Esoteric Psychology
Esoteric Psychology is one of the four branches of that great body of teachings called the Ancient Wisdom. It describes the nature of Man’s Soul and Personality and the relationship between them, and how one can adapt the Personality to best express the specific intent and purpose of the Soul. Esoteric Psychology is also referred to as the Psychology of the Soul, the Psychology of the Seven Rays and the Science of the Antakarana.
The Psychology of the Soul
By definition, psychology is the science of the soul - psyche is the soul,
and -ology is science, but in practice it has all but completely ignored
any existence of an indwelling soul. Instead, psychology had focused almost
exclusively on the outermost manifestation of an individual: on the behaviour.
Mainstream psychology says that the human personality is the product of
its heredity and environment or, to put it into an equation:
P = H x E
There are branches within psychology that have broadened this equation, such as the existential approach of by Maslow, Frankl, Jung, Assigioli and others -- all of whom have made substantial and significant contributions to their field; and yet our schools and universities continue to downplay their work and disregard, if not outright deny, the existence of an indwelling, spiritually motivating entity called the Soul. Esoteric Psychology embraces this entity and includes it in the Personality equation, which now becomes:
P = H x E x S
The Soul, far from being some fictional idea,
is a very real and vibrant Being. throughout the history of mankind the
existence of the Soul has been the basis of all the major religions and
initiate teachings, and its nature has been – often perilously –
recorded and taught in the Ancient Wisdom. Esoteric Psychology proposes
that the Soul is an entity that, like Man himself, is evolving. In
deed,
Esoteric Psychology stands on the proposition that Man is the outward representative
of a twin evolution: the evolution of the Personality of humanity on a
physical planet in a planetary scheme, linked to the evolution of a human
soul in schemes that exist in much rarer and subtler substances than that
a physical planet. This is not such a difficult concept to grasp if we
realize that even the grossest living physical structures have subtle,
visible parts to them. The hard wood of the hickory, ebony and walnut trees
is comprised of living cells, and each piece of wood has living protoplasm,
amino acids and filaments of the most ethereal nature. We, as human Personalities,
are the outermost, dense structure of a complex Being whose subtle part
lies in the stream of evolution in Atma, Buddhi and Manas.
In order for the Soul to evolve, it has to incarnate in
matter, because the basic law of evolution necessitates involution. The
purpose of incarnation in matter is to learn to dominate the material world
and to add this quality to the spark within us. As the physical, emotional
and mental bodies of the human Personality undergo the welter of experience
in matter they slowly become repolarized over many lives and their higher
counterparts in the Soul of Atma, Buddhi and Manas superimpose them. This
occurs when the Personality begins to release itself from the bonds of
the material world and, hearing the inner call of the Monad, begins the
journey back to the Father’s home.
Psychology of the Seven Rays
The Psychology of the Seven Rays is a study of the nature of the Soul as
it resonates and manifests itself according to the qualities of the Seven
Rays. The Seven Rays can best begin to be described by Postulate Five of
the Seven Basic Postulates of Ancient Wisdom:
"Postulate Five: Our solar system has a septenary nature: it is constructed out of energies which resonate to seven qualities."
Just as the structure of an organism is related
to the chromosomes of the nuclei of its cells, so our solar system is activated,
constructed and maintained
by the
output of seven divine chromosomes of Seven Ray Lords. There is nothing
in our solar system, at whatever stage of evolution it may stand, which
does not belong or respond to the Seven Rays. The Seven Rays are the embodiments
of seven types of force which demonstrate to us the seven qualities of
deity, whether these be in the form of sound, colour, shape, human Personality,
Soul or in the host of other manifestations. The Seven Rays or qualities
of the One Life pervade the whole universe and yet remain individual and
undiminished. The Sound or Word of each Ray passes down through the heavens,
reaching into every solar or planetary sphere on that Ray note right down
into ourselves and into the myriad of lesser entities who make us up. The
Rays are the builders of the entire human entity; of all its subtle bodies.
The Rays cycle in and out of manifestation and every human being is swept
into incarnation on the impulse of some Ray, the quality of which colours
the Life and Form. The same applies to every animal, plant and mineral.
The Psychology of the Seven Rays arose from the records made from observations of Man’s behaviour over a period of some 18 million years on this planet. It is valid for individuals of all races, creeds, castes, sex and colour. It represents the essence of a divine wisdom or Gnosis won by the blood and sweat of some of the foremost leaders of the human race during their struggles through many lives against the planetary environment and the forces of involution. The Psychology of the Seven Rays analyses the anatomy and function of those units of spiritual energy which constitute the vehicle of expression of Man’s Soul and which constantly stimulate or moderate the elements of Man’s Personality from within and which he comes to recognize as a spiritual conscience. The teachings on the Seven Rays are a key to the true nature of Man, embracing all scientific, occult and mystical knowledge, and provides a framework for understanding God’s plan for atom, cell, plant, galaxy and humanity itself.
The
Seven Rays are:
| Ray I | Will & Power |
| Ray II | Love Wisdom |
| Ray III | Active Intelligence |
| Ray IV | Art & Harmony Through Conflict |
| Ray V | Concrete Knowledge & Analytical Science |
| Ray VI | Devotion & Idealism |
| Ray VII | Ceremonial, Order, Ritual and Magic |
Science of the Antakarana
The Hindu word Antakarana does not have a direct
English translation, but it is most accurately described as a bridge or
channel for communication between the Personality and Soul. It is often
referred to as the Rainbow Bridge. Its existence has been known to Man
through the centuries, and culture
s
have described it in ways pertinent to their own mythologies, telling how
a gross Personality structure is linked to an ethereal counterpart evolving
according to its own laws in a subtle realm. It is through the Antakarana,
linking the higher and lower evolutions together, that what is of value
in our lives must pass to the Higher Self. The Soul is stirred by such
impressions, by unusual energy inputs from the Personality like courage,
will, service to humanity, etc. The soul needs this, as it requires part
of itself (the Personality) to be down in the objective world. We, as Personalities,
receive down the Antakarana glorious energies from the Soul, especially
through meditation which is the science of bringing those energies and
meaning down. The Soul would always like to be flooding us with two things:
Meaning and Energy. These two qualities comprise the real ME –
the two things that give us the wherewithal to live fulfilling and purposeful
lives.
The Personality and Soul are often described as triads
of energy, as each is composed of three principle qualities. The Personality,
or Lower Triad, is represented by an inverted triangle symbolizing the
Physical Body, the Astral (Emotional) Body, and the Lower Mental Body.
The Soul or Higher Triad is represented by an upright triangle which symbolizes
the corresponding, spiritual qualities of Atma, Buddhi and Manas, respectively.
The two triads are connected to each other by the Antakarana. Under the
processing of the Seven Rays, the consciousness pervading the Physical
Body is shifted to its higher counterpart, the Atmic Body. The pervading
consciousness of the Astral Body is transferred to the Buddhic Body, and
in the same way the Lower Mental Body is replaced in function by the Manasic
Body. The channel between the Lower and Higher Mental Bodies is the pathway
or Antakarana through which these major transfers of consciousness are
achieved.
Ray Analysis
One of the most practical applications of the
Ray Psychology is in the field of Ray Analysis. Here, one is able to assess
the Rays governing the five principle vehicles of expression -- the Soul,
the Personality, the Mental Body, the Astral Body and the Physical Body
– and to learn how to change and integrate them in order to allow
the Soul to best express it’s purpose. It is a vast and fascinating
subject, and the technique for Ray Analysis will be given in detail in
future instalments.
Copyright ©2007, Douglas Baker. All Rights Reserved.