Section One - CHAPTER III - Ten Basic Propositions
Question 2. What are the origin, goal, purpose and plan of the soul? - Part 1
Question 2. What are the origin, goal, purpose and plan of the soul? - Part 1
The seven rays are the sum total of the divine Consciousness, of the universal Mind; They might be regarded as seven intelligent entities through Whom the plan is working out. They embody divine purpose, express the qualities required for the materialising of that purpose, and They create the forms and are the forms through which the divine idea can be carried forward to completion. Symbolically, They may be regarded as constituting the brain of the divine Heavenly Man. They correspond to the ventricles of the brain, to the seven centres within the brain, to the seven centres of force, and to the seven major glands which determine the quality of the physical body. They are the conscious executors of [60] divine purpose; They are the seven Breaths, animating all forms which have been created by Them to carry out the plan.
It may perhaps be easier to understand the relation of the seven rays to Deity if we remember that man himself (being made in the image of God) is a seven-fold being, capable of seven states of consciousness, expressive of the seven principles or basic qualities which enable him to be aware of the seven planes upon which he is, consciously or unconsciously, functioning. He is a septenate at all times, but his objective is to be consciously aware of all the states of being, to express consciously all the qualities, and to function freely on all the planes.
The seven ray Beings, unlike man, are fully conscious and entirely aware of the purpose and the Plan. They are "ever in deep meditation," and have reached the point where, through Their advanced stage of development, They are "impelled toward fulfillment." They are fully self-conscious and group-conscious; They are the sum total of the universal mind; They are "awake and active." Their goal and Their purpose is such that it is idle for us to speculate about it, for the highest point of achievement for man is the lowest point for Them. These seven Rays, Breaths and Heavenly Men have the task of wrestling with matter in order to subjugate it to divine purpose, and the goal—as far as one can sense it—is to subject the material forms to the play of the life aspect, thus producing those qualities which will carry the will of God to completion. They are therefore the sum total of all the souls within the solar system, and Their activity produces all forms; according to the nature of the form so will be the grade of consciousness. Through the seven rays, the life or spirit aspect flows, cycling through every kingdom in nature and producing thus all states of consciousness in all fields of awareness.
For the purpose of this treatise students will have to accept [61] the hypothesis that every human being is swept into manifestation on the impulse of some ray, and is coloured by that particular ray quality, which determines the form aspect, indicates the way he should go, and enables him (by the time the third initiation is reached) to have sensed and then to have cooperated with his ray purpose. After the third initiation he begins to sense the synthetic purpose towards which all the seven rays are working; but as this treatise is written for aspirants and disciples, and not for initiates of the third degree, it is needless to speculate upon this ultimate destiny.
The human soul is a synthesis of material energy, qualified by intelligent consciousness, plus the spiritual energy which is, in its turn, qualified by one of the seven ray types.
Thus the human being emerges, a son of God incarnate in form, with one hand (as the Old Commentary says) holding firmly to the rock of matter and with the other hand plunged into a sea of love. An ancient scripture puts it thus:
"When the right hand of the man of matter grasps the flower of life and plucks it for himself, the left hand remains in emptiness.
"When the right hand of the man of matter grasps the golden lotus of the soul, the left descends seeking the flower of life, though he seeks it not for selfish ends.
"When the right hand holds the golden lotus firm and the left hand grasps the flower of life, man finds himself to be the seven-leaved plant which flowers on earth and flowers before the Throne of God."
The purpose of Deity, as it is known to the Creator, is totally unknown to all save the higher initiates. But the purpose of each ray Life may be sensed and defined, subject of course to the limitations of the human mind and to the inadequacy of words. The planned activity of every ray qualifies every form found within its body of manifestation.
We come now to a technical statement which must be accepted for the sake of argument, being incapable of proof..[62] All the Lords of the rays create a body of expression, and thus the seven planets have come into being. These are their major expressions.
The Sun (Veiling Vulcan)
Jupiter
Saturn
Mercury
Venus
Mars
The Moon
The energies of these seven Lives however are not confined to their planetary expressions, but sweep around the confines of the solar system just as the life impulses of a human being—his vital forces, his desire impulses, and his mental energies—sweep throughout his body, bringing the various organs into activity and enabling him to carry out his intent, to live his life, and to fulfill the objective for which he created his body of manifestation.
