that activity, and are then "raised into heaven," until such time as their cycle again comes round. This process they constantly enact and re-enact, repeating the drama of birth, death and resurrection.

In this ray activity will be found the true significance of the Law of Rebirth, and it lies behind the process of incarnation and of reincarnation. Upon this I may not here dwell, beyond pointing out that men's ideas and teaching anent reincarnation are as yet childish and inaccurate. Much readjustment must be made, and much rearrangement of ideas is necessitated, before a true understanding of this basic cyclic law will be possible.

Cyclic appearance, therefore, governs the rays as well as the kingdoms in nature and the forms contained therein. It determines the activity of God Himself. Races incarnate, disappear and reincarnate, and so do all lives in form. Reincarnation or cyclic activity lies behind all phenomenal activity and appearance. It is an aspect of the pulsating life [267] of Deity. It is the breathing out and the breathing in of the process of divine existence and manifestation. It is that which lies behind the science of chemical affinity, of the relation of the polar opposites, and of the marriage relation, whether that of men and women or of the soul and its expression, the personality. It is the cause of the sex relation in the world, which works under the great Law of Attraction and Repulsion. Perhaps as we are considering the work of one kingdom with another and the relation between positive and negative groups of lives (such as that of the fourth kingdom in nature to the third), it might be apposite next to deal briefly with this subject of sex, which is to be so deeply and widely considered, and more wisely understood, through the influence of the incoming seventh ray.

I have little more to add to this teaching anent the animal kingdom and the rays, for - as said before - it profits not. Man's work is to raise the dead to life, to bring brotherhood into expression on the physical plane, and to transmit divine energy to a waiting world of forms. As the rays play their part with humanity and bring man forth into manifestation as he is in essence and reality, his work with the animal kingdom and with the other kingdoms will proceed steadily and inevitably. Scarcely knowing how or why, humanity will play its part in the work of building. The creative work will proceed and the Plan materialize. Man's work for the animal kingdom is to stimulate instinct until individualization is possible. His work for the vegetable kingdom is to foster the perfume-producing faculty, and to adapt plant life to the myriad uses of man and of animals. Man's work with the mineral kingdom is to work alchemically and magically. With that process of transmutation and of subsequent revelation I cannot here deal. [268]

B.II.3.e. The Problem of Sex

I have stated that the incoming seventh ray plays through the planetary sacral center, and then through the sacral center of every human being. Because of this, we can look for the anticipated developments in that human function which we designate the sex function. We shall see consequent changes in the attitude of man towards this most difficult problem. In speaking on the subject of sex, and in outlining what it is possible to say at this time, I seek to be as simple as I can, and to express my thoughts in such a way that something constructive may eventuate, and a note may be struck which will sound forth clearly in the present welter of discordant sounds, of conflicting views, and of varying ideas.

It is obvious that the matter is a difficult one to approach. But why is it so difficult? In the last analysis, we shall find that the difficulty is based on the prejudices in men's minds, and upon their inner assurance that their particular point of view is necessarily the right one because they themselves live and act in accordance with it, and it suffices for them; it is based on the fact that sex is one of the fundamental primeval urges, one of the substantial instincts, and is consequently the dominating factor in the animal side of man's nature; it is based upon the excessive intimacy of . the subject, - an intimacy which was transmuted into an indecent secret during the periods wherein the race succumbed to an excessive puritanism and prostituted a natural function into a prurient mystery. This intimacy relating to the subject of sex caused it to be regarded as an unmentionable episode, and as a topic to be shunned by decent people, instead of being regarded as an instinctual and natural process, - as instinctual and as necessary as the functions of eating and drinking. It is a function, however, which has not been reduced to rhythm in the [269] daily life and regarded as one to be followed and satisfied only when need arises and right demands. Herein lies a great distinction and a clue is offered to the problem.

Again, the difficulty of the problem can be found in the widely diverse attitudes of men's minds to the subject. These attitudes range all the way from an ill-regulated promiscuity to a monogamy which has worked out into a cruel imposition and restraint upon women, and an unbridled license on the part of men. Attendant upon these difficulties, and growing out of these wrong attitudes, the legalities and the illegalities, the license and the restraints, have produced points of infection (if I may so call them) in our civilization. Because of them, we find a lax morality which is based on bewilderment, "red light" districts which are but an unhappy compromise with vicious tendencies and unsatisfied desires, divorce courts which devastate the life of the family and in time undermine the national life (of which each family unit should be a wholesome part), and the steady growth of disease as the result of the prevalent promiscuity and the many illicit relations. There is also a psychological factor to be found, of real importance. This fact is the militancy expressed by the many groups of people who are seeking to impose their own ideas and their peculiar solution of the problem upon their fellowmen.

Behind all these results of an agelong wrong attitude to the sex function lie two major evils, or rather two major effects of man's actions, mental and physical. These are of dire significance. There is, first of all, the development within man's consciousness of those complexes, those psychoses and psychological disruptions and inhibitions, which have so seriously undermined the health and the serenity of hundreds and thousands of men. There is, secondly, the threatening of the very life of humanity itself, as it is embodied in the family [270] unit and family life. On the one hand, you have promiscuity and over-indulgence in sex relations, which are resulting (and have always resulted) in over-population and an over-production of human beings. On the other hand, you have an enforced sterility which - though in many ways the lesser of the two evils - is eventually dangerous. This sterility is rapidly on the increase. It leads finally to physical conditions which are undesirable. Nevertheless, at this time, it is the lesser of the two evils. Two points might incidentally be noted here. Out of the first of these evils, and as a result of over-production, we have brought about an economic situation of such a drastic and serious nature that the very peace and stability of the world are threatened; out of the second, we should have a gradual disappearance of humanity itself, if enforced sterility should become a universal practice. This would lead to the consequent dominance of the animal world and an immense increase of animal life, and we should have a period of retrogression and not of progress.

In dealing with this subject of sex I shall have to generalize, and the exceptions to the rules laid down and to the suggested classifications will, of course, be many. I am dealing with the subject as a whole, and my topic therefore is the menace of the present attitude, the need for a fuller understanding, and the importance of a rearrangement of men's ideas on this vital matter. The attitude of the unthinking savage to the sex life, and the attitude of the mentally polarized and spiritually oriented initiate to the same subject, may seem so widely dissimilar that on the surface there may appear no point of resemblance; yet basically both of these attitudes are nearer to each other and to the reality than is that of the average man today. The one is controlled by the rhythm of his animal nature, and knows no more of the evil side and of the vile promiscuity of the civilized man than does the [271] animal in its wild state; the other lives his life in a controlled fashion, governing through the power of the mind, and animated by desire for the good of humanity. In between these two approaching extremes, we have the many points of view, the many dissimilar ideas, the many customs, the many types of relation (legitimate and illegitimate), the many animal and psychological reactions, the many forms of marriage, and the many perversions of a natural process which distinguish modern man in all parts of the world. These again vary in the different civilizations and under the influence of the differing climatic conditions.

It is therefore obvious, - is it not? - that it is no part of my service to the readers of this book to enter into a detailed analysis of the marriage customs of the ages, past and present. It is not my work to enlarge in detail upon the mistakes, the evil consequences, the many types of perversion, and the sadistic cruelties which have grown out of man's misuse of the natural processes and of his mate, nor to elucidate his foolish misunderstanding of the Law of Attraction and Repulsion. It would serve no useful purpose if I put forth, in this brief discussion of an immense subject, any of the theories which men have formulated in their search for a solution. Their name is legion. All have in them a measure of the truth. Most of them, express the depths of man's ignorance, and they can be studied at any time by any student who has the time to read, the intelligence to see clearly and without prejudice, and the money to purchase the needed literature.

I cannot and I will not touch upon the medical and physiological aspect of vice, whether it be the vice of promiscuity or the vice of an unhappy marriage. I can best serve you at this time by pointing out the laws which should govern the life of man, particularly where sex is concerned, and by [272] indicating - as far as I can and dare - why and how the present peculiar and unique conditions have been brought about. I may also be able to make certain suggestions which, when duly considered, may help to clear from the mind those false and illusory views which prevent man from seeing truly, and I may thus help him to find the golden thread of light which will lead him to his solution in due time.

One thing I will say, sad though it may seem to you to be. There is no immediate solution of the problem of sex with which we are at this time confronted. For ages men have misused and wrongly employed a God-given function; they have prostituted their birthright, and through their laxity and license, and through their lack of control, they have inaugurated an era of disease, both mental and physical, of wrong attitudes and illusory relations which it will take several centuries to eradicate; they have also brought too rapidly into incarnation myriads of human beings who were not yet ready for the experience of this incarnation, and who needed longer interludes between births wherein to assimilate experience. Those souls who are unevolved come into incarnation with rapidity; but older souls need longer periods wherein to garner the fruits of experience. They are however open to the magnetic attractive power of those who are alive on the physical plane, and it is these souls who can be brought prematurely into incarnation. The process is under law, but the unevolved progress under group law as do the animals, whilst the more evolved are susceptible to the pull of human units, and the evolved come into incarnation under the Law of Service, and through the deliberate choice of their conscious souls.

I shall divide what I have to say into four parts, for the sake of clarity and rapid reference: [273]

1. Definitions of sex, of virtue and of vice.
2. Sex in the New Age.
3. Some suggestions for the present moment.
4. Sex and the life of discipleship.

I deal not with history nor with the details of racial evolution. These are necessarily all connected with the problem of sex, but are too vast in their implications for my present purposes. As I said before, I deal not with the physiological aspects of sex, nor with the diseases incident upon the misuse of the function, nor shall I deal with the subject of sterility, except as it enters into our consideration of modern man. I cannot touch upon the quarrels of the various schools of thought, for I am not writing from any specific angle, such as that of religion or of morality or of partisanship. The whole question is wider and bigger than any religious view or the moral affirmations of the little minds. What is morality in one country or in one specific relation can be quite the reverse in another. What is deemed legal in one part of the world is found illegal in another. What constitutes a difficult problem under one climatic condition presents totally different possibilities under another. Polygamy, promiscuity and monogamy have been and are cyclically dominant in different parts of the world, down through the ages, and are to be found functioning simultaneously on the earth today. Each has been, or is, in turn right, legal and suitable, or wrong, illegal and unsuitable. Each of these forms of interpreting the sex relation has been the subject of attack or defense, of virtuous horror or of specious argument; each has been the common custom and the rightful method, according to the location, the tradition, training and attitude of the men who practiced it. In one part of the world, one woman may have many husbands; in another, one husband is legally [274] entitled to four wives, if so he choose, and in the harem and the kraal such conditions are always to be found. In the West, a man has legally one wife, but through his promiscuity and his so-called "romantic" adventures, he really has as many as an African chieftain, and today, women are little better.

I have enumerated the above conditions with no thought of criticism in my mind, but simply as a statement of fact, and in order to awaken in the average reader a realization of a worldwide condition which is probably quite different to their ordinary surmise. I write not for the specialists, but for the average intelligent student who needs a worldwide picture of existing conditions.

It is divinely true that the trend of men's thoughts and desires is towards an established monogamy, but as yet this has never been universally achieved. If one faces this issue with courage and with truth, one will be forced to the conclusion that down the ages men have never been monogamists. Women have been more so in the past than men, but are perhaps less so now, as modern knowledge is inculcating modern methods of protection from the risk and pain of childbirth. Up till now, the act of bearing children has been regarded as deterrent and as a penalty for legal or illegal sex relations. Think of the horror unfolded in those words! Women, practicing the ancient trade of promiscuity, have of course always existed, but I am referring here to women in the home.

Will you believe me if I tell you that the world situation today, where sex is concerned, is so critical and so serious that there is not a thinker to be found who can yet see the solution, or who can find - no matter how clear his brain or erudite his mind - the way out of the present impasse? The traditions of customs and of practices, with their inevitable consequences and long established tenure, serve to bewilder [275] the clearest minds. The physical results alone of sexual intercourse, carried on within or without the legalized marriage relation, have produced not only the world of everyday human life, but much of the disease, the insanity, the evil tendencies, and the perverted impulses which today fill our hospitals, our homes for neurotics, our sanatoriums, our prisons and our lunatic asylums.

Our young people, especially the idealistic types and the clear-thinking boys and girls, find themselves faced with a situation which defies their best efforts. They do not know what to think or what to believe. They look into, or form part of, homes which are sanctified by legal marriage, and find (on a large scale) nothing but unhappiness, legalized prostitution, ill-health, the seeking of illicit relations outside the home, neglected and unwanted children, the friction produced by wrong mating, divorce, and no answer to their many intelligent questions. They look then elsewhere, into the lives of those who have avoided the responsibility of marriage, and find naught but discontent, frequently a secret and hidden sex life, ill-health as a result of the frustration of the natural instincts, psychological conditions of the worst kind, sometimes illegitimate children, sexual perversions, and a growing tendency towards what is called homosexuality. They are overwhelmed by complete bewilderment and the failure to find an answer to their questions. They ask the worldly minded for a solution and for help, and get no clear reply, no sound philosophy and no fundamental instruction. They may be offered sound common sense, and the injunction to avoid excesses and those conditions which would impair their health or lay on them the burden of straitened economic conditions. The moralities of the past may be pointed out to them, and they may be warned of the results which inevitably follow when the laws of nature are broken and the [276] physical body is prostituted to ill-regulated desire. They may have the virtues of "straight living" eulogized to them, and even the fact that they are sons of God may be emphasized to them. All this is good and right and useful. But no true solution is offered, and no light is thrown upon their problem, and their confusion remains unrelieved. They may perhaps turn to the religiously minded people and seek out the orthodox churchman. They may be told to be good; the example of the saints may be cited to them; they may find themselves deluged in a flood of puritanical injunctions, in righteous platitudes, and with unsatisfying explanations, based often on personal prejudice and predilection. But seldom is a clear note sounded, and seldom is it possible to do more than enunciate the great Mosaic law, "Thou shalt not..." To the bulk of the young and seeking enquirers of the present generation the fact that God says thus and so, or the Bible ordains this, that or the other, does not satisfy their longing to know the reason why. The hope of an ultimate heaven, where self-discipline, self-control and sexual abstinence will receive a just reward, seems too far away to offset the temptations of the outer environing world and the insistent urges arising within the man himself.

That many do withstand the "temptations of the flesh" is indeed wonderfully true. That there are men and women everywhere who pass through life clean and uncontaminated is equally and wonderfully a fact. That there are advanced souls whose life is divorced from the animal nature and whose minds control their daily acts is the glory of humanity. But many of them, living in another world of thought and interest, are not tempted as are the more animally inclined of the sons of men. There are, again, of course, those who refrain from wrong doing because they fear the results, either today in the physical body or hereafter in the other world of [277] penalty. But which of all these people, even the most good and saintly, can speak with real wisdom and understanding of this universal problem? Which of them can see the way out for humanity at present? Which of them understands the reason for all the distress, sin and wickedness which have grown up around the sex relation? Which of them really comprehends the true significance of the sex life, its place in the great scheme of things, and the reason for the relation between the sexes? Which of them can say with true vision what the next evolutionary step will be, whither we are going, and what will be the next development?

B.II.3.e.i. Definitions of Sex, of Virtue and of Vice

Cosmically speaking, sex is a short word used to express the relation existing (during manifestation) between spirit and matter, and between life and form. It is, in the last analysis, an expression of the Law of Attraction, - that basic law which underlies the entire manifestation of life in form, and which is the cause of all phenomenal appearance. Humanly or physically speaking, sex is the word used to denote the relation between men and women which results in the reproduction of the species. Speaking in terms of modern usage as it is found among the unthinking and the average, sex is a word which denotes the alluring satisfaction of the animal impulses at any cost and with no rhythmic regulation. Sex is essentially an expression of duality, and of the separation of a unity into two aspects or halves. These we can call spirit and matter, male and female, positive and negative; and they are in the nature of a stage upon the evolutionary ladder towards a final unity or homosexuality which has no relation to that perversion which is, today and inaccurately, called "homosexuality." This latter manifestation is rampant at this time in a mental and modern conception of the phenomenon, [278] but it is rare indeed to find a person who truly combines within himself the two sexes, and is, - physiologically and mentally - entirely "self-satisfying, self-sustaining and self-propagating." Down the ages, here and there, we find the true homosexual emerging as a guarantee of a distant racial and evolutionary achievement, when the world cycle will have been run and the two separated halves will again be merged in their essential unity. In the above phraseology I do not refer to any doctrine of twin souls, or to any perversion of reality, as ordinarily understood today. I refer to the divine Hermaphrodite, to the true androgynous man, and to the perfected human being. But the word has been distorted from its true significance and applies in nine cases out of ten (nay, in ninety-nine cases out of one hundred) to a type of mental perversion, to a distorted attitude of mind which results often in physical practices and reactions which are - in their manifestation - so old that their very antiquity gives the lie to the idea that this attitude marks a step forward on the path of progress. It marks indeed a point of retrogression, the swinging back into an ancient rhythm, and the resumption of ancient practices.

These perversions are ever found when a civilization is crumbling and the old order is changing into a new. Why should this be? It is due to the fact that the newer impulses pouring into the old, and the impact of the new forces upon humanity, awaken in man a desire for that which is, for him, a new and untried field of expression, and for that which is unusual and oft abnormal. Weak minds then succumb to the impulse, or strong experimenting souls fall victim to their own lower natures, and investigate in unlawful directions. You have, then, under these new energies, a definite progress forward into new and untried spiritual realms, but at the [279] same time, you find an experimenting in the realm of physical desire which is not for humanity the line of progress.

As the world of forms responds cyclically to the inflow of the higher energies, their effect is to stimulate all parts and aspects of the form life, and this stimulation will produce results that are bad as well as good. Evil will temporarily emerge as well as lasting righteousness. If the effect of the impact of these energies is to produce material reactions, and if man then lays the emphasis of his interest upon that which is material, then the form nature becomes dominant, and not the divine. If energy is prostituted to material ends, such as the expression of physical plane sexual relations for purely commercial objectives, then evil is the result. But it must be remembered that the same divine energy, when working in the realm of brotherly love, for instance, would produce naught but good. Let me illustrate my point in two ways, both of which account for the present orgy of sexual expression and for the widespread interest in the subject.

We live today in a period of the world's history wherein three events of major importance are taking place, mostly unrealized and unobserved by the majority of people.

The seventh Ray of Law and Order is coming into manifestation; we are transiting into a new sign of the zodiac, and the "coming of Christ" is imminent. These three great happenings are the cause of much of the present upheaval and chaos; at the same time they are responsible for the universal turning to spiritual realities which all true workers at this time recognize, and for the growth of understanding, of welfare movements and of the tendency to cooperation, of religious unity and of internationalism. Types of energy which have hitherto been latent are now becoming potent. The consequent world reaction is, in the initial stages, material in its manifestation; in its final stages, divine qualities [280] will manifest and change history and civilization. The interest being shown today in the so-called cosmic rays indicates a scientific recognition of the new incoming seventh ray energies. These rays, pouring through the sacral center of the planetary etheric body, have necessarily an effect upon the sacral centers of humanity, and hence the sex life of mankind is temporarily over-stimulated, and hence also the present over-emphasis upon sex. But hence also (and this must be remembered) the keen impetus now being mentally expressed which will eventually result in man's thinking through to a solution of this problem of sex.

The coming in of the Aquarian age also stimulates in man a spirit of universality and a tendency towards fusion. This can be seen working out in the present trend towards synthesis in business, in religion and in politics. It produces an urge towards union, and among other unions, towards religious understanding and tolerance. But these influences, playing upon the sensitive bodies of the undeveloped and the over-psychic, lead to a morbid tendency towards unions, legitimate and illegitimate; they produce an extreme aptitude to sexual intercourse in many directions, and to relations and fusions which are not along the intended or the evolutionary line, and which outrage oft the very laws of nature itself. Energy is an impersonal thing, and is dual in its effect, - the effect varying according to the type of substance upon which it plays.

The incoming seventh ray expresses the power to organize, the ability to integrate and to bring into synthetic relation the great pairs of opposites, and thus produce the new forms of spiritual manifestation. But it will also produce the new forms of what, from the standpoint of spirit, may be regarded as material evil. It is the great impulse which will bring into the light of day all that is to be found clothed [281] with matter, and will thus eventually lead to the revelation of spirit and of the hidden glory, when that which has been revealed of the material form has been purified and sanctified. This it was to which Christ referred when He prophesied that, at the end of the age, the hidden things would be made plain, and secrets be shouted from the housetops.

By means of this process of revelation, within the human family as well as elsewhere in nature, we shall have the development of the power of thought. This will come about through the development of the faculty of discrimination, which will offer choices to man, and thus develop a truer sense of values. False and true standards will emerge in man's consciousness, and those choices will be made which will lay the foundation of the new order, which will inaugurate the new race, with its new laws and novel approaches, and so usher in the new religion of love and brotherhood, and that period wherein the group and the group-good will be the dominant note. Then separateness and hatreds will fade out and men will be merged in a true unity.

The third factor under consideration, the coming of the Christ as it is called, must also be noted. Everywhere we find the spirit of expectancy, and the demand for a manifestation and a symbolic happening which we call by various names but which is usually referred to as the advent of Christ. This, as you know, may be an actual physical coming, as before in Palestine, or it may connote a definite over-shadowing of His disciples and lovers by the Great Lord of Life. This over-shadowing will call forth a response from all those who are in any way spiritually awakened. Or again, the coming may take the form of a tremendous inflow of the Christ principle, the Christ life and love, working out through the human family. Perhaps all three possibilities may be found simultaneously on our planet very shortly. It is [282] not for us to say. It is for us to be ready, and for us to work at preparing the world for that significant series of events. The immediate future will show. The point I seek to make, however, is that this inflow of the Christ spirit of love (whether it comes through a Person in bodily form or through His felt and realized Presence) will again be twofold in its effect.

This is a hard saying for the unthinking and the illogical. Both the good and the evil man will be stimulated; both material desire and spiritual aspiration will be awakened and fostered. Facts prove the truth of the saying that a heavily fertilized garden and a carefully tended and watered plot of ground will produce its crop of weeds as well as flowers. Yet in this fact you have two reactions to the same sun, the same water, the same fertilizing agency and the same care. The difference exists in the seeds found in the ground upon which these factors play. The inflow of love therefore will stimulate earthly love and earthly desire and animal lust; it will foster the urge to possess in the material sense, with all the evil consequent upon this attitude, and the resulting growth of sexual reactions, and the many expressions of an ill-regulated mechanism, responding to an impersonal force. But it will also produce the growth of brotherly love and foster the development and the expression of group consciousness, of universal understanding; it will produce a new and powerful tendency to fusion, to at-one-ment and to synthesis. All this will be brought about through the medium of humanity and the Christ spirit. Steadily the love of Christ will be shed abroad in the earth, and its influence will grow stronger during the coming centuries, until at the end of the Aquarian age, and through the work of the seventh ray (bringing the pairs of opposites into closer cooperation), we can look for the "raising of Lazarus from the dead," and the [283] emergence of humanity out of the tomb of matter. The hidden divinity will be revealed. Steadily all forms will be brought under the influence of the Christ spirit, and the consummation of love will be brought about.

