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The Rays and the Initiations - Part Two - Section Two - The Aspirant and the Major Initiations
There are certain nations which are necessarily more responsive to the energy of this fourth ray than some of the others, because it is either the energy which is conditioning their personality activities or that which conditions their soul expression. Forget not that nations are like individuals, expressive of soul and body. The nations responsive to this ray energy are: India, whose personality or material ray is that of Harmony through Conflict. This could be seen in full expression in that unhappy country during the years 1947-1948. India is old and crystallized in her separativeness, in her myriads of diversified sects and religious groups, in her manifold languages and in her ancient antagonisms; [624] it will be long before there is any basic synthesis or harmony. There lies her problem, and unfortunately she lacks pure disinterested leadership; as is the case elsewhere in the world, party politics and religious cleavages condition her many peoples. The soul energy of India is that of the Will to Power or government, but that spiritual energy will not come into true activity until she has resolved her many differences and has returned to the old ways of spiritual understanding and of enlightened wisdom which distinguished her many centuries ago. India has nearly lost the light, but when she has passed through the coming points of crisis, and has achieved a point of united tension, then she will find the door or point of emergence into light. The ray governing the soul expression of the German race is that of Harmony through Conflict, but her materialistic personality, focused in the emotional nature and not yet under control of the soul, is conditioned by the first Ray of Power. Germany as a nation is too young, immature, and negative to realize the true uses of power; she lacks the wisdom to use power, and her sense of inferiority (based on youth) leads her to misuse it when she has it. The German race is very old, and the German leaders during the past one hundred years have confused racial issues and national ambitions. Races are basically subjective, and nations are basically objective. Their leaders have permitted the ideal of power (which is a great spiritual responsibility) to lead them to make the Germanic race synchronize with the German nation. It was this immaturity and this misguided and almost childish ambition which set the Principle of Conflict operating violently through the world war (1914-1945) in order to bring to an end the increasing nationalism of Germany and of all the nations. Great Britain is at the point of emergence from the nationalistic thought-form; the United States and Russia are arriving - the first at the point of tension where the concept is concerned, and the other at the point of crisis. Germany's point of crisis and of tension led to the explosion of the world war; nevertheless, after due process of pain, of [625] re-education and of training in right human relations, the German people will discover their soul, and then the soul-infused personality of the German people will demonstrate in a unique manner the significance of harmony. The basic and subjective synthesis of the Germanic race must not be confused with the separate nation of the German people, and the underlying emotional and sentimental unity (using the word "sentimental" in its correct sense) must not be confounded with territorial unity. There is a racial and subjective unity between the British Commonwealth of Nations and the United States of America, but this in turn must not be confused with the outer national groupings and aims. Italy also is influenced by the Ray of Harmony through Conflict because her personality or material expression is conditioned by this ray. During the world war, Italy had a king, a dictator, and a pope, and this produced a vortex of conflict in the highly intelligent Italian people. The dictator is no longer there; the monarchy has also disappeared, and only the continuing voice of the Vatican is left, but - curiously enough - receives less attention in Italy than in the other Catholic countries. Conflict during the centuries has done much for the Italian people, and their highly extroverted psychology has produced in them a balance which may prove most promising in the future. The conflict of thought through which they have passed during the past one hundred years has worked well for them. Torn as they are by party politics, in revolt against ecclesiasticism, and lacking leadership, they are nevertheless well on the way to the resolution of their problem. When the fourth Ray of Harmony through Conflict is the energy expressing itself through the soul, the indications are that the country concerned is nearing the Path of Discipleship or the Path of Probation. Austria and Germany are nearing the Path of Discipleship; Brazil is on the Path of Probation and will rapidly move forward; Austria is nearer true discipleship than is Germany and, spiritually, Austria has much eventually to give, Spiritual [626] leadership will not be lacking once a measure of security and better living conditions have been assured. Germany has a bitter price to pay because her immaturity and childish interpretation of world affairs, her lack of thinking capacity and her curious innate cruelty permitted the Forces of Evil (temporarily) to work through Germany and precipitate the world conflict. But Germany will recover, provided she does not again permit herself to become a battleground, owing to her strategic position in central Europe. It is for this recovery that all men of goodwill must work. It is perhaps appropriate to point out here that the spiritual forces of the planet do not greatly fear a renewed outbreak of war upon the physical plane. There are many chances that it can be averted because the mounting revolt of the masses against physical plane war, the general fatigue of the nations and the use of the United Nations councils for the ventilation of difficulties and problems may prove effective. Each of the three Great Powers has its own internal conflict, conditioned by its historical tradition, its national emphases, and its developed habits of thought or - as the case may be - of feeling.
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