Each of the seven kingdoms in nature reacts to the energy of some particular ray Life. Each of the seven planes similarly reacts; each septenate in nature vibrates to one or another of the initial septenates, for the seven rays establish that process which assigns the limits of influence of all forms. They are that which determines all things, and when I use these words I indicate the necessity of Law. Law is the will of the seven Deities, making its impression upon substance in order to produce a specific intent through the method of the evolutionary process.
A. The Three Rays of Aspect.
We shall now express the ray purpose in the form of an ancient teaching preserved on leaves that are so old that the writing is slowly fading. I now translate it into modern language though much is lost thereby.
[63]
Ray I. Will or Power.
Behind the central sacred sun, hidden within its rays, a form is found. Within that form there glows a point of power which vibrates not as yet but shines as light electric.
Fierce are its rays. It burns all forms, yet touches not the life of God incarnate.
From the One who is the seven goes forth a word. That word reverberates along the line of fiery essence, and when it sounds within the circle of the human lives it takes the form of affirmation, an uttered fiat or word of power. Thus there is impressed upon the living mold the thought of. ..... (the hidden, inexpressible ray name.)
Let dynamic power, electric light, reveal the past, destroy the form that is, and open up the golden door. This door reveals the way which leads towards the centre where dwells the one whose name cannot be heard within the confines of our solar sphere.
His robe of blue veils his eternal purpose, but in the rising and the setting sun his orb of red is seen.
His word is power. His light, electric. The lightning is his symbol. His will is hidden in the counsel of his thought. Nought is revealed.
His power is felt. The sons of men, reacting to his power, send to the utmost bounds of light a question:
Why this blind power? Why death? Why this decay of forms? Why the negation of the power to hold? Why death, Oh Mighty Son of God?
Faintly the answer comes: I hold the keys of life and death. I bind and loose again. I, the Destroyer, am.
This ray Lord is not yet in full expression, except as He causes destruction and brings cycles to an end. The Monads of power are much fewer in number than any others. Egos upon the power ray are relatively not so few. They are characterised by a dynamic will, and their power within the human family works out as the force of destruction, but in the last analysis it is a destruction that will produce liberation. We shall see as we continue to study first ray egos and personalities [64] that death and destruction are always to be found in their work, and hence the apparent cruelty and impersonality of their reactions. Form does not count with first ray types; their energy produces death to form, but ushers in great periods of cyclic pralaya; the first ray is the controller of the death drama in all kingdoms—a destruction of forms which brings about release of power and permits "entrance into Light through the gateway of Death." The intent of the Lord of the first ray is to stand behind His six Brothers, and when They have achieved Their purpose, to shatter the forms which They have built. This He does by passing His power through Their bodies, and Their united effort leads to abstraction and a return to the center whence the initial impulse came. The first ray purpose therefore is to produce death, and some idea of that purpose may be gleaned if we study some of the names by which the ray Lord is called:
The Lord of Death
The Opener of the Door
The Liberator from Form
The Great Abstractor
The Fiery Element, producing shattering
The Crystallizer of the Form
The Power that touches and withdraws
The Lord of the Burning Ground
The Will that breaks into the Garden
The Ravisher of Souls
The Finger of God
The Breath that blasts
The Lightning which annihilates
The Most High
The qualities and characteristics of this Lord Who brings release may be gathered from the following six aphorisms which, an ancient legend says, His six Brothers gave to Him, as They begged Him to hold His hand till They had had time to work out Their purposes:
[65]
1. Kill out desire when desire has fulfilled its work. Thou art the one who indicates fulfillment.
............... Quality......clear vision.
2. Seek out the gentle way, Oh Lord of Power. Wait for thy brother on the path of Love. He builds the forms that can withstand thy power.
............... Quality...... dynamic power.
3. Withhold the hand until the time has come. Then give the gift of death, Oh Opener of the Door.
............... Quality......sense of time.
4. Stand not alone, but with the many join thyself. Thou art the One, the Isolated. Come forth unto thine own.
............... Quality...... solitariness.
5. Lead thine own forth but learn to know thine own. Hate not attachment but see its plan and purpose.
............... Quality...... detachment.
6. Through thee the life pulsates, the rhythm is imposed. The life is all. Love life in all its forms.
............... Quality......singleness of purpose.
