I. The Appropriation of the Bodies - Part 1

The final definition which is given here, leads up to our consideration of the subject of the rays.  The personality is the fusion of three major forces and their subjection (finally and after the fusion) to the impact of soul energy.  This impact is made in three different stages or in what are occultly termed "three impulsive movements"—using the word "impulsive" in its true connotation and not in the usual emotional and enthusiastic significance.  These impulsive movements are:

a. The impact of the soul at the stage of human evolution which we call individualisation.  At that time, the form becomes aware for the first time of the touch of the soul.  This is called in the language of esotericism the "Touch of Appropriation."  The soul then appropriates its vehicle.

This stage is succeeded by a long period of adjustment and of gradual development and unfoldment.  This takes place upon the way of experience, and during that period the soul tightens its hold upon its instrument, the lower form nature.

b. The impact of the soul is called forth by the dilemmas and through the emergencies of the later stages of the path of experience.  During this stage, the urgency of the need, and the dilemmas brought about by the forces of opposition, lead the man to submit to a higher influence.  He calls then in desperation upon the soul and upon the spiritual resources laid up in his divine nature and hitherto remaining unused.  This impact is called the "Touch of Acquiescence," and marks the acceptance by the soul of the demand of the personality for help and [269] light.  The soul acquiesces in the plea of the personality for guidance.

It is to be noted that we are here considering the attitude of the soul to the personality and not that of the personality to the soul, which is the attitude usually under consideration.  We are dealing primarily in this treatise with the reactions and activities of the soul through its ray energy, and its response to the demand of the forces—focussed, combined and integrated—of the personality.

c. The impact of the soul at the time of the various and sequential initiations to which the disciple is eventually subjected, as he transits out of the fourth into the fifth kingdom in nature.  This stage is called the "Touch of Enlightenment," and through the bringing together of the forces of the purified personality and those of the "approaching" soul, a "light is engendered which fadeth not away."

In these three impacts,—

1. The touch of appropriation on the physical plane,

2. The touch of acquiescence on the astral plane,

3. The touch of enlightenment upon the mental plane,

there is summarised clearly and concisely the attitude of the soul towards its rapidly preparing instrument.

The great Touch of Appropriation lies racially in the past.  The Touch of Acquiescence takes place upon the battlefield of the emotional nature, and the Touch of Enlightenment is effected through the mind.

The first three initiations are expressions of these three stages or impacts, and it might also be stated that the Lemurian, the Atlantean and the Aryan races are also expressions of man's reactions to these three soul approaches.

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The third initiation sees the soul and the personality perfectly blended so that the light blazes forth and the great Approaches between soul and form are consummated.

Today, in this particular cycle and in this Aryan race, the Hierarchy (as an expression of the kingdom of souls) is recapitulating these three inevitable steps and making certain advances or approaches to the race.  We can therefore divide humanity into three groups and relate humanity to the three major approaches.

a. The Approach of Appropriation will express the effect of the present stimulation upon the unevolved masses.  Thousands and thousands of men and women are in process of awakening and during the next few years will come to soul consciousness, for the soul of each individual is intensifying its initial appropriation at the Lemurian crisis of individualisation, and the ancient enterprise is again being re-enacted as a needed recapitulatory endeavor.  All this today lies almost entirely in the realm of consciousness.  The great appropriation was made millions of years ago.  Today, in consciousness, there will come a great awakening to the significance of what was, at that time, largely a physical event, and masses of men will become aware—in their brain consciousness—of that early appropriation.  This is being brought about by a fresh approach by the soul and an advance towards its reflection, the personality, and it produces in time a consequent recognition upon the part of man.

b. The Approach of Acquiescence will be equally well recognised by the intelligent and more highly evolved sons of men.  They will awaken to the relationship which exists between their personalities and the soul, and between the forces of the lower nature and the energy of the soul.  It is with this particular task that the New Group of World Servers is primarily occupied,—looking at their activities from the [271] standpoint of the Hierarchy.  Their work is to facilitate the entrance of soul energy, which energy expresses itself in love and in good will.  This in its turn results in peace—individual, racial and planetary—and the great group aspect of the approach will be brought about, and is today in process of being carried forward.

c. The Approach of Enlightenment carries the disciple through the gate of initiation, and is the effect of the same energy playing upon the personalities of the disciples of the world, and transforming their spirit of aspiration into the light of initiation.

