a. THE MAJOR NATIONS AND THEIR RAYS
All of the great nations are controlled by two rays, just as is the human being. With the smaller nations we shall not [Page 382] concern ourselves. All nations are controlled by a personality ray (if so we can call it), which is dominant and potent and the main controlling factor at this time, and by a soul ray which is sensed only by the disciples and aspirants of any nation. This soul ray must be evoked into an increased functioning activity by the New Group of World Servers, for this is one of their main objectives and tasks. This must never be lost to sight. Much could be written about the historical influence of the rays during the past two thousand years, and of the way in which great events have been influenced or brought about by the periodic ray influence. But for this I have neither the time nor the inclination. Interesting as it is, and indicative of the present national trends and problems, all that I can now do is to point out the rays governing each nation, and leave you to study and note their effect at your leisure, and to comprehend their relation to the present condition of the world. One thing I would point out, and that is that those rays which govern a particular nation, and which are at this time in incarnation, are very potent, either materially or egoically, whilst some of the problems may be due to the fact that certain rays, governing certain nations, are at this time out of incarnation.
Nation Personality Ray Egoic Ray Motto
India 4th ray of art 1st ray of "I hide the Light."
government
China 3rd ray of intellect 1st ray of "I indicate the Way."
government
Germany 1st ray of power 4th ray of art "I preserve."
France 3rd ray of intellect 5th ray of I release the Light."
knowledge
Great Britain 1st ray of power 2nd ray of love "I serve."
or government
Italy 4th ray of art 6th ray of idealism "I carve the Paths."
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U.S.A 6th ray of idealism 2nd ray of love "I light the Way."
Russia 6th ray of idealism 7th ray of "I link two Ways."
Magic and Order
Austria 5th ray of knowledge 4th ray of art "I serve the Lighted Way."
Spain 7th ray of order 6th ray of "I disperse the Clouds."
Idealism
Brazil 2nd ray of love 4th ray of art "I hide the seed."
A close analysis of the above will indicate certain lines of racial understanding. There is a natural rapport indicated between the modern and present personality rays of Germany and Great Britain, and yet a relationship can be seen between France and Great Britain through their esoteric national mottoes and also between the two symbols which are esoterically theirs. The symbol for France is the fleur de lys, which she adopted centuries ago under divine guidance, which symbol stands for the three divine aspects in manifestation. The emphasis is upon the third aspect, producing intelligent manifestation. The symbol of Great Britain, under the same divine apportioning, is the three feathers, carried as the arms of the Prince of Wales. The scintillating and brilliant French intellect, with its scientific bent, is accounted for by the interplay of the third Ray of Active Intelligence with the fifth Ray of Scientific Understanding. Hence their amazing contribution to the knowledge and thought of the world, and their brilliant and colourful history. Be it remembered also that the glory of the empire which was France is but the guarantee of a glory of divine revelation which lies ahead in the future, but which will never be theirs till they cease living in the wonder of their past and go forth into the [Page 384] future to demonstrate the fact of illumination, which is the goal of all mental effort. When the intellect of the French is turned towards the discovery and the elucidation of the things of the spirit, then they will carry revelation to the world. When their egoic ray dominates the third ray, and when the separative action of the fifth ray is transmuted into the revealing function of this ray, then France will enter into a period of new glory. Her empire will then be of the mind, and her glory of the soul.
It is obvious that the governing faculty is strongly the outstanding characteristic of Great Britain. England is an exponent of the art of control, and her function has been, as you may realise, to produce the first tentative grouping of federated nations, and to demonstrate the possibility of such grouping. The United States of America are doing a somewhat similar thing, and are fusing the nationals of many nations into one federated state with many subsidiary states, instead of subsidiary nations. These two powers function in this way and with this wide objective in order to give to the planet, eventually, a system of groupings within one national border or one empire, and yet with an international boundary which will be symbolic of the coming new age technique in government. The second Ray of Love or Attraction governs, egoically, the British Empire, and there is a relation between this fact and the fact that the sign Gemini governs both the United States and London. The fluid, mercurial, intuitional mind is closely allied with the divine aspect of love and understanding, producing attraction and interpretation.