The six qualities enumerated above express the force of this ray as it makes its presence felt in the fourth kingdom in nature. The effects in other kingdoms differ, but we shall confine our attention to the standpoint of humanity. The purpose of the first ray, and its main work, is to produce cessation and the death of all forms in all kingdoms in nature and on all planes. The energy of this ray Lord brings about the death of an ant or of a solar system, of an organisation, a religion, or a government, of a race type or of a planet. His will or purpose works out through the law of periodicity.
THE SECOND PURPOSE OF DEITY
Ray II. Love-Wisdom
The Word is issuing from the heart of God, emerging from a central point of love. That Word is love itself. Divine desire colours all that life of love. Within the human hierarchy, the affirmation gathers power and sound.
The Word in the beginning was. The Word hath dwelt and dwells with God. In Him was light. In Him was life. Within His light we walk.
[66]
His symbol is the thunder, the Word that cycles down the ages.
Some of the names of this ray Lord which convey his purpose are as follows:
The Displayer of Glory
The Lord of Eternal Love
The Cosmic Magnet
The Giver of Wisdom
The Radiance in the Form
The Master Builder
The Conferrer of Names
The Great Geometrician
The One Who hides the Life
The Cosmic Mystery
The Light Bringer
The Son of God Incarnate
The Cosmic Christ
The legend tells us that the six Brothers summarise His qualities in the following aphorisms:
1. Send forth the Word and speak the radiant love of God. Make all men hear.
............... Quality......love divine.
2. Let the glory of the Lord shine forth. Let there be radiant light as well as radiant love.
............... Quality......radiance.
3. Draw to thyself the object of thy search. Pull forth into the light of day from out the night of time the one thou lovest.
............... Quality......attraction.
4. When light and love are shewn forth then let the power within produce the perfect flower. Let the word that heals the form go forth. That secret word that then must be revealed.
............... Quality......the power to save.
5. Salvation, light, and love, with the magnetic power of God, produce the word of wisdom. Send forth that word, and lead the sons of men from off the path of knowledge on to the path of understanding.
............... Quality......wisdom.
[67]
6. Within the radius of the love of God, within the circle of the solar system, all forms, all souls, all lives revolve. Let each son of God enter into this wisdom. Reveal to each the Oneness of the many lives.
Quality......expansion or inclusiveness.
The third ray, which is one that has a very long cycle, having been in manifestation since A.D. 1425, has a direct effect upon the fifth root race, the Aryan, and has connected with it a set of curious phrases which express its purpose.
THE THIRD PURPOSE OF DEITY
Ray III. Active Intelligence or Adaptability
Let the Warden of the South continue with the building.
Let him apply the force Which will produce the shining living stone that fits into the temple's plan with right exactitude. Let him prepare the corner stone and wisely place it in the north, under the eye of God Himself, and subject to the balance of the triangle.
Let the Researcher of the past uncover the thought of God, hidden deep within the mind of the Kumaras of Love, and thus let him lead the Agnishvattvas, waiting within the place of darkness, into the place of light.
Let the Keeper of the sparks breathe with the breath divine upon the points of fire, and let him kindle to a blaze that which is hidden, that which is not seen, and so illumine all the spheres whereon God works.
I would call attention to the fact that all I can do here is to put into words certain ancient symbols, and so emphasize the process (adopted by the early initiate-teachers) of enunciating a word or sound, which produces a symbolic form, which in its turn, is capable of translation into words. These must in their turn be comprehended intuitively and adapted to individual need, and thus be assimilated into the life practice. Otherwise these ancient and interesting ideas, these interpretative names, and these aphorisms, conveying the "power of qualities", are worse than useless and serve but to increase responsibility. The capacity to see objective significances and [68]then apply them to life is an expression of the true esoteric sense. If one studies these tabulations and phrases with care, they will be found to convey indication as to one's individual ray, life tendencies and purpose; if the appeal the various statements make anent a particular ray evoke an intuitive understanding on the part of the student, so that he recognises himself, his ray energy and aspects of his latent and deeply desired spiritual nature, then these communications I am making here as to Purpose, Name and Quality will be profitable and useful.
Some of the names of the Lord of the third ray indicate His use of force and His real nature. They are as follows:
The Keeper of the Records.
