December 2009 Newsletter
The following articles are reproduced from the December 2009 Newsletter to members. Non-members may or may not be able to relate to the contents.
Chohans Of The Seven Rays
We will have a most interesting exercise to determine our own personal ray when we discuss The Seven Rays in our lodge meeting on 19 December 2009. In the process, we will also gain a fair insight into the seven types of man. The usefulness of the exercise is perhaps not so much finding out which ray we each belong to but rather to appreciate why we are necessarily different from one another. Perhaps we would understand, appreciate and sympathize with our brothers and sisters belonging to other rays. Hopefully, this will bring about better toleration and a stronger brotherhood.
One of the advantages of knowing one’s ray is perhaps the vision of a specific line of work or service we are directed towards. This may perhaps draw you closer to the Chohan who is the Head of the respective Ray. It may therefore be appropriate for us to familiarize ourselves once more with the Masters of the Seven Rays, as described by C. W. Leadbeater.
“In the members of the Adept Brotherhood the distinctions of Rays are much more clearly marked than in others, and are visible in the aura; the Ray to which an Adept belongs decidedly affects not only His appearance, but also the work that He has to do. We may perhaps best see what are the distinctive characters of the Rays by observing the work of the five Chohans of Rays Three to Seven, and of the two Chohans who stand at Their level on the First and Second Rays, and carry on work of the same grade in the service of the Greater Ones who are their directing Heads. In the Seven Heads of the Rays in the Hierarchy we have a reflection of the Seven Spirits before the Throne.
It must be understood that we can here mention but the merest outline of the qualities that are grouped under each of the Rays, and but a fragment of the work that the Adepts on those Rays are doing; and care must be taken also to realize that full possession of the qualities of one Ray in no case implies a lack of those of the other Rays. If we speak of one of the Adepts as pre-eminent in strength, for example, it is also true that He has achieved nothing less than human perfection in devotion and love and every other quality as well.
Of the Master Morya, who is the representative of the First Ray at the level of the Chohan Initiation, He stands with all the unshakable and serene strength of His Ray, playing a great part in that work of guiding men and forming nations. On that Ray, too, there is the Master whom we have called Jupiter, acting as Guardian of India for the Hierarchy, Guardian of that nation which throughout the long life-time of the fifth race cherishes the seeds of all its possibilities, and sends them out in due course to each sub-race, that there they may grow and ripen and fructify. He also penetrates deeply into the abstruser sciences of which chemistry and astronomy are the outer shells, and His work in this respect is an example of the variety of activity that may exist within the limits of one Ray.
The Master Kuthumi, who was formerly the great teacher Pythagoras, is also a Chohan, and He represents the Second Ray at the same level. This is the Ray of Wisdom, which gives great Teachers to the world, and the work that lies upon it can best be described in connection with that of the Bodhisattva and the Buddha.
At the Head of the Third Ray stands the great Master called the Venetian Chohan. In the men of that Ray engaged in the service of man there appears very strongly the characteristic of adaptability that belongs to the Ray, and its influence tends to make them fit themselves to people, so as to help them the better, and thus become, as St. Paul said, “all things to all men”.
The Fourth Ray is under the care of the Master Serapis. The particular line of this Chohan is harmony and beauty, and people who belong to His type are always unhappy until they can introduce harmony into their environment, for it is along that line that they do most of their work. Art counts for much on this Ray, and many artists belong to it.
At the Head of the Fifth Ray stands the Master Hilarion, with His splendid quality of scientific accuracy. He was once Iamblichus, of the Neoplatonic school. His influence is upon most of the great scientists of the world, and people well advanced along His Ray are notable for their ability to make accurate observations, and be absolutely dependable where scientific investigation is concerned. The Master’s science extends, of course, far beyond what is commonly called by that name, and He knows and works with many of the forces which nature introduces into the life of man.
The Master Jesus, who became an adept in His incarnation as Apollonius of Tyana, and was afterwards the great South Indian religious reformer, Shri Ramanujacharya, rules the Sixth Ray, that of bhakti or devotion. This is the Ray of the devotional saints and mystics of every religion, and the Chohan Jesus has charge of such people, under whatever form they may worship the Divine Being.
The Head of the Seventh Ray is the Master the Comte de St. Germain, known to history in the eighteenth century, whom we sometimes call the Master Rakoczy, as He is the last survivor of that royal house. He works to a large extent through ceremonial magic, and employs the services of great Angels, who obey Him implicitly and rejoice to do His will.”
All the seven great Chohans of the Rays have, at one time or another, taken an active interest in The Theosophical Society especially during the early years. We are indeed much blessed with the benediction of all the Great Ones!
Karma and Relationships
Karma and reincarnation are basic tenets of theosophy and are popular subjects for talks and lectures. Members must have attended numerous talks on the subjects of karma and reincarnation and wonder what more could possibly be said about these ageless subjects. Then again, it is often said that this vast subject could never be exhausted as karma is as infinite as the creatures in the universe. Topics with karma as a theme can be very varied. For instance, you will find that this will be a talk on karma and reincarnation with a difference.
As a matter of fact, this talk was first given nine years ago and this is only the fifth time we are repeating it, the previous occasion being almost three years ago. We will be talking about karma and reincarnation with respect to relationships. Specifically, we shall try to understand how families come into being. We will talk about love, marriage and friendship; about karmic links and bonds and how relationships, pleasant and unpleasant, friends or foes, are maintained over different incarnations. To understand the workings of karmic links and bonds over several incarnations, we will also go over two case-studies on the past lives of two groups of egos extending over a period of 25,000 years.
In the talk we shall also discuss marriages and marital problems and try to understand some occult reasons for failed marriages and how we should address the problems theosophically. In our discourse on marriages and marital problems, we shall also try to see the less obvious reasons for extramarital relationships.
Hopefully, by the end of the day, we may view relationships with a little greater wisdom, for there is certainly more than meets the eye. For those of us with marital problems, we may perhaps look at things somewhat more wisely having known the implications of the situation. Mark on your calendar for the talk on Karma and Relationships on 12/12/09 at 4:30 p.m.