THE SCIENCE OF THE EMOTIONS
by BHAGAVAN DAS, M.A.
[Annotated Outline of Ideas, by JB]
 

Love, the desire to unite with something else, implies the consciousness of the possibility of such union. Its full significance is this: an instinctive, ingrained, inherent preception by each individual Self, of its essential underlying unity, oneness with all other Selves; unity in the Being of the All-Self, the Supreme Self; and the consequently inevitable endeavour of these individual Selves, these fragments of the one Self, to break through the walls separating each from each, the walls that have disrupted the original "one" into the "many" and thus merge into each other and [rebuild] the single whole. So too the full significance of Hate is the instinctive perception by each Self now identified with a larger or smaller mass of the Not-Self, matter of the non-identity, the inherent separateness of each Not-Self, each atom of Matter, from every other atom, every other Not-Self, and its endeavour to maintain such separate existence at all costs and by all means. -BD



I. Introduction: East and West

EAST: Knowledge, the true Philosophy. Ancient Philosophy took its rise in the relation of the Self to the two constant companions of its life, the two sole guides of all its action: Pleasure and Pain, Joy and Sorrow, Happiness and Misery, Gladness and Sadness.

WEST: The culmination point of error is reached when professional philosophers assert that the object of Philosophy is not Truth, but the pursuit of Truth; that the latter has far greater interest than the former... having confined attention largely to the Psychology of the Senses and the Intellect, the means of cognition on the one hand, and to the discussion of Ethics, the principle of action, on the other.

PROBLEM (WEST): The energising motive of both the Senses and the Intellect, the Desire-nature, the Emotion-nature of man, his love-hate, has not received proper attention.

ASSUMPTION: The analysis and the classification of the emotions is possible.



II. Goal and Method.

GOAL: If a true science of the Emotions could be discovered, the art of consciously, deliberately, and purposefully cultivating the higher and better ones and weeding out the lower and the evil would become a possibility with what beneficent ultimate consequences to humanity is at present matter more for poetical and religious imagination than for sober matter-of-fact expectation. Yet, there is no doubt that the theory and method of education would, even immediately, benefit greatly from such a science.

METHOD: The method that has been followed is, as it could not but be under the circumstances, introspective and analytical. Beginning with the simple, and proceeding thence to the more complex. Conclusions are established over and over again by the deepest and most independent thought.



III. THE ANALYSIS AND THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE EMOTIONS

A. Self, Not-Self

Consciousness can never imagine its own cessation... Never has the cessation of consciousness been witnessed ; or if it has been, then the witness thereof himself remains as the embodiment of consciousness.

The first and most elementary factor of life is the SELF. "None doubts, am I or am I not." Life is a relation in which the two indispensable factors are the Self and the Not-Self.

Indispensable to Life is the Not-Self, something other than Self. When the world which is cognised and desired and acted on as something different from the Self has been named the Not-Self, the last name has been given to it. It cannot be reduced any further, even as Self cannot be.

Indian thought recognises the general distinction of, and the special opposition between, Self and Not-Self ; but it does not favour the distinction between Self and mind and matter, or only mind and matter, such as is made in most western philosophy. What is known as Manas, the mind, arises only when the Self comes into contact with the Not-Self.



B. Pleasure and Pain

Equally universally known and recognised, and perhaps equally impossible to analyse into anything simpler, are Pleasure and Pain, the two [Sensations] proper, which, in alternation, are the constant accompaniments of the Self. Indifference means only a very mild degree either of Pleasure or of Pain.

With Pleasure goes Attraction, Liking; with Pain: Repulsion, Dislike. The MOOD of the Self towards Pleasure is Desire, Attraction, Liking, the wish to be nearer. The opposite mood, towards that which causes Pain, is the mood of Aversion, Dislike, the wish to be more distant. This desire to be united with or separated from an object is Love or Hate.

 

IV. THE ESSENTIAL NATURE OF EMOTION: DESIRE.

WEST: Cognition, EMOTION (Feeling), Volition.

EAST: Cognition, DESIRE, Action. "Man knows, desires, and endeavours."

Sensation is not the mere vibration in physical cells answering to a stimulus from without; in its pure psychological significance it is the first, the earliest, response of the Self to the Not-Self, the answer of consciousness to an external impact, that first modification of consciousness wherein Self and Not-Self are both present. This is obviously primary, for the Self must sense before it can think or act.