Owing to these three causes we have at this time a worldwide interest in sex, leading as a natural consequence to two things:

• First, to an outburst throughout the entire world, and primarily in our large centers of population, of an increase in sexual relations, but distinguished at this time by no corresponding increase in population. This is due to the modern understanding of birth control methods and secondly to the increased mental focusing or polarization of the race, which leads to sterility or to a reduction in the size of the families raised.
• Second, to a reorganization of the racial ideas on marriage and on sexual relations. This is due to the breakdown of our present economic situation, to the widespread interest in medical hygiene (an interest hitherto confined to the specialists), to the general recognition of the varied marriage customs of the nations in the East and in the West, which has led to a general questioning, and also to the failure of the legal machine to safeguard the family unit and to interpret human relations in a satisfactory manner.

Out of this universal interest and discussion we shall work towards a solution and an objective which exist as yet on purely abstract mental levels and in the world of ideas. Even the foremost thinkers of the race sense only vaguely and nebulously what these hidden ideals may be.

The question at issue is not primarily a religious one, except in so far as social relations are basically divine relations. It is fundamental in its connotation, and when it is solved we shall see the establishment of equality between the sexes, the [284] removal of those barriers which at present exist between men and women, and the safeguarding of the family unit. This will involve therefore the protection of the child, so that he may be given those essentials to right physical growth and that true education which will lead to emotional unfoldment along sound lines, and a mental development which will enable him to serve his race, his time and his group to the best possible advantage. This has always been an ideal, but it has never yet been satisfactorily accomplished. The solving of the sexual problem will release the minds of men from an inhibition and an undue concern, and so produce a mental freedom which will admit of the inflow of new ideas and concepts. We shall discover that vice and virtue have no real reference to ability and inability to conform to man-made laws, but to man's attitude to himself and to his social relation with God and his fellowmen. Virtue is the manifestation in man of the spirit of cooperation with his brothers, necessitating unselfishness, understanding and complete self-forgetfulness. Vice is the negation of this attitude. These two words signify in reality simply perfection and imperfection, conformity to a divine standard of brotherhood or a failure to achieve that standard. Standards are shifting things and change with man's growth towards divinity. They vary also according to man's destiny as it is affected by his time and age, his nature and surroundings. They alter also according to the point of evolutionary development. The standard for attainment is not today what it was one thousand years ago, nor a thousand years hence will it be what it is today.

Yet all periods of the world's history have not been as critical as today, for - apart from the great cyclic opportunity to which I have earlier referred - we have in humanity itself a unique attainment. For the first time in racial history, we have the expression of a true human being, of man as he [285] essentially is. We have the personality, integrated and functioning as a unit, and we have the mind and the emotional nature fused and blended, on the one hand with the physical body, and on the other with the soul. Also, the shift of emphasis is today away from the physical life to the mental life, and in an increasing number of cases to the spiritual life. There is therefore little real cause for depression, if what I have here noted is true. There is today, on a wide scale, a true "lifting up of the heart unto the Lord," and a steady turning of the eyes towards the world of spiritual values. Hence the present upheaval.

Apart from the coming in of the new age, apart therefore from the inflow of the Christ spirit, with its transforming power and regenerating force, and apart from the cyclic return of the seventh ray energies, we have mankind in a condition where the response to the deeper spiritual energies and to the new opportunities is, for the first time, adequate and synthetic. Hence the increasing problem. Hence the great day of opportunity. Hence the wonder of the dawn which can be seen brightening in the east.

I should like here to approach the problem of sex from another angle and point out that it is a basic symbol. A symbol, as we well know, is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual reality. What is this inward reality? First of all, the reality of relationship. It is a relationship existing between the basic pairs of opposites, - Father-Mother, spirit-matter; between positive and negative; between life and form, and between the great dualities which - when brought together in the cosmic sense - produce the manifested son of God, the cosmic Christ, the conscious sentient universe. Of this relation the Gospel story is a dramatic symbol, and the historical Christ is the guarantee of its truth and reality. Christ guarantees for us the reality of the inner significance [286] and the true spiritual basis of all that is and ever shall be. Out of the relation of light and dark that which is invisible emerges into visibility, and we can see and know. Christ, as the light of the world, revealed that reality. Out of the darkness of time God spoke, and the Fatherhood of Deity was revealed.

The drama of creation and the story of revelation are depicted for us, if we could but see truly and interpret our facts with spiritual exactitude, in the relation of the two sexes and in the fact of their intercourse with each other. When this relation is no longer purely physical but is a union of the two separated halves on all three planes, - physical, emotional and mental - then we shall see the solution of the sex problem and the restitution of the marriage relation to its intended position in the Mind of God. Today it is the marriage of two physical bodies. Sometimes it is the marriage also of the emotional natures of the two people concerned. Rarely indeed is it a marriage of minds as well. Sometimes it is the union of the physical body of one party, with the physical body of the other party left cold and uninterested and uninvolved, but with the emotional body attracted and participating. Sometimes the mental body is involved with the physical body, and the emotional nature left out. Seldom, very seldom, do we find the coordinated, cooperating fusion of all the three parts of the personality concerned in both parties to the union. When this is indeed found, then you have a true union, a real marriage, and a blending of the two in one.

It is here that some of the schools of esoteric teaching have gone sadly astray. The false idea has crept into their presentation of truth that marriage of this kind is essential for spiritual liberation and that without it the soul remains in prison. They teach that through the marriage act, at-one-ment with [287] the soul is brought about, and that there is no spiritual deliverance without this marriage. At-one-ment with the soul is an individual interior experience, resulting in an expansion of consciousness, so that the individual and specific becomes at-one with the general and universal. Behind the erroneous interpretation, however, lies truth.

Where this true marriage and these ideal sexual relations on all three planes are found, the right conditions exist in which souls can be provided with the needed forms in which to incarnate. Sons of God can find forms in which to manifest on earth. According to the scope of the marriage contact (if so unusual a form of words can be used in this connection), so will be the type of human being attracted into incarnation. Where the parents are purely physical and emotional, so will be the nature of the child. Thus is the general average determined. Today we have a world of men which is rapidly reaching a high stage of development. We have therefore a dissatisfaction with the present views on marriage, preparatory to the enunciation of certain hidden principles which will eventually govern the relations between the sexes, and provide, as a consequence, the opportunity to men and women to furnish, through the creative act, the needed bodies for disciples and initiates.

Under the symbol of sex, you have also the reality of love itself expressing itself. Love in reality connotes a relation, but the word "love" (like the word "sex") is used with little thought and with no attention to its true meaning. Basically, love and sex are one and the same thing, for both express the meaning of the Law of Attraction. Love is sex, and sex is love, for in those two words the relation, the interplay and the union between God and His universe, between man and God, between a man and his own soul, and between men and women are equally depicted. The motive and the [288] relation are emphasized. But the impelling result of that relation is creation and the manifestation of form through which divinity can express itself and come to be. Spirit and matter met together, and the manifested universe came into being. Love is ever productive, and the Law of Attraction is fruitful in results. Man and God came together under the same great Law, and the Christ was born, - the guarantee of the divinity of humanity and the demonstration of the fact. Individual man and his soul are also attempting to come together, and when that event is consummated the Christ is born in the cave of the heart, and Christ is seen in the daily life with increasing power. Man therefore dies daily in order that Christ may be seen in all His glory. Of all these wonders, sex is the symbol.

Again, in man himself the great drama of sex is enacted, and twice over in his body, within his personality, the process of union and fusion takes place. Let me briefly refer here to these two symbolic happenings, for the use of esoteric students, so that the great story of sex may be comprehended in its spiritual sense.

Man, as you know, is the expression of energies. These energies galvanize the physical man into activity through the medium of certain force centers in the etheric body. These, for our immediate purposes, can be divided into three centers below the diaphragm and four above.

These are:

1. Below the diaphragm:
   1. The base of the spine.
   2. The sacral center.
   3. The solar plexus.
2. Above the diaphragm:
   1. The heart center.
   2. The throat center.
   3. The center between the eyebrows.
   4. The head center. [289]

We know that two fusions have to take place and, in these two we have two enactments of the symbolic sex process, and two symbolic events that externalize a spiritual happening and picture forth to man his spiritual goal and God's great objective in the evolutionary process.

First, the energies below the diaphragm have to be lifted up and blended with those above the diaphragm. With the process and rules for so doing we cannot here deal, except in one case, - the raising of the sacral energy to the throat center, or the transmutation of the process of physical reproduction and of physical creation into that of the creativeness of the artist in some field of creative expression. Through the union of the energies of these two centers we shall come to that stage in our development wherein we shall produce the children of our skill and minds. Where, in other words, there is a true union of the higher and the lower energies, you will have the emergence of beauty in form, the enshrining of some aspect of truth in appropriate expression, and thus the enriching of the world. Where there is this synthesis, the true creative artist begins to function. The throat, the organ of the Word, expresses the life and manifests the glory and the reality behind. Such is the symbolism lying behind the teaching of the fusion of the lower energies with the higher, and of this, physical plane sex is a symbol. Mankind today is rapidly becoming more creative, for the transfusion of the energies is going on under the new impulses. As we develop the sense of purity in man, as the growth of the sense of responsibility is fostered, and as his love of beauty, of color and of ideas proceeds, we shall have a rapid increase in the raising of the lower into union with the higher, and thereby the beautifying of the Temple of the Lord will be tremendously accelerated.

In the coming Aquarian age this will go rapidly forward. [290] The majority of people today live below the diaphragm, and their energies are turned outward into the material world and prostituted to material ends. In the coming centuries this will be corrected; their energies will be transmuted and purified, and men will begin to live above the diaphragm. They will then express the potencies of the loving heart, of the creative throat, and of the divinely ordered will of the head. Of this relation between the lower and the higher, physical plane sex is the symbol.

But in the head of man himself is also to be found a marvelous symbolic happening. In that living organism is enacted that drama whereby the purely human being merges himself in divinity. The great final drama of the mystical union between God and man, and between the soul and the personality is there enacted. According to the Eastern philosophy, there are in the head of man two great energy centers. One of them, the center between the eyebrows, blends and fuses the five types of energy which are transmitted to it and blended with it, - the energy of the three centers below the diaphragm and of the throat and heart centers. The other, the head center, is awakened through meditation, service and aspiration, and it is through this center that the soul makes its contact with the personality. This head center is the symbol of the spirit or positive masculine aspect, just as the center between the eyebrows is the symbol of matter, of the negative feminine aspect. Connected with these force vortices are two physical plane organs, the pituitary body and the pineal gland. The first is negative and the second is positive. These two organs are the higher correspondences of the male and female organs of physical reproduction. As the soul becomes increasingly potent in the mental and emotional life of the aspirant, it pours in with greater power into the head center. As the man works with his personality, purifying it [291] and bending it to the service of the spiritual will, he automatically raises the energies of the centers in the body up to the center between the eyebrows. Eventually the influence of each of the two centers increases and becomes wider and wider, until they make a contact with each other's vibratory or magnetic field, and instantly the light flashes out. Father-spirit and mother-matter unite and are at-one and the Christ is born. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God," said the Christ. This is the second birth, and from that moment vision comes with increasing power.

This is again the great drama of sex, re-enacted in man. Thus in his personal life he three times knows the meaning of union, of sex:

1. In the physical plane sex, or his relation to his opposite, the woman, resulting in the reproduction of the species.
2. In the union of the lower energies with the higher, resulting in the creative work.
3. In the union within the head of the energies of the personality with those of the soul, resulting in the birth of the Christ.

Great is the glory of man and wonderful are the divine functions which he embodies. Through the passage of time, the race has been brought to the point where man is beginning to raise the lower energies into the higher centers, and it is this transition which is causing much of the trouble in the world today. Many men everywhere are becoming politically, religiously, scientifically, or artistically creative, and the impact of their mental energy and of their plans and ideas is making itself felt competitively. Until the idea of brotherhood dominates the race, we shall see these powers prostituted to personal ends and ambitions, and to consequent disaster, just as we have seen the power of sex prostituted [292] to personal satisfaction and selfishness and consequent disaster. Some few, however, are raising their energies higher still and translating them into terms of the heavenly world. The Christ is being born today in many a human being, and increasingly will the sons of God appear in their true nature to take over the guidance of humanity in the New Age.

B.II.3.e.ii. Sex in the New Age

Prophecy is ever a dangerous thing, but a forecast, a drawing out of present general tendencies, is often possible.

During the next two hundred years the old influences under which we have been living will gradually die out, and the new potencies will make their presence felt. Three things we are told will characterize the coming Aquarian age, and they will be made possible through the influence of the three planets governing the three decanates of this sign. First, we shall have the activity of Saturn, producing a dividing of the ways and a proffering of opportunity to those who can avail themselves of it. We shall have, therefore, a period of discipline and a cycle wherein choices will be made, and through these discriminating decisions humanity will enter into its birthright. This influence is now being strongly felt.

Then, later, we shall have, through the influence of Mercury in the second decanate, the pouring in of light, of mental and spiritual illumination, and a truer interpretation of the teaching of the Lodge of Messengers. The work of the first decanate will enable many to make those choices and efforts which will enable them to raise the lower energies into the higher centers, and to transfer the focus of their attention from below to above the diaphragm. The work of the second decanate will enable those who are thus ready to fuse the personality and the soul, and thus, as I earlier [293] pointed out, the light will shine forth and Christ will be born within them.

During the third decanate we shall see the rule of Brotherhood inaugurated, and Venus controlling by intelligent love; the group and not the individual will be the important unit, and unselfishness and cooperation will steadily take the place of separativeness and competition.

In no department of life will these coming great changes show more potently than in the attitude of man towards sex, and in the readjustment of the marriage relationship. This new attitude will gradually come about as the slowly developing science of psychology comes into its own. As man comes to understand his own threefold nature, and as the nature of consciousness and the depth of his own subconscious life are more truly grasped, there will take place, gradually and automatically, a change in the attitude of men towards women and of women towards their destiny. This needed change will not be the result of legal measures, or of decisions by the people's representatives to meet the disasters of the hour; these changes will come slowly, as the result of the intelligent interest of the next three generations. The young people now coming into incarnation, and those who will come during the next century, will prove themselves well equipped to handle this problem of sex, because they can see more clearly than the older generation, and will think in wider and larger terms than is common today. They will be more group-conscious and less individualistic and selfish; they will be more interested in new ideas than in the ancient theologies, and will be freer from prejudice and less intolerant than are the bulk of the well-meaning people of today. Psychology is only just come into its own, and only now is its function beginning to be understood; in one hundred years time, however, it will be the dominating science [294] and the newer educational systems, based on scientific psychology, will have completely superseded our modern methods. The emphasis in the future will be laid upon the determining of a man's life purpose. This will be brought about through an understanding of his ray, through an analysis of his equipment (and of this, vocational psychology is the faint first beginning), through a study of his horoscope, and through giving him a sound grounding in mind control, as well as training his memory to the impartation of information. The processes by which he can integrate his personality and raise and purify his living qualities will receive careful attention, and all to the end of making him group-conscious and useful to his group. This is the factor of importance. Synthesis, physical purity, decentralization and group good will be the keynotes of the teaching imparted. Emotional control and right-thinking will be inculcated, and where these are present a knowledge of spiritual realities will be automatically acquired and the life subordinated to the group purpose. Man's relations to others will then be intelligently directed, and his relation to the other sex will be guided not only by love and desire, but by an ordered intellectual appreciation of the true significance of marriage. The above applies to the intelligent, well-intentioned majority whose standards will have developed as the decades pass, so that they will embody the dreams and ideals of the most advanced visionaries of today. The unthinking, the idle and the stupid will still be found, but evolution proceeds apace and order is on its way.

What laws will be enacted for the control of the people on this difficult subject of sex I cannot say; what the marriage laws will be it is no part of my purpose to foretell; how the legislatures of the nations will deal with the problem remains to be seen. I am not interested in speculation. [295]

But I can and I shall put down for you here the basic premises which will underlie the best thought of the future on the subject of sex and marriage. These premises are three in number; when they are understood and grasped, and when they are integrated into the thought of the period, forming the basis of all recognized standards and consistent living, then the details as to how and where and when will take care of themselves.

The relation of the sexes and their approach to the marriage relation will be regarded as a part of the group life and as serving the group good; this will not be the result of laws regulating marriage, but a result of education in group relations, service and the law of love, as understood practically and not just sentimentally. Men and women will know themselves as cells in a vital organism, and their activities and outlook will be colored by this realization. It will be regarded as a fact in nature and as a product of past evolutionary cycles, and not be looked upon as a theory and a hope, as is the case today. What is best for the group, and what is needed to promote the efficiency of a unit in the group, will be the points considered. Men will increasingly live in the world of thought and understanding, and not so much in the world of ill-regulated desire and of animal instinct; the love of men for women and of women for men will be more truly present than is now the case, for it will not be so purely emotional, and it will be based also on intelligence.

As the creative urge is turned upwards from the sacral center to the throat, man will live less potently in his physical sexual urges, and more consistently in his creative expression. His physical plane life will proceed along normal lines, but it is necessary for men to realize that the manner in which man today satisfies his sexual nature is abnormal and unregulated, [296] and that we are on our way to a wise normality. The craving for selfish pleasure and for the satisfaction of an animal urge, which is instinctually right when regulated and devastatingly wrong when prostituted purely to enjoyment, will give place to a mutual decision by both of the parties concerned. The decision will meet a natural need in a right and suitable and regulated manner. Today one party or other is usually sacrificed, either to an undue abstinence or to an unseemly profligacy.

2. The second rule is based upon the point of evolution, and for its right fulfilment necessitates the true integration of the personality. This rule might be expressed as follows: True marriage and right sexual relation should involve the marriage of all three aspects of man's nature; there should be a meeting on all three levels of consciousness at once - the physical, the emotional and the mental. A man and a woman, to be truly and happily married, must be complements to each other in all the three departments of their nature, and there should be a simultaneous union of all three. How seldom is this the case, and how rare it is to find! There is no need for me to elaborate in this direction, for this truth is obvious and has oft been voiced. Later, but not for a long while yet, we shall see marriages which will be based upon the point of development of the integrated personality, and only those will meet each other in the sacred marriage ritual who have reached the same point in the work of transmuting the lower into the higher centers; a marriage will be regarded as undesirable and the parties ill-mated where one is living the life of the purified personality above the diaphragm, and the other the life of the intelligent animal below the diaphragm. Finally some few will choose their mates from amongst those in whom the Christ has been born again, and [297] who are giving expression to the Christ life. But the time is not yet, except for the rare and the few.

3. The third governing principle will be the desire to provide good and fair and healthy bodies for incoming egos. This is not possible today, under our ill-regulated system of cohabitation. The majority of the children who are born now have come accidentally into being or are not wanted. Some few, of course, are desired, but even in these cases, that desire is usually based on reasons of heredity, property to be passed on, an old name to be perpetuated, an unfulfiled ambition to be satisfied; yet the day of ordained and desired births is drawing nearer, and when it comes it will make possible the more rapid incarnation of disciples and initiates. Right preparation will take place prior to any fulfilment of the sex urge, and souls will be attracted to their parents by the urgency of those parents desire, the purity of their motives and the power of their preparatory work.

When these three motives are carefully studied, and when men and women mould their physical plane relationship to each other upon their group responsibilities, upon their union with each other on all three planes simultaneously, and upon the offering of opportunity for incoming souls, then we shall indeed see a restoration of the spiritual aspect of marriage. We shall see the coming in of that era when good will will be the outstanding characteristic, and wherein selfish purpose and animal instinct will fade into the background.

B.II.3.e.iii. Some Suggestions for the Present Cycle

I have been occupied with indicating a situation which at present exists, and in pointing out an ideal one which lies ahead, but which is not as yet possible. This is valuable, but it leaves a gap in our thought which requires filling. The question now arises which is capable of formulation in the [298] following terms: Given the accuracy of my presentation of the present appalling conditions, given the possibility of an ultimate approximation to the presented ideal in a distant future, is it possible at this time to take steps which will eventually lead to the necessary adjustments in the department of sex? It most certainly is, and my answer takes the following form.

When certain basic postulates, four in number, have been presented and kept before the mind of the public, they will finally lead to such an education of public opinion that the needed activities will follow. But the first step is the education of the public, and their grasp of the four essential laws. Any correction of present conditions will come as a growth from within humanity itself, and not as the imposition of a ruling from without. The training of the public consciousness must therefore go steadily forward, and thus we shall lay the foundation for the later changes.

I should like here to remind you that the coming three generations (in which I include the present one of boys and girls) will bring into incarnation a group of people who will be well equipped to lead humanity out of the present impasse. This fact warrants remembrance, and is often forgotten. There are always those at every epoch in human history who are able to solve the problems which arise, and who are sent in for that very purpose. This sex problem, in the last analysis, is a temporary one, little as you may think it today, and it grows out of a basic mistake, - out of the prostitution of man's God-given faculties to selfish physical ends, instead of their consecration to divine purposes. Man has been swept and carried off his feet by his instinctual animal nature, and only a clear and clean mental understanding of the real nature of his problem will be strong enough to carry him forward into the New Age and into the world of [299] right motive and right action. Man has to learn and deeply grasp the fact that the main purpose of sex is not the satisfaction of the appetites, but the providing of physical bodies through which life may express itself. He has to understand the nature of the symbolism underlying the sexual relation, and by its means grasp the scope of the spiritual realities. The Law of Sex is the law of those relations whereby life and form are brought together in order that divine purpose may be seen. This is a fundamental law of creation, and it is true, whether one is dealing with the informing Life of a solar system, with the birth of an animal, or with the appearance of a plant from a seed. "Sex" is the word we use to cover the relation which exists between that energy we call "life" and the aggregate of force units through which that energy expresses itself and builds a form. It covers the activity which takes place when the pairs of opposites are brought together, and by means of which they become at-one and produce a third reality. That third reality or result bears witness to their relation, and another life in form is seen. You have always, therefore, relation, at-one-ment and birth. These three words deal with the true significance of sex.

But man has prostituted the truth, and the real significance has been lost. Sex now means the satisfaction of the male desire for sensuous pleasure, and the assuaging of a physical appetite through the prostitution of the feminine aspect to that desire and appetite. This relation leads to no result as intended, but to a momentary second of satisfaction, and all of it is confined to the animal nature and the physical plane. I am largely generalizing and would remind you that there are exceptions to all generalizations. I should also like to add that no one must here think that I hold the masculine aspect as responsible for our present problem when I say that man uses woman for his pleasure. How can I mean this, when I [300] know that every human being is cyclically either a man or a woman; that the men of today have been women and the women have been men in previous lives? There is no sex, as we understand it, where souls are concerned; it is only in the form life that sex exists. Only in the process of differentiation for the purposes of experimentation does the incarnating spiritual man occupy first a male body and then a feminine, thus rounding out the negative and positive aspects of the form life. All the race is equally guilty, and all must be equally active in the process of creating the correct conditions, and in bringing order out of the present chaos.