It is interesting to note that the fourth Ray of Harmony or Art, which will begin before long to come into power again in its major aspect, is to be found prominent in the destinies of India, Germany, Italy, Austria and Brazil, and it is for this that there is so much preparatory turmoil in the [Page 385] three European countries. The sixth ray is potent in Russia, the United States, Italy and Spain. It is the fanatical adherence to an ideal which is responsible also for the potent changes in these four countries; in Germany and Italy, as we have seen, the harmonising power of the fourth ray is also seen. Hence we have in all these countries a process of breaking down, and of destruction of old forms, prior to an adequate responsiveness to the influence of the incoming ray. It should be remembered that as with individuals, so with nations,—the reaction to an increasing influence of the egoic ray is ever accompanied by a breaking down period, but this demonstration of destruction is but temporary and preparatory.
India hides the light, and that light, when released upon the world and revealed to humanity, will bring about harmony in the form aspect, for things will be clearly seen as they are and freed from glamour and illusion; this harmonising light is sorely needed in India itself, and when it has been manifested it will bring about the right functioning of the first Ray of Power or Government. The will of the people will be seen in the light. It is in this connection that Great Britain emerges into renewed activity, for her personality ray and India's egoic ray are the same. Many British people are subjectively linked with India, by past incarnations and association, and the quarrel between Great Britain and India is largely a family affair in the deeper sense of the term, and hence its bitterness—the bitterness of an elder brother who sees the younger usurping his prerogatives. Today many British administrators are finding their way back to their own home land, little as they may realise it, there to work out that which they initiated in other lives and bodies. As you may know, there is a close link between the fourth and the second rays, and this again emerges in the relationship between [Page 386] England and India, and a destiny is there which must be jointly worked out.
The static stabilising tendency of Germany showing, for instance, in her futile effort to preserve a purity of race now impossible, is due to her first ray personality, whilst her fourth ray egoic force is responsible for her effort to standardise and harmonise all the elements within her borders, to the exclusion, however, of the Hebrew race. With the problem of the Jew I will deal later. Germany cannot help herself, for though the first ray is not in manifestation as we understand the term, yet the bulk of the egos now in power in Germany are on the first subray of the seven different rays, and hence they are from one dominant angle the transmitters of first ray force. A hint is here given. It is for this reason therefore that Great Britain can contact the German race and handle the German psychology more understandingly than can Russia, Italy or France. They share similar qualities, and one of the services therefore that England can render at this time is to come to the aid of world peace, and so live up to the motto, "I serve," by acting as a mediator.
A careful analysis of the idealism of Russia and of the United States may reveal no resemblances in the goal of their idealism, for the Russian is driven by his seventh ray soul towards the imposition of an enforced ceremonial of ordered rhythms, leading to an idealised order and community of interests. Because of this, and because of the enforced magical work, some forces are present and active in Russia which need most careful handling by the Brotherhood of Light; they are not exactly on the white side, as it is called, but are concerned with the magic of form, whereas pure white magic concerns only the soul or subjective aspect. The black forces, so called, are nowhere rampant in Russia any more than elsewhere in the world, but the Russian reaction and attitude to [Page 387] enforced rule and order has in it more of the magical seventh ray influence than is the case in other countries, such as Germany, which also enforces a standardised order and rule of life.
You will note that of the major nations only Brazil, Great Britain and the United States of America are definitely under the influence of the second ray. An interesting fact emerges as we consider this grouping. Great Britain is the custodian of the wisdom aspect of the second ray force for the Aryan race, so called. The United States fulfills the same office for the sixth or coming subrace, which is the germ race for the future sixth great race, whilst Brazil will function as the leading division of the great sixth race. These three races embody the attractive cohesive aspect of the second ray, and will demonstrate it through wisdom and wise government, based on idealism and love. The United States will therefore represent a fusion of races, with the Anglo-Saxon element dominating. Brazil will later represent the best of that which the Latin races have eventually to give. This presented fusion will be considered from the angle of the ray types and the basic unfolding principles, and not from the angle of culture and civilisation.