"Pleasure" and "Pain" are degrees of the Self, rather than forms or aspects of it.

The two aspects of Emotion --Emotion as Emotion, and Emotion as pleasurable or painful-- are not usually or carefully discriminated in ordinary life, and attention has not been sufficiently directed to the distinction existing between them.

The truth here is that the Emotions are desires either to perpetuate the situation if pleasurable, or to escape out of it if painful; and the prospective fulfilment of the desire or the defeat thereof, in expectation and imagination, gives the foretaste of the corresponding Pleasure or Pain, and makes the pleasurableness or painfulness of the total mood.

Emotions are Desires, and that the two elementary Desires are:

i) the Desire to unite with an object that causes Pleasure; and
ii) the Desire to separate from an object which causes Pain.

In other words, Attraction and Repulsion, Like and Dislike, Love and Hate, or any other pair of names that may seem best.

The very word Emotion indicates that in the beginning, at the time the word was formed, the desire-element and the idea of the motion and action consequent on desire were more prominently and truly present before the minds of the men who first framed and used the word. Emotion is only a form of motion; motion towards an object, or away from it, in the mind, is Emotion.

 

V. THE SIX PRINCIPAL EMOTIONS AND THEIR ELEMENTS
[Correlate with the Theory of Color-JB]

The simple primary form of Emotion (defined as a desire plus an intellectual cognition), the movement towards an object, Attraction, Like, Love, differentiates into and evolves the more complex forms, as between human being and human being.

A. LOVE:

i) Attraction, plus the consciousness of the equality with the attractive object, is Affection, or Love proper [Liking].

ii) Attraction, plus the consciousness of the superiority to the attractive object, is Reverence.

iii) Attraction plus the consciousness of the inferiority to one's Self of the attractive object, is Benevolence.

B. HATE:

Repulsion, Dislike, Hate, may be analysed in exactly the same manner as Attraction, and yields the three principal sub-divisions of:

i) [Dislike], in the case of the equality of the object of it;

ii) Fear, in the case of the superiority of the object of it; and

iii) Pride, in the case of the inferiority of the object of it.

All Emotions will, on close analysis, be found either to fall under one or other of these two triplets which cover the six principal Emotions of humanity.

As Love is the desire for union with the object loved by equalisation, by reciprocation, so is Hate the desire for separation from the object hated by differentiation, by inequalisation.

 

VI. THE SUB-DIVISIONS OF THE PRINCIPAL EMOTIONS

A. LOVE:

i) Liking:  Politeness < Friendship < Marriage.

ii) Reverence: Respect < Veneration < Worship (Adoration).

iii) Benevolence: Kindness < Tenderness < Compassion (pity)


B. HATE

i) [Dislike]: Rudeness (Reserved, Chillness) < Hostility (Emnity) < Wrath (Anger, Rage)

ii) Fear: Apprehension < Terror < Horror

iii) Pride: Superciliousness (self-importance) < Scorn (Comtempt) < Disdain



VII. THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THE EMOTIONS WITH VIRTUES AND VICES
[Correlate with the virtues and vices by Ray-JB]

The virtues and vices of mankind are only the Emotions become permanent; they are only permanent moods of feeling, guiding modes of action. In the case of virtues they are the Emotions on the side of Love ; in the case of vices those on the side of Hate.

The outlines thereof may have to be touched on afterwards in connection with the question (which belongs to a later stage) of the practical cultivation of virtues and the eradication of vices by means of the regulation of the Emotions.

A. On the side of Love:

1. Among equals:

i) Politeness. Good manners. Courtesy. Blandness.
ii) Friendliness. Helpfulness. Sociability.
iii) Lovingness. An affectionate nature. [Marriage].

2. Attraction to a superior similarly produces:

i) Modesty. Unobtrusiveness. Mildness.
ii) Reverence. Seriousness. Earnestness. Gravity. Sedateness. Staidness. Non-flippantness.
iii) Meekness. Humility. Obedience. Gratitude.

3. Attraction to an inferior :

i) Kindliness. Appreciativeness. Goodwill. Urbanity. Condescension. Suavity.
ii) Gentleness. Softness. Sweetness. Kind-heartedness.
iii) Compassion. Pitifulness. Benevolence.