Therefore, the first postulate which must be laid down, and to which the general public must be educated, is that all souls incarnate and reincarnate under the Law of Rebirth. Hence each life is not only a recapitulation of life experience, but an assuming of ancient obligations, a recovery of old relations, an opportunity for the paying of old indebtedness, a chance to make restitution and progress, an awakening of deep seated qualities, the recognition of old friends and enemies, the solution of revolting injustices, and the explanation of that which conditions the man and makes him what he is. Such is the law which is crying now for universal recognition, and which, when understood by thinking people, will do much to solve the problems of sex and marriage.

Why will this be so? Because when this law is admitted as a governing intellectual principle, all men will tread more carefully the path of life, and will proceed with greater caution to fulfil their family and group obligations. They will know full well that "whatsoever a man soweth, that will he also reap," and that he will reap it here and now, and not in some mystical and mythical heaven or hell; he will have to make his adjustments in the life of every day upon earth, which provides an adequate heaven and a more than adequate [301] hell. The spreading of this doctrine of rebirth, its scientific recognition and proving, is fast going forward, and during the next ten years it will be the subject of much attention.

The second basic postulate was enunciated for us by Christ when he told us to "love our neighbor as ourselves." To this we have paid, as yet, but little attention. We have loved ourselves and have sought to love those we like. But to love universally and because our neighbor is a soul as we are, with a nature essentially perfect and an infinite destiny, this has always been regarded as a beautiful dream to be consummated in a future so distant, and in a heaven so far away, that we may well forget it. Two thousand years have gone since the greatest expression of God's love walked on earth and bade us love each other. Yet still we fight and hate and use our powers for selfish ends, our bodies and our appetites for material pleasures, and our efforts at living are, in the mass, primarily directed towards personal selfishness. Have you ever considered what the world would today be if man had listened to the Christ and had sought to obey His command? We should have eliminated much disease (for the diseases originating in the misuse of the sex function underlie a large percentage of our physical ills, and devastate our modern civilization), we should have made war impossible, we should have reduced crime to a minimum, and our modern life would be an exemplification of a manifesting divinity. But this has not been the case, and hence our modern world conditions.

But the new law must, and will, be enunciated. This law can be summed up in the words: Let a man so live that his life is harmless. Then no evil to the group can grow out of his thoughts, his actions or his words. This is not negative harmlessness, but of a difficult and positive activity. If the above practical paraphrase of the words of Christ were universally promulgated and practically applied, we should have [302] order growing out of chaos, group love superseding personal selfishness, religious unity taking the place of fanatical intolerance, and regulated appetites instead of license.

The two laws I have proclaimed, and the two postulates I have above enunciated, sound like platitudes. But platitudes are the universal and recognized truths, and a truth is a scientific pronouncement. The molding of the life by these two recognitions (the Law of Rebirth and the Law of Love) would save humanity and rebuild our civilization. They are probably too simple to evoke an interested recognition. But the power lying behind them is the power of divinity itself, and their recognition is simply a question of time, for evolution will force the recognition at some distant date. The forming of an earlier recognition lies in the hands of the disciples and thinkers of the present age.

The third basic law underlying the solution of our modern problems, including that of sex, grows normally out of the other two laws. It is the Law of Group Life. Our group relations must be seen and acknowledged. Not only must a man fulfil in love his family and national obligations, but he must think in the wider terms of humanity itself, and so bring the Law of Brotherhood into expression. Brotherhood is a group quality. The young people who are now coming in will come into life equipped with a much deeper sense of the group, and with their group awareness much more fully developed than is now the case. They will solve their problems, including the problem of sex, by asking themselves when situations arise of a difficult nature: Will this action of mine tend to the group good? Will the group be hurt or suffer if I do thus and so? Will this benefit the group and produce group progress, group integration, and group unity? Action which fails to measure up to the group requirements will then automatically be discarded. In the deciding of problems, the [303] individual and the unit will slowly learn to subordinate the personal good and the personal pleasure to group conditions and group requirements. You can see, therefore, how the problem of sex will also yield to solution. An understanding of the Law of Rebirth, a goodwill towards all men, working out as harmlessness, and a desire for group goodwill will gradually become determining factors in the racial consciousness, and our civilization will adjust itself in time to these new conditions.

The final postulate which I seek to emphasize is that the keeping of these three laws will lead necessarily to an urgent desire to keep the law of the land in which a particular soul has incarnated. That these man-made laws are inadequate I well know, and it is needless to point this out. They may be, and are, temporary and insufficient to the need. They may fail in their scope and prove inadequate, but they do, in a measure, safeguard the little feeble ones, and will be regarded therefore as binding upon those who are seeking to help the race. These laws are subject to change as the effect of the three great laws makes itself felt, but until they are wisely altered (and this takes time) they act as a brake on license and on selfishness. They may also work hardship. This none can deny. But the hardships they bring are not so evil in their nature nor so lasting in their effects as would be the result of their removal and the consequent inauguration of a cycle of law-less-ness. Therefore, the server of the race cooperates with the laws of the land in his daily life, working at the same time for the removal of the injustices they may produce and for the bettering of the legal impositions upon mankind in his country.

In the recognition of these four laws, - of Rebirth, of Love, of the Group, and of the Land, - we shall see the salvation of the race. [304]

B.II.3.e.iv. Sex and Discipleship

I want to write a word on the subject of sex in the life of the disciple. There is much confusion in the minds of aspirants on this matter, and the injunction as to celibacy is assuming the position of a religious doctrine. We are often told by the well-meaning but illogical that if a man is a disciple he cannot marry, and that there is no real spiritual attainment unless a man is celibate. This theory has its roots in two things:

First, there has ever been a mistaken attitude in the East towards women. Secondly, in the West, from the time of Christ, there has been a tendency towards the monastic and conventual conception of spiritual life. These two attitudes embody two mistaken ideas, and lie at the root of much misunderstanding and at the heart of much evil. Man is no better than the woman, nor woman than the man. Yet many thousands regard women as embodying that which is evil and that which is the basis of temptation. But God has from the beginning ordained that men and women should meet each other's needs and act as complements to each other. God has not ordained that men should live herded together, away from women, or women away from men; and both of these great systems have led to much sexual abuse and to much suffering.

The belief that to be a disciple necessitates a celibate life and complete abstinence from all natural functions is neither correct nor desirable. This can be proved by the recognition of two things:

The first is that if divinity is indeed a reality and an expression of omnipotence and omnipresence as well as omniscience, and if man is essentially divine, then there can be no condition possible wherein divinity cannot be supreme. There can be no sphere of human activity where man cannot [304] act divinely and wherein all functions cannot be illumined by the light of pure reason and divine intelligence. I deal not here with the specious and devious argument that that which normally and by all right-minded people is regarded as wrong must be right because of man's inherent divinity. That can be but a loose excuse for wrongdoing. I speak of sexual relations of the right kind, within the permit of the spiritual law as well as the law of the land.

Secondly, a life that is not normally rounded out till all the functions of its nature - animal, human and divine - (and man is all of these three in one body) are exercised, is frustrated, inhibited, and abnormal. That all cannot marry in these days is true, but that fact does not negate the greater fact that man has been created by God to marry. That all are not in a position where they can today live normal and full lives is equally a consequence of our present abnormal economic conditions; but this in no way negates the fact that the condition is abnormal. But that an enforced celibacy is an indication of a deep spirituality, and a necessary part of all esoteric and spiritual training, is equally false, abnormal and undesirable. There is no better training school for a disciple and an initiate than family life, with its enforced relations, its scope for adjustments and adaptability, its demanded sacrifices and service, and its opportunities for the full expression of every part of man's nature. There is no greater service to be rendered to the race than the proffering of bodies to incoming souls, and the giving of attention and educational facilities to those souls within the home limits. But the whole condition and problem of the family life and of childbearing have been distorted and misunderstood; and it will be long before marriage and children assume their rightful place as sacraments, and longer still before the pain and suffering consequent upon our mistakes and on the misuse of the sexual [306] relation have disappeared, and the beauty and consecration of marriage and of the manifestation of souls in form supersede the present wrong grouping of ideas.

The disciple and aspirant upon the Path, and the Initiate upon his "Lighted Way," have no better training ground therefore than the marriage relation, rightly used and rightly understood. The bringing of the animal nature under rhythmic discipline, the elevation of the emotional and the instinctual natures upon the altar of sacrifice, and the self-abnegation required in the life of the family are tremendous purificatory and developing potencies. The celibacy required is that of the higher nature to the demands of the lower, and the refusal of the spiritual man to be dominated by the personality and the demands of the flesh. The attitude of an imposed celibacy upon the equipment of many a disciple has led to much prostitution and to many perversions of God-given functions and faculties; and even where there has not been this distressing condition, and where the life has been sane, consecrated and sound, there have frequently been undue suffering and much mental distress and disciplining, before unruly thoughts and tendencies could be controlled.

It is of course true that sometimes a man may be called to some particular life wherein he is faced with the problem of celibacy, and is forced to abstain from all physical relations and to live a strictly celibate life, in order to demonstrate to himself that he can control the animal and instinctual side of his nature. But this condition is frequently the result of excess and license in a previous life, which necessitates stringent measures and abnormal conditions in order to offset and rectify past errors and give the lower nature time to readjust itself. But again it is no indication of spiritual development, rather the reverse. Forget not that here I am dealing with the special case of self-applied celibacy, and not with the present [307] worldwide condition wherein, through economic and other reasons, men and women are forced to live without a natural and full life expression.

The sex problem must, in the last analysis, be solved in the home and under normal conditions, and it is the advanced people of the world and the disciples of all degrees who must thus solve it. [309]

B.III. The Rays and Man

B.III.i. Introductory Remarks

I have now dealt with one of the basic problems confronting the race at this time. I interpolated my comments on the subject of sex at that particular point because it made a fitting conclusion to our study of the rays in connection with the animal kingdom.

Man is a living entity, a conscious son of God (a soul) occupying an animal body. Here lies the point. He is therefore in the nature of a link, and a far from missing link. He unifies in himself the results of the evolutionary process as it has been carried on during the past ages, and he brings into contact with that evolutionary result a new factor, that of an individual self-sustaining, self-knowing aspect. It is the presence of this factor and of this aspect which differentiates man from the animal. It is this aspect which produces in humanity a consciousness of immortality, a self-awareness and a self-centeredness which make man truly to appear in the image of God. It is this innate and hidden power which gives man the capacity to suffer which no animal possesses, but which also confers on him the ability to reap the benefits of this experience in the realm of the intellect. This same capacity, in embryo, works out in the animal kingdom in the realm of the instincts. It is this peculiar property of humanity [312] which confers upon it the power to sense ideals, to register beauty, to react sensuously to music, and to enjoy color and harmony. It is this divine something which makes of mankind the prodigal son, torn between desire for the worldly life, for possessions and experience, and the attractive power of that center, or home, from which he has come.

Man stands midway between heaven and earth, with his feet deep in the mud of material life and his head in heaven. In the majority of cases his eyes are closed, and he sees not the beauty of the heavenly vision, or they are open but fixed upon the mud and slime with which his feet are covered. But when his open eyes are lifted for a brief moment, and see the world of reality and of spiritual values, then the torn and distracted life of the aspirant begins.

Humanity is the custodian of the hidden mystery, and the difficulty consists in the fact that that which man conceals from the world is also hidden from himself. He knows not the wonder of that which he preserves and nourishes. Humanity is the treasure-house of God (this is the great Masonic secret), for only in the human kingdom, as esotericists have long pointed out, are the three divine qualities found in their full flower and together. In man, God the Father has hidden the secret of life; in man, God the Son has secreted the treasures of wisdom and of love; in man, God the Holy Spirit has implanted the mystery of manifestation. Humanity, and humanity alone, can reveal the nature of the Godhead and of eternal life. To man is given the privilege of revealing the nature of the divine consciousness, and of portraying before the eyes of the assembled sons of God (at the final conclave before the dissolution) what has lain hidden in the Mind of God. Hence the injunction before us today (in the words of the great Christian teacher) to possess in ourselves "the mind of Christ." This mind must dwell in us and reveal itself [313] in the human race in ever greater fullness. To man is given the task of raising matter up into heaven, and of glorifying rightly the form side of life through his conscious manifestation of divine powers.

To portray adequately the wonder and the destiny of the human kingdom lies beyond my powers or the power of any human pen, no matter how great a man's realization may be, or his response to the beauty of God's world. Divinity must be lived, expressed and manifested, to be understood. God must be loved, known and revealed within the human heart and brain, in order to be intellectually grasped.

The hierarchy of mystics, knowers and lovers of God, are manifesting this revealed truth in the world of the mental plane and of the emotional plane today. But the hour has now come when the manifestation of this reality can, for the first time and in truth, manifest itself on the physical plane in an organized group form, instead of through the instrumentality of the few inspired sons of God who have, in past ages, incarnated as the guarantee of the future possibilities. The Hierarchy of Angels and of Saints, of Masters, Rishis and Initiates, can now begin to organize itself in material form on earth, because today the group idea is rapidly gaining ground, and the nature of humanity is being better understood. The Church of Christ, hitherto invisible and militant, can now be seen slowly materializing and becoming the Church visible and triumphant.

This is the coming glory of the Aquarian Age; this is the next revelation of the evolutionary cycle, and such is the task of the immediate future. The true drama of this triple relationship (of which physical sex, as we have seen, is but the symbol) will be enacted on a large scale in the life of the modern aspirant during the next fifty years. We shall see what is called symbolically "the birth of the Christ," or the [314] second birth, taking place in many lives, producing on earth a large group of the spiritually newborn. They will be those who have brought together, consciously and within themselves, the two aspects of soul and body, and thus have consummated the "mystical marriage." The aggregate of these individual happenings will produce a group activity of an analogous kind, and we shall see the emergence on the physical plane of "the body of the Christ," and the appearance of the manifested Hierarchy. This is what is happening today, and all that we see going on around us in the world is but the pangs and the travail which precede this glorious birthing.

We are now in the process of this consummation. Hence the difficulty and agony evidenced in the life of every true disciple who - embodying in himself symbolically the two aspects of father-mother, spirit-matter, and having nurtured the Christ child through a period of gestation - is now giving birth to the Christ, within the animal stable and in the manger of the world. In the sum total of the general accomplishment will the entire group achieve and the Christ again appear on earth, incarnated this time in the many and not in the one personality. Yet each member of the group is a Christ in manifestation, and all together present the Christ to the world, and constitute a channel for the Christ force and life.

It is indeed and in truth from glory to glory that we go. The past glory of individualization must fade away in that of initiation. The glory of the slowly emerging self-consciousness must be lost to sight in the wonder of the group consciousness of the race, and this the foremost thinkers and workers today most ardently desire. The glory that can be seen faintly shining in humanity, and the dim light which flickers within the human form, must give place to the radiance which is the glory of the developed son of God. Only [315] a little effort is needed, and the demonstration of a steady staying power, to enable those who are now on the physical plane of experience to evidence the radiant light, and to establish upon the earth a great station of light which will illumine the whole of human thought. Always there have been isolated light bearers, down the ages. Now the group light bearer will shortly be seen. Then shall we see the rest of the human family (who respond not yet to the Christ impulse) having their progress facilitated towards the path of probation. The work will still be slow, and much yet remains to be done; but if all the aspirants of the world and all the disciples at work in the world today will submerge their personal interests in the task immediately ahead, we shall have what I might pictorially call the opening of a great station of light on earth, and the founding of a power house which will greatly hasten the evolution and elevation of humanity, and the unfoldment of the human consciousness.

There has been for long in esoteric circles much idle and oft foolish talk anent the ray upon which a man may be found. People are as ignorantly excited over being told which is their ray as they are over the portrayal of their past incarnations. The "new teaching on the rays" vies with astrology in its interest. Like the Athenians, men are always searching for the novel and the unusual, forgetting that every new truth and every new presentation of an old truth carries with it the onus of increased responsibility.

However, it is interesting to trace parallels, and it is becoming obvious to the careful student that the emergence of the teaching on the rays has happened at a time when the scientist is announcing the fact that there is naught to be seen and known save energy, and that all forms are composed of energy units and are in themselves expressions of force. [316] A ray is but a name for a particular force or type of energy, with the emphasis upon the quality which that force exhibits and not upon the form aspect which it creates. This is a true definition of a ray.

B.III.ii. The Rays and the Races

We have been told in the past teaching of the Ageless Wisdom that a human being is a triple aspect of energy, and that he is essentially a trinity, as is the Deity. We speak of him technically as Monad-ego-personality. We define him as spirit-soul-body. I should like to point out here that in studying the human family as a unit and as a whole, it also will be discovered to be essentially a Monad, with seven egoic groups, within which all souls (in incarnation and out of incarnation) find their place, and with forty-nine corresponding racial forms through which the seven groups of souls cyclically express themselves. All souls work out their destiny in all races, but certain types predominate in certain racial forms. Where, then, is to be found any reason for racial predilections or antipathies? In the realization of the truth that we all, at some time, experience incarnation in all racial forms will come the knowledge that there is only unity. The subject may be clarified if we tabulate the teaching and the ray relationship to the races as follows:

Ray	Full Expression	Major Influence
Ray I. Will. 1st ray souls.	In the 7th root-race. Perfection of Plan.	1st and 7th subraces.
Ray II. Love-Wisdom. 2nd ray souls.	In the 6th root-race. Perfected Intuition.	2nd and 6th subraces.
Ray III. Intelligence. 3rd ray souls.	In the 5th root-race. Aryan race. Perfected Intelligence.	3rd and 5th subraces. [317]
Ray IV. Harmony. 4th ray souls.	In the 4th root-race. Atlantean race. Perfected astralism. Perfected emotion.	4th and 6th subraces.
Ray V. Knowledge. 5th ray souls.	In the 3rd root-race. Lemurian. Perfected physical.	5th and 3rd subraces.
Ray VI. Devotion. 6th ray souls.	In the 2nd root-race.	6th and 2nd subraces.
Ray VII. Ceremonial Magic. 7th ray souls.	In the 1st root-race.	7th and 1st subraces.

Remember that this tabulation refers to the major ray cycles, and remember further that in every root-race you have a continuous mingling and intermingling of the rays with what might be called the "constant" or dominating ray, which appears and reappears with greater frequency and potency than do the other rays. There is therefore a close correspondence between certain rays and certain races, with their subraces, and these are colored by these predominant ray influences. It is interesting also to interpret these ray influences (as I have expressed them) in terms of their quality leading to their objective, as follows:

• The first Ray of Will leads from latent purpose in the first race to the fulfiled evolutionary Plan in the seventh race.
• The second Ray of Love-Wisdom leads from love or divine desire in the second race to full intuitional understanding in the sixth race.
• The third Ray of Active Intelligence leads from the latent mental awareness of Lemurian man in the third race to the intellectual achievement of the Aryan race, the fifth race.
• The fourth Ray of Harmony through Conflict leads from the period of that terrific balancing of forces in Atlantis (the [318] fourth race) to the sanctified and free devotion of one-pointedness in the next or sixth race, with two lines of energy consummating in it. It marks the point of achievement of the Monads of Love, Who arrive at the expression of Love-Wisdom. The final race marks the point of achievement for the Monads of Will, just as the present Aryan race marks, and will mark, the achievement of the Monads of Intelligence. This warrants thought. It is a relative achievement, for this is the fourth round, but there is necessarily a "high-water mark," if I might so call it, for each round.

In the above four races you have the great period of the balancing of the forces for our humanity. The effect of the other three rays upon the Lemurian race and the two earlier and formless races need not here be considered by us. The nature of the consciousness of the forms found in those races, and the pressure exerted in them by the Entity Who informs the human family as a whole, are too abstruse for the average reader. He is mainly concerned with the races here enumerated, which summarize for him past and future achievement.

Consequently, in dealing with the human family, we must endeavor to think in larger terms than those of the individual man as we know him. We must look upon humanity itself as an integrated entity, as a Being, as a Life in a form. In this unified form Life every human being is a cell, and the seven races constitute the seven major centers, with the polarization shifting ever into the higher centers, and the lower centers fading away into quiescence, until the time comes when all of the seven will be coordinated and energized, at the end of the age. We might here make the following suggestions (note this word) as to the relation between the races and the centers in the body of humanity: [319]

Races	Center	Expression
7th and final root-race.	The head center.	Will. Plan.
6th root-race. The next.	The center between the eyebrows.	Intuitive integration.
5th root-race. The present.	The throat center.	Creative power. Occult.
4th and past root-race.	The solar plexus center.	Psychic sensitivity. Mystic.
3rd and first human race.	The sacral center.	Physical appearance. Generation.
2nd and etheric race.	The heart or vital center.	Life forces coordinated.
1st race.	The base of spine.	The Will to be, to exist.

It is with only the last four evolving races that we shall concern ourselves (the first four dealt with in the above tabulation), for the first three races are too far off for any one under the degree of initiate to grasp their mode of development, their type of consciousness, and their procedure towards their goal. The point I seek to emphasize is the necessity of seeing the picture whole, and not in terms of individual man.

It may here be helpful if we note down our tabulation of certain points anent the human kingdom, as we did in connection with the three subhuman kingdoms.

B.III.iii. The Human Kingdom

Influences:

Two rays of divine energy are peculiarly active in bringing this kingdom into manifestation. These are: [320]

1. The fourth Ray of Harmony, beauty and unity, attained through conflict.
2. The fifth Ray of Concrete Knowledge, or the power to know.

The fourth ray is the ray par excellence which governs humanity. There is a numerical relation to be noted here, for the fourth creative Hierarchy of human monads, the fourth ray, in this fourth round, on the fourth globe, the Earth, are extremely active. It is their close interrelation and interplay which is responsible for the emergence into prominence of humanity. In other rounds, humanity has not been the dominant evolution or the most important. In this round it is. In the next round, the dominant evolution will be that of souls on the astral level, and the deva kingdom. Humanity now walks in the light of day, symbolically speaking, on Earth, and these two rays were responsible for the process of initiating the human evolution in this major cycle. Our objective is the harmonizing of the higher and the lower aspects, or principles, both in the individual and in the whole. This involves conflict and struggle, but produces eventually beauty, creative power in art, and synthesis. This result would not have been possible had it not been for the potent work of the fifth Ray of Concrete Knowledge which - in conjunction with the fourth ray - produced that reflection of divinity we call a man.