Great Britain therefore represents the aspect of mind which expresses itself in intelligent government, based eventually on just loving understanding. This, I say, is the ideal before her, but not the fulfilled achievement. The United States represents the intuitive faculty, expressing itself as illumination and the power to fuse and blend. Brazil (or rather what that country will then be called, for the time of this expression lies thousands of years ahead) will represent a linking interpreting civilisation, based on the unfoldment of the abstract consciousness, which is a blend of the intellect and the intuition, and which reveals the wisdom aspect of love in its [Page 388] beauty. But the period of the development of this great civilisation lies too far ahead to make speculation possible.
It is too dangerous for me, in these days of upset and of difficulty, to express myself more definitely as to the future lines of unfoldment. The destiny and future functioning of the nations lie hid in the present activity. The readers of this treatise are, in the majority of cases, far too nationalistic in their viewpoint, and too deeply engrossed with the prime importance of their own nation and of its supreme significance, for me to be able to do more than generalise and to indicate the major lines of progress. The role of the prophet is too dangerous, for destiny lies in the hands of the peoples, and no one knows exactly what way they will take to reach their goal. The inevitability of that goal is assured, as is the ultimate achieving of it, but the incidents of travel cannot be revealed, but lie hid in the racial karma. The time has not yet come when the majority of the people of any race can see the picture as a whole and be permitted to know the part their particular nation must play in the history of nations. Every nation, without exception (and this is a platitude which it is seldom fruitful to repeat), has its peculiar virtues and vices. These are dependent upon:
1. The point in evolution.
2. The measure of the control of the personality ray.
3. The emerging control of the egoic ray.
4. The polarisation of the nation.
It is useful to bear in mind, when considering the nations that some are negative and feminine and some positive and masculine. India, France, the United States of America, Russia and Brazil are all feminine, and constitute the nurturing mother aspect. They are feminine in their psychology,—intuitve, mystical, sensitive, alluring, beautiful, fond of display [Page 389] and colour, and with the faults of the feminine aspect, such as the laying of too much emphasis upon the material aspect of life, upon pageantry, upon possessions, and upon money as a symbol of that which connotes the form side. They mother and nurture civilisation and ideas.
China, Germany, Great Britain and Italy are masculine and positive; they are mental, political, governing, standardising, group-conscious, occult, aggressive, full of grandeur, interested in law and in laying the emphasis upon race and empire. But they are more inclusive and think in wider terms than the feminine aspects of divine manifestation. The reader would find it useful to consult an earlier tabulation which I gave (see Pages 382-383), and consider the higher and lower expressions of the rays, noting how they work out in relation to the rays personal and egoic of the different nations. Take for instance the emergence into manifestation of the egoic ray of the German nation. Its lower expression is that of architectural construction, and can be seen at this time making its presence felt in the new and modern style in building. Its higher expression is not yet to be noted, but Germany some day will give out to the world a sound form of hierarchical government. It is interesting to note that the higher expression of the egoic ray of France (the fifth) is already being evidenced. The scientific interest shown in psychism and psychology is a reaction to that ray of influence, and though it is as yet only indicated, the guarantee of the future is contained therein. The sixth ray influence governing the personality or form aspect of the United States of America is abundantly evidenced in its diversified religions and in the national aptitude for idealistic organisation; the second ray, the egoic ray, is also making its presence felt, and we have the consequent interest shown in the phenomena and truth of the reality of initiation.
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The analysis of the ray characteristics given earlier can be applied to the nations and countries of the world also, and it will therefore be seen how the many septenates of nature, having their roots in the primary septenate of rays, can be dealt with under the Law of Correspondences with amazingly interesting results.
Intuitional relations and the major intellectual cleavages are based on the governing ray influences. Spain, Austria and France, being governed by the seventh, fifth and third rays, have a close interrelation, and this worked out most interestingly in the Middle Ages when the destinies of these three nations seemed closely to interlink. The newly forming country of the United States is likewise esoterically and intimately associated, in its form aspect, with Brazil, Russia and Italy, and hence the early influx of Russians and Italians into America, and hence also the pull of the South American countries upon the American consciousness and the growth of the ideal of Pan-America.