B. On the side of Hate, they are, similarly:

1. Towards equals :

i) Rudeness. Brusqueness. Churlishness.
ii) Moroseness. Sullenness. Irascibility. Peevishness.
iii) Cholericness. Bearishness. Ill-temper.

2. Towards superiors:

i) Timidity. Suspiciousness. Shyness.
ii) Timorousness.
iii) Cowardice. Vindictiveness. Revengefulness.

3. Towards inferiors:

i) Superciliousness. Nil admirari. Slightingness. Self-complacence.
ii) Self-importance. Aggressiveness. Obtrusiveness.
iii) Scornfulness. Disdainfulness. Hauteur. Pride.


C. Complex emotions

Majesty, dignity, self-control, self-possession, awesomeness, awe, sublimity, grandeur, magnificence, magnanimity, admiration, wonder, pathos, laughter, heroism, devotion, valour, courage, fortitude, endurance, prudence, discretion, cautiousness, circumspection, confidence, trust, faith, diffidence, shyness, distrust, jealousy, envy, ridicule, humour, malice, spitefulness, meanness, niggardliness, criticalness, fault-finding, slanderousncss, insolence, crookedness, cruelty, tyranny, impertinence, greed, lust, disgust, disgustingness, loathing, abhorrence, etc.. These are instances of complex emotions.

It would appear indeed at first sight that all, or almost all the irreducible Emotions, which had remained behind as hopeless and impossible to classify after the enumeration of those set forth in order previously, had been thrown together pell mell in this list. It is not so. Scrutiny will disclose that the same basic principle of analysis and classification applies to these, and it would be an interesting and instructive lesson for a student to sort out these and the many others not named, and assign to each its proper place in a genealogical scheme of the Emotions.

 

VIII. THE CORRESPONDENCE OF EMOTIONS.

The general law governing the reciprocation and mutual manifestation [of emotions] may be summed up shortly: Emotions tend to create their own likeness, even as FIRE [Agni] does. But in the actual workings of life the results of the law undergo modifications by the special circumstances of the cases. These modifications may be generalised under two rules.

A. Amongst ordinary people, inclined strongly neither to the side of Love nor to the side of Hate, Emotions produce their own likeness or counterpart. Amongst persons belonging definitely to the one class rather than the other, the Emotions of others, whether those Emotions belong to the side of Love or of Hate, create the corresponding Emotions of that class only to which that person belong.

Thus, amongst ordinary people, Love will produce Love, and Anger Anger, assuming equality. Pride and Scorn and oppression will inspire Fear and Malice and Vinclictiveness in the really inferior; equal or greater Pride and Scorn and oppression in the really superior and stronger; or merely Anger and Annoyance in the really equal.

Again Fear and Distrust will inspire Pride and Scorn in the superior; and equal Fear and Distrust in the really inferior; or mere Anger and Annoyance in the really equal. So Benevolence will inspire Humility or Love or Benevolence. And again, Humility will evoke Benevolence or Love or Humility.


B. [Harmlessnesss.]  In a person belonging, say, to the class of people in whom the "united Self" is strong, belonging, that is, to the side of virtue and Love, whether this be the case by deliberate cultivation, or otherwise, by birth, karma, etc., the sight of Fear will not arouse Scorn but Benevolence, equally with the sight of Humility. Anger, Sullenness, and Moroseness will not inspire real Annoyance and Reserve and withdrawal, but, on the contrary, effort to break down the other's crust-wall of evil mood; and Love and Affection equally with the sight of Love and Affection. Pride will not evoke Fear, but true Humility, and the feeling that the other is really better than himself, even as will the sight of Benevolence. And, conversely, in a person belonging definitely- by voluntary, pre-meditated development in that direction or otherwise, to the dark side, the sight of Hate and vice, the sight of Humility, or Fear, will equally provoke Disdain and Scorn and Contempt; that of Love or Anger, Sullenness; and that of Benevolence or Pride, Fear and Distrust.



The correspondence may be worked out and observed through all grades and kinds of Emotion. The details are numberless as humanity.
 


IX. THE HIGH APPLICATION OF THE SCIENCE OF THE EMOTIONS

Every action, every movement, every spoken word of every individual human being, and again his whole life considered as a unity and in the man, will be found to represent one "ruling passion," if he be properly studied.