The Mysteries of the world, the flesh and the devil (to use the symbolic formal terminology of Christianity) are to be transmuted with rapidity into those of the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God, the energy of the soul, and the revelation of divinity.  The secret hid by the inverted lotus (the world) is to be revealed by the opened lotus of the kingdom of souls.  The secret of the flesh, which is the prison of the soul, is revealed by the perfume of the unfolding lotus of the soul.  The mystery of the devil will eventually be seen to be that of the light of God's countenance, which reveals that which is undesirable and must be changed and renounced, and which thus transforms life by the light that God's nature pours forth.

It would be of use to us all to study these three soul approaches—individual or hierarchical—and to ponder upon them and put ourselves in training, so that we may make the needed recognitions.  Let us also ponder upon the following triplicities:—

1. Mass Consciousness.  Self-consciousness.  Group-consciousness.
      These lead, in due time, to
2. Appropriation.....Acquiescence.....Enlightenment.
      through the racial stages of [272]
3. Lemurian experience.  Atlantean experience.  Aryan experience.
      and the individual stages of
4. Experience.....Discipleship.....Initiation.
      producing, in their turn,
5. Racial probation.....Racial discipleship.....Racial initiation.
      and individually
6. The probationer.....The Disciple.....The Initiate.
      which lead eventually to
7. The New Group of World Servers.....The Hierarchy.....The Kingdom of God.

A comparative study of these stages and phases will reveal how the relationship of the ego and the personality emerges, and that the distinctive feature between the two, as far as the aspirant is concerned, is the focus or the concentration of the life aspect.  In the personality the focus of consciousness is Form.  In the individuality, that focus is transferred to the Soul.  It is all a question of where lies the centre of attention.  The "approaches" which take place between the soul and the personality are the processes of relationship in the periods of transition.  In connection with the race, these are called the Great Approaches of the Hierarchy, and they represent the soul of humanity within the racial form.  The New Group of World Servers is that body of men and women who have responded to one of these major approaches.  As soon as they have done this, they become a bridging or a linking group between the Hierarchy and the race, thus facilitating the task of the planetary Hierarchy.

The revelation of these Approaches, during the time in which they are going on, is only now possible.  At the first Great Approach in Lemurian days, when the race of men individualised, only the members of the approaching Hierarchy were in any way aware of the purpose.  Those who were approached registered dimly a deepened urge to rise to better things.  Aspiration was born—conscious aspiration, if [273] such a word can be employed in connection with the vague yearning of animal man.  Today, such is the progress made through the effect of evolution that many people can and do consciously register the influence of the soul and the nearing approach of the Hierarchy.  This ability to register the Approach, or the Touch of Enlightenment, is largely due to the successful work of the Christ when He came down to the earth some two thousand years ago.  He accustomed us to the idea of divinity—an entirely new concept as far as man was concerned.  He thus paved the way for the nearer approach, upon a large scale, of the Kingdom of Souls, through its agent, the Hierarchy and the hierarchical agency, The New Group of World Servers.  This may convey something of an understanding of an aspect of Christ's work which is frequently overlooked.

Today, as the seventh ray comes into manifestation, we shall see the approaches between the two higher kingdoms of men and of souls greatly facilitated, as the magical work in the producing and bringing about of relationship begins to go forward as desired.  It is the work of the Ray of Magical Order which will bring about sensitivity to one of the Major Approaches which is being now attempted.  Only as history is made and we learn later the amazing nature of the epoch through which the race is passing, will humanity appreciate the significance of the work of the present Hierarchy, and the magnitude and the success of its achievement since 1925, as a result of the initial impulse instituted in 1875.

No more need be said on this point except to observe that the first indications of the work done during the Wesak Festival of 1936 and the response engendered among humanity would warrant the assumptions of success.  Let us all stand poised and ready, unafraid and sure, thus preserving the gain of past effort and (in company with all true servers throughout [274] the world) ensuring to us a positive focal point for the transmission of spiritual energy.

It would be well, before we proceed with our consideration of the Ray of the Personality, to add a word more to the information given above anent the three great Approaches of the soul or the three Touches which are transforming or initiating agencies in the life of the personality.  Students would do well to remember that there must ever be an analogy or a correspondence carried out in the life of the little self—a reflection of the activities of the greater Self.  Just as the soul makes three approaches towards its instrument or reflection, a human being, so the integrated personality approaches also towards union with the soul by three similar or related touches.  It might be of interest if we were to enlarge somewhat upon this matter.