The Lord of Memory
The Unifier of the lower Four
The Interpreter of That Which is seen
The Lord of Balance
The Divine Separator
The Discriminating Essential Life
The One Who produces Alliance
The Three-sided Triangle
The Illuminator of the Lotus
The Builder of the Foundation
The Forerunner of the Light
The One Who veils and yet reveals
The Dispenser of Time
The Lord of Space
The Universal Mind
The Threefold Wick
The Great Architect of the Universe
and many others terms which indicate relation to light, to time, to space, to the manifested Logos, to matter and to the "power which evokes the form."
If all these names are studied in connection with modern developments or modern culture and science, it will become apparent how potent and influential in our day and time is [69] this particular ray Life, and how His energies (having produced the tangible objective worlds) are turned to the manifestation of our modern civilisation, with its material emphasis, its search as to the nature of time and space, and that mental unfoldment which it is the glory and the destiny of our particular race to demonstrate.
The qualities which characterise this ray Lord might be enumerated in the following phrases. We must bear in mind that the seventh or synthetic characteristic of each of the rays is denoted by the ray name and is not specifically stated in the other six qualities. His six Brothers, Sons of the one Father, chanted these injunctions to Him on the day of His renewed activity (on what we call the day of creation):
1. Produce the dual form and veil the life. Let form appear, and prove itself divine. All is of God.
............... Quality......the power to manifest.
2. Conform the shell to that which dwells within. Let the world egg appear. Let ages pass, then let the soul appear. Let life emerge within a destined time.
............... Quality......the power to evolve.
3. Let mind control. Let the clear shining of the sun of life reveal the mind of God, and set the shining one upon his way. Then lead him to the central point where all is lost within the light supernal.
............... Quality......mental illumination.
4. God and His form are one. Reveal this fact, Oh sovereign Lord of form. God and His form are one. Negate the dual concept. Lend colour to the form. The life is one; the harmony complete. Prove thus the two are one.
............... Quality...... the power to produce synthesis on the physical plane.
5. Produce the garment of the Lord; set forth the robe of many colours. Then separate that robe from That Which hides behind its many folds. Take off the veiling sheaths. Let God be seen. Take Christ from off the cross.
............... Quality......scientific investigation.
6. Let the two paths converge. Balance the pairs of opposites [70] and let the path appear between the two. God and the Path and man are one.
............... Quality......balance.
Thus the three major rays sum up in themselves the process of creation, of energising, through the urge of the divine will; and the work of the four minor rays (as they are called, though with no idea of there being lesser or greater) is to elaborate or differentiate the qualities of the life, and so produce the infinite multiplicity of forms which will enable the life to assume its many points of focus and express—through the process of evolutionary manifestation—its diverse characteristics.
B. The Four Rays of Attribute.
THE FOURTH PURPOSE OF DEITY
Ray IV. Harmony, Beauty, Art
Colour, and yet no colour now is seen. Sound and the soundless One meet in an infinite point of peace. Time and the timeless One negate the thoughts of men. But time is not.
Form is there found, and yet the psychic sense reveals that which the form is powerless to hide,—the inner synthesis, the all-embracing prism, that point of unity which—when it is duly reached—reveals a further point where all the three are one, and not the two alone.
Form and its soul are merged. The inner vision watches o'er the fusion, knows the divine relation and sees the two as one. But from that point of high attainment, a higher vision blazes forth before the opened inner eye. The three are one, and not alone the two. Pass on, O pilgrim on the Way.
In reading these words, the student must bear in mind that the antechamber has been left behind and man stands (when he has allowed the fourth ray to do its work and can therefore function on the fourth or buddhic plane) within the temple of the Lord. He has found a measure of light, but in that light he now sees light, and visions a greater revelation and brilliance. This now becomes the object of his search.[71] He has mastered the uses of duality and has learnt to at-one soul and body into one instrument for spirit. Now he passes on his way to achieve the greater synthesis.
The Lord of the fourth ray has many names which warrant careful study and much consideration. In less than a hundred years this Lord of harmonising power will have more influence and will offset some of the Saturn disruption of the first decanate of Aquarius. In the meantime a study of His names will produce a simplification of His efforts and build up a body of constructive thought which will facilitate His work when He is again in active manifestation. He is always, however, more or less in power where the human family is concerned, for there is a numerical alliance between the fourth ray, the fourth Creative Hierarchy, or the human monads, and the fourth kingdom in nature. His power is always consequently active.
