AMERICA
a compilation of significant references from the writings of Alice A. Bailey
AMERICA
ESOTERIC MOTTO:
"I LIGHT THE WAY"
RAYS
RAY II SOUL
RAY VI PERSONALITY
HOROSCOPE
Natal sun in Gemini in the 5th Arm [House] with Aquarius rising
KEYNOTE QUOTES:
It is interesting that the United States' standard shows the arrows of Sagittarius in the talons of an eagle, because Aquila is interchangeable astrologically with Sagittarius and is the symbol of the spirit manifesting through the soul, which the aspirant on the physical plane is one-pointedly seeking. There is prophecy in the United States standard, of the goal of this race when it is grown up, for it is within this race that there will emerge that group of aspirants, merging in their turn into a group of disciples, who will demonstrate to the planet the fact of the subjective world. That is the destiny of this race. It will be the achievement of all the races gathered together in the United States.[LOH158]
The U.S.A. expresses the will-to-love, which shows itself in an ability to absorb vastly divergent elements and yet to present equal opportunity to all. This is brought about very largely because the control is, in this federation of states, in the hands of the bourgeoisie, with its financial goals, its power to determine living conditions, and its quick and sympathetic touch upon life. Its method is not that of slow adjustment but of quick assimilation. It is in that country also that people are most sensitive to the influence of the Hierarchy. [EOH132]
It is the force of the Hierarchy which can express itself increasingly through the United States of America, for an intuitive recognition of subjective realities and a real sense of the higher values can and frequently do control the impulses governing this group of federated states.[EOH133]
True Democracy is as yet unknown; it awaits the time when an educated and enlightened public opinion will bring it to power; towards that spiritual event, mankind is hastening. The battle of Democracy will be fought out in the United States. There the people at present vote and organize their government on a personality basis and not from any spiritual or intelligent conviction. There is a material, selfish aspect to Democracy (rampant today), and there is a spiritual aspect, little sought after; there are material and spiritual aspects to Communism, but its adherents know them not, and only a ruthless materialism is conveyed to them.[RI747]
If the United States can equally renounce its gross materialism, it can give a lead to the world along spiritual lines which will be beyond anything yet demonstrated and, aided by Great Britain, the two great democracies, expressing right human relations and the fellowship of man, can do great things for the race. [RI748]
THE SEVEN NATIONAL CENTERS
Nations, for instance, have seven centers, as have all forms of existence from the human and animal upwards, and it is an interesting study to discover these centers and note the type of energy which flows through them. In connection with the United States of America, Chicago is the solar plexus center, whilst New York is the throat center and Washington the head center. The heart center is Los Angeles. [EOH85]
There is a wide field of research here. This research will fall into several categories:
1. Research into the realities of man's spiritual nature and centers, the nature and influences of their governing planets, their interrelation from the energy angle and the quality of the ray forces which are seeking expression, plus a knowledge of the personality and egoic rays. Out of this will come an understanding grasp of the human constitution which will reveal all relationships and produce two basic "events in time":
a. The blending in the waking consciousness of the subjective and objective life of the individual.
b. A new relation established between men which will be based upon the above fusion.
2. Research into the various national centers and their esoteric ruling energies, revealing in a more universal manner and with a wider horizon the destiny of humanity in relation to its group units, large and small. The soul and personality qualities of nations will be studied, the centers within each nation which focus certain ray energies will be noted, and the qualitative emanations of its five or six major cities will be investigated. Let me here give you an instance of what I mean: the influences of New York, Washington, Chicago, Kansas City and Los Angeles will be the subject of scientific research; the psychic atmosphere and the intellectual appeal will be studied, effort will be made to discover the soul quality and the personality nature (the spiritual and the materialistic tendencies) of these great aggregations of human beings which have come into expression in certain fixed localities [DN104] because they are expressions of the force centers in the vital body of the nation.