What is the practical application of the Science of the Emotions, a very brief exposition of which has been attempted ? How may this knowledge be utilised for the [improvement] of human life?

A. To whom the Science is addressed [Spiritual Aspirants]

What is true of all other knowledge is true of this. We know, and we strive in accordance with, and with the help of, our knowledge. But between the knowing and the striving there intervenes the wish for the object which is to be secured by the striving. Between the cognition and the action there interposes the Emotion, the desire, that connects the two. So to connect the knowledge [cognition] of the science of the Emotions with the action for the improvement of humanity there is needed the real, earnest, true wish [desire] to improve one's own life and that of others. Otherwise the science is useless, as a looking-glass unto the blind. Perhaps worse than useless. The unscrupulous may wrench it to suit their own evil purposes.


B. Human Life

We are told that in the evolution of a Jiva there are three unvarying stages:

i) [Herd-instinct] The stage of consciousness very latent and unmanifest it may be, as in the mineral or vegetable condition, or massive and gregarious and racial, as in the herds of lower animals, or separated and strong, as amongst the lower human races.

ii) The stage of self-consciousness when the Self is more or less distinctly felt as different from the body and from other Selves, and is treated as such implicitly; when it is distinctly recognised as a one, as an individual, amongst many ones and individuals, as in the more advanced classes of humanity.

iii)  [Soul] The stage of All-Self-consciousness, when the Self is recognised as one in all Selves, as in Those who have gone beyond humanity.

With the excessive and lopsided development of the Intelligence (the characteristic of the 5th race) and the exhaustion of the ordinary Sensations and Emotions, we see that phase of life which is described as the "craving for Sensations and Emotions," the "craving for a great Love, or a great Hate," "the blankness and craving due to the absence of a motive."

The return journey may not be accomplished in a moment when the outward journey has occupied so many ages and aeons. This remnant, combined with the Jiva's new insight and belief, builds the buddhic body; still an individual separate body, but seeming to work in a way almost entirely the reverse of that of the former [astral, mental] bodies. While former ones reached out from the one to the others around, this seems to reach in from the all around to any particular one.  The inversion of the point of view causes this apparent inversion of method of action also. Inasmuch as the essential nature of all action, all movement, is the same, and there is no action or movement possible without limitation and separateness, the inversion is only apparent, and due to extreme rapidity of motion, and the preponderance of the All-Self-consciousness over the mere Self- consciousness. Where formerly the Jiva thought: "How may I benefit myself at the expense of others?" and looked out from one point towards his surroundings, his circumference, he now places himself at the circumference, grasps in consciousness the whole sphere of the kosmos, of which he is a part, and from that standpoint looks in at any particular Jiva-point that is requiring help, and thinks: "How may I, the whole, benefit this, the part?"

Let us, then, strive to grow the buddhic body and the buddhic consciousness, and let the lower bodies take care of themselves... It may be that the outer circumstances of the majority of students are not favourable to conduct and life such as are required by a developing buddhic consciousness. But all can try to approach to an ideal, perfecting their consciousness and their conduct side by side. By constantly maintaining the breadth of the consciousness so as to include all; by always regulating conduct so as to seek in love the good of all; these are the means whereby the buddhic consciousness and body are developed and at last perfected. And in helping towards such perfection lies the true use of the Science of the Emotions.

[VBA: The Mystery of the Buddhic Plane and Agni Yoga]

 

C. How Human Life is Helped by this Science

[The ultimate Truth is the UNITY of all Jivas].  Feeding then this flame of Love constantly with the oil of that great Truth, we can see and secure for the use of ourselves and of all humanity all the gems and jewels of the other virtues. So, bearing ever in mind the untruth of the [separateness] of Jivas, we can forcefully, untiringly, struggle against Hate and all its band of vices. Knowing the true nature and essence of Emotion-desire, we can watch every thought and word and action of our own in the constant light of Self-consciousness and Self-analysis, and those of others in the light of All-Self-consciousness, whereby we see that the desires of all are as the desires of each. And so watching, and I knowing that whatever of us and from us causes pain and hurt and harm to another is due to our desire to live for our separate Self, to foster I our own [selfishness], to gain something for ourselves at the expense and pain of our brother, even though the gain be the merest fleeting feeling of pleasure, an Emotion-feeling of pride or scorn, so watching and so knowing we shall avoid falling again into the power of desire, which has so long tied us to re-birth, which is the cause of so much misery to humanity, which has, no doubt, already been defeated in the great struggle, but which yet lifts again and again a rebellious and treacherous head, seeking for opportunity to regain and re-assert its sovereignty.