The human entity is a curious synthesis, on the subjective side of his nature, producing a fusion of life, of power, of harmonious intent and of mental activity. The following should be noted, for it is of profound psychological interest and import:

• Rays I, IV and V
  predominate in the life of humanity and govern with increasing power man's mental life and determine his mental body. [321]
• Rays II and VI
  govern potently his emotional life and determine the type of his astral body.
• Rays III and VII
  govern the vital physical life and the physical body.

Here you have, if you note carefully, a summation of the rays which govern and differentiate the life of the personality forms, and therefore bring in other factors which psychologists will have to consider as time goes on. You will see therefore that:

1. The human soul or ego is found on one or other of the seven rays, in one or other of the seven ray groups.
2. The mind nature and mental body are governed by the Rays of Purpose, of Harmony or Synthesis, and of Knowledge.
3. The emotional nature and form are governed by the Rays of Love-Wisdom and of idealistic Devotion.
4. The vital life and physical body are governed by the Rays of Intelligence in matter and of Organizing Power.

But in the midst of this complexity of rays and forces, the third and fifth rays hold paramount place, and govern the major cycles of the individual. He is controlled not only by his own ray cycles (determined by his egoic ray) and by the lesser cycles of the personality, but he comes also under the influence of the major and minor cycles in the ray life of humanity as a whole.

Results:

Through the active work of the two rays above discussed, we find the fourth ray producing eventually in man the appearance of the intuition. The fifth ray is responsible for the development in him of the intellect. Here again we find appearing in man his great gift of synthesis and his prerogative [322] of unification, for - as earlier said - he blends in himself the qualities of three kingdoms in nature, including the one before and the one after his own.

1. The kingdom of souls - Intuition.
2. The human kingdom - Intellect.
3. The animal kingdom - Instinct.

Hence his problem, and hence his glory. We might also say that through the union of the positive intuition and the negative instinct the intellect is born, for man repeats in himself the great creative process as enacted in the universe. This is the inner creative side of consciousness, just as we have the outer creative side in the creation of forms.

Process:

In the human family, owing to the presence within the human physical form of a thinking entity, called by us the Soul, the procedure followed in order to produce conscious control is that of adaptation. All forms in the three lower subhuman kingdoms are also subjected to the process of adaptation, but that is a group adaptation to environment, whereas in humanity we have the adaptation of the individual to his environment. The person who works consciously and intelligently at adapting himself to that situation and those conditions in which he finds himself is relatively rare. Conscious adapting of oneself to circumstances is the result of evolutionary development. The stages by which man arrives at this capacity may be enumerated as follows:

1. That unconscious adaptation to his environment of the man who is primarily an unintelligent animal. Low grade savages are in this class, and many purely agricultural peasants who have not been subjected to modern education. The man at this stage is little better than an animal and is governed entirely by instinct. [323]
2. An unconscious adaptation to environment carried on by the man who is beginning to evidence some faint flickers of mental perception. This is partly instinctual and is based on a growing self-love. There is more of the "I" consciousness in him, and rather less of group instinctual awareness. You find this growing self-realization in the low grade slum dwellers, for instance, and in the petty criminal who is instinctual enough and bright enough to live by his wits and to show quickness in reactions and deftness manually. It is the stage of animal cunning.
3. A conscious and purely selfish adapting of oneself to the environment. In these cases, the man is definitely aware of his motives; they are consciously thought out and recognized, and the man makes "the best of his circumstances." He forces himself to live as far as possible harmoniously in his surroundings. In this there is really good motive, but principally the man is governed by a desire for comfort - physical, emotional and mental - to such a degree that he will discipline himself into such a condition that he fits wherever he may be and can get on with anyone.
4. From this stage on the differentiations become so numerous that they are difficult to follow, being mixtures of pure selfishness (developed often to the nth degree), of a growing recognition of the group, of an awakening realization of the right of other people to a similar degree of comfort and harmony, and of a steady effort to adapt conditions of character and personality life, so that the purely selfish interests do no real damage to others, until we arrive at...
5. The average really good man who is struggling to adapt himself to his surroundings, to his group relations and responsibilities in such a way that some measure of love [324] can be seen. I refer not here to that instinctual love for family and children and herd which men share in common with the animals and which often breaks down when the loved individuals assert themselves. The tie is not strong enough to hold, and the motive is too selfish to resist the pull. I refer to that motivated love which recognizes the rights of others and consciously strives to adapt itself to those recognized rights whilst tenaciously holding on to the rights of the personality.
6. Then we have the work of adaptation as carried on by the aspirants of the world who are theoretically convinced of their group relation, of its paramount importance, and of the need of every personality to develop its powers to the fullest capacity in order to bring real value to the group and to serve adequately the group need. In true esotericism, there is no such motive as "killing the personality," or of disciplining it to such an extent that it becomes a dead poor thing. The true motive is to train the threefold lower nature, the integrated personality, to the highest demonstration of its powers, latent or developing, in order that those powers may be brought to the helping of the group need, and the personality of the aspirant may be integrated into the group. Thereby the group life is enriched, the group potency is increased, and the group consciousness is enhanced.
   What is therefore to be seen going on in the life of the true aspirant today (his developing recognition of group responsibility) can also be seen going on in groups, in organizations and nations. Hence the many experiments. A process is going forward whereby these groups, large or small, are being subjected to a housecleaning, to a discarding of the rubbish of old and worn-out ideas, and to a period of disciplining and training [325] which must precede all real group life. When this process is over, we shall have these groups approaching each other in a new and real spirit of cooperation, of religious fusion, and in an international attitude which will be new indeed. Then they will have something of a surer and greater value to offer to the whole. Within all these groups which are struggling towards this newer realization and integration, and which express what we might call "the sixth stage of adaptation," are those who are already at the seventh stage.
7. Here we have complete unselfish adaptation to the group need and purpose. Those who have reached this point in their evolution are decentralized as regards their own personality life. The focus of their mental attention is in the soul and in the world of souls. Their attention is not directed towards the personality at all, except in so far as is needed to force it to adhere to group or soul purpose. These servers who are expressions of soul radiance and attractive power are knowers of the Plan, and in every organization they constitute the new and slowly growing group of World Servers. In their hands lies the salvation of the world.
8. The final group in this scale of adaptation is that of the higher initiates, the perfected Elder Brethren and Great Companions. They are perfectly adapted to Their personalities, to each other and to world conditions; but as a group They are learning how to adapt the forces of nature, the energies of the rays and the potencies of the zodiacal signs to the world need and the world demand in a practical manner and at any particular time. It is here that the work of the disciples of the world, and of the higher types of aspirants, proves helpful [326] as a field of experiment, and it is in the new group of World Servers that the process of adaptation goes on.

I have endeavored to outline these stages of the process of adaptation in terms of consciousness, viewing the subject therefore philosophically and psychologically. It should be remembered that this process, as it goes on in consciousness, produces (surely and inevitably) corresponding changes in mechanism and structure, and in sense perception through the apparatus of the body. On these changes I lay no emphasis in this treatise, for they are beautifully dealt with by modern science, which is steadily forging ahead in the right direction. I lay the emphasis upon consciousness as the predisposing factor, and on the developed sense of awareness which produces an inner demand for improved equipment. The improving of equipment as a result of the demand of consciousness is the secret of the evolutionary impulse, down the ages. This inner demand in man awakens the centers, and the awakening of the centers determines the response of the endocrine system, governs the nervous system in its threefold capacity, and also the blood stream. Thus the outer form or mechanism is ever an indication of the point of evolution of the inner subjective and spiritual man.

The Secret:

This is called, in esotericism, "the secret of translation." I might bring the general concept underlying those words down to the intelligence of the average student by telling him that when a man really understands the elevating power of the aspiration, he can begin to work with the secret of translation. Students must lose sight of the foolish and erroneous idea that aspiration is really an emotional attitude. It is not. It is a scientific process, governing evolution itself. [327] When given free scope and duly followed, it is the mode par excellence whereby the matter aspect, or the whole personality, is "raised up into heaven." The effect of continued aspiration, when followed by right action, is to bring about three things:

1. A stimulation of the higher atoms of the three bodies.
2. The discarding, as a result of this stimulation, of those atomic substances which (when present) occultly hold the aspirant down to earth.
3. The increasing of the magnetic attractive power of the higher atoms, which draw to themselves atoms of high vibration to take the place of those of low vibration. One point I should like to make here, in order to correct an almost universal wrong mental attitude. Right atoms of high vibration are attracted into a man's body or bodies by the power of the united attraction of the atoms already present, and not primarily by the will of the soul, except in so far as that will acts upon the high grade atoms already present and responsive.

Aspiration is an activity of an occult and scientific nature, and is instinctual in substance itself. This point needs emphasis when instructing groups.

It is an interesting sidelight thrown upon the phenomena of aspiration that the power to levitate the body, which is so oft today the subject of psychic interest and research, is dependent upon having produced a peculiar alignment of the personality through aspiration and an act of the will. It presupposes in the three bodies a certain percentage of atoms of the adequate vibrations and lightness.

This secret of translation is the underlying cause of the caste system, and caste is a symbol of translation. In the last analysis, souls pass from caste to caste as they "translate" [328] their bodies. The clue to the translation is to be found in the fact that no act of translation ever involves one body alone, and no "passing on and up" into another dimension, into another state of consciousness and another "caste," ever takes place unless an alignment has been produced between (for instance):

1. The physical body and the emotional body.
2. These two and the mental body.
3. These three and the soul.
4. These four and the group of World Servers.

In these four alignments we have the esoteric parallels of which the outer caste system is the prostituted symbol. Ponder on this, for the caste system is universal in the world. It is when the third alignment has been truly accomplished and when the light of the fourth constituent to the relationship dominates the inherent light of the other three, that the objective of man's evolution is reached. This brings us to the point next to be considered.

Purpose:

This purpose is the Transfiguration. This is the esoteric goal set before humanity. This was the tremendous event which was enacted before humanity by the greatest of all the sons of God in His Own Body, Whom I and all true disciples regard as the Master of all the Masters, the Christ. What shall I say about this culminating event for which the entire personality of man waits? This third great initiation marks a crisis in the initiatory work, and produces a further synthesis experienced in the life of the spiritual man. Up to the third initiation, man has been occupied with the process of fusing soul and body into one unity. After the third initiation (and owing to an event which takes place) man is [329] oriented towards, and becomes occupied with, a further fusion in consciousness, that of spirit-soul-body. I speak of a fusion in consciousness. The unity is ever there, and man in evolution is really becoming aware of that which already exists.

Divisions:

These are five in number from the standpoint of this treatise on esotericism. They can here be only briefly indicated, as elucidation of them would involve too much.

1. The racial divisions. These can be considered in two ways:
   1. From the standpoint of modern esoteric science.
   2. From the standpoint of The Secret Doctrine, with its septenary divisions of mankind and its forty-nine subdivisions.
2. The division of humanity into seven main ray types, which might be enumerated as follows:
   1. The power type - full of will and governing capacity.
   2. The love type - full of love and fusing power.
   3. The active type - full of action, and manipulating energy.
   4. The artistic type - full of the sense of beauty and creative aspiration.
   5. The scientific type - full of the idea of cause and results. The mathematical type.
   6. The devotee type - full of idealism.
   7. The business type - full of organizing power.
      given to ritualistic ceremony.
3. The twelve astrological groups. These we shall consider in dealing with The Rays and the Zodiac, and so shall not touch upon them here.
4. The division of human beings into three esoteric groups:
   1. Those unawakened to the "I" consciousness.
      These are called esoterically "the darkened sparks." [330]
   2. Those awakened to the condition of individuality.
      These are called "the flickering lights."
   3. Those awakened to the knowledge of the soul.
      These are called "the radiant sons of light."
5. The division of humanity into three types of aspirants:
   1. Those watched from a distance by the guiding Hierarchy.
   2. Those awakened by and attracted to the Hierarchy.
   3. Those who, from the angle of the personality, belong to the world of forces, but are awakened souls whose consciousness is being integrated into that of the Hierarchy. These are the new group of World Servers.

To these three last groups the Hierarchy Itself may well be added.

The table as a whole shows the main divisions into which esoteric psychology divides humanity, and if you study it with care you will note how all-inclusive it is. I commend it to modern psychologists for study.

Objective Agency:

In the case of the human being, in whom the senses (slowly developed in the lower kingdoms) are already functioning, the outer agency whereby he grows is the world of experience, the tangible physical plane world. There he dwells in the flesh, and it is for him an adequate field of unfoldment; in the process of developing group consciousness he finds that multiplicity of contacts which is needed to awaken his response to his environment. This environment itself is part of the life and expression of Deity, and through its means he arrives at a knowledge of some aspects of God's manifestation. Using the five senses, and working with earth, air, fire [331] and water, he thereby gathers to himself all that is available for his use, and works in, and with, and through the outer world of daily living.

Subjective Agency:

Here we find the mind being employed as an organ of sense, as a synthetic or common sense, and as an instrument of discovery by means of which a man unfolds the truly human consciousness. Through the use of the mind, he learns to protect himself, to guard his interests, and to preserve his identity. Through the use of the mind, he begins to discriminate and to cultivate slowly a sense of values which enables him eventually to lay the emphasis upon the ideal and the spiritual, and not upon the material and the physical.

Quality:

This quality is the development of sattva or rhythm within the human kingdom. This is really harmonious response to vibration, and leads to the integration of the unit in the whole and to the production of that "understanding" which will enable the man to eliminate all barriers in his consciousness, and to render (simply and naturally) a rhythmic and complete response to all conditions and states of awareness. Let it ever be remembered that the secret of the quality of humanity (if I may use so cumbrous a phrase) is the power to identify the human consciousness with all other forms of consciousness and of awareness, with all forms of unconscious and instinctual response, and with all forms of the superconscious or divine sense of being. This can ultimately be done at will.

We must now begin what really constitutes an outline of the new psychology. This will work out to its fulfilment [332] and true usefulness in the Aquarian age. It will then become the basic and fundamental science of that age, just as electrical science (the electricity of matter) is the basic achievement of the Piscean age. What we are really going to consider are the influences which make a man what he is, and which determine the quality of his appearance. This appearance must be studied in terms of the entire integrated personality, and not just from the outer and objective physical condition. The influences which determine him are his own personal and soul rays which play upon him and affect his consciousness, finding entrance into his form equipment through the energy units of which that form is made. Other determining influences are also the solar, cosmic and environing factors which likewise play upon him.

It might here be asked: What are the differences between the influences which are ray influences and those which are of an astrological nature, such as the rising sign, or the governing planets?

The energies which astrologically affect a human being are those which play upon him as a result of the apparent progress of the sun through the heavens, either once every twenty-five thousand years or once every twelve months. Those that constitute the ray forces do not come from the twelve constellations of the zodiac, but emanate primarily from a world of being and of consciousness which lies behind our solar system, and which themselves come from the seven constellations which form the body of manifestation of the One About Whom Naught May Be Said. Our solar system is one of these seven constellations. This is the world of Deity Itself, and of it a man can know nothing until he has passed through the major initiations. When we come later to study the zodiac and its relation to the rays we shall work this out more [333] carefully and so make the idea clearer. It is with the ray influences that we are dealing here, and not with the zodiacal.

One of the first things we need to grasp, as we study man and the rays, is the large number of these ray influences which play upon him, and which form him, and "enliven" him, and make him the complexity he is. It would be wise for us to enumerate them one by one and consider them for a while. There is no real reason for bewilderment in this connection. As time progresses and the rays are more widely studied, man's relation to them will be subjected to careful analysis, and there will then be possible a wide checking up of information and of facts. There will later come a tabulation and an understanding of the ray forces. This will lead to a science of psychology of a more sure and accurate nature, instead of the speculative science it now is. At present modern psychology concerns itself with the more apparent aspects of incarnated man and with a discussion of certain speculative subjective possibilities.

It might therefore be noted that the following rays and influences must be considered in the case of every individual man, for they make him what he is and determine his problem:

1. The ray of the solar system itself.
2. The ray of the planetary Logos of our planet.
3. The ray of the human kingdom itself.
4. Our particular racial ray, the ray that determines the Aryan race.
5. The rays that govern any particular cycle.
6. The national ray, or that ray influence which is peculiarly influencing a particular nation.
7. The ray of the soul, or ego.
8. The ray of the personality.
9. The rays governing: [334]
   1. The mental body.
   2. The emotional or astral body.
   3. The physical body.

There are other rays, but the above are the most powerful and have the greater conditioning power. Let us briefly consider them:

B.III.1. The Ray of the Solar System

It must be remembered that the dominating ray, the outstanding influence in our solar system, is the great cosmic second Ray of Love-Wisdom, a dual ray, - that is, a ray combining two great cosmic principles and energies. It is the ray which governs the "personality" of our solar Logos, if such an expression may be used, and (because it is dual) it indicates both His personality and soul rays, which in Him are now so balanced and blended that, from the angle of humanity, they constitute the major ray, the one ray. This major ray determines both His quality and His purpose.

Every unit of life and every form in manifestation is governed by this second ray. Basically speaking, the energy of love, expressed with wisdom, is the line of least resistance for the manifested lives in our solar system. This ray qualifies the life of all the planets, and the attractive magnetic love of God pours through His created universe; it emerges in the consciousness and determines the objective of all evolving forms. Each human being, as a whole, therefore, lives in a universe and on a planet which is constantly the objective of God's love and desire, and which constantly (as a result of this love) is itself attracted and attractive. For this we do not make adequate allowance. Teachers, parents and educators would do well to recognize the potency of this ray force, and trust to the Law to make all things good. [335]

B.III.2. The Ray of the Planet - Earth

Each of the seven sacred planets (of which our Earth is not one) is an expression of one of the seven ray influences. These seven planets might be enumerated as follows, and the rays working through them are accurately given. The student however must remember three things:

1. That every planet is the incarnation of a Life, of an Entity or Being.
2. That every planet, like a human being, is the expression of two ray forces, - the personality and the egoic.
3. That two rays are therefore in esoteric conflict in each planet.

I but indicate one of the rays, and I do not tell you whether it is the egoic or personality ray of the particular planetary Logos. Too much accuracy and too detailed information is not at this time good for humanity, which is yet too selfish to be entrusted with it.

THE PLANETS AND RAYS

Sacred - Ray

1. Vulcan - 1st ray.
2. Mercury - 4th ray.
3. Venus - 5th ray.
4. Jupiter - 2nd ray.
5. Saturn - 3rd ray.
6. Neptune - 6th ray.
7. Uranus - 7th ray.

Non-Sacred - Ray

1. Mars - 6th ray.
2. Earth - 3rd ray.
3. Pluto - 1st ray.
4. The Moon (veiling a hidden planet) - 4th ray.
5. The Sun (veiling a hidden planet) - 2nd ray.

I deal here with the major ray cycles and not with the minor cycles. Two rays, you will note, are apparently not expressing themselves through the non-sacred planets, the seventh and the fifth. There are only five non-sacred planets. But the reason which makes a planet sacred or not is one of the secrets of a certain major initiation, and I may not further [336] elucidate here. Suffice it to say that the sacred planets are seven in number, making a totality of twelve planetary manifestations. It will be obvious to the observant reader also that certain sacred planets and certain non-sacred planets have a close relation with each other through the rays which influence them. These are:

• Ray I - Vulcan - Pluto.
• Ray II - Jupiter - The Sun.
• Ray III - Saturn - The Earth.
• Ray IV - Mercury - The Moon.
• Ray VI - Neptune - Mars.

These relationships will provide a somewhat new field of investigation for astrologers.

You will note therefore how peculiarly this Earth on which we live is suited to the development of the incarnating sons of God. Man comes forth, as do all lives within the radius of influence of a solar system, upon the inspiration of love, expressed in wisdom. Love is not a sentiment. Love is the great principle of attraction, of desire, of magnetic pull, and (within our solar system) that principle demonstrates as the attraction and the interplay between the pairs of opposites. This interplay provides every needed grade or type of unfoldment for consciousness. Conscious response is first made to the most potent and to the densest kind of attraction in matter, that of the mineral kingdom. Dense as it is, and heavy as is that type of vibration, it is nevertheless an expression of embryonic love. Response again comes, with greater facility and more true awareness and sensitivity, in the next kingdom, and the consciousness of the vegetable world emerges. But this too is love. It responds more freely and reacts to a far wider range of contacts in the animal kingdom, and the basic instinctual desires emerge and can be recognized. They, in due time, become the motivation of the [337] life, yet still it is only the love of God which is manifested. It is love between conscious life and conscious form; it is love between the pairs of opposites, leading to an eventual synthesis or marriage; it is relationship between the basic dualities; it is not sentiment but a fact in a great natural process. Always there is the emerging glory and radiance of a growing love, until we come to the human kingdom wherein love enters another plane. Then responsiveness and sensitivity and human sentimental reaction develop into a rudimentary mind. The consciousness of loving and being loved, of attracting and of being attracted, enters through the door of the intelligence and expands into the human state of awareness. Pleasure and pain become definite factors in unfoldment, and the long agony of humanity commences. Love then is seen in its naked selfishness, but also its potential glory can be sensed. Love or attractive desire then attracts to itself that which it feels it needs, but later, that is changed into what it thinks it should have, and this, in time, is transmuted into that which it knows is the divine non-material heritage of a son of God. Ponder on these last few words, for in the true understanding of love as feeling, love as thinking, and love as aspiration will come a clarification of man's problem and his liberation from the thralldom of the lower loves into the liberty of love itself, and into the freedom of the one who possesses all things, and yet desires nothing for the separated self.

The magnetic pull of that which is desired is modified on our planet by the personality ray of our particular planetary Logos. This is the Ray of Active Intelligence, and of selective Adaptability. Just as every cell and atom in the human body is modified and conditioned by the egoic ray and the ray of each of the inner bodies, so every cell and atom in the body of the planetary Logos is conditioned and modified [338] by His outstanding ray influence, in this case, His personality ray. In this conditioning influence is found a clue to the distress and agony and pain in the world today. The planetary Logos of our Earth is primarily conditioned by a cosmic ray, to be sure, but not by His egoic ray. Perhaps in this condition may be found the reason (or one of the reasons) why our Earth is not one of the seven sacred planets. On this I need not enlarge, but it was necessary to call attention to this great determining factor, the third ray, which is the personality ray of our planetary Logos.

This ray brings in the factor of discrimination through mental activity, and this, in its turn, balances the so-called love nature, and it is in truth the cause of our evolutionary growth. The life in forms passes through discriminative and selective activity from one experience to another in an ever widening scale of contacts. It is this Ray of Intelligent Activity which dominates man at this time. Human beings are largely centered in their personalities; they are "egocentric," in the terminology of the psychologist, which recognizes the integrating principle of the ego (in many cases) but does not yet recognize the over-shadowing ego or soul, except under such a vague term as "the superconscious." We have therefore a humanity engrossed by a tremendous activity and demonstrating everywhere a vital discriminating and intellectual interest in all types of phenomena. This tendency to be active will go on increasing and intensifying until the Aryan race will merge into the coming major root-race, for which we have as yet no name, though we recognize that in that race the intellect will serve the intuition. Human activity is now regarded as having reached an incredible speed and intensity of vibration, yet from the angle of the world Knowers it is only just beginning to express itself, and is relatively feeble as yet. The growth of the tendency to vital speed can [339] be noted if history is studied, and the pace at which man now lives, and the complexity and the many dynamic interests of his life, may be compared with those of the average man two hundred years ago. The last twenty-five years of man's history have shown a tremendous speeding up as compared with conditions fifty years ago.