The Perceiver on the Way
The Link between the Three and Three
The Divine Intermediary
The Hand of God
The Hidden One
The Seed, that is the Flower
The Mountain whereon Form dies
The Light within the Light
The Corrector of the Form
The One Who marks the parting of the Way
The Master
The Dweller in the Holy Place
The Lower than the Three, the Highest of the Four
The Trumpet of the Lord.
The aphorisms connected with this fourth ray are not easy of comprehension. They require an exercise of the intuition and are conveyed by six short and excessively brief commands uttered, curiously enough, late in the creative period [72] and at the time when the fourth Creative Hierarchy came into incarnation:
1. Speak low the Word. Speak low.
............... Quality......power to penetrate the depths of matter.
2. Champion desire. Give what is needed to the seeker.
............... Quality......the dual aspects of desire.
3. Lower the thread. Unfold the Way. Link man with God. Arise.
............... Quality......power to reveal the path.
4. All flowers are thine. Settle the roots in mud, the flowers in sun. Prove mud and sun, and roots and flowers are one.
............... Quality......power to express divinity. Growth.
5. Roll and return, and roll again. Cycle around the circle of the Heavens. Prove all is one.
............... Quality......the harmony of the spheres.
6. Colour the sound. Sound forth the colour. Produce the notes and see them pass into the shades, which in their turn produce the sounds. Thus all are seen as one.
............... Quality......the synthesis of true beauty.
This instruction on the rays is of deeper significance than can as yet be comprehended. Careful systematic study and a sane refraining from the forming of rapid deductions will be the wisest way in which to approach its consideration. It is not possible for me to deal with the definite human psychological applications at this early stage. I am occupied with starting a general outline, with the impartation of ideas, with the grounding of a few basic concepts in the consciousness of the reader, and with an attempt to clothe this most abstruse and difficult subject in such a form that some new rhythm of thought may be set in motion, and some new realisations be grasped and held. These concern at present a prototypal cosmic process, and will lead eventually to an understanding of the part an individual may play in a stupendous cosmic whole.[73] We begin with the universal and end with the particular, which is ever the truly occult method.
However, all that I am positing about a ray Life may be equally well posited anent a human life, but it should be borne in mind that the pure ray type does not as yet exist, for there is not to be found that perfect form, mechanism or expression of the ray quality, nor that absolutely purified appearance in the human family, except in such rare cases as the Buddha, or Christ, and (in another field of expression) an Alexander or Julius Caesar. Leonardo da Vinci was an analogous expression. The rays concern energy and consciousness, and determine expression, but where the matter utilised and the vehicle informed is as yet imperfectly evolved, there is then limitation and the "tuning out" automatically of much of the energy. The effect of ray force, working through imperfect forms, must be distorted and curtailed and misapplied. Let me illustrate. I have said that first ray energy works out as the destruction of forms; it must be remembered that a pure destroyer is utterly unknown, and mercifully for the race this is so. It is a beneficent condition that as yet a first ray ego is so handicapped and limited by the form nature and the quality of that form nature that it is unable to make adequate or intelligent use of its destructive force. First ray personalities are oft destructive, as well you know, but the energy generated is insufficient to work much harm. Again, pure love is incapable of expression today, its flow being impeded by the form nature. A consideration of these two cases will help the reader to appreciate the situation. But the time is near at hand wherein there will be a fuller expression of ray purpose, type or quality, and therefore a truer appearance.
This is owing to the imminent appearance, or manifestation, of certain great Lives Who will embody the energy of rays two, three, five and seven. They will thus constitute focal [74] points for the inflow of these four types of divine energy and, this will produce a tremendous stimulation of their corresponding and responding units of life. These four Beings, Who will appear as human beings in the field of the modern world, may be looked for before the end of this century and Their united effort will inaugurate definitely the New Age, and usher in the period which will go down in history as the time of glory for the fifth root race. Each of these four Masters, for that They will be, is also subjectively the focal point for a triple inflow of energy from the centre in the Body of God which is symbolically spoken of as "the heart of the Sun." For each ray is in its turn a triple manifesting entity as is the solar Deity Himself. Love will be Their outstanding characteristic, and through that attractive magnetic force the new forms will come into being which will permit of purer ray types, and thus of more truly expressive appearances. A great deal of the destructive energy extant in the world today is due to the presence on the astral plane of a first ray disciple of the planetary Logos. His work it is to clear the way for the manifestation of these other four major Disciples, Who are primarily Builders; They will enter on Their work when the task of the wreckers of form has been accomplished.