The corresponding activity in the personality to the Approach of Appropriation comes as a result of the reorientation and the readjustment which takes place in the personality life when upon the probationary path.  Then the individual aspirant—after much struggle and effort—suddenly "touches", for one brief moment, the level of the soul, and knows the meaning of the words "soul contact."  That contact is no longer a desire, a vision or a theoretical belief or hope.  It is experience and fact.  The terms "soul contact" and "sensing the vibratory quality of the soul" are phrases oft used.  It should prove useful to students if they could learn to appreciate the fact that when "in meditation deep" a certain sudden and recognised relationship is established, the personality has responded for the first time in such a manner that the "appropriation" by the soul of its instrument (called individualisation) is duplicated by the appropriation by the personality of the inspiring and overshadowing soul.  This experience marks a significant moment in the life of the soul and the [275] personality, and the man is never again the same.  He has participated in a soul activity.  This great event, when looked at from this angle, should throw new light and a fresh spirit of enterprise into the meditation work of the aspirant.  Just as the soul through a planned activity, individualised itself in a human form, so the probationary aspirant, also as a result of a planned activity, takes the first step in individualising himself in a spiritual form, and the shift of consciousness from a body nature into a body "not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" takes place.  The little self repeats the activity of the great Self.  An event upon the path of ascent explains the significance of what occurred on the way of descent.

We are told that a long time transpires between the first initiation (wherein the crisis of appropriation on the Path of Ascent, finds its culmination) and the second initiation.  Here again there is a correspondence to earlier happenings, for much time has transpired since individualisation, technically understood, has taken place.  That individualisation, the first great soul approach took place either in Lemurian days or in a still earlier crisis upon that dead planet, the moon.  Today, just as the form of animal man had to reach a certain level of development, so the human form has to reach the level of personality integration before the re-enactment of the Approach of Appropriation can be consciously carried forward.

Next there comes a period in the life of the aspirant when he shifts off the probationary path and moves on to the path of discipleship.  This is the result of an activity which is a reflection in his individual personality life of the Approach of Acquiescence.  This takes place upon the battlefield of the astral plane.  There the disciple acquiesces consciously in the inevitable process of transmutation which takes place before the personality can be a fit instrument for the soul.  He stands [276] between the pairs of opposites, learning the secret of duality, and like Arjuna (fixed at the midway point) he seeks the way out, eventually acquiescing in the task ahead.  This is the stage of submission to which every disciple subjects himself.

It is through acquiescence that the astral aspect of the personality is brought into line with the divine purpose of the indwelling soul.  This is not, a negative, weak submission, or a sad, sweet acceptance, so-called, of the will of God, but it is a positive, dynamic assumption of a certain position or attitude upon the battlefield of life.  This attitude recognises rightly, as did Arjuna, the demands of both armies (the army of the Lord and the army of the Personality) and whilst acquiescing in the facts of the case, the disciple stands up and fights as best he may for the privilege of right understanding and right activity.  Just as the soul in far off days acquiesced, and gave the touch of acquiescence in the obligation assumed when the approach of appropriation took place and the demands of the personality upon the soul became steadily more definite, so now the personality reverses the process, and recognises the demands of the soul.  This marks, as may well be seen, a very definite stage in the life of the aspirant, and is the cause of that unhappy sense of duality which produces distress and sorrow in the life of all disciples.  It is at this point upon the Way that many very well-meaning disciples fall.  Instead of standing in spiritual being and taking a firm position upon the middle way between the pairs of opposites, and thus intensifying the touch of appropriation and endeavoring to make the approach of acquiescence, they fall into the illusions of self-pity.  These prevent the process of appropriation.  A furious conflict then ensues in the endeavor to change the theme of their lives, and the disciples forget that that theme is the embodiment of the Word of their souls in any particular incarnation, and that no theme—calling as it does, [277] particular conditions into being—could provide the right and needed circumstances for full and complete development.  They become so occupied with the theme that they forget the composer of that theme.

The dramatic rehearsal by the personality of the Approach or Touch of Enlightenment (as enacted by the soul) takes place upon the Path of Initiation.  It has been portrayed for us by the Buddha when He took illumination and became the Enlightened One.

There is one peculiarly interesting point which can perhaps be made clear.  God, or whatever word anyone may employ to express the Originator of all that exists, constantly re-enacts these dramatic approaches for His people.  In so doing and as history proceeds, two great classes of Avatars must inevitably emerge, or have emerged.  There are, first of all, Those Who embody in Themselves the great major soul approaches.  There will be (and I would ask you to note the change of tense) Those Who will embody the human approaches, or the corresponding activities of the personality to the soul approaches.  These are called in the language of esotericism "the Avatars of logoic descent upon the radiant path of..." and "the Avatars of divine descent upon the Claiming Way."  I cannot translate these terms more clearly, nor can I find an adequate word for the phrase which qualifies the radiant path.

On the Way of Descending Approaches, the Buddha from the mental plane and also upon it, embodied in Himself the blazing enlightenment which is the result of a rare occurrence—a Cosmic Touch.  He challenged the people to the Path of Light, of which knowledge and wisdom are two aspects.  These, when brought into relationship with each other, produce the light.  In a curious and esoteric manner, therefore, the Buddha embodied in Himself the force and [278] activity of the third ray, of the third aspect of divinity—the divine cosmic principle of Intelligence.  By its fusion with the ray of our solar system (the ray of Love) He expressed perfectly the significance of light in matter, of the intelligence principle as found in form, and was the Avatar Who carried in Himself the fully ripened seeds of the past solar system.  We should not forget that our present solar system is, as was stated in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, the second in a series of three systems.

Then came the next great Avatar, the Christ, Who, enfolding in Himself all that the Buddha had of light and wisdom (being fully enlightened in the occult and spiritual sense) on the Way of Descending Approach, embodied also the peace of inclusiveness, which comes from the Touch of Divine Acquiescence.  He was the embodied force of submission, and He carried the divine approach to the astral plane, the plane of feeling.

Thus two great stations of energy and two major powerhouses of light have been established by these two Sons of God, and the descent of the divine life into manifestation has been greatly facilitated.  The Way is now opened so that the ascent of the sons of men can become entirely possible.  It is around these two ideas of divine descent and of human corresponding ascent that the coming new religion must be built.

Stations of power exist and have been founded through the work of the various World Saviours.  These stations of power must be contacted by humanity as time transpires, through their individual re-enactment (on a tiny scale) of the cosmic approaches, or the touches of divinity, dramatically engineered by the cosmic Avatars, the Buddha and the Christ.  It is because the Christ has approached closer to humanity by focussing divine energy upon the astral plane through His divine acquiescence that He is the First Initiator.

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From one point of view, these two centres of force constitute the Temples of Initiation through which all disciples have to pass.  This passing is the theme of the coming new religion.

Mankind has entered into the Temples at the great cosmic Approach of Appropriation in Lemurian times.  Certain of the more advanced sons of men were passed in Atlantean times and still more will be passed in the immediate future, whilst a fair number will also be raised to immortality, but from the angle of the race it is the initiation of passing which is ahead for a very large number, and not the initiation of being raised.  I am not here speaking of the so-called five major initiations, but of certain group events which are predominantly cosmic in nature.  The major initiations which are the goal of human endeavor are individual in nature, and constitute, as it were, a preparatory period of expansions of consciousness.  There were, if I might so express it, seven steps or approaches on the part of the life of God in the subhuman kingdoms prior to the Approach of Appropriation when humanity individualised.  There are, as we know, five initiations ahead of the world disciples and these are steps towards the Approach of Acquiescence which will become possible on our planet before long.  There are—after these seven and five steps—three more to be taken before the cosmic Approach of Enlightenment can take place in a far distant future.  So humanity enters into the outer Court of God's love, passes into the Holy Place and is raised in the Secret Place of the Most High.

Later, the Avatar will emerge Who will embody in Himself all that the Buddha had of enlightenment and all that Christ had of acquiescing love.  He will, however, also embody the energy which produced the Approach of Appropriation, and when He comes forth, there will transpire a [280] great appropriation by humanity of its recognised divinity, and the establishing upon earth of a station of light and of power which will make possible the externalising of the Mysteries of Initiation upon earth.  This approach is the cause of much of the present turmoil, for the Avatar is on His way.

Much of the above can mean but little to those who are not yet upon the path of accepted discipleship.  We are here dealing with some of the major mysteries.  But a mystery only remains a mystery when ignorance and unbelief exist.  There is no mystery where there is knowledge and faith.  The coming of the Avatar Who will fuse in Himself three principles of divinity is an inevitable future happening, and when He shall appear "the light that always has been will be seen; the love that never ceases will be realised, and the radiance deep concealed will break forth into being."  We shall then have a new world—one which will express the light, the love and the knowledge of God.

These three Temples of the Mysteries (of which two are already existing, and the third will later appear) are each of them related to one of the three divine aspects, and the energy of the three major rays pours through them.  In the corresponding approaches upon the path of ascent by humanity, it is the energy of the four minor Rays of Attribute which produce the power to make the needed approach.  Through the active work and the guidance of the "presiding guardians" of these temples, the fifth kingdom in nature will be brought into manifested being.  Over the Temple upon the mental plane, the Buddha presides and there will consummate His unfinished work.  Over the Temple upon the plane of sentient feeling and of loving aspiration, the Christ presides, for this is the Temple of the most difficult initiatory processes.  The reason for this difficulty and for the importance of this Temple is due to the fact that our solar system is a system [281] of Love, of sentient response to the love of God, and of the development of that response through the innate faculty of feeling or sentiency.  This calls for the cooperation of a Son of God who will embody two divine principles.  Later will come an Avatar Who will achieve neither the full enlightenment of the Buddha nor the full expression of the divine love of the Christ, but Who will have a large measure of wisdom and of love, plus that "materialising power" which will enable Him to found a divine powerhouse upon the physical plane.  His task, in many ways, is far more difficult than that of the two preceding Avatars, for He carries in Himself not only the energies of the two divine principles, already "duly anchored" upon the planet by His two great Brothers, but He has also within Himself much of a third divine principle, hitherto not used upon our planet.  He carries the will of God into manifestation, and of that will we, as yet, know really nothing.  So difficult is His task that the New Group of World Servers is being trained to assist Him.  Thus an aspect of the first ray principle will be anchored by Him upon earth.

All that the student can grasp is that the Plan will be the dynamic impulse of this third and vital energy which will pervade the outer court of the Temple, constituting a Temple of Initiation upon the physical plane, thus externalising the activities of the Hierarchy in certain possible respects.  The first initiation will then take place upon earth.  It will be then no longer a veiled secret.  This is the initiation of the outer court, wherein the approach of the soul upon the Way of Descent into manifestation, and the subsequent appropriation of the proffered divine energy by the personality upon the Way of Ascent will take place.

The Holy Place is the place where the second initiation is enacted, and this will some day be given upon the astral plane [282] [282] when the illusion there persisting has been somewhat dissipated.  Over this second initiation, the Christ presides and, as was said above, it is for us the most difficult and most transforming of the initiations.  The acquiescence of the soul to the demands of the personality for spiritual life, and the submission of the personality to the soul, find therein their consummation.

Finally will come the initiation of the Transfiguration, wherein the light breaks forth, the Touch of Enlightenment is given, and the soul and the personality stand forth as one.  This process requires also the aid of the Buddha and the inspiration of the Christ, and it is "occultly guarded" by the Avatar of the physical plane.

In all the above information there is given a hint as to what will take place when human personalities are actively functioning and steadily awakening.  The rapid coming of the Avatar Who will found the station of light and power upon the physical plane is dependent upon the rapid unfoldment and appearance of integrated personalities who love and think and seek to serve.  There has here been given a new hint upon one of the more esoteric aspects of the work of the New Group of World Servers, and a hint at the same time as to the reason that this Treatise upon the Seven Rays has been written.  An understanding of the rays and of the impelling forces in, through, and with which the personality has to work was essential if the work of this third Avatar from cosmic sources, was to be made possible.

We have thus endeavored to outline something of the problems of the personality from the angle of the larger issues.  We have, as the occult law dictates, begun with the relation of the form to the soul, with the descent of life and the ascent of the sons of God, and we have carried the thought forward to the fact of the Hierarchy, working under [283] the [283] same law, and its relation to the New Group of World Servers.  Information on initiation has hitherto been primarily occupied with the relations of the individual man to the soul and to the Hierarchy.  There are here presented some of the group implications.  The New Group of World Servers is related to the Hierarchy as body to soul, and they in their turn as a group of souls are similarly related to the human family.  Therefore we have:

The one unit descends towards the ascending related unit, (speaking in terms of an approach from two directions).  This takes place under divine impulsion and human aspiration, and both act equally under:

1. The Law of Karma.

2. The Law of Necessity.

3. The Law of Cycles.

4. The Law of Attraction.

Let us now return to the level of practical understanding.  Although we turn aside to deal with these momentous matters at times, such discussions are not primarily intended for the present generation of readers but for those who are coming into incarnation and who will read with a more accurate understanding than is possible at this time to the average interested aspirant who studies these pages.

Three types of energy, as has been said, meet and blend in the personality, finding their expression through the medium of an outer tangible form which is itself coloured, [284] motivated and conditioned by a fourth type of energy—the energy of basic matter.  This basic matter is the product of the first solar system, and the energy of which it is composed does not, therefore, belong to our solar system at all, except through an act of appropriation, performed by our planetary Logos at the dawn of the creative activity of God.  Seeking to impress, impel and motivate this group of four energies is the energy of the informing, indwelling soul.  This fifth type of energy is itself dual in nature, being the transcendent archetype of both mind and emotion, or will and love.  These six energies in their turn are animated or impelled by the life of God Himself, thus making the seven energies now in manifestation.  This is, of course, well known, as the theory constitutes the very bones of the occult body of truth, and in this statement is formulated the essential structure upon which esotericism is built.  I have stated it purely in terms of energy, and not of principles or bodies, so as to bring the Ageless Wisdom into line with modern truth and scientific conclusions.  We therefore have:

The Personality.

1. The energy of Mind.  The force of manas.  The reflection of divine will and purpose.  Motivation.  The impulse to plan, under the Law of Synthesis.

2. The energy of sentiency.  The capacity to respond.  Emotional feeling, astral energy.  The reflection of love.  The force of desire.  The impulse to aspire.  The divine evolutionary urge.  The tendency to attract, to be magnetic, under the Law of Attraction.

3. The energy of life.  The capacity to integrate, to coordinate.  The force of the vital or etheric body.  The reflection of intelligent activity or divine movement. [285] The impulse to act, to be energetic, under the Law of Economy.

4 The energy of dense matter.  Externalised activity.  The automatic reactions of the outer sheath.  The densest point of unity.  The lowest aspect of synthesis.

The Soul.

5. The energy of buddhi.  The force of divine, reasoning love.  The intuition.  This is part of the flower of attractive energy and focusses itself in the "love petals of the egoic lotus."  Its reflection is found in the astral, emotional, sentient consciousness of the personality.

6. The energy of atma.  The force of the divine will.  The embodiment of divine purpose.  This focusses itself in the "sacrifice petals of the egoic lotus."  Its reflection is found in the mind nature of the personality.

The Spirit.

7. The energy of life itself.

These energies constitute the human being, a unit of energy.  They make him essentially an active, intelligent, loving, living, human being.  They are unfolded sequentially in time and space and, as a result of the great experiment of evolution, bring him eventually to the full flowering of his nature, and to a full expression of the seven types of energy which condition him.

The question arises as to when man can become aware in his own personal and separated consciousness (as registered in the waking brain) of the truth of the existence of this septenate of energies.  I would reply as follows:

1. Unevolved man, and low grade human beings are aware [286] of the urges of the automatic physical nature and the impulses of the vital or etheric body.

2. Awakening human beings are coordinating and becoming aware of both these primitive urges and impulses, plus the sentient and emotional reactions of the emotional or astral body.

3. Intelligent humanity is, in due time, conditioned by the urges, impulses and sentiency of the three lower types of energy, plus the energy of the mind.  When this has really been achieved, the man is then definitely an aspirant upon the probationary path.

4. Aspirants are now becoming aware of the fifth type of basic energy—that of the soul.  This response to soul energy, and the blended activity of the soul energies (buddhi-atma) produce the unfolding of the outer layer of petals, the knowledge petals, which are formed of three types of force.

a. Manasic energy.  The energy of the abstract levels of the mental plane, inherent in the soul.

b. Mental energy.  This is the energy of the concrete levels of the mental plane, and is definitely a contribution of the human being himself.

c. The energy of the mind found in matter itself.  This is inherent mind, and is inherited from an earlier solar system.

These three aspects of mind energy are thus blended and are a synthesis of the intelligent force of deity.  They embody as much of the mind of God as a human being can embrace in time and space, for they are

a. The energy of intelligent life, coming from God the Father.

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b. The energy of intelligent soul or consciousness, coming from God the Son.

c. The energy of intelligent matter coming from God the Holy Spirit.

5. The disciples of the world are occupied with the integration of the personality with the soul, or with the synthesis of the first five aspects of energy as the lotus petals of love come into conscious recognition, and the intuition begins faintly to function.  These petals of love, which are only symbolic forms of expressing energy, have a dual activity—they attract upward the planetary energies and bring downward the energies of the Spiritual Triad, the expression of the Monad.

6. Initiates are becoming conscious of the sixth type of energy, that of atma, the will aspect of Spirit.  This causes them to work with the Plan and through the lotus petals of sacrifice to bring the service of the Plan into being.  This is ever the aim of the initiate members of the Hierarchy.  They understand, express and work with the Plan.

7. After the third initiation, the disciple begins to work with, and to understand the significance of Spirit and his consciousness shifts gradually out of the Soul into that of the Monad in the same way as the consciousness of the personality shifted out of the lower awareness into that of the soul.

This is the second panel, if one might so express it, of the picture here being drawn, of the divine life as it manifests through the consciousness of humanity.  I am seeking to give it in such terms that comprehension may ensue.  The first panel gave some of the universal implications.  This was elaborated in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire.  The second panel, contained [288] in this Treatise on the Seven Rays, gives a general view of the synthetic unfoldment of man.  The third panel entered the realm of synthetic work and was embodied in A Treatise on White Magic.

It would be useful to bear in mind here what was earlier pointed out:

1. The mental body is governed by Rays 1, 4, 5.

2. The astral body is governed by Rays 2, 6.

3. The physical body is governed by Rays 3, 7.

This is often forgotten and people will have to readjust their ideas in this matter.  It is by an understanding of these dominant types of force as they condition the various vehicles that the true nature of the problem of psychology will emerge and the right clue to the solution will appear.  The above tabulation and statement is one of the most important ever made in this Treatise in connection with psychology.

Gradually it will be noted that certain ray meditations can be used to bring in the influence of the soul and these will be later discussed.  Some simple yet powerful meditation formulas will be given, which can be used by the man who is an integrated personality, in order to bring one or another of his vehicles into alignment and consequent control.

It will be observed that the rays governing the mind include one which links the mind nature with the ray of the solar system, which is the cosmic ray of love.  This one is the Ray of Harmony, the fourth ray, but it is also Harmony through Conflict.  It is a most important ray, for it gives us the clue to the whole problem of pain and of suffering.  Our attention should be directed to this ray and to the mind nature which is related to it.  In an understanding of this relationship, we have indicated to us the way out, or the use of that type of force which will lead humanity out.  Every [289] man who has reached the point of personality integration has eventually to call in this fourth type of energy when upon the Path, in order rightly to condition his mind and through the mind, his personality.

In considering the personality, therefore, and its conditioning rays we will study:

1. The appropriation of the bodies:

a. Their building psychologically, or their coherent construction.

b. Their development and eventual alignment.

c. Their inter-relation in the life of the personality.

2. The coordination of the personality:

a. The techniques of integration, seven in number.

b. The technique of fusion, leading to the emergence of the ray of the personality.

c. The technique of duality, divinely understood, or the relation of the ray of the personality and the ray of the soul.

3. Some problems of psychology, arising from the point in evolution of the personality.

a. The technique of appropriation.  Physical and etheric integration.

b. The technique of acquiescence.  Astral or psychic healing.

c. The technique of enlightenment.  Mental education.

We have before us in this study much food for thought.  The subjects touched upon are deep, difficult to understand, and hard to grasp.  Careful reading, however, quiet reflection, and a practical application of the sensed truth and of the intuited idea will gradually bring enlightenment and lead to [290] acquiescence in the techniques of the soul, and the appropriation of the teaching.

a. BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE BODIES

In theosophical literature, there is much talk anent the various elementals or lunar lords which compose, constitute and control the lower nature.  These, in their triple totality, form the personality.  They are of man's own creation, and form the basis of the problem which he, as a soul, has always to face until the final liberation is achieved.  The mental elemental, the astral elemental and the physical elemental have a definite life of their own which is coloured by the rays upon which these various bodies or elementals have their being, until the man has reached a relatively high point in evolution.

The elementals composing the mental body are spoken of in the Old Commentary in the following terms:

"The Lord of Will took being.  His dim reflection followed in His steps.  The little lord of force manasic appeared on earth.

The Lord Who sought for harmony took form.  The little lord, who loved to fight for what he sought, followed with swiftness in His wake.