Knowing too the correspondence of the Emotions, knowing how they create in ordinary humanity, as FIRE [Agni] does in ordinary combustibles, their own likeness, we shall be able deliberately to avoid creating in the minds of our fellow-beings any of the Emotions on the side of Hate and Vice; we shall be able to create in them the Emotions on the side of Love and Virtue.

[JB: Desire ==> Aspiration: Spiritual tension of Serene Expectation]

When we see Fear, we shall not show the counterpart of Fear, i.e.. Scorn; we shall behave not as the ordinary combustible, that itself flames up at the touch of a flaming substance, but as gold that melts and becomes the purer the more it is exposed to the fire; we shall respond with Benevolence and tender Pity to Timidity.

When we meet with Pride and Disdain we shall not respond with Fear, as will the common weak nature, or with greater Pride and Scorn as will the common strong nature, but with Humility; and so responding with Humility, we shall transmute the other's Pride into Benevolence, for in ordinary humanity, to which most possessors of Pride belong, the counterpart of Humility is Benevolence and thus we shall create in the other's mind a noble Emotion which will uplift him and be of use to others who need his help, though we ourselves may not need his Benevolence.

[JB: Transmutation ~ Adaptability]

Or if we are not sufficiently masters of ourselves to force Humility upon ourselves in response to the other's Pride, and our nature, partaking overmuch of the common strong nature, surges up with the consciousness of our own superiority; then, at the least, we can add Love to that consciousness of our superiority, and transfuse the whole into a quiet Pity and Benevolence for the other's ignorance and Pride and Superciliousness. But let us remember that this is not the best way, but dangerous; for it may foster Pride in our own inner heart, and the Pity may become a sneering Pity instead of true Benevolence. For very subtle are the workings of [selfishness] and its manifestations. Let us guard against them carefully in ourselves by the only means of constant Self-watchfulness, and imperceptibly but powerfully we shall help others who come into relations with us to guard against them in themselves.

[JB: Observation ~ Attentiveness]

Thus, knowing the root of Desire, knowing that it is of the nature of the separated Self, knowing that we have no separate Self, we shall not fall a prey to such Desire-Emotions, and to such imaginings and mistakes. But on the contrary, as far as may be, we shall give credit even where none is due in strictness; for, by exactly the same process as that just described we shall thus create in the mind of the other that which will be really worthy of credit.

Thus steadfastly guiding our evolution, life after life; pure and serene, for ourselves and, so far as may be, for all those who are our fellow-passengers upon the road of evolution and have been bound to us by the bonds of karma; bearing ever in mind that "there is no purifier like unto knowledge"; fixing our gaze constantly upon the Eternal; living in the Eternal; realising that "nothing that is out of the Eternal,' nothing that is less than the Eternal, "can aid us"; treading ever more and more firmly in the onward journey; seeing ever more and more clearly all in the light of the Self; may we hope to pass into the Final Peace.

"The man of serene mind
that rejoiceth in the Self and is contented therein,
to whom pleasure and pain are as one,
he becometh fit for immortality"

 

X. LAST WORDS

My reader! Never again, after having read this booklet with understanding, can you be altogether without the Self-examining consciousness and the Self-mastery that makes you turn again and again upon yourself to watch and regulate what you are thinking, saying, doing. The partial cessation of Desire has made it possible for you to turn inwards towards the Self and understand the Science of the Emotions as one important portion of the Science of the Self. And you will know that it is this very Science that will help you to successfully struggle against and gain victory by enabling you to cultivate Love universal and the capacity for work in identification with the life of Ishvara and gradually to find greater and greater JOY in sacrifice for others, even as He finds joy in sacrifice for His worlds. Long do the uses of this Science last indeed, up to the very end of the kosmic system. For wherever and whenever is the Jiva-Self, there with it go its threefold activities of Cognition and Emotion and Action ; and therefore always is it useful to know and bear in consciousness the inmost nature of these three. Facts of outer science are useful or useless according to the outer material surroundings. The chemistry of an element, the physics of a force, are useless in a world where that element or that force is not. But there are no worlds where Jivas are not ; and therefore are the facts of inner Science useful always; therefore is the Science of the Self the highest of the Sciences.
 

PEACE TO ALL BEINGS.

 

[ Source: http://www.archive.org/details/scienceoftheemot024532mbp ]

***

Epilogue-JB

Agni Yoga VBA
 

Chapter II

The Problem of Separativeness
(excerpt)

We could describe it as follows. An immense glass vessel thrown onto the floor breaks into an infinite number of fragments. Each fragment has taken on a unique shape and due to that feels alone, incomplete, and separate… However, according to certain universal laws of spiritual unity, each fragment possesses a faint and distant, although permanent memory of the whole vessel which it was a part of. If we assign that immense fragmented vessel the name of God and to each one of the fragments that of human being, we will have an approximate symbolic picture of the psychological complex of human beings, regardless of race, beliefs or social condition. The infinite capacity of the fragment to rebuild itself within the totality of the vessel it was a part of takes on the mystical name of the Path. The Path, encompassing the totality of that which has been created, has been generically designated as the Law of Evolution.

It is apparent that the human being is a solitary creature even when immersed in the midst of a large social community. All his efforts, though sometimes wrong, inevitably tend toward the Divinity of Which all human beings without exception are some humble though precious fragments. Another logical reason for the symbol we are considering is that each human being, no matter how insignificant or how humble he or she may appear, is indispensable so that at the end of a certain Life cycle, the Wholeness of God may be reflected in all human beings, fulfilling the Archetype of perfection of the Fourth Kingdom, the planetary Center of evolution.

[JB: Agni Yoga as the radical solution to the fundamental problem of separativeness in the human psyche.]


***
 

DK: TSR I

 

FIRST RAY OF WILL OR POWER

Special Virtues: Strength, courage, steadfastness, truthfulness arising from absolute fearlessness, power of ruling, capacity to grasp great questions in a large-minded way, and of handling men and measures.

Vices of Ray: Pride, ambition, wilfulness, hardness, arrogance, desire to control others, obstinacy, anger.

Virtues to be acquired: Tenderness, humility, sympathy, tolerance, patience.



THE SECOND RAY OF LOVE-WISDOM

Special Virtues: Calm, strength, patience and endurance, love of truth, faithfulness, intuition, clear intelligence, and serene temper.

Vices of Ray: Over-absorption in study, coldness, indifference to others, contempt of mental limitations in others. [Page 203]


Virtues to be acquired: Love, compassion, unselfishness, energy.



THE THIRD RAY OF HIGHER MIND

Special Virtues: Wide views on all abstract questions, sincerity of purpose, clear intellect, capacity for concentration on philosophic studies, patience, caution, absence of the tendency to worry himself or others over trifles.

Vices of Ray: Intellectual pride, coldness, isolation, inaccuracy in details, absent-mindedness, obstinacy, selfishness, overmuch criticism of others.

Virtues to be acquired: Sympathy, tolerance, devotion, accuracy, energy and common-sense.



THE FOURTH RAY OF HARMONY THROUGH CONFLICT

Special Virtues: Strong affections, sympathy, physical courage, generosity, devotion, quickness of intellect and perception. [Page 206]
 

Vices of Ray: Self-centredness, worrying, inaccuracy, lack of moral courage, strong passions, indolence, extravagance.

Virtues to be acquired: Serenity, confidence, self-control, purity, unselfishness, accuracy, mental and moral balance.



THE FIFTH RAY OF LOWER MIND

Special Virtues: Strictly accurate statements, justice (without mercy), perseverance, common-sense, uprightness, independence, keen intellect.

Vices of Ray: Harsh criticism, narrowness, arrogance, unforgiving temper, lack of sympathy and reverence, prejudice.

Virtues to be acquired: Reverence, devotion, sympathy, love, wide-mindedness.



THE SIXTH RAY OF DEVOTION

Special Virtues: Devotion, single-mindedness, love, tenderness, intuition, loyalty, reverence.

Vices of Ray: Selfish and jealous love, over-leaning on others, partiality, [Page 209] self-deception, sectarianism, superstition, prejudice, over-rapid conclusions, fiery anger.