I should like here to give a suggestion, for it is necessary that some of the methods of the Hierarchy should begin to be understood. The work of what in the West is called "the Christ Principle" is to build the forms for the expression of quality and life. That is the characteristic work of the second aspect of divinity. The work of the Antichrist is to destroy forms, and this is essentially the work of the first expression of divinity. But the work of the destroyer is notthe work of black magic, and when ignorant humanity regards Antichrist as working on the black side, their error is great. His work is as beneficent as that of the building aspect, and it is but man's [75] hatred of the death of forms which makes him regard the work of the destroyer as "black," as being against the divine will, and as subversive of the divine programme. The work of the representatives of that mysterious power which we call cosmic evil, and their responding representatives, is indeed worthy of the word "black"; but it is not applicable to the work of Antichrist. It might be added that the work of the black forces wells up from below, whilst the work of the destroyers is impelled from above. The symbols of these two ways are the sword and the cross.
After these preliminary remarks, which are intended to indicate the magnitude of the subject, we shall now proceed to an analysis of the three rays which still remain to be considered.
THE FIFTH PURPOSE OF DEITY
Ray V. Concrete Knowledge or Science
The thunders crash around the mountain top; dark clouds conceal the form. The mists, arising from the watery sphere, serve to distort the wondrous...... found within the secret place. The form is there. Its note is sounding forth.
A beam of light illuminates the form; the hidden now appears. Knowledge of God and how He veils Himself finds consummation in the thoughts of man. The energies and forces receive their secret names, reveal their inner purpose, and all is seen as rhythm, a returning on itself. The great scroll can now be read. God's purpose and His plans are fixed, and man can read the form.
The plan takes form. The plan is form. Its purpose is the revelation of the mind of God. The past reveals the form, but the present indicates the flowing in of energy.
That which is on its way comes as a cloud which veils the sun. But hid behind this cloud of immanence is love, and on the earth is love and in the heaven is love, and this,—the love which maketh all things new—must stand revealed. This is the purpose back of all the acts of this great Lord of Knowledge.
Before enumerating the names of this great Life, I should [76] like to point out that the fifth ray is one of unique and peculiar potency in relation to the human kingdom. The reason is that the fifth plane of mind is the sphere of His major activity and it is on this plane that we find the triple aspects of mind:
1. Abstract or higher mind, the embodiment of a higher triad.
2. The concrete or lower mind, the highest aspect of the
lower self.
3. The ego or solar Angel, the pure Son of Mind, Who expresses intelligence, both abstractly and concretely, and is the point of unification.
This Life has also much power today in connection with the fifth root-race and with the transference of the consciousness of humanity into the fifth or spiritual kingdom. Students would learn much if they contrasted the building power of the higher mind with the destroying power of the lower. Just as the personality has no other function in the divine plan than to be a channel for, and the medium of expression of, the soul, so the lower mind is intended to be the channel for the pure inflow of higher mind energy.
This fifth ray is a Being of the intensest spiritual light and in His manifestation on this fifth plane, which is peculiarly His, He symbolises the three aspects in a way achieved by no other ray. Through His quality of higher mind, this ray is a pure channel for the divine will. Through the septenary grouping of the solar lives on the mental levels whereon they appear, He brought into functioning activity seven corresponding reflections of the seven centres of Deity, as far as our planet is concerned, a thing which none of His six brother rays have done. This statement means little to you, but the tremendous sacrifice and effort thus involved are paralleled only by the life of the Buddha, and this is one of the reasons why, [77] in this fifth race, love and mind must eventually and mutually reveal each other.
Some of the names given to the Lord of this ray are as follows:
The Revealer of Truth
The great Connector
The Divine Intermediary
The Crystallizer of Forms
The Three-fold Thinker
The Cloud upon the Mountain-top
The Precipitator of the Cross
The Dividing Sword
The Winnower of the Chaff
The Fifth great Judge
The Rose of God
The Heavenly One
The Door into the Mind of God
The Initiating Energy
The Ruler of the Third Heaven
The Guardian of the Door
The Dispenser of Knowledge
The Angel with the Flaming Sword
The Keeper of the Secret
The Beloved of the Logos
The Brother from Sirius
The Master of the Hierophants
This fifth ray has so many names, owing to His close connection with man (since man was originally created), that it has not been easy to choose those which are of the most use in enabling the student to form an idea of the fifth ray characteristics and mission; but the study of the six aphorisms, and the qualities which they indicate, will show how potent and important is this ray Lord. These six aphorisms were chanted by His six Brothers at that momentous crisis wherein the human family came into existence and the solar Angels sacrificed themselves. Esoterically speaking, they "went down into hell, and found their place in prison." On that day souls [78] were born. A new kingdom of expression came into being, and the three highest planes and the three lower were brought into a scintillating interchange.