The Lord Who in this world of ours knew mind and thought, swept into incarnation.  He was not, then He was.  The little lord of mental stuff also took form.  Man's troublous journey then began."

These old phrases bear out the statement earlier made that the mental body of every human being is composed of substance which is governed by the rays, one, four and five.  Exceptions to this rule appear, sometimes, upon the Path of Discipleship, and are the result of the direct and intelligent action of the Soul, prior to incarnation.  The soul builds a body of mental substance or attracts to it that particular type [291] of mental energy which will enable it to possess (whilst in incarnation) the type of vehicle which will make a chosen experience possible.  This freedom of choice never occurs except in the case of the awakening disciple.  The reason for this will be seen if it is realised that the energy of these three rays, when focussed in a personality, provides exactly the right impulse to govern the lower life, both in the case of an undeveloped human being and of a man in the early stages of discipleship and aspiration.  It might be well for us to elaborate this a little by means of certain tabulations:

THE MENTAL BODY

This provides (in the case of the unevolved or the highly developed) the following possibilities:

Ray One

IN UNEVOLVED MAN

1. The will to live or to manifest upon the physical plane.

2. The impulse which works out, therefore, as the instinct to self-preservation.

3. The capacity to endure, no matter what the difficulties.

4. Individual isolation.  The man is always the "One who stands alone."

IN THE ADVANCED MAN

1. The will to liberation or to manifest consciously upon the plane of the soul.

2. The capacity to react to the plan, or to respond to the recognised will of God.

3.  The principle of immortality.

4. Perseverance or endurance upon the Way.

Ray Four

IN UNEVOLVED MAN

1. Aggressiveness and that needed push towards the sensed goal which distinguishes the evolving human being.  This goal, in the early stages, will be of a material nature.

2. The fighting spirit or that spirit of conflict which finally [292] brings strength and poise, and which produces eventual integration with the first ray aspect of deity.

3. That coherent force which makes a man a magnetic centre, whether as the major force in any group unity, such as a parent or a ruler, or a Master in relation to his group.

4. The power to create.  In the lower types, this is connected with the impulse, or the instinct, to reproduce, leading consequently to the sex relation; or it may lead to construction of thought-forms or creative forms of some kind, even if it is only the hut of a savage.

IN THE ADVANCED MAN

1. The Arjuna spirit.  This is the urge towards victory, the holding of a position between the pairs of opposites, and the eventual sensing of the middle way.

2. The urge to synthesis (again a first ray impulse) blended with a second ray tendency to love and to include.

3. The attractive quality of the soul as it expresses itself in the relation between the lower and higher selves.  This eventuates in the "marriage in the Heavens."

4. The power to create forms, or the artistic impulse.

It will be noted in this connection how accurate was the earlier statement that the artist is found upon all the rays, and that the so-called Ray of Harmony or Beauty is not the only ray upon which the creative worker is found.  The mental body of every human being, at some time or another, is found upon the fourth ray and usually when the man is nearing the probationary path.  This means that the mental vehicle is governed by an elemental of fourth ray nature or quality and that, therefore, creative, artistic activity is the line of least resistance.  We then have a man with an artistic tendency or we have a genius along some line of creative work.  When, at the same time, the soul or the personality is also upon the fourth ray, then we will find a Leonardo da Vinci or a Shakespeare.

[293]

Ray Five

IN UNEVOLVED MAN

1. The power to develop thought.

2. The spirit of materialistic enterprise, the divine urge, as it evidences itself in the early stages.

3. The tendency to enquire, to ask questions and to find out.  This is the instinct to search and to progress, which is, in the last analysis, the urge to evolve.

4. The tendency to crystallise, to harden, or to have an "idee fixe."  In this connection, it will usually be discovered that the man who succumbs to an "idee fixe" has not only a fifth ray mental body but either a sixth ray personality or a sixth ray emotional body.

IN THE ADVANCED MAN

1. The true thinker, or mental type—awake and alert.

2. The one who knows the Plan, the purpose and the will of God.

3. The one whose intelligence is being transmuted into wisdom.

4. The scientist, the educator, the writer.

I have given the above in connection with the rays of the mental body in order to enable us to grasp not only the complexity of the problem but also the inevitability of success through the play of the many energies upon and through any one single human mind.  It is not necessary here to elaborate upon the energies which create and form the emotional body, or the physical body.  The second and the sixth rays colour the astral body of every human being, whilst the physical body is controlled by the third and the seventh rays.