The reason for this increase of intelligent activity and rapidity of response and contact is to be found in the subjective fact that humanity is with great speed integrating the three aspects of human nature into a unity, called personality. Men are steadily becoming personalities, and unifying into one expression their physical, emotional and mental aspects; hence they are more able to respond to the ray of the integrated personality of the One in Whom they live, and move, and have their being.

Speaking therefore in terms of man's life problem, we might state that it is affected potently by the two major influences which beat upon the human kingdom, the cosmic ray of the solar system, the Ray of Love-Wisdom, and the cosmic ray of the planet, which is the personality ray of the planetary Logos, the Ray of Active Intelligence or Adaptability. Man might be defined as a unit of conscious life, swept into tangible expression through the discriminating love of God. Through his life experiences he is presented with innumerable choices which gradually shift from the realm of the tangible into that of the intangible. As he attracts, or is attracted by, the life of his environment, he becomes increasingly conscious of a series of shifting values, until he reaches that point in his development when the pull or the magnetic attraction of the subjective world and the intangible mental and spiritual realities are more potent than the factors which have hitherto enticed him on. His sense of values is no longer determined by: [340]

1. The satisfaction of his instinctual animal nature.
2. The desires of a more emotional and sentimental kind which his astral body demands.
3. The pull and pleasures of the mind nature, and of intellectual appetites.

He becomes potently attracted by his soul, and this produces a tremendous revolution in his entire life, regarding the word "revolution" in its true sense, as a complete turning around. This revolution is happening now, on such a universal scale in the lives of individuals in the world, that it is one of the main factors producing the present potency of experimental ideas in the world of modern times. The attractive power of the soul grows steadily, and the pull of the personality weakens as steadily. All this has been brought about by the process of experiment, leading to experience; by experience, leading to a wiser use of the powers of the personality; by a growing appreciation of a truer world of values and of reality, and by an effort on man's part to identify himself with the world of spiritual values and not with a world of material values. The world of meaning and of causes becomes gradually the world in which he finds happiness, and his selection of his major interests and the use to which he decides to put his time and powers are finally conditioned by the truer spiritual values. He then is on the path of illumination. I have sought to express the effects of these two major ray influences in terms of mysticism and of philosophy, but in very truth all that I have here said could be expressed scientifically and in terms of scientific formulas, if man were mentally equipped to appreciate them. But this is not yet possible. All these ray vibrations, no matter which they may be, can eventually be reduced to formulas and to symbols. [341]

Reaction to environment, sensitive response to the ray influences which govern and express themselves through the forms which compose man's environment, a growing power to discriminate between energies and forces, a slowly developing sense of values (which sense is the one which eventually dispels illusion and glamor and reveals reality), and a shift of the discriminating interest away from the worlds of tangible experience, of emotional life and of mental interest, - all this expresses the effect of the interplay between the two rays of the solar system and of the planet. These, intermingling, pour through and affect mankind.

One of the most difficult things with which the Masters are today confronted is to prove to man that the old and recognized values and the tangible world of phenomena (emotional and physical) must be relegated to their right place in the background of man's consciousness, and that the intangible realities, and the world of ideas and causes must be, for him, in the immediate future, the main center of attention. When man grasps this and lives by this knowledge, then the glamor which now holds the world will disappear. If you ponder on this you will recognize how the great crisis of 1914-1918 did much useful work in smashing the glamorous material security in which men were living, and in destroying much of their instinctual and sensuous selfishness. The group is beginning to be recognized as of major importance, and the welfare of the individual is important just in so far as the unit is an integral part of the group. This will not eventually destroy initiative and individuality. It is only in our initial experiments, and through our inexpertness in the use of the discriminating faculty, that we are, as yet, making such sad mistakes. This process of destroying the world illusion has been going on on a large scale ever since; in every country, through the various experiments which are going forward, [342] the glamor is breaking down and the truer values of group welfare, of group integration, and of group progress are emerging. The sense of insecurity which is such a distressing aspect of the present upheaval is due simply to this destruction of the old sense of values, to that dispelling of glamor which reveals at present an unfamiliar landscape, and to the fear and instability which man feels when he comes up against the world "Dweller on the Threshold." This has to be broken up and destroyed, for it blocks the way to the new world of values. The great thought form which man's greed and materiality have built, down the ages, is being steadily demolished, and mankind is on the verge of a liberation which will take him on to the Path of Discipleship. I refer not here to the final liberation, but to that liberation which comes from a free choice, wisely used and applied to the good of the whole, and conditioned by love. Note that I say, "wisely used." Wisdom, actuated and motivated by love, and intelligently applied to world problems, is much needed today and is not yet to be found, except among the few illumined souls in every nation, - in every nation, I say, without exception. Many more must love with wisdom and appreciate the group aspiration before we shall see the next reality to be known and to emerge out of the darkness which we are now in the process of dispelling.

B.III.3. The Ray of the Fourth Kingdom

We now touch briefly upon an obscure and difficult subject, and one that will appeal primarily to those types who work with the Law of Correspondences. Esotericists must remember that every kingdom in nature constitutes a totality of lives. Every atom in every form in nature is a life, and these lives form the cells of a Being's body or vehicle of manifestation. There is a Being embodied in every kingdom [343] in nature. Just as the myriads of atomic lives in the human body constitute a man's body of expression and form his appearance, so it is with the greater Life informing the fourth kingdom in nature. This appearance - as are all appearances - is qualified by some particular ray type, and is determined also by the vital principle or spirit aspect. Thus every form is composed of innumerable lives, which have in them a preponderance of some ray quality. This is an occult platitude. These qualified lives produce a phenomenal appearance, and thus constitute a unity, through the influence of the integrating principle, which is never absent.

The ray which governs the sum total of the human kingdom is the fourth Ray of Harmony through Conflict. It might be symbolically stated that the egoic ray of the Life which informs the human family is this fourth ray, and that the personality ray is the fifth ray of knowledge through discrimination, - the Ray, as it is called, of Concrete Knowledge or Science. Harmony through conflict, and the power to achieve knowledge through discriminating choice - these are the two rays or major influences which sweep through humanity as a whole, and drive it forward towards its divine destiny. They are the predisposing factors upon which a man may count and infallibly depend. They are the guarantee of attainment, but also of turmoil and temporary duality. Harmony, expressing itself in beauty and creative power, is gained through battle, through stress and strain. Knowledge, expressing itself eventually through wisdom, is attained only through the agony of successively presented choices. These, submitted to the discriminating intelligence during the process of the life experience, produce at last the sense of true values, the vision of the ideal, and the capacity to distinguish reality behind the intervening glamor.

Students of esotericism will, of course, bear in mind that [344] the fourth ray has a natural relation to the fourth kingdom in nature, which is in turn the lowest manifestation of the fourth creative Hierarchy. This unification of the three major results of the activity of a great Life might be enumerated thus:

1. The ray power or life which tends ever towards harmony and an eventual beauty, the fourth ray.
2. The creative hierarchy of human monads, who (little as they may realize it) have already attained wisdom and are veritably at this time the divine sons of God.
3. The fourth kingdom in nature which is the result of the evolutionary activity of the above, who are in their turn impelled to this activity by the fourth ray.

This is essentially the true apostolic succession, for it provides a triple line of directed energy. This produces the human manifestation on the fourth globe of our Earth chain, and in this fourth round is responsible for the tremendous crisis with which our present humanity is confronted. The conflict aspect of the process is at its height, nay, has passed its height, from the angle of physical plane expression. This situation and this triple influence, producing the manifestation of the sons of God, is summed up for us in the terse words of the Old Commentary - terse, when we remember that they express the long agony of humanity's test, and the opening to man of the door into the fifth kingdom of spiritual being. They include therefore, in their meaning, his goal and objective and the process whereby he attains:

• "The Holy Four descend from out the heavenly places and venture forth towards the sphere of Earth. From the fourth great plane they thus control the battle.
• "The Lord of Harmony, Who sits on high, pours all His life and force throughout the field of conflict. He sees the end from the beginning nor stays His hand though deep [345] and full the pain and agony. Peace must be the goal. Beauty must be achieved. He cannot then arrest the life and stop its flow.
• "The Middle Four, rested now from the earlier campaign, gird on their armor and hide themselves behind the outer form. They leave the fourth great sphere of harmony and pass on to the plane of mind. There they fortify the temple of the Lord, illumine it with light and glory, and then they turn their eyes towards the Earth.
• "The Lower Four take form between the lives that are not human and the three groups of lives which dwell beneath the threshold. They seek to link and blend, to bridge and fuse. Mankind now lives. The higher and the middle four meet in the lower four upon the fourth great globe.
• "The battle now proceeds. When the three groups of manifested fours can see each other in the light, and later blend their forces, the goal will be achieved.
• "In the fourth globe of action and in the major cycle of the fourth expression will this fusion be completed. The lower four, merged in the middle four, will leave the triple world of conflict, and find their dwelling place, whilst in the form, within the fourth sphere whence came forth the higher governing four. Thus will the government be established; the glory seen; the rule of the hierarchy demonstrated.
• "In the fourth race (the Atlantean - A.A.B.) the conflict was begun, and consciousness was born. In the fifth race (the Aryan - A.A.B.) the crisis of the battle will be seen, and then the lower four and the middle four will begin to unite their forces. In the sixth race, the dust of battle dies away. The lower four, the middle four and the higher four will chant in unison the glory of their Lord, the beauty of the love of God, the wonder of the brotherhood of man. This is their paean."

Esoterically speaking (and not speaking symbolically, for there is a distinction between these two forms which students would do well to note), when the lines of forces are adjusted and there is free interplay of energies and a straight aligned channel between the various aspects of divinity, then there is achievement and beauty. This is the theme of the [346] above symbolical and ancient formulation of truth, which is in the nature of a symbolical prophecy. The same idea has been expressed in a still more ancient and terse statement which has to be understood and reduced to a mantric formula when the fourth initiation is taken:

"When the forces of the four, three times repeated, become the four, then the Life of... reveals Itself in beauty."

It is interesting to note that the numerical value of the word "four" is the same in detail as that of the word "force", if you eliminate the number five. For humanity, it is the fifth energy which leads to the battlefield, the energy of the discriminating mind, and when that has been in due time used, controlled and transmuted, "only the four remains and force has gone." Note the detail of the numbering:

• F O R C E.
• 6 6 9 3 5 - 29
  11. Number of adept, using energy.
• F O U R.
• 6 6 3 9 - 24
  6. The creator, unifying the subjective and the objective.

It is apparent that force in the first group ends in separativeness, for five is the number of the mind and of man. Number nine, the number of initiation, is hidden midway in force, but the climaxing figures indicate activity and separation. In the second group of figures, activity precedes the nine of initiation, and that nine is the culmination. But five is left out. Man is no longer really human or separative. He is the perfected four of the lower three and the soul. Putting the truth quite simply, let it be borne in mind that mankind, the fourth kingdom, which is an expression of the fourth creative hierarchy of human monads, is swept by the instinct or impulse towards harmony, and is thus primarily under the influence of the fourth ray. This harmony is achieved [347] through the use of the energy of the fifth ray of knowledge. Then through gained and applied knowledge, the result is beauty and the power to create. Then the ray of the fifth Lord will be withdrawn from the major cycle governing humanity, and wisdom and intuitional buddhic response will characterize humanity. There is a close interplay in this major cycle, as far as mankind is concerned, between the two ray Lords of Harmony and of Knowledge. It is again in this numerical relation of four and five that the number nine emerges, which is the number of initiation. An adept of the fifth initiation is one who has achieved complete harmony through right knowledge. This takes place at the fourth initiation and is demonstrated or proven at the fifth.

A close study of the tabulations of the rays affecting humanity will have made it clear that they are so many and so diverse that the complexity of the subject is very great. There are numerous influences which tend to make man what he is, and of many of them little is as yet known. In the early stages of his development, it is well-nigh impossible for any one (except an initiate) to deal with the various phases or even to recognize the indications of humanity's reactions to these rays. But as mankind evolves, and as the form aspect becomes increasingly a better and finer response apparatus and a more plastic sensitive reflector of the inner man, definition and analysis become easier. Types emerge with greater clarity in their delineations, and the ray qualities begin to dominate. The impress of the controlling rays can be more clearly noted and the point in evolution can be more accurately realized.

We have now to consider the rays which dominate the races of mankind. The average reader would be wise to take the position that for him, at least, the information hitherto [348] given, and that which concerns the racial, national and cyclic rays, provide an interesting hypothesis which can be intelligently accepted until disproven. This knowledge must necessarily remain hypothetical for several life periods, where the average student is concerned. When, however, we come to the consideration of the final three points of this section of our treatise, it may be possible to check the information, to correlate the ray types, and to discover (by a study of the potencies involved) their emerging characteristics and ray forces.

By the proving therefore of the human detail, we lay the ground for the acceptance of the cosmic, solar and planetary knowledge. What is proven true on the small scale opens the door for the understanding of that which exists on a larger scale. "Man, know thyself" is a potent key to the knowledge of Deity and to the workings of divinity.

4. The Racial Rays

The reader needs to remember that three rays are occultly quiescent and four rays are in varying degrees of activity. Let us recapitulate for a moment so that this thought may be clearly anchored in our minds:

Rays one, four and six are at this time out of manifestation, though ray six began to decline in influence only three hundred years ago, and its potency, though greatly weakened, can still be felt.

Rays two, three, five and seven are still potent. The following statement may give some idea of the relative "values" of these ray influences.

Ray three has been the longest in incarnation, but in 1875 it occultly "completed its outgoing, and began to curve upon itself, and thus return." It is therefore just beginning to wane. When this event occurs in connection with any type [349] of energy, the effect produced is always of a crystallizing nature and is apt to produce "set forms which warrant prompt destruction." This causes mental conditions of a set and static nature. The inference is therefore clear that in the later stages of this ray's activity we have the demonstration of those dogmatic, sectarian and theological attitudes, for instance, which mark the decline and consequent uselessness of the various schools of thought which have in their time embodied man's ideas and sufficed for his helping during the period of their growth.

Ray two has a rapidly recurring cycle. This is due to its excessive potency. Being the major ray of our solar system (of which all the other rays are but aspects), it might be said that this ray is really never out of incarnation. There are nevertheless constant cycles of waxing and waning potency, produced by the interplay of the rays which produce what is called in the ancient archives "the intrusion of one or another of the seven Brothers Who block the door from whence the force emerges", and "the disappearance of that radiant Brother Who passes on His way and leaves behind an open door through which another Brother can pass upon His mission preordained." The symbolism is clear. The cycles of the second ray are dynamic and recur in a regular rhythm at this time and during the twenty-five thousand years of a zodiacal cycle in sequences of five hundred years. Therefore in 1825 the potency of this ray began to decline as the peak of its two hundred fifty years emergence was reached. It was the gradual withdrawal of this ray which led to that growth of separativeness in the world which produced the European wars and the great World War. This ray will continue declining for another one hundred forty years. This does not necessarily mean the growth of physical violence and the prevalence of war. Humanity is now so much more responsive [350] to ray influences that the watching Hierarchy (through egoic stimulation and the sensitivity of certain nations to the inner guidance) can offset the more obvious major effects. This will give an interesting side light upon the vast importance of these cyclic happenings.

Ray five is the latest of the rays to come into activity and is only in process of "coming forth to power." It is steadily increasing in potency, and the result of its influence will be to guide humanity into increasing knowledge. Its energy beats upon the minds of men at this time and produces that stimulation which lies behind all the scientific approach to truth in all departments of human thought. Being also the ray which governs the personality aspect of the fourth kingdom in nature, and being one of the rays determining or conditioning our Aryan race, its present potency is excessive. This is a point to be remembered with care, for it accounts for much that we can see happening in the world of thought.

Ray seven is also in manifestation, and has been since the year 1675. This we shall consider in more detail when we take up our fifth point: The Rays in Cyclic Manifestation.

The interplay, therefore, and the beauty of the blended energies are at this time great, for so many rays are either manifesting simultaneously or are just passing out and are therefore not entirely negligible; or are hovering near at hand ready to pass into the stage of revelation and so continue their cyclic work. Only one ray is today really out of manifestation altogether and functioning entirely behind the scenes, and that is the first ray. Where humanity is concerned, the first ray makes its presence felt, and its potency dominates, when the stage of accepted discipleship is reached. It increases in power as progress on the Path is gained. Thus there is beginning to be gathered on the subjective side of life a steadily growing group of those who can function [351] under the influence of this first ray. When enough of the sons of men can thus function, their united responsiveness will constitute a channel through which this first ray can come into manifestation. This is one of the main activities and objectives of the Hierarchy, and in the right understanding of the result of the responsiveness of humanity to the ray influences shall we arrive at the recognition of a law in nature hitherto undiscovered. This particular law is connected with the department of the Governor of the world, the Manu.

It might be of interest here to note that ray six governs the Path of Probation and nourishes the fires of idealism in the aspirant.

Ray two governs the Path of Discipleship and transmutes knowledge into wisdom, feeding likewise the Christ life in each disciple.

Ray one governs the Path of Initiation, producing detachment from form, the destruction of all that hinders, and fostering that dynamic will in the initiate which will enable him to take the needed steps towards the Initiator.

It should here be noted that the rays divide themselves into two groups, i.e.:

1. The Rays of Aspect - Rays 1. 2. 3. The major rays.
2. The Rays of Attribute - Rays 4. 5. 6. 7. The minor rays.

The distinction between these two groups has been well summed up in some sentences from the Old Commentary:

"The seven brothers are all the children of the same Father, but the elder three partake of the Father's nature. The younger four resemble the Mother. The three elder sons go forth into the universe of stars, and there they represent the Father. The younger four go forth into the universe of stars and show the nature of the one the Father loved."

The rays of aspect have longer cycles than the rays of attribute, and their measure is occultly slow, cumulative in [352] effect, and - as the ages pass away - their momentum steadily increases. The rays of attribute have briefer cycles, and produce a steady heartbeat and a regular rhythm in the solar system. The three rays of aspect might be regarded as embodying the will and purpose of the incarnating Logos. The rays of attribute can equally be regarded as embodying the quality and character of the incarnating Logos. Symbolically speaking, the three major rays are the expression (during manifestation) of the egoic aspect of the solar Logos, whilst the four rays of attribute embody His personality aspect. Nevertheless it must be remembered that the seven together are the manifestation in form of what God is, and the measure of the divine intention. Students should bear these points in mind as they study the rays and their cyclic influence on mankind. If they will remember that when a major ray is in manifestation, then the divine intent, the universal purpose and Plan will be seen emerging with greater clarity, they will expect and look for great happenings in the racial development. If a minor ray is demonstrating, we shall have the growth of psychic sensitivity, and the emergence of a form life which will express the divine nature more potently than the divine Plan.

This truth can be applied also to the development of the individual, and will govern and determine his evolutionary growth either from the angle of purpose or from the angle of quality. Lives that are given to the unfolding of purpose will be of a different timbre and nature than those which are given to the development of character and quality. This is a psychological point of real moment.

The statement made above is one of the most significant and important yet communicated in this treatise, and well merits careful consideration. The true import is of course most difficult to grasp, but the general meaning can be [353] recognized and appreciated by the searching student. The rays of aspect produce primarily the unfolding of the Plan. The rays of attribute produce the unfolding of the qualities of Deity. This is true of the solar Logos and of a human being, of the planetary Deity and of humanity as a whole.

The application of this truth can be clearly seen in connection with the Aryan race and the two rays which govern and control its destiny. The third Ray of Intelligent Activity or Adaptability governs the entire career of the race, and through this dominance we can see working out the plan of God, which is the definite fusion of spirit and matter, through the evolution of the soul of man. The result of this fusion may be briefly summed up in the following three statements:

1. A widespread interest in, leading finally to a recognition of, the soul as a result of this fusion and blending.
2. The appreciation of the divinity of substance, and the recognition of the fact that matter is the outer garment of God. This will characterize the intellectual achievement of the Aryan race.
3. The plan of God that humanity should control matter on the physical plane reaches a high point of perfection in the Aryan race. Of this, man's control of the electrical forces of the physical plane is an outstanding instance.

These three important developments indicate the activity of the third ray during the period of time wherein the Aryan race emerges from the general racial background, develops itself as the generations pass away, and then fades out again as do all the races. By this process the souls which have profited by the experience during racial manifestation pass on into another and higher race, the sixth root race, in this case. These are the major results. There are many minor ones which tend to perfect the divine purpose for the race. That [354] purpose aims only at a relative perfection and not at the ultimate consummation. The racial perfection which will be reached as a result of the activity of the third and fifth rays will be seen as only partial from the angle of vision of the seventh root race, for instance, but it will be far ahead of that achieved during the Atlantean or fourth root race, which was under the dominant influence of the second and sixth rays. The flower of any race, and those who guarantee its achievement, are to be seen in the Masters, Initiates and Disciples Who, during any race, reach the goal which Their souls have set. The reader must remember that the goal of adeptship is a steadily shifting one, and that the adepts of the Aryan race will be higher in development, and of a more intellectual order, than those who reached that stage during the Atlantean race. Therefore the requirements for treading the path of discipleship in the present race are steadily increasing in difficulty as the centuries slip away. At the same time, the assets brought by the aspirant to the task of achieving discipleship likewise steadily evolve, and the equipment is as steadily arriving at a greater adequacy, thus measuring up to the opportunity offered. Such books, therefore, as The Outer Court and The Path of Discipleship by Annie Besant state the requirements for the path of probation, and not for the path of discipleship. A Treatise on White Magic gives the needed data for those who tread, at this time, the path of discipleship. In these three books are to be found the requirements for the two stages of the path of conscious unfoldment.

