Let us proceed to a consideration of the techniques of integration, bearing in mind that we shall here be dealing with the integration of the threefold lower nature into an active, conscious personality, prior to its fusion into a unity with the soul. We must remember that we are here dealing with the consciousness aspect of manifestation and its apprehension and appreciation of purpose and of truth. We are so apt always to think in terms of form and form activity, that it seems necessary again and again to reiterate the necessity for thinking in terms of consciousness and awareness, leading to an eventual realization. This purpose and truth, when grasped, brings into direct conflict the will of the personality (the separative individual, governed by the concrete, analytical mind) and the will of the soul, which is the will of the Hierarchy of Souls, or of the Kingdom of God. In the fourth kingdom, the human, the controlling factor is that of desire, ending in aspiration. In the fifth kingdom, the spiritual, the controlling factor is that of divine purpose or the will of God. Then we find this purpose, though free from what we call desire, is actuated by love, expressed through devotion and service, wrought out into full expression upon the physical plane.
Ray Two
” ‘Again I stand; a point within a circle and yet myself.’ The love of love must dominate, not love of being loved. The power to draw unto oneself must dominate, but into the worlds of form that power must some day fail to penetrate. This is the first step towards a deeper search.
The word goes forth from soul to form: ‘Release thyself from all that stands around, for it has naught for thee, so look to me. I am the One who builds, sustains and draws thee on and up. Look unto me with eyes of love, and seek the path which leads from the outer circle to the point.
I, at the point, sustain. I, at the point, attract. I, at the point, direct and choose and dominate. I, at the point, love all, drawing them to the center and moving forward with the travelling points towards that great Center where the One Point stands.’ What mean you by that Word? “
In reference to this second ray, it is advisable to recollect that all the rays are but the subrays of the second Ray of Love-Wisdom. The One in the center, Who is the “point within the circle” of manifestation, has three major qualities: life or activity in form, love and the power of abstraction. It is these last two qualities of Deity with which we are concerned in these formulas and (in connection with the second ray) the dualities of attraction and abstraction emerge, both latent and both capable of perfected activity in their own field.
There comes ever the moment in the life of the aspirant when he begins to consider with wonder the significance of that familiar reaction of finding no satisfaction in the familiar things; the old life of desire for well known forms of existence and expression ceases to attract his interest. The pull or attractive power of the One at the center (Who is his true self) also fails. It is not yet a familiar “call.” The aspirant is left, unsatisfied and with a deepening sense of futility and emptiness, “pendent upon the periphery” of the divine “ring-pass-not” which he has himself established. It is at this point and in this situation that he must reflect upon and use this formula.
The question might here be interjected: What should now be the procedure and right use? Upon this it is not possible here to enlarge, beyond pointing out that all the meditation processes connected with the Raja-Yoga system are intended to bring the aspirant to a point of such intense inner focusing and alert mental detachment that he will be in a position to use these formulas with understanding, according to his ray type, and to use them with efficacy and power. His meditation has produced the needed alignment. There is therefore a direct way or line (speaking symbolically) between the thinking, meditative, reflective man upon the periphery of the soul’s influence and the soul itself, the One Who is at the center. The crisis of evocation succeeds, once this line of contact, this antahkarana, has been established and recognized, and a crisis of intense activity ensues, wherein the man occultly “detaches himself from the furthest point upon the outer rim of life, and sweeps with purpose towards the central Point.” Thus speaks the Old Commentary, which is so oft quoted in these pages.
It is not possible to do more than put these ideas into symbolic form, leaving these mysteries of the soul to be grasped by those whose soul’s influence reaches to that periphery, and is there recognized for what it is. This crisis usually persists for a long time, a far longer one than is the case with the aspirant upon the first ray line of activity. However, when the second ray aspirant has understood and has availed himself of the opportunity and can see ahead the line between himself and the center, then the “light breaks in.”
It is this period of crisis which presents the major problem to the advanced aspirants of today and evokes consequently the concern of the psychiatrist and psychologist. Instead of treating the difficulty as a sign of progress and as indicating a relatively high point in the evolutionary scale and therefore a reason for a sense of encouragement, it is treated as a disease of the mind and of the personality. Instead of regarding the condition as one warranting explanation and understanding but no real concern, the attempt is made to arrest the difficulty by elimination and not by solution, and though the personality may be temporarily relieved, the work of the soul is for that particular life cycle arrested, and delay ensues. With this problem we will later deal.
Light reveals, and the stage of revelation now follows. This light upon the way produces vision and the vision shows itself as:
- A vision, first of all, of defects. The light reveals the man to himself, as he is, or as the soul sees the personality.
- A vision of the next step ahead, which, when taken, indicates the procedure next to be followed.
- A vision of those who are travelling the same way.
- A glimpse of the “Guardian Angel,” who is the dim reflection of the Angel of the Presence, the Solar Angel, which walks with each human being from the moment of birth until death, embodying as much of the available light as the man – at any given moment upon the path of evolution – can use and express.
- A fleeting glimpse (at high and rare moments) of the Angel of the Presence itself.
- At certain times and when deemed necessary, a glimpse of the Master of a man’s ray group. This falls usually into two categories of experience and causes:
- In the early stages and whilst under illusion and glamor, that which is contacted is a vision of the astral, illusory form upon the planes of glamor and illusion. This is not, therefore, a glimpse of the Master Himself, but of His astral symbol, or of the form built by His devoted disciples and followers.
- The Master Himself is contacted. This can take place when the disciple has effected the needed integrations of the threefold lower nature.
It is at this moment of “integration as the result of revelation” that there comes the fusion of the personality ray with the egoic ray. This we will consider later, but at this point a fact should be mentioned which has not hitherto been emphasized or elucidated. This point is that the personality ray is always a subray of the egoic ray, in the same sense that the seven major rays of our solar system are the seven subrays of the Cosmic Ray of Love-Wisdom, or the seven planes of our system are the seven subplanes of the cosmic physical plane. We will suppose, for instance, that a man’s egoic ray is the third ray of active intelligence or adaptability, and his personality ray is the second ray of love-wisdom. This personality ray is the second subray of the third ray of active intelligence. Then, in addition, there might be the following rays governing the three personality vehicles:
This is a valuable point for all who are real students to remember and to grasp. Ponder upon it, for it is self-explanatory and an understanding of it will make it possible to solve the problems of:
- Alignment
- The lines of least resistance.
- The processes of substitution.
- The alchemy of transmutation.
- The fields of
- Service
- Avocation
- Vocation.
The lack of balance will also emerge if the chart is studied and man can then arrive at an understanding of what he has to do. A study of the two formulas of the first and second rays will make it clear why in humanity (and in the solar system also) these two major rays are always so closely associated, and why all esoteric schools throughout the world are predominantly expressions of these two rays. At a certain stage upon the Path all the rays governing the mental body shift their focus onto rays one and two, doing this via the third ray. This ray holds the same position to the other rays that the solar plexus center does to the other six centers, for it constitutes a great clearing house. The first ray penetrates, pierces and produces the line along which Light comes; the second ray is the “light-carrier,” and supplements the work of the first ray. A study of the activities and the cooperative endeavors of the Master M. and the Master K.H. may serve to make this clearer. Their work is indispensable to each other, just as life and consciousness are mutually indispensable, and without them form is rendered valueless.