1. God and His Angels now arise and see. Let the mountaintops emerge from out the dense wet mist. Let the sun touch their summits and let them stand in light. Shine forth.
............... Quality...... emergence into form and out of form.
2. God and His Angels now arise and hear. Let a deep murmur rise and let the cry of seeking man enter into their ears. Let man listen. Let man call. Speak loud.
............... Quality......power to make the Voice of the Silence heard.
3. God and His Angels now arise and touch. Bring forth the rod of power. Extend it outward toward the sons of men; touch them with fire, then bring them near. Bring forth.
............... Quality...... initiating activity.
4. God and His Angels now arise and taste. Let all experience come. Let all the ways appear. Discern and choose; dissect and analyse. All ways are one.
............... Quality......revelation of the way.
5. God and His Angels now arise and sense the odor rising from the burning-ground of man. Let the fire do its work. Draw man within the furnace and let him drop within the rose-red centre the nature that retards. Let the fire burn.
............... Quality......purification with fire.
6. God and His Angels now arise and fuse the many in the One. Let the blending work proceed. Let that which causes all to be produce the cause of their cessation. Let one temple now emerge. Produce the crowning glory. So let it be.
............... Quality......the manifestation of the great white light. (The Shekinah. A.A.B.)
There is much of practical usefulness to the reader in a study of these qualities. When he believes himself to be upon a particular ray, they will indicate to him some of the characteristics for which he may look, and perhaps demonstrate [79] to him what he has to do, what he has to express, and what he has to overcome. These qualities should be studied from two angles: their divine aspect and their reverse aspect or the form side. This ray, for instance, is shown to be the revealer of the way, and it should be remembered therefore that this fifth ray reveals the way down into death or into incarnation (which is the death-like prison of the soul), or it reveals the way up and out of darkness into the pure light of God's day. I mention this as I am exceedingly anxious that all who read this treatise should make application of this teaching to their daily lives. I am not interested in imparting weird or unusual items of information anent these matters for the delectation of an unhealthy mental appetite. The stocking of the memory with occult detail which serves no useful purpose only strains the brain cells and feeds the pride.
THE SIXTH PURPOSE OF DEITY
Ray VI. Devotion or Idealism
This ray which is just going out of manifestation, is of vital interest to us, for it has set its mark upon our western civilisation in a more definite way than any of the others. It is for us the most familiar and the best known of the rays. The mantram which defines its purpose is unlike the others and might be expressed somewhat as follows:
The Crusade is on. The warriors march upon their way. They crush and kill all that impedes their way, and aught that rises on their onward path is trampled under foot. March towards the light.
The work goes forward. The workers veil their eyes from pity as from fear. The work is all that counts. The form must disappear so that the loving spirit may enter into rest. Naught must arrest the progress of the workers with the plan. They enter upon the work assigned with paean and with song.
The cross is reared on high; the form is laid thereon, and [80] on that cross must render up its life. Each builds a cross which forms the cross. They mount upon the cross.
Through war, through work, through pain and toil, the purpose is achieved. Thus saith the symbol.
It will be noted how this purpose, when applied by man to himself, works his release. When applied by man to man, it has produced the corrupt and awful story of man's cruelty to man. In the above mantram you will find the clue to the sixth ray purpose as it appears in the human kingdom, and a close expansive study (note that paradoxical phrase) of the underlying ideas will reveal a little of the larger purpose. The soul is and should be pitiless to its form and its problem. The soul can, however, comprehend the need for pain and difficulty in the world, for he can extend a knowledge of his own technique with himself to the technique of God with His world; but he does nothing knowingly that could possibly increase the world's pain or sorrow.
Some of the names for this beneficent yet somewhat violently energised Lord of a ray are as follows:
The Negator of Desire
The One Who sees the Right
The Visioner of Reality
The Divine Robber
The Devotee of Life
The Hater of Forms
The Warrior on the March
The Sword Bearer of the Logos
The Upholder of the Truth
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий