389. Esoteric Psychology - Volume I - 32. Section Two - CHAPTER III - The Rays and Man 7. The Ray of the Ego - A. BAILEY

Section Two - CHAPTER III - The Rays and Man

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.

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:

a. The physical body, which is dominated by the ray governing the sum total of the atoms of that body.

b. The emotional desire nature, which is to be found influenced and controlled by the ray which colours the totality of astral atoms.

c. The mind body or mental nature, and the calibre and quality of the ray determining its atomic value.

d. 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 theBhagavad Gita become the experiences 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 sub-rays 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 sub-ray of this ray, but it must never be forgotten that the planetary Logos is also upon a ray, which is a sub-ray of the second Ray of Love-Wisdom. Therefore we have:

 THE RAY OF THE PLANETARY LOGOS

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:

a. His egoic ray.

b. His personality ray.

c. The ray governing his mind.

d. That governing his astral body.

e. The ray influencing his physical body.

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

10. Every human being is also governed by certain group rays:

a. 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:

1). The fourth ray as its egoic ray.

2). The fifth ray as its personality ray.

b. The racial rays, at this time, are the third and fifth, for our Aryan race, and this powerfully affects every human being.

c. The cyclic ray.

d. 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 colour his nature, produce his quality, and determine his "appearance", using this word in its occult sense of exteriorisation.  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:

a. The process followed. ................. externalisation.

b. The secret to be found. ............... manifestation.

c. The purpose to be known. ........... realisation.

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

1).  Ray five........working through the personality.

2). 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 illusions as the soul seeks to dispel the ancient glamour, 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.

a. The first Initiator........................the soul of man.

This controls gradually the personality.

b. The second Initiator...................the Christ.

Releasing the love nature.

c. 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:

a. It plays on the astral body externally.

b. It stimulates it internally to greater size, colour and quality.

c. 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 which the personality is an externalisation, and a constituent 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:

I. THE GROWTH OF SOUL INFLUENCE

II. THE SEVEN LAWS OF EGOIC LIFE

III. THE FIVE GROUPS OF SOULS

IV. RULES FOR INDUCING SOUL CONTROL