Curiously enough, in Lemurian days the first ray was active. This was because of a special dispensation or effort on the part of the planetary Hierarchy. With the aid of the seventh ray the needed work went forward. At the time of the individualization of humanity, a third ray, the fifth, was called into operation, and thus with the united effort of the [355] first, the seventh and the fifth rays, the great fusion between the higher and the lower aspects of mankind was made. It is interesting to note that the secondary ray influence in the Aryan race at this time is the fifth, thus linking up the Aryan and the Lemurian civilizations. Both were and are intensely material civilizations, but the Lemurian was material because the whole attention of the Hierarchy was turned to the development of physical man, whilst today the attention is not turned to the physical unfoldment of man, but to an effort to enable man to control the physical forces of the planet. One rather striking instance of the similarity of the ray forces should be here noted. In Lemurian times, the yoga of the age which produced the required at-one-ing or unification (preceding the taking of the initiation of the time) was hatha yoga, the yoga of the physical body. This gave to the initiate the needed physical control - a control which has today been so perfected in the race that it is now automatic and has slipped below the threshold of consciousness. In the great cyclic recapitulations which go on ceaselessly, we see today in our Aryan race a tremendous emphasis being given to physical perfection, to sport, to athletics, to dancing and to physical culture. It is the cyclic effect of the same ray forces, playing upon humanity again. The initiatory goal is today a mental at-one-ing. Nevertheless, the physical reaction to the ray forces produces a higher form of hatha yoga or physical coordination. These points will be further elucidated.

The secondary influence which is leading the Aryan race forward is that of the fifth Ray of Concrete Knowledge or Science. This ray, as we have seen, was one of the rays which brought about individualization millions of years ago, and so launched mankind upon the path of return. Again it comes into power, and though it has had many cycles of activity since Lemurian days, none of them have been of such [356] unobstructed dominance as the present. Hence the tremendous potency of individuals at this time; hence the difficulty, but also the opportunity. This is a ray of quality, and its effect is to stimulate the acquisition of knowledge and the growth of the human intellect, which is an instrument of exceeding sensitivity, producing increased awareness of God.

It might be said that in Lemurian times the effect of this ray was to stimulate the instinctual nature. This gave awareness of the form nature of Deity. During Atlantean days, through the influence of the second ray, the instinct began to merge into the intellect, and that aspect of man's nature was developed which is called (in theosophical books) kama-manas. This phrase simply means a blend of desire-feeling-lower-mind, - a curious synthesis which characterizes average man today, and leads to his complicated problem. This development gave man another type of awareness. He became conscious of the sentient universe; he became sensitive to the love of God, and registered an innate reaction to the heart of God. Today, under the fifth ray influence, the intellect is rapidly awakening; instinct is falling below the threshold of consciousness; kama-manas is no longer the outstanding characteristic of the disciples of the world. The intellect (concrete and abstract, lower and higher) is steadily unfolding, and as it unfolds, the will, purpose and plan of the Deity begin to take shape in men's minds. The secondary effects of this development are the power to organize, and to work individually with definite purpose. This is demonstrated today by individuals in all departments of human activity. They evince capacity to sense the Plan of God and to cooperate; they see the broad general outlines of the divine purpose, and comprehend as never before the great evolutionary plan. Men are building now towards the future because they have glimpsed the past and touched the vision. [357]

Later, we shall have a transition period again, analogous to that period wherein kama-manas was developed, and we shall then have the entire race expressing a developed synthesis of intellect-intuition, preparatory to that advanced stage which will come at the close of the next root race, the sixth. This takes us to a period ten million years hence, when the intellect will have in its turn slipped below the threshold of consciousness, as did the instinct. It will then work automatically as does man's instinctual nature, and the race will be intuitive. This will really mean that the fifth kingdom in nature will be manifesting on earth, and that the kingdom of God (as the Christian calls it) will have arrived. This will constitute an event of an importance equal to that of the advent of the fourth kingdom, when men made their appearance on earth. This next great race will be governed by the second and fourth rays, thus demonstrating a relation between the fourth root race, the Atlantean, and the sixth root race. In terms of consciousness, this can be expressed as a relation between an astral-emotional development and an intuitional-buddhic development. The final race will be governed by the first, the seventh and the second rays.

I think I have given you as much on this abstruse subject as can be grasped. The tabulation of the rays governing the races might be stated, therefore, as follows:

• Lemurian Race - Rays 1. 7. 5.
• Atlantean Race - Rays 2. 6.
• Aryan Race - Rays 3. 5.
• Sixth Race - Rays 2. 4.
• Seventh Race - Rays 1. 7. 2.

B.III.5. The Rays in Cyclic Manifestation

We come now to a consideration of the forces which are prevailing at the present time and hence have a supreme interest in connection with what I now have to say. It might [358] first be stated that the main problem of today is brought about by the fact that two rays of great potency are functioning simultaneously. As yet their effects are so equally balanced that a situation is brought about which is described in the ancient archives in the following terms: "A time of rending, when the mountains, which have sheltered, fall from their high places, and the voices of men are lost in the crash and thunder of the fall." Such periods come only at rare and long intervals, and each time they come a peculiarly significant period of divine activity is ushered in; old things pass entirely away, yet the ancient landmarks are restored. The seventh Ray of Ceremonial Order or Ritual is coming into manifestation. The sixth Ray of Idealism or of Abstract Visioning is slowly passing out. The seventh ray will bring into expression that which was visioned and that which constituted the ideals of the preceding cycle of sixth ray activity. One ray prepares the way for another ray, and the reason for the manifestation of one ray or another is dependent upon the Plan and divine Purpose. It is not often that two rays follow each other in a regular numerical sequence, such as is now happening. When this does happen, there eventuates a rapid following of effect upon cause, and this today can provide the basis for an assured hope.

B.III.5.a. The Outgoing Sixth Ray

The sixth ray influence served to attract men's minds towards an ideal, such as that of individual sacrifice or service, and the mystical vision was the high water mark of the period; the numerous guiding mystics of the Occident and the Orient have appeared. The seventh ray influence will in time produce the magician, but in this age the magician will be predominantly in the class of white magic (not as in Atlantean days, when the predominance was on the side of selfish [359] or black magic). The white magician works with the forces of nature and swings them back into control of advanced humanity. This can already be seen working out through the activity of the scientists which the latter end of the last century and this twentieth century have produced. That much of their magical work has been turned into selfish channels by the tendency of this materialistic age, and that many of their wise and true discoveries in the realm of energy are today adapted to ends which serve man's hatred or love of self, is equally true. But this in no way militates against the wonder of their achievements. When the motive is transmuted from pure scientific interest to love of the divine revelation, and when service to the race is the determining force, then we shall see the true white magic. Hence, therefore, the need to turn the mystic into the occultist, and to train the modern aspirant in right motive, mind control and brotherly love, - all of which must and will express themselves through harmlessness. The most potent force in the world today is harmlessness. I speak not of non-resistance, but of that positive attitude of mind which thinks no evil. He who thinks no evil and harms naught is a citizen of God's world.

The following relations between the sixth and seventh rays should be held clearly in mind, and students should grasp the relation of the immediate past to the immediate future, and see in this relation the working out of God's Plan and the coming salvation of the race:

1. The sixth ray fostered the vision.
   The seventh ray will materialize that which was visioned.
2. The sixth ray produced the mystic as its culminating type of aspirant.
   The seventh ray will develop the magician who works in the field of white magic. [360]
3. The sixth ray, as part of the evolutionary plan, led to separations, to nationalism, and to sectarianism, due to the selective nature of the mind and its tendency to divide and separate.
   The seventh ray will lead to fusion and synthesis, for its energy is of the type which blends spirit and matter.
4. The sixth ray activity led to the formation of bands of disciples, working in groups but not in close relation, and subject to internal dissension, based on personality reactions.
   The seventh ray will train and send forth groups of initiates, working in close unison with the Plan and with each other.
5. The sixth ray brought the sense of duality to a humanity which regarded itself as a physical unity. Of this attitude the academic materialistic psychologists are the exponents.
   The seventh ray will inaugurate the sense of a higher unity; first, that of the integrated personality for the masses, and secondly, that of the fusion of soul and body for the world aspirants.
6. The sixth ray differentiates that aspect of the universal electrical energy which we know as modern electricity, produced to serve man's material needs.
   The seventh ray period will familiarize man with that type of electrical phenomena which produce the coordination of all forms.
7. The sixth ray influence produced the emergence in men's minds of the following knowledges:
   1. Knowledge of physical plane light and electricity. [361]
   2. Among the esotericists and spiritualists of the world, knowledge of the existence of the astral light.
   3. An interest in illumination, both physical and mental.
   4. Astrophysics and the newer astronomical discoveries.

   The seventh ray will change the theories of the advanced thinkers of the race into the facts of the future educational systems. Education and the growth of the understanding of illumination in all fields will eventually be regarded as synonymous ideals.

8. The sixth ray taught the meaning of sacrifice, and of this teaching the crucifixion was the outstanding emblem, to the initiates. Philanthropy was the expression of the same teaching, to advanced humanity. The nebulous ideal of simply "being kind" is the same motivation, applied to the unthinking masses.
   The seventh ray will bring to the consciousness of the coming initiates the concept of group service and sacrifice. This will inaugurate the age of the "divine service." The vision of the giving of the individual in sacrifice and service, within the group and to the group ideal, will be the goal of the masses of advanced thinkers in the New Age, whilst for the rest of humanity, brotherhood will be the keynote of their endeavor. These words have a wider connotation and significance than the thinkers of today can know and understand.
9. The sixth ray promoted the growth of the spirit of individualism. Groups exist, but they are groups of individuals gathered around an individual.
   The seventh ray will foster the group spirit, and the rhythm of the group, the objectives of the group, and the ritual-working of the group will be the basic phenomena. [362]
10. The sixth ray influence conveyed to men the ability to recognize the historical Christ, and to evolve the structure of the Christian faith, colored by a vision of a great Son of Love, but qualified by an excessive militancy and separativeness, based on a narrow idealism.
    The seventh ray will convey to man the power to recognize the cosmic Christ, and to produce that future scientific religion of Light which will enable man to fulfil the command of the historical Christ to permit his light to shine forth.
11. The sixth ray produced the great idealistic religions with their vision and their necessary narrowness, - a narrowness that is needed to safeguard infant souls.
    The seventh ray will release the developed souls from the nursery stage and inaugurate that scientific understanding of the divine purpose which will foster the coming religious synthesis.
12. The effect of the sixth ray influence has been to foster the separative instincts, - dogmatic religion, scientific factual accuracy, schools of thought with their doctrinal barriers and exclusiveness, and the cult of patriotism.
    The seventh ray will prepare the way for the recognition of the wider issues which will materialize as the new world religion which will emphasize unity but bar out uniformity; it will prepare for that scientific technique which will demonstrate the universal light that every form veils and hides, and for that internationalism which will express itself as practical brotherhood and as peace and good will between the peoples.

I could continue emphasizing these relations, but I have enumerated enough to show the beauty of the preparation [363] made by the sixth great Lord of Idealism for the work of the seventh Lord of Ceremonial.

B.III.5.b. The Incoming Seventh Ray

It might be wise here to elucidate somewhat the idea underlying ceremonial and ritual. There is so much revolt at this time against ceremonial, and so many good and well-meaning people regard themselves as having outgrown and transcended ritual. They pride themselves on having attained that so-called "liberation", forgetting that it is only the sense of individuality that permits this attitude, and that no group work is ever possible without some form of ritual. The refusal therefore to participate in uniformity of action is no sign of a liberated soul.

The Great White Brotherhood has its rituals, but they are rituals which have for their objective the inauguration and the assistance of various aspects of the Plan, and of the varying cyclic activities of that Plan. Where these rituals exist, but where the meaning (inherently present) remains hidden and unrealized, there must as a consequence be demonstrated a spirit of deadness, of uselessness, and of weariness of interest over forms and ceremonies. But where it is demonstrated that ritual and organized ceremonies are but the evidence of a custody of forces and energies, then the idea is constructive in its working out, cooperation with the Plan becomes possible, and the aim of all the divine service begins to demonstrate. All service is governed by ritual.

The coming in of the seventh ray will lead to this desired consummation, and the mystics who are training themselves in the technique of occult motive and in the methods of the trained magician will increasingly find themselves cooperating intelligently with the Plan, and participating in those basic rituals which are distinguished by their power to: [364]

1. Harness the forces of the planet to the service of the race.
2. Send forth those energies which will produce in some one or other of the kingdoms of nature effects of a desirable and beneficent aspect.
3. Call in and redistribute the energies which are present in all the forms in the various subhuman kingdoms.
4. Heal through a scientific method of bringing together soul and body.
5. Produce illumination through right understanding of the energy of Light.
6. Evolve that coming ritual which will eventually reveal the true significance of water, which will revolutionize its uses and open to man the free passage to the astral plane. This plane is that of the emotional-desire nature, and its symbol is water. The coming Aquarian Age will reveal to man (and hence also facilitate the work of the seventh ray) that that plane is his natural home at this stage of development. The masses today are entirely, but unconsciously, polarized on that plane. They must become consciously aware of their activity. Man is on the verge of becoming normally awake on the astral plane, and it will be through scientific rituals that this new development will be brought about.

The sixth ray influence produced the appearance of the modern science of psychology, and that science has been its consummating glory. The seventh ray influence will carry forward that infant science to maturity. Belief in the soul has become widespread during the sixth ray period. Knowledge of the soul will be the result of the incoming ray activity, plus the aid contributed by the energies released during the incoming Aquarian Age.

The new and esoteric psychology will be steadily developed. It will be apparent therefore that A Treatise on White [365] Magic has a definitely seventh ray import, and this Treatise on the Seven Rays has also been sent forth in an effort to clarify the incoming spiritual influences. One of the first lessons that humanity will learn under the potent influence of the seventh ray is that the soul controls its instrument, the personality, through ritual, or through the imposition of a regular rhythm, for rhythm is what really designates a ritual. When aspirants to discipleship impose a rhythm on their lives they call it a discipline, and they feel happy about it. What groups do who are gathered together for the performance of any ritual or ceremony whatsoever (Church ritual, the Masonic work, the drill of the army or navy, business organizations, the proper functioning of a home, of a hospital, or of an entertainment, etc.) is of an analogous nature, for it imposes on the participants a simultaneous performance, an identical undertaking, or a ritual. No one on this earth can evade ritual or ceremonial, for the rising and the setting of the sun imposes a ritual, the cyclic passing of the years, the potent movements of the great centers of population, the coming and the going of trains, of ocean liners and of mails, and the regular broadcasting of the radio organizations, - all of these impose a rhythm upon humanity, whether this is recognized or not. Of these rhythms the present great experiments in national standardization and regimentation are also an expression, as they demonstrate through the masses in any nation.

There is no evading the process of ceremonial living. It is unconsciously recognized, blindly followed, and constitutes the great discipline of the rhythmic breathing of life itself. The Deity works with ritual and is subjected to the ceremonials of the universe. The seven rays come into activity and pass out again under the rhythmic and ritualistic impulse of the divine Life. Thus is the temple of the Lord built by the [365] ceremonial of the Builders. Every kingdom in nature is subjected to ritualistic experience and to the ceremonials of cyclic expression. These only the initiate can comprehend. Every ant hill and every beehive is equally impelled by instinctive rituals and by rhythmic impulses. The new science of psychology could well be described as the science of the rituals and rhythms of the body, of the emotional nature and of the mental processes, or of those ceremonials (inherent, innate, or imposed by the self, by circumstances and by environment) which affect the mechanism through which the soul functions.

It is interesting to note how the sixth ray, which produced in human beings the sense of separativeness and of pronounced individualism, has prepared the way for the organizing power of the seventh ray. It is almost as if (to speak symbolically) the executives who were to undertake the reorganizing of the world in preparation for the New Age were trained and prepared for their task by the influence now going out. Today a process of housecleaning is going forward in practically every great nation, preparatory to the coming revelation, and the executives and dictators who are sponsoring this realignment and readjustment are the experts whom the genius of each nation has brought forth to deal with the unique problems with which it is beset. They are predominantly seventh ray executives, whose task it is to reorganize the world as a whole upon the newer lines. They are in the nature of material efficiency experts who have been sent in to deal with internal affairs and to institute that activity which will eliminate those factors which prevent the nation concerned from functioning as a whole, as a unit, integrated and coherent. It is from the lack of internal harmony and synthesis that those internal difficulties and disorders emerge which (if of long continuance) prevent a nation having [367] aught to contribute to the world of nations and lead to that nation's being so intensely disordered that the wrong people come into power and the wrong aspects of truth become emphasized. A disordered inharmonious national unit is a menace to the comity of nations, and therefore the separative housecleanings and rearrangements must go forward before the Federation of Nations can be an accomplished fact.

The new era is however upon its way, and nothing can prevent that which the stars decree and which the Hierarchy of guiding Minds consequently foresee. The new executives who will succeed the present dictators and powers will take over the control towards the year 1955, and they will be seventh ray aspirants and disciples in the majority of cases; their capacity towards integration and towards fusion along right lines will then rapidly bring about the needed international understanding.

The question emerges in your mind as to whether such a prophecy will indeed be fulfiled; and if unfulfiled, will not that fact militate against much that I have said and prove me unreliable? Let me answer this question by pointing out that those of us who foresee that which may and ought to be are nevertheless well aware that though the fulfilment of the prophecy is inevitable, yet the time factor may not work out as indicated. This will be because the distressed human mechanisms of those to whom the work is given will fail to react either correctly or at the right time. These incoming seventh ray aspirants and disciples may make mistakes and may perform their undertakings in such a manner that delay may eventuate. They are permitted to have the general outline of their task committed to them by their own souls, working under the inspiration of those great and liberated souls we call the Masters of the Wisdom, but there is no coercion under the Plan and no forced and dictated service. [368] Much of the success in the coming momentous years is dependent upon the work done by all who may be affiliated (even slightly) with the New Group of World Servers. If public opinion is educated in the new ideals, the momentum of that growing tide will greatly facilitate the work of these seventh ray executives, and in some cases will constitute for them the line of least resistance. Failure, therefore, will rest upon the shoulders of the world aspirants and disciples, and will not indicate inaccurate prophecy or misinterpreted astrological conditions. In any case, the prophesied end is inevitable, but the time of that end rests in the hands of awakened humanity. The margin of difference will also be only between one hundred and three hundred years. The impulse towards synthesis is now too strong to be long delayed.

Under this seventh ray influence the Masonic Fraternity will come into a new and pronounced spiritual activity and begin to approximate its true function and to fulfil its long-seen destiny. One point it might be of interest here to note. During the period of the activity of the sixth ray the Fraternity fell into a crystallized and sectarian attitude, along with the many other grouped circles. It fell also into the snare of materialism, and the outer form has for centuries been of more importance in the eyes of Masons than the inner spiritual meaning. The symbols and the system of allegories have been emphasized, whilst that which they were intended to convey and to reveal to the initiated has been quite forgotten. Also, the trend of the attention of a lodge of Masons, and the main emphasis, has been potently placed on the function and place of the W.M., and not upon the inner significance of the work upon the floor of the Temple. The lodge has not been regarded as an integrated functioning entity. This must and will be changed, and the potency and the effectiveness of the lodge work and ceremonial will be [369] demonstrated. It will be seen that in the regularity of the rituals and the sanctified formality of the ordained ceremonials lies the true meaning of the work and the use of the Word. The coming era of group work and power and of organized synthetic ritualistic activity will profoundly affect Masonry, as the importance of a central dominating figure passes out with the sixth ray influence and the true spiritual work and function of the lodge itself is understood.

The prime cosmic function of the seventh ray is to perform the magical work of blending spirit and matter in order to produce the manifested form through which the life will reveal the glory of God. Students would be well advised to pause here and reread the section of this treatise in which I dealt with the seventh ray Lord, with His names, and with His purpose. When this has been done, it will be apparent that one of the results of the intensified new influence will be the recognition, by science, of certain effects and characteristics of the work being accomplished. This can already be seen in the work done by scientists in connection with the mineral world. As we have seen in an earlier part of this book, the mineral kingdom is governed by the seventh ray, and to the potency of this incoming ray can be attributed the discovery of the radioactivity of matter. The seventh ray expresses itself in the mineral kingdom through the production of radiation, and we shall find that increasingly these radiations (many of which still remain to be discovered) will be noted, their effects understood and their potencies grasped. One point remains as yet unrealized by science, and that is that these radiations are cyclic in their appearance; under the influence of the seventh ray it has been possible for man to discover and work with radium. Radium has always been present, but not always active in such a manner that we were able to detect it. It is under the influence of the incoming [370] seventh ray that its appearance has been made possible, and it is through this same influence that we shall discover new cosmic rays. They too are always present in our universe, but they use the substance of the incoming ray energy as the path along which they can travel to our planet and thus be revealed. It is many thousands of years since what are now studied as the Cosmic Rays (discovered by Millikan) played definitely upon our planet, and at that time the fifth ray was not active as it now is. Therefore scientific knowledge of their activity was not possible.

Other cosmic rays will play upon our earth as this seventh ray activity becomes increasingly active, and the result of their influence will be to facilitate the emergence of the new racial types, and above all else, to destroy the veil or web which separates the world of the seen and tangible from the world of the unseen and the intangible, the astral world. Just as there is a veil called "the etheric web" dividing off the various force centers in the human body, and protecting the head centers from the astral world, so there is a separating web between the world of physical life and the astral world. This will be destroyed, slowly and certainly, by the play of the cosmic rays upon our planet. The etheric web which is found between the centers in the spine, and which is found at the top of the head (protecting the head center), is destroyed in man's mechanism by the activity of certain forces found in that mysterious fire which we call the kundalini fire. The cosmic rays of which the modern scientist is aware constitute aspects of the planetary kundalini, and their effect will be the same in the body of the planetary Logos, the Earth, as it is in the human body; the etheric web between the physical and astral planes is in process of destruction, and it is of this event which the sensitives of the world and the spiritualists prophesy as an imminent happening. [371]

Much of profound interest is on its way as a result of this seventh ray activity. For one thing, though the animal kingdom reacts but little to this type of influence, yet there are going to be very definite results within the soul of the animal form. The door of individualization or of entrance into the human kingdom has been closed since Atlantean times, but under the new influence it will be partially opened; it will be set ajar, so that a few animals will respond to soul stimulation and discover that their rightful place is on the human side of the dividing door. Part of the reorganization which will go on as a result of the seventh ray activity will concern the relation of humanity to the animal kingdom and the establishing of better and of closer relations. This will lead men to take advantage of another effect of the seventh ray, which is its power to refine the matter out of which the forms are built. The animal body of man has received much scientific attention during the past one hundred year, and medicine and surgery have reached great heights of achievement. The framework of man, his body, and its internal systems (with their diverse rituals) are now understood as never before, and this has been the result of the incoming ray force with its power to apply knowledge to the magical work. When this knowledge is applied intensively to the animal world much new and interesting data will be discovered; when the differences between the physical bodies of the animals and those of humanity have been more closely investigated there will appear a new and very fruitful field of study. These differences are largely in the realm of the nervous systems; not enough attention has been paid for instance to the fact that the brain of the animal is really in the region of the solar plexus, whilst the human brain, the controlling agent, is in the head, and works through the medium of the spinal column. When scientists know exactly why the animal [372] does not use the brain in the head as does man, they will arrive at a fuller knowledge of the law governing cycles.