Virtues to be acquired: Strength, self-sacrifice, purity, truth, tolerance, serenity, balance and common sense.



THE SEVENTH RAY OF CEREMONIAL ORDER OR MAGIC

Strength, perseverance, courage, courtesy, extreme care in details, self-reliance.

Vices of Ray: Formalism, bigotry, pride, narrowness, superficial judgments, self-opinion over-indulged.

Virtues to be acquired: Realisation of unity, wide-mindedness, tolerance, humility, gentleness and love.



From many of the above remarks it may have been inferred that the characteristics of any given ray find closer correspondence with one of the other rays than with the rest. This is a fact. The only one which stands alone and has no close relationship with any of the others is the fourth. This brings to mind the unique position which the number four occupies in the evolutionary process. We have the fourth root race, the fourth planetary chain, the fourth planet in the chain, the fourth planetary manvantara, etc.

Between the third and the fifth rays there is a close relationship. [Page 212] In the search after knowledge, for example, the most laborious and minute study of detail is the path that will be followed, whether in philosophy, the higher mathematics or in the pursuit of practical science.

The correspondence between the second and the sixth rays shews itself in the intuitive grasp of synthesised knowledge, and in the common bond of faithfulness and loyalty.

Masterfulness, steadfastness, and perseverance are the corresponding characteristics of the first and the seventh rays.

 

***

DK: Glamour

RAY I.

The glamour of physical strength.
The glamour of personal magnetism. [Page 121]
The glamour of self-centredness and personal potency.
The glamour of "the one at the centre."
The glamour of selfish personal ambition.
The glamour of rulership, of dictatorship and of wide control.
The glamour of the Messiah complex in the field of politics.
The glamour of selfish destiny, of the divine right of kings personally exacted.
The glamour of destruction.
The glamour of isolation, of aloneness, of aloofness.
The glamour of the superimposed will—upon others and upon groups.


RAY II.

The glamour of the love of being loved.
The glamour of popularity.
The glamour of personal wisdom.
The glamour of selfish responsibility.
The glamour of too complete an understanding, which negates right action.
The glamour of self-pity, a basic glamour of this ray.
The glamour of the Messiah complex, in the world of religion and world need.
The glamour of fear, based on undue sensitivity.
The glamour of self-sacrifice.
The glamour of selfish unselfishness.
The glamour of self-satisfaction.
The glamour of selfish service.


RAY III.

The glamour of being busy.
The glamour of cooperation with the Plan in an individual [Page 122] and not a group way.
The glamour of active scheming.
The glamour of creative work—without true motive.
The glamour of good intentions, which are basically selfish.
The glamour of "the spider at the centre."
The glamour of "God in the machine."
The glamour of devious and continuous manipulation.
The glamour of self-importance, from the standpoint of knowing, of efficiency.


RAY IV.

The glamour of harmony, aiming at personal comfort and satisfaction.
The glamour of war.
The glamour of conflict, with the objective of imposing righteousness and peace.
The glamour of vague artistic perception.
The glamour of psychic perception instead of intuition.
The glamour of musical perception.
The glamour of the pairs of opposites, in the higher sense.


RAY V.

The glamour of materiality, or over-emphasis of form.
The glamour of the intellect.
The glamour of knowledge and of definition.
The glamour of assurance, based on a narrow point of view.
The glamour of the form which hides reality.
The glamour of organisation.
The glamour of the outer, which hides the inner. [Page 123]
 

RAY VI.

The glamour of devotion.
The glamour of adherence to forms and persons.
The glamour of idealism.
The glamour of loyalties, of creeds.
The glamour of emotional response.
The glamour of sentimentality.
The glamour of interference.
The glamour of the lower pairs of opposites.
The glamour of World Saviours and Teachers.
The glamour of the narrow vision.
The glamour of fanaticism.


RAY VII.

The glamour of magical work.
The glamour of the relation of the opposites.
The glamour of the subterranean powers.
The glamour of that which brings together.
The glamour of the physical body.
The glamour of the mysterious and the secret.
The glamour of sex magic.
The glamour of the emerging manifested forces.

I have here enumerated many glamours. But their names are legion, and I have by no means covered the possibilities or the field of glamour.

 


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2007-10-18