THE SEVEN RAYS

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 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.

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. 

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.

 

 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 the following summary of what we have been told is necessarily imperfect and admits of endless amplification.

 

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 be 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 he does not readily express it; he will love strong contrasts and masses of colour, 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 colour-blind to the more delicate colours.  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 organisation.

 

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.

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 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.

 

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 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 realisation of the great Beyond and of the paramount importance of treading the Path that leads thither.

 

THE FOURTH RAY OF HARMONY THROUGH CONFLICT

 Special Virtues:

Strong affections, sympathy, physical courage, generosity, devotion, quickness of intellect and perception.

Vices of Ray:

Self-centredness, 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 colour, of the artist whose colour is always great, though his drawing will often be defective.  (Watts was fourth and second rays.)  The fourth ray man always loves colour, and can generally produce it.  If untrained as an artist, a colour 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 humour, 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.

 

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 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, business-like, disliking to receive favours 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 rays; even then, his colouring 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.

 

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, 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 favourite 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 colour and all things lovely, but his productive skill is not great unless under the 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.

 

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:

Realisation 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 organisation, 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 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 colour 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. 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 synthesised knowledge, and in the common bond of faithfulness and loyalty.

 Masterfulness, steadfastness, and perseverance are the corresponding characteristics of the first and the seventh rays. [A TREATISE ON THE SWEVEN RAYS, VOL I, p2OO/12]

 Read more on the seven rays at: http://edgeba.webs.com/thesevenrays.htm