There is much that could be said, but little of it would, as yet, be comprehended. Until the incoming ray force and all that attends its entry has produced the adequate changes in the nervous system, it will not be possible for more to be made clear. Brain cells, hitherto dormant in even the most advanced thinkers, must be brought into functioning activity, and with this consummated, then more teaching and further elucidation will be possible, - but not till then. Some time must yet elapse before the present human mechanisms are adapted to the registration of that which is new and as yet unknown.

Three final points I wish to touch upon. As you may have noted from some of our earlier tabulations, there is a definite relation between the first kingdom in nature, the mineral kingdom, and the final kingdom, the solar kingdom, the seventh and last to appear in manifestation upon our planet. There is a mysterious unity of response existing between the lowest kingdom in the scale of nature and the highest, between that which expresses the densest manifestation of the divine life and that which embodies its final and glorious consummation. This response is fostered by the play of the seventh ray, which produces those initial reactions to organized movement and ritual which, at the close of our great world period, will demonstrate the response of our entire solar system to the same basic seventh ray influence. What can now be seen in the organization of a crystal, a jewel and a diamond, with their beauty of form and line and color, their radiance and geometrical perfection, will appear likewise through the medium of the universe as a whole. The Grand Geometrician of the universe works through this [373] seventh ray, and thus sets His seal upon all form life, particularly in the mineral world. This the Masonic Fraternity has always known, and this concept it has perpetuated symbolically in the great world cathedrals, which embody the glory of the mineral world and are the sign of the work of the Master Builder of the universe.

When the great work is consummated we shall see the Temple of God, the solar system, organized objectively and subjectively; its courts and holy places will then be accessible to the sons of men, who will work then without limitation, and will have free access to all parts of the building. Through the magic of the Word, which will then have been recovered, all doors will fly open, and the consciousness of man will respond to every divine manifestation. More of this I may not here say, but the work of the Craft is symbolic of the ritualistic organization of the universe. Of this the mineral kingdom (with which the work is done, and through which the geometrical plan expresses itself) is at the same time the symbol and the undertaking, the beginning and also the concrete expression of divine purpose.

Secondly, I referred earlier to the work of the seventh ray in connection with the phenomena of electricity, through which the solar system is coordinated and vitalized. There is an aspect of electrical phenomena which produces cohesion, just as there is an aspect which produces light. This has not yet been recognized. It is stated in The Secret Doctrine of H.P.B., and in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, that the electricity of the solar system is threefold: there is fire by friction, solar fire, and electric fire, - the fire of body, of soul and of spirit. Fire by friction is coming to be somewhat understood by the scientists of the world, and we are harnessing to our needs the fire which heats, which gives light, and which produces motion. This is in the physical sense of the words. One of [374] the imminent discoveries will be the integrating power of electricity as it produces the cohesion within all forms and sustains all form life during the cycle of manifested existence. It produces also the coming together of atoms and of the organisms within forms, so constructing that which is needed to express the life principle. Men today are investigating such matters as electro-therapeutics and studying the theory of the electrical nature of the human being. They are working rapidly towards this coming discovery, and much will be revealed along these lines during the next fifty years. The principle of coordination about which men talk has reference, in the last analysis, to this concept, and the scientific basis of all meditation work is really to be found in this basic truth. The bringing in of force and the offering of a channel are all mystical ways of expressing a natural phenomenon as yet little understood, but which will eventually give the clue to the second aspect of electricity. This will be released in fuller measure during the Aquarian age, through the agency of the seventh ray. One of its earliest effects will be the increase of the understanding of brotherhood and its really scientific basis.

I referred to the fact that man must before long function as freely on the astral plane and through the astral consciousness as he now does on the physical plane. We are today laying the emphasis upon the vital aspect of man; the nature of the life principle is under discussion, and the need for "vital" action everywhere emphasized. We talk of the necessity of increasing human vitality and the vitality of animals and plants; the quality of the vitality producing factors - food, sun and the colored rays so widely used now - is creeping slowly into all medical thought, whilst even the advertisers of the tinned goods of our modern civilization lay the emphasis upon the quota of vitamins. This, esoterically [375] speaking, is due to the shift of human consciousness on to etheric levels. Paralleling the growth of modern knowledge as to the "soul as intellect", we find a growth of understanding as to "the soul as life", though it remains as yet the great and apparently insoluble mystery.

There are two happenings of close and imminent occurrence. Today the bulk of human beings are polarized on the lower levels of the astral plane, but are conscious in the physical body. This distinction must be studied. Soon, many will be conscious in the vital body and beginning to be conscious on the higher levels of the astral plane, and some few upon the mental plane. But large numbers of people today are ready to be fully conscious in the astral body and polarized either on the mental plane entirely or centered in the soul. This produces the wonder and the difficulty of the present time.

Through the scientific ritual of meditation (for that is what it really is) this refocusing can be brought more rapidly about. Through the scientific culture of the ritual of service it can be still further developed. The ritual of the solar system is the result of the meditation of God and the act of divine service, carried on throughout the entire period of manifestation. The subordination of the lower life to the ritual of service is literally the tuning-in of the individual to the rhythm of the life, heart and mind of God Himself. From that tuning-in, automatically a spiritual development follows.

B.III.5.c. The Functioning Ray Laws

There are certain great laws, connected with the seven rays, that are effective in determining the lines of demarcation, the cleavages which produce separation and the differentiations of the manifested life of God into... [376]

1. The septenary constitution of the solar system.
2. The ten schemes which indicate solar achievement.
3. The inner constitution, or so-called "chains", which distinguish each planetary existence.
4. The planetary constitution of our Earth into the various kingdoms of nature.
5. The basic distinctions between the kingdoms; these produce the types, groupings, families, branches, empires and nations.

These Laws of Cleavage are too difficult for general comprehension. They govern form life, and are the result of the united working, or rather the simultaneous manifestation, of the three laws dealt with in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire. These are:

1. The Law of Synthesis, determining the future, certifying the goal, and concerned with the life or spirit aspect.
2. The Law of Attraction, determining the present, and governing the immediate condition of the planetary types. It is concerned with the consciousness or the soul aspect.
3. The Law of Economy. This law determines the past, conditions the planetary consciousness, and concerns itself with the form or matter aspect.

When these three function together, during this particular cycle and in our particular race, they produce a fusion of forces which imposes a certain rhythm, a definite materialization of energies, and a specific type of civilization which functions under what we (esoterically) call the Laws of Cleavage. It is the mind which separates and divides; it is mental activity (divine and superhuman, as well as human) which produces the many differentiations. This process of divisioning comes to its climax during this world period in the Aryan [377] race, the fifth race. We are today governed by the Law of Cleavages, - a divine law and one of fruitful objective. This must not be forgotten.

The activity of the three divine aspects, in relation to the human family in the first nebulous race (of which science knows nothing), produced what we call the Law of Immersion. It caused that growing diversification of matter, clothing the life, which ultimately produced the early manifestation of the incarnating sons of God. It is not a physical incarnation in the sense that we understand that term.

In the next race, of which again man knows little, the fusion of the three divine energies produced a second law. It should be remembered that a law is but the effect of the continued intelligent activity of the Life aspect as it works in conjunction with matter. This second law is called (by those of us who deal with law and energy) the Law of Capitulation, because the momentum set up by the desire of the sons of God to incarnate proved too strong for the opposing forces of matter. Nothing then could stop the coming into tangible existence of the incarnating spirits. Matter capitulated to spirit, the divine desire and the divine will set their signature upon the rapidly assembling forms. It must be borne in mind that these laws are called by names which indicate their relation to humanity. When active in the other kingdoms of nature their influence is different, and they are called by other nomenclatures.

In the next race, the Lemurian, the triple activity of the divine essential attributes demonstrated as the Law of Materialization, or (as it is sometimes called) the Law of Hidden Radiance. This law concerns the Light which is in man, and the covering of that Light, in time and space, in order to produce its intensification and its consequent and subsequent [378] radiation, so that, through humanity, light may eventually reach all forms of divine expression. Through man's achievement, and through the conquest of darkness by light, the light of consciousness in all forms must be brought to a condition of a "shining glory which will irradiate the planet, and shine forth into the world of planets as a testimony to the glory of..."

The fourth law controlling human destiny is known by the curious name of the Law of the Tides. It concerns the life of desire and of sensory perception and of feeling. It is closely concerned with the development of awareness, and is an aspect of the Law of Cycles which controls solar evolution. It is a basic human law, protective and developing. It controls the cyclic or "tidal" life of all souls who are carried by the great river of life - on the crest of desire - into incarnation, and is one of the laws with which the aspirant must work, early in his training. Until he can function as a soul, independent of the cyclic turmoil of terrestrial life, and free from the control of the tides of his emotional existence, he cannot take initiation. It was the inability to do this which brought on Earth the great Atlantean floods which brought that ancient civilization to an end.

We come now to a consideration of the Law of Cleavages, for our race is controlled by the great heresy of separativeness. Through these cleavages (symbolically speaking) the fires of destruction may emerge and end our civilization, as the Atlantean civilization was ended, unless the conscious sons of God can build those bridges and develop that understanding which will offset this law, thus bringing into functioning activity the law which governs the coming race. The work that the disciples of the world must seek to do is analogous to that which they as individuals have to do in their [379] own private development: build the antahkarana, which will bridge the gap between the human consciousness and the spiritual, and make the race eventually as intuitional as it is, today, intellectual.

The law of the coming race is most difficult to express in understandable terms. I can find no better name for it - so as to express adequately its functional effect - than the words, the Law of Loving Understanding. This is a quite inadequate and sentimental phrase for a scientific expression of a great coming evolutionary development in the human consciousness. But until that development is an accomplished fact, we have no means whereby to express the true significance of the underlying idea. The above must suffice.

Let us now enumerate these laws in sequence, so as to gain a better idea of their relation and interrelationship:

1. The Law of Immersion - first race.
2. The Law of Capitulation - second race.
3. The Law of Materialization - Lemurian race.
   The Law of Hidden Radiance.
4. The Law of the Tides - Atlantean race.
5. The Law of Cleavages - Aryan race.
6. The Law of Loving Understanding - next race.

By a right understanding of these laws we can gain an insight into the present world situation as far as the nations are concerned, and can grasp more intelligently the ray influence which, in conjunction with these laws, has brought about the various typical national units.

6. The Nations and the Rays

In connection, therefore, with our discussion of the rays which govern and influence the leading nations of the world, the student should bear in mind the fact that all are today governed primarily by the Law of Cleavages, but that [380] advanced groups in each nation are beginning to respond to the Law of Understanding, - a law which will eventually emphasize the eternal brotherhood of man and the identity of all souls with the Oversoul, in the racial consciousness, as well as the oneness of the Life which pours through, permeates, animates and integrates the entire solar system. This Life functions therefore in and through all the planetary schemes, with their kingdoms of forms, and with all that can be included (throughout our solar universe) under the phrase "form life." That phrase itself contains three great and basic ideas: the ideas of life, of matter and of evolution.

The functioning of the Law of Loving Understanding will be much facilitated and speeded up during the Aquarian age, and it will eventuate later in the development of the international spirit, in the recognition of one world faith in God and in humanity as the major expression of divinity in this world period, and in the transfer of the human consciousness from the world of material things to that of the more purely psychic, leading in time to the spiritual. It should be remembered that (for advanced humanity) the sequence of the recognition of these expansions of consciousness is as follows:

1. The world of psychical living. This requires the recognition, by the brain consciousness of the aspirant, of the need for mental and spiritual control as a first step.
2. The world of mental unfoldment and control.
3. The world of the soul or ego.

When these three recognitions are stabilized in the aspirant, then there comes the recognition by the disciple of ...

4. The control of the physical plane life by the soul.
5. The interpretative faculty of the illumined mind. [381]
6. The functioning and utilization of the psychic powers, and their place and part in the field of intelligent service.
7. An inspired creative life on the physical plane.

But in the development of the racial consciousness, the process does not follow the above stages and sequence. This is owing to the stimulation and consequent sensitizing of the form aspect through the increased radiation and potency of the dynamic New Group of World Servers, whose ranks are filled by those who have passed, or are passing, through the stages of aspirant and disciple, thus learning to serve. Psychic unfoldment in the masses parallels the spiritual unfoldment of advanced humanity. This can be seen going on today on a large scale everywhere, and it accounts for the tremendous growth of the spiritualistic movement, and for the enormous increase in the lower psychic powers. Old Atlantean magic and the lower psychism are upon us again in the great turning of the wheel of life, but this time good may eventuate, if the world disciples and spiritually focused people measure up to their opportunity.

Today there are many hundreds (and in America, many thousands) coming under the influence of this Law of Loving Understanding. Many in every nation are responding to the broader synthetic brotherly note, but the masses as yet understand nothing of this. They must be led in right ways gradually, by the steady development in right understanding by their own nationals. Bear this in mind, all of you who work for world peace and right relations, for harmony and for synthesis.

B.II.6.a. The Major Nations and their Rays

All of the great nations are controlled by two rays, just as is the human being. With the smaller nations we shall not [382] concern ourselves. All nations are controlled by a personality ray (if so we can call it), which is dominant and potent and the main controlling factor at this time, and by a soul ray which is sensed only by the disciples and aspirants of any nation. This soul ray must be evoked into an increased functioning activity by the New Group of World Servers, for this is one of their main objectives and tasks. This must never be lost to sight. Much could be written about the historical influence of the rays during the past two thousand years, and of the way in which great events have been influenced or brought about by the periodic ray influence. But for this I have neither the time nor the inclination. Interesting as it is, and indicative of the present national trends and problems, all that I can now do is to point out the rays governing each nation, and leave you to study and note their effect at your leisure, and to comprehend their relation to the present condition of the world. One thing I would point out, and that is, that those rays which govern a particular nation, and which are at this time in incarnation, are very potent, either materially or egoically, whilst some of the problems may be due to the fact that certain rays, governing certain nations, are at this time out of incarnation.

Nation	Personality Ray	Egoic Ray	Motto
India	4th ray of art.	1st ray of government.	"I hide the Light."
China	3rd ray of intellect.	1st ray of government.	"I indicate the Way."
Germany	1st ray of power.	4th ray of art.	"I preserve."
France	3rd ray of intellect.	5th ray of knowledge.	"I release the Light."
Great Britain	1st ray of power or government.	2nd ray of love.	"I serve."
Italy	4th ray of art.	6th ray of idealism.	"I carve the Paths." [383]
USA	6th ray of idealism.	2nd ray of love.	"I light the Way."
Russia	6th ray of idealism.	7th ray of magic and order.	"I link two Ways."
Austria	5th ray of knowledge.	4th ray of art.	"I serve the Lighted Way."
Spain	7th ray of order.	6th ray of idealism.	"I disperse the clouds."
Brazil	2nd ray of love.	4th ray of art.	"I hide the seed."

A close analysis of the above will indicate certain lines of racial understanding. There is a natural rapport indicated between the modern and present personality rays of Germany and Great Britain, and yet a relationship can be seen between France and Great Britain through their esoteric national mottoes and also between the two symbols which are esoterically theirs. The symbol for France is the fleur de lys, which she adopted centuries ago under divine guidance, which symbol stands for the three divine aspects in manifestation. The emphasis is upon the third aspect, producing intelligent manifestation. The symbol of Great Britain, under the same divine apportioning, is the three feathers, carried as the arms of the Prince of Wales. The scintillating and brilliant French intellect, with its scientific bent, is accounted for by the interplay of the third Ray of Active Intelligence with the fifth Ray of Scientific Understanding. Hence their amazing contribution to the knowledge and thought of the world, and their brilliant and colorful history. Be it remembered also that the glory of the empire which was France is but the guarantee of a glory of divine revelation which lies ahead in the future, but which will never be theirs till they cease living in the wonder of their past and go forth into the [384] future to demonstrate the fact of illumination, which is the goal of all mental effort. When the intellect of the French is turned towards the discovery and the elucidation of the things of the spirit, then they will carry revelation to the world. When their egoic ray dominates the third ray, and when the separative action of the fifth ray is transmuted into the revealing function of this ray, then France will enter into a period of new glory. Her empire will then be of the mind, and her glory of the soul.

It is obvious that the governing faculty is strongly the outstanding characteristic of Great Britain. England is an exponent of the art of control, and her function has been, as you may realize, to produce the first tentative grouping of federated nations, and to demonstrate the possibility of such grouping. The United States of America are doing a somewhat similar thing, and are fusing the nationals of many nations into one federated state with many subsidiary states, instead of subsidiary nations. These two powers function in this way and with this wide objective in order to give to the planet, eventually, a system of groupings within one national border or one empire, and yet with an international boundary which will be symbolic of the coming new age technique in government. The second Ray of Love or Attraction governs, egoically, the British Empire, and there is a relation between this fact and the fact that the sign Gemini governs both the United States and London. The fluid, mercurial, intuitional mind is closely allied with the divine aspect of love and understanding, producing attraction and interpretation.

It is interesting to note that the fourth Ray of Harmony or Art, which will begin before long to come into power again in its major aspect, is to be found prominent in the destinies of India, Germany, Italy, Austria and Brazil, and it is for this that there is so much preparatory turmoil in the [385] three European countries. The sixth ray is potent in Russia, the United States, Italy and Spain. It is the fanatical adherence to an ideal which is responsible also for the potent changes in these four countries; in Germany and Italy, as we have seen, the harmonizing power of the fourth ray is also seen. Hence we have in all these countries a process of breaking down, and of destruction of old forms, prior to an adequate responsiveness to the influence of the incoming ray. It should be remembered that as with individuals, so with nations, - the reaction to an increasing influence of the egoic ray is ever accompanied by a breaking down period, but this demonstration of destruction is but temporary and preparatory.

India hides the light, and that light, when released upon the world and revealed to humanity, will bring about harmony in the form aspect, for things will be clearly seen as they are and freed from glamor and illusion; this harmonizing light is sorely needed in India itself, and when it has been manifested it will bring about the right functioning of the first Ray of Power or Government. The will of the people will be seen in the light. It is in this connection that Great Britain emerges into renewed activity, for her personality ray and India's egoic ray are the same. Many British people are subjectively linked with India, by past incarnations and association, and the quarrel between Great Britain and India is largely a family affair in the deeper sense of the term, and hence its bitterness - the bitterness of an elder brother who sees the younger usurping his prerogatives. Today many British administrators are finding their way back to their own home land, little as they may realize it, there to work out that which they initiated in other lives and bodies. As you may know, there is a close link between the fourth and the second rays, and this again emerges in the relationship [386] between England and India, and a destiny is there which must be jointly worked out.

The static stabilizing tendency of Germany, showing, for instance, in her futile effort to preserve a purity of race now impossible, is due to her first ray personality, whilst her fourth ray egoic force is responsible for her effort to standardize and harmonize all the elements within her borders, to the exclusion, however, of the Hebrew race. With the problem of the Jew I will deal later. Germany cannot help herself, for though the first ray is not in manifestation as we understand the term, yet the bulk of the egos now in power in Germany are on the first subray of the seven different rays, and hence they are from one dominant angle the transmitters of first ray force. A hint is here given. It is for this reason therefore that Great Britain can contact the German race and handle the German psychology more understandingly than can Russia, Italy or France. They share similar qualities, and one of the services therefore that England can render at this time is to come to the aid of world peace, and so live up to the motto, "I serve," by acting as a mediator.

A careful analysis of the idealism of Russia and of the United States may reveal no resemblances in the goal of their idealism, for the Russian is driven by his seventh ray soul towards the imposition of an enforced ceremonial of ordered rhythms, leading to an idealized order and community of interests. Because of this, and because of the enforced magical work, some forces are present and active in Russia which need most careful handling by the Brotherhood of Light; they are not exactly on the white side, as it is called, but are concerned with the magic of form, whereas pure white magic concerns only the soul or subjective aspect. The black forces, so called, are nowhere rampant in Russia any more than elsewhere in the world, but the Russian reaction and attitude to [387] enforced rule and order has in it more of the magical seventh ray influence than is the case in other countries, such as Germany, which also enforces a standardized order and rule of life.

You will note that of the major nations only Brazil, Great Britain and the United States of America are definitely under the influence of the second ray. An interesting fact emerges as we consider this grouping. Great Britain is the custodian of the wisdom aspect of the second ray force for the Aryan race, so called. The United States fulfils the same office for the sixth or coming subrace, which is the germ race for the future sixth great race, whilst Brazil will function as the leading division of the great sixth race. These three races embody the attractive cohesive aspect of the second ray, and will demonstrate it through wisdom and wise government, based on idealism and love. The United States will therefore represent a fusion of races, with the Anglo-Saxon element dominating. Brazil will later represent the best of that which the Latin races have eventually to give. This presented fusion will be considered from the angle of the ray types and the basic unfolding principles, and not from the angle of culture and civilization.

Great Britain therefore represents the aspect of mind which expresses itself in intelligent government, based eventually on just loving understanding. This, I say, is the ideal before her, but not the fulfiled achievement. The United States represents the intuitive faculty, expressing itself as illumination and the power to fuse and blend. Brazil (or rather what that country will then be called, for the time of this expression lies thousands of years ahead) will represent a linking interpreting civilization, based on the unfoldment of the abstract consciousness, which is a blend of the intellect and the intuition, and which reveals the wisdom aspect of love in its [388] beauty. But the period of the development of this great civilization lies too far ahead to make speculation possible.

It is too dangerous for me, in these days of upset and of difficulty, to express myself more definitely as to the future lines of unfoldment. The destiny and future functioning of the nations lie hid in the present activity. The readers of this treatise are, in the majority of cases, far too nationalistic in their viewpoint, and too deeply engrossed with the prime importance of their own nation and of its supreme significance, for me to be able to do more than generalize and to indicate the major lines of progress. The role of the prophet is too dangerous, for destiny lies in the hands of the peoples, and no one knows exactly what way they will take to reach their goal. The inevitability of that goal is assured, as is the ultimate achieving of it, but the incidents of travel cannot be revealed, but lie hid in the racial karma. The time has not yet come when the majority of the people of any race can see the picture as a whole and be permitted to know the part their particular nation must play in the history of nations. Every nation, without exception (and this is a platitude which it is seldom fruitful to repeat), has its peculiar virtues and vices. These are dependent upon:

1. The point in evolution.
2. The measure of the control of the personality ray.
3. The emerging control of the egoic ray.
4. The polarization of the nation.

It is useful to bear in mind, when considering the nations that some are negative and feminine and some positive and masculine. India, France, the United States of America, Russia and Brazil are all feminine, and constitute the nurturing mother-aspect. They are feminine in their psychology, - intuitive, mystical, sensitive, alluring, beautiful, fond of display [389] and color, and with the faults of the feminine aspect, such as the laying of too much emphasis upon the material aspect of life, upon pageantry, upon possessions, and upon money as a symbol of that which connotes the form side. They mother and nurture civilization and ideas.

