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Esoteric Psychology I - Section Two - III. The Rays and Man
Curiously enough, in Lemurian days the first ray was active. This was because of a special dispensation or effort on the part of the planetary Hierarchy. With the aid of the seventh ray the needed work went forward. At the time of the individualization of humanity, a third ray, the fifth, was called into operation, and thus with the united effort of the [355] first, the seventh and the fifth rays, the great fusion between the higher and the lower aspects of mankind was made. It is interesting to note that the secondary ray influence in the Aryan race at this time is the fifth, thus linking up the Aryan and the Lemurian civilizations. Both were and are intensely material civilizations, but the Lemurian was material because the whole attention of the Hierarchy was turned to the development of physical man, whilst today the attention is not turned to the physical unfoldment of man, but to an effort to enable man to control the physical forces of the planet. One rather striking instance of the similarity of the ray forces should be here noted. In Lemurian times, the yoga of the age which produced the required at-one-ing or unification (preceding the taking of the initiation of the time) was hatha yoga, the yoga of the physical body. This gave to the initiate the needed physical control - a control which has today been so perfected in the race that it is now automatic and has slipped below the threshold of consciousness. In the great cyclic recapitulations which go on ceaselessly, we see today in our Aryan race a tremendous emphasis being given to physical perfection, to sport, to athletics, to dancing and to physical culture. It is the cyclic effect of the same ray forces, playing upon humanity again. The initiatory goal is today a mental at-one-ing. Nevertheless, the physical reaction to the ray forces produces a higher form of hatha yoga or physical coordination. These points will be further elucidated. The secondary influence which is leading the Aryan race forward is that of the fifth Ray of Concrete Knowledge or Science. This ray, as we have seen, was one of the rays which brought about individualization millions of years ago, and so launched mankind upon the path of return. Again it comes into power, and though it has had many cycles of activity since Lemurian days, none of them have been of such [356] unobstructed dominance as the present. Hence the tremendous potency of individuals at this time; hence the difficulty, but also the opportunity. This is a ray of quality, and its effect is to stimulate the acquisition of knowledge and the growth of the human intellect, which is an instrument of exceeding sensitivity, producing increased awareness of God. It might be said that in Lemurian times the effect of this ray was to stimulate the instinctual nature. This gave awareness of the form nature of Deity. During Atlantean days, through the influence of the second ray, the instinct began to merge into the intellect, and that aspect of man's nature was developed which is called (in theosophical books) kama-manas. This phrase simply means a blend of desire-feeling-lower-mind, - a curious synthesis which characterizes average man today, and leads to his complicated problem. This development gave man another type of awareness. He became conscious of the sentient universe; he became sensitive to the love of God, and registered an innate reaction to the heart of God. Today, under the fifth ray influence, the intellect is rapidly awakening; instinct is falling below the threshold of consciousness; kama-manas is no longer the outstanding characteristic of the disciples of the world. The intellect (concrete and abstract, lower and higher) is steadily unfolding, and as it unfolds, the will, purpose and plan of the Deity begin to take shape in men's minds. The secondary effects of this development are the power to organize, and to work individually with definite purpose. This is demonstrated today by individuals in all departments of human activity. They evince capacity to sense the Plan of God and to cooperate; they see the broad general outlines of the divine purpose, and comprehend as never before the great evolutionary plan. Men are building now towards the future because they have glimpsed the past and touched the vision. [357] Later, we shall have a transition period again, analogous to that period wherein kama-manas was developed, and we shall then have the entire race expressing a developed synthesis of intellect-intuition, preparatory to that advanced stage which will come at the close of the next root race, the sixth. This takes us to a period ten million years hence, when the intellect will have in its turn slipped below the threshold of consciousness, as did the instinct. It will then work automatically as does man's instinctual nature, and the race will be intuitive. This will really mean that the fifth kingdom in nature will be manifesting on earth, and that the kingdom of God (as the Christian calls it) will have arrived. This will constitute an event of an importance equal to that of the advent of the fourth kingdom, when men made their appearance on earth. This next great race will be governed by the second and fourth rays, thus demonstrating a relation between the fourth root race, the Atlantean, and the sixth root race. In terms of consciousness, this can be expressed as a relation between an astral-emotional development and an intuitional-buddhic development. The final race will be governed by the first, the seventh and the second rays. I think I have given you as much on this abstruse subject as can be grasped. The tabulation of the rays governing the races might be stated, therefore, as follows: Lemurian Race - Rays 1. 7. 5. Atlantean Race - Rays 2. 6. Aryan Race - Rays 3. 5. Sixth Race - Rays 2. 4. Seventh Race - Rays 1. 7. 2.
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