These relations are all on the form side and emerge out of the personality rays. Many such relations will appear if the countries and their rays are subjected to a careful scrutiny. The ray of attraction or inclusiveness (Ray II), the ray of electrical phenomena (Ray III), and the fifth ray of intellect are potentially very active at this time, as they are all in incarnation, and the incoming seventh ray is slowly and surely—in spite of appearances—imposing order and hierarchical control upon the planet. It must be remembered that all natural processes are rightly slow in their tempo, or the effects would be too destructive. The effect of these influences is felt in the following sequential order:
1. The sensing of an ideal.
2. The formulation of a theory.
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3. The growth of public opinion.
4. The imposition of a growing "pattern" upon the evolving life.
5. The production of a form based upon that pattern.
6. The stabilised functioning of the life within the form.
It must be remembered that each ray embodies an idea which can be sensed as an ideal. The rays in time produce the world patterns which mould the planetary forms, and thus produce the inner potency of the evolutionary processes. This pattern-forming tendency is being recognised today by modern psychology in connection with the individual human being, and his emotional and thought patterns are being delineated and charted. As with the microcosm, so with the macrocosm. Every ray produces three major patterns which are imposed upon the matter aspect, whether it be that of a man, a nation or a planet. These three patterns are:
1. The emotional pattern. This embodies the aspiration of the man, the nation or the planetary life, and is the sum total of the desire tendency.
2. The mental pattern. This emerges later in time and governs the thought processes of the man, the nation and the planet. It eventually becomes the controlling factor of the personality or form life. The emotional and mental patterns are the negative and positive aspect of the personality ray.
3. The soul pattern. This is the predisposing goal, the ring-pass-not or destiny which the immortal principle, the solar angel, succeeds eventually and much later in time in imposing upon the form life. This soul pattern finally supersedes and obliterates the two earlier pattern-producing processes.
I have here again indicated fruitful lines of study through [Page 392] which the reader may arrive at some intelligent comprehension of what is transpiring in the life of the nations in the world today.
If, for instance, the fifth ray of the solar angels, the ray of mind, which is the egoic ray of the French nation, can make its potency felt through the stress and toil of the present world condition, then to France may be given the ultimate glory of proving to the world the fact of the soul and the demonstration of the technique of egoic control. The soul pattern may be translated by the genius of the French intellect into terms which humanity can understand and the true soul psychology may come into being. Again, the genius of Germany has often in the past manifested along the line of its fourth ray soul, and through that soul pattern has been given to the world much of the outstanding music and philosophies. When this is again manifested, and the soul pattern is more strongly impressed upon the German consciousness, we shall begin to comprehend the significance of the superman. Germany has caught a vision of this ideal. It is as yet misinterpreting it, but Germany can give us the pattern of the superman, and this is its ultimate destiny.
If England's ideal of justice (which is the pattern of its personality ray) can be transformed and transmuted by her egoic ray of love into just and intelligent world service, she may give to the world the pattern of that true government which is the genius or the latent soul quality of the British. If the idealism of the United States of America, which is today its personality expression and evidenced by the loudly enunciated idea of the biggest and the best, can be illumined by the law of love, then the pattern which underlies the structure of the States may be seen in lines of light, and we shall have the pattern for future racial light in contradistinction to the many separative national lines. Thus the underlying [Page 393] patterns for all the nations can be seen and worked out by the intelligent reader. It could be noted also that the emotional pattern of the United States at this time is expressed in terms of sentiment and of personal desire. It is capable of being translated in terms of true benevolence. The mental pattern for the States is to be seen as mass information through the schools, the radio and the newspapers. Later this can be transmuted into intuitive perception. The soul pattern in the States today works out through the acquisitiveness of the nation and its love of possessions which it attracts to itself through the misuse of the law of love. The eventual expression of this will be the changing of the attitude which loves the material into that which loves the real, and the acquisition of the things of the spirit instead of those of the form.