China, Germany, Great Britain and Italy are masculine and positive; they are mental, political, governing, standardizing, group-conscious, occult, aggressive, full of grandeur, interested in law and in laying the emphasis upon race and empire. But they are more inclusive and think in wider terms than the feminine aspects of divine manifestation. The reader would find it useful to consult an earlier tabulation which I gave (see Pages 382-383), and consider the higher and lower expressions of the rays, noting how they work out in relation to the rays personal and egoic of the different nations. Take for instance the emergence into manifestation of the egoic ray of the German nation. Its lower expression is that of architectural construction, and can be seen at this time making its presence felt in the new and modern style in building. Its higher expression is not yet to be noted, but Germany some day will give out to the world a sound form of hierarchical government. It is interesting to note that the higher expression of the egoic ray of France (the fifth) is already being evidenced. The scientific interest shown in psychism and psychology is a reaction to that ray of influence, and though it is as yet only indicated, the guarantee of the future is contained therein. The sixth ray influence governing the personality or form aspect of the United States of America is abundantly evidenced in its diversified religions and in the national aptitude for idealistic organization; the second ray, the egoic ray, is also making its presence felt, and we have the consequent interest shown in the phenomena and truth of the reality of initiation. [390]

The analysis of the ray characteristics given earlier can be applied to the nations and countries of the world also, and it will therefore be seen how the many septenates of nature, having their roots in the primary septenate of rays, can be dealt with under the Law of Correspondences with amazingly interesting results.

Intuitional relations and the major intellectual cleavages are based on the governing ray influences. Spain, Austria and France, being governed by the seventh, fifth and third rays, have a close interrelation, and this worked out most interestingly in the Middle Ages when the destinies of these three nations seemed closely to interlink. The newly forming country of the United States is likewise esoterically and intimately associated, in its form aspect, with Brazil, Russia and Italy, and hence the early influx of Russians and Italians into America, and hence also the pull of the South American countries upon the American consciousness and the growth of the ideal of Pan-America.

These relations are all on the form side and emerge out of the personality rays. Many such relations will appear if the countries and their rays are subjected to a careful scrutiny. The ray of attraction or inclusiveness (Ray II), the ray of electrical phenomena (Ray III), and the fifth ray of intellect are potentially very active at this time, as they are all in incarnation, and the incoming seventh ray is slowly and surely - in spite of appearances - imposing order and hierarchical control upon the planet. It must be remembered that all natural processes are rightly slow in their tempo, or the effects would be too destructive. The effect of these influences is felt in the following sequential order:

1. The sensing of an ideal.
2. The formulation of a theory. [391]
3. The growth of public opinion.
4. The imposition of a growing "pattern" upon the evolving life.
5. The production of a form based upon that pattern.
6. The stabilized functioning of the life within the form.

It must be remembered that each ray embodies an idea which can be sensed as an ideal. The rays in time produce the world patterns which mould the planetary forms, and thus produce the inner potency of the evolutionary processes. This pattern-forming tendency is being recognized today by modern psychology in connection with the individual human being, and his emotional and thought patterns are being delineated and charted. As with the microcosm, so with the macrocosm. Every ray produces three major patterns which are imposed upon the matter aspect, whether it be that of a man, a nation or a planet. These three patterns are:

1. The emotional Pattern. This embodies the aspiration of the man, the nation or the planetary life, and is the sum total of the desire tendency.
2. The mental pattern. This emerges later in time and governs the thought processes of the man, the nation and the planet. It eventually becomes the controlling factor of the personality or form life. The emotional and mental patterns are the negative and positive aspects of the personality ray.
3. The soul pattern. This is the predisposing goal, the ring-pass-not or destiny which the immortal principle, the solar angel, succeeds eventually and much later in time in imposing upon the form life. This soul pattern finally supersedes and obliterates the two earlier pattern-producing processes.

I have here again indicated fruitful lines of study through [392] which the reader may arrive at some intelligent comprehension of what is transpiring in the life of the nations in the world today.

If, for instance, the fifth ray of the solar angels, the ray of mind, which is the egoic ray of the French nation, can make its potency felt through the stress and toil of the present world condition, then to France may be given the ultimate glory of proving to the world the fact of the soul and the demonstration of the technique of egoic control. The soul pattern may be translated by the genius of the French intellect into terms which humanity can understand and the true soul psychology may come into being. Again, the genius of Germany has often in the past manifested along the line of its fourth ray soul, and through that soul pattern has been given to the world much of the outstanding music and philosophies. When this is again manifested, and the soul pattern is more strongly impressed upon the German consciousness, we shall begin to comprehend the significance of the superman. Germany has caught a vision of this ideal. It is as yet misinterpreting it, but Germany can give us the pattern of the superman, and this is its ultimate destiny.

If England's ideal of justice (which is the pattern of its personality ray) can be transformed and transmuted by her egoic ray of love into just and intelligent world service, she may give to the world the pattern of that true government which is the genius or the latent soul quality of the British. If the idealism of the United States of America, which is today its personality expression and evidenced by the loudly enunciated idea of the biggest and the best, can be illumined by the law of love, then the pattern which underlies the structure of the States may be seen in lines of light, and we shall have the pattern for future racial light in contradistinction to the many separative national lines. Thus the [393] underlying patterns for all the nations can be seen and worked out by the intelligent reader. It could be noted also that the emotional pattern of the United States at this time is expressed in terms of sentiment and of personal desire. It is capable of being translated in terms of true benevolence. The mental pattern for the States is to be seen as mass information through the schools, the radio and the newspapers. Later this can be transmuted into intuitive perception. The soul pattern in the States today works out through the acquisitiveness of the nation and its love of possessions which it attracts to itself through the misuse of the law of love. The eventual expression of this will be the changing of the attitude which loves the material into that which loves the real, and the acquisition of the things of the spirit instead of those of the form.

B.III.6.b. The Jewish Problem

In connection with the nations and the rays I want now to indicate to you certain fundamental conditions which partially account for the (so-called) Jewish problem, - a problem which has existed for centuries, and which is, at this time, causing the deepest possible concern to many, including members of the planetary Hierarchy. If this problem can be solved, it will be one of the potent factors in the restoration of world understanding and harmony. It cannot be solved without the cooperation of the men of good will throughout the world. There is little that I can say anent this matter that can be checked and proved, for the clue to the problem is to be found back in the very night of time and, literally, when the sun was in the constellation Gemini. At that time the two pillars were set up which, as all Masons know, are two great landmarks in Masonry. Hence the Jewish coloring of all the Masonic work, though it is not Jewish [394] in the sense that that word conveys today. Who, therefore, if the facts are of such ancient import, shall say that I speak with accuracy, or establish the right or wrong nature of my conclusions? I but present the facts as I know them from my access to records more ancient than any known to man.

The personality ray, the material form ray of the Jewish people, is the third ray. Their egoic ray is the first. Their astrological sign is Capricorn, with Virgo rising. Mercury and Virgo play a prominent part in their destiny. These clues should suffice to give to the advanced student and astrologer those salient points which will give him light upon their strange history. Because of this third ray influence, you have the tendency of the Jew to manipulate forces and energies, and to "pull strings" in order to bring about desired ends. As a race, they are natural law makers, and hence their tendency to dominate and govern, because their egoic ray is the first. Hence also the constant appearance of the goat in their history, and their teaching about the virgin mother who should give birth to the Messiah.

In every grouping, - whether in heaven or on earth - there is always evidenced a tendency by some units in the group to revolt, to rebel and to show some form of initiative different to that of the other units in the same grouping. When our solar universe came into being, we are told in the allegorical language of the ancient scriptures, there "was war in Heaven"; "the sun and his seven brothers" did not function with true unanimity; hence (and herein lies a hint) our Earth is not one of the seven sacred planets. There is, as we know, the ancient legend of the lost Pleiad, and there are many such stories. Again, in the council chamber of the Most High, there has not always been peace and understanding, but at times, war and disruption; this is made abundantly clear by several of the stories in the Old Testament. [395] Symbolically speaking, some of the sons of God fell from their high estate, led, at one time, by "Lucifer, Son of the Morning." This "fall of the angels" was a tremendous event in the history of our planet, but was nevertheless only a passing and interesting phenomenon in the history of the solar system, and a trifling incident in the affairs of the seven constellations, of which our solar system is but one. Pause and consider this statement for a moment, and so readjust your sense of values. The standard of happenings varies in importance according to the angle of vision, and what (from the angle of our Earth's unfoldment in consciousness) may be a factor of prime importance and of determining value may (from the angle of the universe) be of trifling moment. The affairs of an individual are, to him, of momentous import; to humanity, as a whole, they are of small concern. It all depends upon which unit holds the center of the stage in the drama of life, and around which central factor the happenings, trivial or important, pursue their cyclic way.

Within the radius of power and life which is the expression of the fourth kingdom in nature, the human, there was to be found a correspondence to that "assumption of independence" and to that "breaking away" which characterized the major grouping. Back in later Lemurian times, a group of men of high development, from the point of view of that time, and numbered among the then disciples of the world, took issue with the planetary Hierarchy, and broke away from the "law of the initiates." It was a time wherein the emphasis of the teaching was upon the material side of life, and where the focus of attention was upon the physical nature and its control. The Old Commentary expresses what happened in the following terms, and as you read the measured cadences of that ancient script, it would be wise to try and realize that the phrases are referring to that group of [396] disciples who were the early founders of the present Jewish race:

"The law went forth from the inner group which guided the destinies of men: Detach yourselves. Withdraw within yourselves the power to hold and gain and get. The sons of God, who train themselves to leave the world of men and enter into light, they ever travel free. They hold not what they have. Release yourselves, and enter through the gates of peace.

"Some of the sons of God, waiting outside those gates, ready to enter when the Word went forth to roll the gates aside, were laden with the treasure of the earth. They brought their gifts as offerings to the Lord of life, who needed not their gifts. They sought to enter through those gates, not with a selfish end in view, but to present the garnered treasures of the world, and thus shew their love.

"Again the Word went forth: Leave all behind and pass beyond the portal, laden with naught of earth. They waited and discussed. The rest of those who were prepared entered into light and passed between the pillars of the gate; they left behind the loads they brought and entered free, and were accepted, carrying naught.

"Because they traveled as a group, and as a group progressed and grasped, the group responded to the divine command and halted. There they waited, standing before the portal of the Path, grasping the garnered treasures of a thousand cycles. Naught did they wish to leave behind. They had labored for the riches which they held. They loved their God, and Him they sought to dower with the fullest measure of the riches they had gained. They loved not discipline.

"Again the Word went forth: Drop on the ground all that you hold, and enter free.

"But three revolted from that stern command. The rest obeyed. They passed within the gates, leaving the three outside. Many were raised unto the heights of joy. The three remained without the gates, holding their treasure firm."

In this ancient writing, older than any of the written scriptures of the world, is to be found the secret of the Masonic story and of the slaying of the Master by the three most [397] closely associated with Him in His death and burial. Masons will all recognize the three to whom I here refer. These three were the founders of the modern Jewish race. They were three advanced disciples who resented the command to enter, free and untrammeled, the place where light is to be found. They sought to hold that which they had gathered and to dedicate it to the service of God. Their unrecognized motive was love of riches and a desire to hold safe their gains. Ancient tradition, as taught by the teachers of the past, tells us that...

"They turned their faces towards the gates of earth. Their friends went on... They stayed behind... The Masters met in conclave and decided what should be the fate of those who, having reached the Gates of Light, loved the possessions of the world more than they loved the service of the light. Again the Word went forth to the revolting three, who waited still without the gates:

"Hold what you have and gather more, but know no peace. Garner the fruits of mind, and seek your power in wide possessions, but have no sure abiding place.

"Within yourselves, because you are disciples of the Lord, you shall have no share in peace, no sure and certain knowledge of success, nor power to hold your gains.

"Always shall there be the knowledge dim of Him Who watches over all. Always the urge to gather and amass. Never the time to hold and to enjoy. Pass on therefore until the time shall come, and again you stand before the Gates of Light, this time with empty hands. Then enter, free, accepted by the Servants of the Lord, and know, forever, peace."

The ancient legend tells us that the three went forth in sorrow and revolt, laden with their treasures, and thus the history of the wandering Jew began. It is significant to remember that one of the greatest sons of God Who has worked on earth, and Who epitomized in Himself the way and the achievement, Jesus of Nazareth, was a Jew. He reversed all the earlier conditions. He possessed nothing at [398] all. He was the first of our humanity to achieve, and was a direct descendant of the eldest of the original three disciples who revolted from the drama of detachment. The Jew embodies in himself the world prodigal son. He is the symbol of the disciple who has not yet learned the lesson of a just sense of values. He has been the victim of the Law of Light and of his inability to comply with that Law. He sinned wilfuly and with his eyes wide open to results. Hence he knows the law as no other race knows it, for he is eternally its victim. He has enunciated the law from its negative angle; the Law of Moses today rules most of the world, and yet fails to bring into life justice and true legality.

The other group of disciples, the representatives (in their day and age) of the race, passed through the ancient portals of initiation and took the first great step. They came back with a latent and dim recollection of the episode which separated them from three of their co-disciples. On their return to life on earth, they spoke of this event. This was their error; the long antagonism started, which persists until today. Those particular disciples have themselves passed through their long pilgrimage and have entered into eternal peace, but the results of their early betrayal of the hidden events of initiation still persist.

Curiously enough, this ancient race, founded by the three who loved that which they had to offer more than that which they longed to take, were the originators of the Masonic tradition. Their history (and incidentally the history of humanity) is embodied in that dramatic ritual. The reward for their sincerity, - for they revolted in utter sincerity, believing they knew best - was the permission to enact each year, on the return of the day when they might have entered into light, the story of the search for light. Because they had been so [399] nearly resurrected from the death of earth into the life of light, the great tradition of the mysteries was started by them. They chose death and slew that which "had lived and which could have claimed reward," and which could have spoken the word of power which would have caused the gates of resurrection to open wide.

We are told that these three swore an everlasting vow to stand together and never to desert each other. This vow down the ages they have kept; it has consequently produced that racial separativeness and community of interests which arouses the antagonism of other races.

Down the ages, the Jew has been wandering, producing much of beauty in the world, and giving to humanity many of its greatest men, but he has (at the same time) been hated and persecuted, betrayed and hounded. He embodies, in himself, symbolically, the history of humanity. The ancient tendency of the Jews to grasp and hold, and also to preserve their racial and national integrity, are their outstanding characteristics. They cannot be absorbed, and yet so ancient is the race that nevertheless today no nation in the world but has its roots in that group which - in old Lemuria - had advanced so far that all its foremost people stood upon the path of discipleship. There are no racial strains in the Western world which are not offshoots of this oldest select people, with the exception of the Finns, Lapps and those nations which show definite mongoloid strains. But the admixture of what is now called Jewish blood is not found to the same extent, and the modern Jew is as much a by-product as is the Anglo-Saxon race, only, through an imposed selective tendency and racial segregation, he has preserved intact more of the original characteristics.

It is the realization of this common origin which has led [400] the British-Israelites into their travesty of the truth, and caused them to trace our modern Western history to the Jews of the Dispersion. It is a far more ancient relation than that, and dates back into a period that antedates the history of the Jews as it is related for us in the Old Testament. The original three disciples and their family groups were the ancestors of three major racial groupings, which can be generalized as follows:

1. The Semitic race or races of Biblical and modern times; the Arabs, the Afghans, the Moors and the offshoots and affiliations of those peoples, including the modern Egyptians. These are all descended from the eldest of the three disciples.
2. The Latin peoples and their various branches throughout the world, and also the Celtic races wherever found. These are descended from the second of the three disciples.
3. The Teutons, the Scandinavians, and the Anglo-Saxons, who are the descendants of the third of the three disciples.

The above is a broad generalization. The period covered is so vast, and the ramifications down the ages are so numerous, that it is not possible for me to do more than give a general idea. Gradually the descendants of two of these three disciples have accepted the legends which were promulgated in Atlantean times, and have ranged themselves on the side of those who are antagonistic to the Jew, as he is today; they have lost all sense of their common origin. There is no pure race in the world today, for intermarriage, illicit relations and promiscuity during the past few million years have been so numerous that there exists no pure strain. Climate and [401] environment are fundamentally greater determining factors than any forced segregation, except that which comes through a constant racial intermarriage. Of this latter factor, only the Hebrew today has preserved any measure of racial integrity.

When humanity awakens to the fact of its common origin, and when the three great major strains in our modern civilization are recognized, then we shall see the old hatred of the Jew die out, and he will fuse and blend with the rest of mankind. Even the oriental races, who are the remnants of the great Atlantean civilization, have in them traces of intermarriage with the ancestors of the modern Jews and other racial types, but they have not mixed well, and have therefore preserved their characteristics more successfully than have the groups of our Western men.

If you ponder upon the above, and if you study the Masonic tradition with care, much will become clarified in your mind. Ethnologists may disagree, but they cannot disprove what I have said, for the origins of the present racial world situation lie so far back in the history of mankind that they cannot even prove their own contentions. All they are capable of considering is the history of the past one hundred thousand years, and their work lies with effects of that past and not with originating causes.

B.III.7. The Ray of the Ego

In starting our study of the ray of the Ego or Soul, certain major premises might be briefly stated and incorporated into a series of propositions, fourteen in number. They are as follows:

1. The egos of all human beings are to be found upon one or another of the seven rays. [402]
2. All egos found upon the fourth, the fifth, the sixth and the seventh rays must eventually, after the third initiation, blend with the three major rays, or monadic rays.
3. The monadic ray of every ego is one of the three rays of aspect, and the sons of men are either monads of power, monads of love, or monads of intelligence.
4. For our specific purposes, we shall confine our attention to the seven groups of souls found upon one or other of the seven rays or streams of divine energy.
5. For the major part of our racial and life experience we are governed sequentially, and later simultaneously by:
   1. The physical body, which is dominated by the ray governing the sum total of the atoms of that body.
   2. The emotional desire nature, which is to be found influenced and controlled by the ray which colors the totality of astral atoms.
   3. The mind body or mental nature, and the caliber and quality of the ray determining its atomic value.
   4. Later, on the physical plane, the soul ray begins to work in and with the sum total of the three bodies, which constitute - when aligned and functioning in unison - the personality. The effect of that general integration is actively to produce an incarnation and incarnations wherein the personality ray emerges clearly, and the three bodies or selves constitute the three aspects or rays of the lower personal self.
6. When the personality ray becomes pronounced and dominant, and the three body rays are subordinated to it, then the great fight takes place between the egoic ray or soul and the personality ray. The differentiation becomes clearly marked, and the sense of duality becomes more definitely established. The experiences detailed in the Bhagavad Gita become the experiences [403] of the path of discipleship; Arjuna stands "at the midway point" on the field of Kurukshetra, between the two opposing forces, and, owing to the smoke of the battle, finds himself unable to see clearly.
7. Eventually, the soul ray or influence becomes the dominating factor, and the rays of the lower bodies become the subrays of this controlling ray. This last sentence is of basic importance, for it indicates the true relation of the personality to the ego or soul. The disciple who understands this relation and conforms to it is ready to tread the path of initiation.
8. Each of the seven groups of souls is responsive to one of the seven types of force, and all of them are responsive to the ray of the planetary Logos of our planet, which is the third Ray of Active Intelligence. All are therefore upon a subray of this ray, but it must never be forgotten that the planetary Logos is also upon a ray, which is a subray of the second Ray of Love-Wisdom. Therefore we have:

   [404]

   It should be remembered that our planetary Logos functioning through the planet Earth is not considered as producing one of the seven sacred planets.

9. The work of each individual aspirant is therefore to arrive at an understanding of:
   1. His egoic ray.
   2. His personality ray.
   3. The ray governing his mind.
   4. That governing his astral body.
   5. The ray influencing his physical body.

   When he has achieved this fivefold knowledge, he has fulfiled the Delphic injunction: "Know thyself," and can consequently take Initiation.

10. Every human being is also governed by certain group rays: [405]
    1. Those of the fourth kingdom in nature. This will have different effects, according to the ray of the personality or soul. The fourth kingdom has:
       • The fourth ray as its egoic ray.
       • The fifth ray as its personality ray.
    2. The racial rays, at this time, are the third and fifth, for our Aryan race, and this powerfully affects every human being.
    3. The cyclic ray.
    4. The national ray.

    All of these control the personality life of each man. The egoic ray of the individual, plus the egoic ray of the fourth kingdom, gradually negate the rays governing the personality as the man nears the path of probation and discipleship.

11. Man therefore is an aggregate of forces which dominate him serially and together; these color his nature, produce his quality, and determine his "appearance," using this word in its occult sense of exteriorization. For ages he is wielded by one or other of these forces, and is simply what they make him. As he arrives at a clearer understanding, and can begin to discriminate, he definitely chooses which of them shall dominate, until he eventually becomes controlled by the Soul ray, with all the other rays subordinated to that ray and used by him at will.
12. In studying the egoic ray of man we have to grasp:
    1. The process followed - externalization.
    2. The secret to be found - manifestation.
    3. The purpose to be known - realization.

    We have also to understand the dominant ray influences of the kingdom of souls, the fifth kingdom. These are:

    • Ray five - working through the personality. [406]
    • Ray two - working through the intuition.
      
13. The Personality ray finds its major field of activity and expression in the physical body. It determines its life trend and purpose, its appearance and occupation. It is selective of quality, when influenced by the egoic ray.
    The Egoic ray has direct and specific action upon the astral body. Hence the battlefield of the life is ever on the plane of illusion; as the soul seeks to dispel the ancient glamor, the aspirant is enabled to walk in the light.
    The Monadic ray influences the mental body, after integration of the personality has been brought about. It causes the mind nature to achieve that clear vision which finds its consummation at the fourth initiation, and releases the man from the limitations of form. There is an analogy to this triplicity and an interesting symbolic relation in the three Initiators.
    1. The first Initiator - the soul of man.
       This controls gradually the personality.
    2. The second Initiator - the Christ.
       Releasing the love nature.
    3. The final Initiator - the Planetary Logos.
       Illumining the mind.
14. The egoic or soul ray begins to make its presence actively felt, via the astral body, as soon as alignment has been achieved. The process is as follows:
    1. It plays on the astral body externally.
    2. It stimulates it internally to greater size, color and quality.
    3. It brings it and all parts of the physical life into activity and under control.

All the above propositions could be summed up in the statement that the personality ray induces a separative attitude and causes a detachment from the group of souls of [407] which the personality is an externalization, and a consequent attachment to the form side of manifestation. The egoic ray induces group consciousness and detachment from external forms, causing attachment to the life side of manifestation and to the subjective whole. The monadic ray has an effect which can be understood only after man has taken the third initiation.

We might divide what we have to say in the next section of our treatise, which deals with the egoic ray, into the four following parts:

1. THE GROWTH OF SOUL INFLUENCE
2. THE SEVEN LAWS OF EGOIC LIFE
3. THE FIVE GROUPS OF SOULS
4. RULES FOR INDUCING SOUL CONTROL [411]