THE SEVEN CENTERS:
HEAD CENTER: WASHINGON
HEART CENTER: LOS ANGELES
THROAT CENTER: NEW YORK
AJNA CENTER: NOT GIVEN
SOLAR PLEXUS: CHICAGO
SACRAL CENTER: KANSAS CITY
BASIC CENTER: NOT GIVEN
This information constitutes one of the major hierarchical sciences and indicates to us who know it the possibilities latent in any nation, the point of attainment and the opportunities for work and advancement, or the obstacles to progress; this is gauged by the light in the centers and the heightening and the obscuration of their vibration. It is this that makes possible or hinders the growth of what is called spirituality in individuals and in nations, and this science will later be recognized. It is by means of this science that the Hierarchy can form its larger plans and know in what manner individual nations will react to stimulation and to progress of the desired kind. This is the modern form of the ancient Atlantean laya-yoga, or the yoga of the centers. [DN86]
The force expressing itself through the center, New York, is the force of the sixth Ray of Devotion or Idealism. [EA523] Hence the conflicts everywhere to be found between the varying ideologies and the major conflict between those who stand for the great ideal of world unity brought about by a united effort of the Forces of Light, backed by the cooperative effort of all the democratic nations and the separative materialistic attitude of those who seek to keep the United States from assuming her responsibilities and her rightful place in world affairs. This latter group, if they succeed in their endeavor, will deny the United States her share in the "gifts of the gods in the coming age of peace which will succeed this present point of critical suspension," as the Old Commentary phrases it. The sixth ray is either militant and active, or mystical pacific and at present futile, and these two aspects at present condition the United States. The keynote of this world center is "I light the Way" and this is the privilege of the States if its people so choose and permit worldwide humanitarian, self-sacrifice (self-initiated) and firm decision to stand by righteousness to govern their present attitudes and policies. This is slowly coming to pass and the selfish voices of the blind idealists, the fearful and the separative are dying out. All this is happening under the inspiration of service, motivated by love. Thus the two major democracies can eventually restore world order, negate the old order of selfishness and aggression and usher in the new order of world understanding, world sharing and world peace. Peace will be the result of understanding and sharing and not the origin of them as the pacifists so often imply.
HEIR OF PASSING SIXTH RAY PISCEAN CIVILIZATION
It is interesting to note the unusual alignment of ray energies to be found at this time in the United States:
The energy of the soul Ray of Love-Wisdom Ray II
The energy of the personality Ray of Idealism Ray VI
The energy of relating the two Ray of Harmony through conflict Ray IV
These Rays - 2, 4, 6 - are all on the second line of spiritual energy and lack all the stiffening and strengthening qualities of the first line of ray energy - 1, 3, 5, 7 - which are governed by Will or Power. The American civilization, with all its clamor of youthful precocity, is in reality the heir of the passing sixth ray civilization, the Piscean; therefore, you have here the reason for the tendency of the American people to adopt violently conditioning idealisms and ideologies. It is the idealistic tendency in conflict with pronounced materialistic trends of this particular modern era which will finally evoke the harmony which will liberate the spirit of America, which will reveal to its people that it is one world and which will enable the people of this land to harmonize with the rest of the world and draw forth the loving response of other nations. It is for this that the men of goodwill must work.
SIXTH RAY GOVERNING THE FORM ASPECT
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 organization; 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. [EPI390]
If the idealism of the United States of America can be illumined by the law of love and not by personality self-expression, then the pattern which underlies the structure of the States may be seen in lines of light and we shall look for future racial light instead of the many separate national lines. At present it is the personality ray of the United States which controls. [59]
The United States of America has for its personality ray the sixth ray and hence much of its personality difficulties. Hence also its strong desire life, impelling it to sex [60] expression and to materiality but to a materiality which is very different from that of the French, for the citizen of the United States values money only for the effects on his life which it can bring and for what it makes possible. Hence also the rapid response of the American continent to every form of idealism, to the need of others, even of its enemies, to compassion for all suffering and to a pronounced progress towards a well defined humanitarianism. This they may call the democratic ideal but it is in truth something which grows out of and eventually supersedes democracy - the ideal of spiritual government - a government by the highest and the most spiritual to be found in the land. Hence also their unrealized esoteric motto: "I light the Way."
A FEMININE ASPECT OF DIVINE MANIFESTATION
It is useful to bear in mind that some nations are negative and feminine and others are masculine and positive. 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 - intuitive, [DN56] mystical, alluring, beautiful, fond of display and color, and with the faults also of the feminine aspect, such as over emphasis upon the material aspects of life, upon pageantry, upon possession and upon money or its equivalent as a symbol of the form side of existence. They mother and nurture civilization and ideas.
China, Germany, Great Britain and Italy are masculine and positive; they are mental, political, governing, standardizing, group-conscious, occult by inclination, aggressive, full of grandeur, interest 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 United States represents the intuitive faculty, expressing itself as illumination, plus the power to fuse and blend. [DN55]
MUCH SUFFERING IN STORE
The selfishness of the United States is also due to youth, but it will eventually yield to experience and to suffering; there is - fortunately for the soul of this great people - much suffering in store for the United States. [RI429]
A GREAT FUTURE LIES AHEAD
The accusation of youth (if it is an accusation) is also true of the United States. A great future lies ahead of that nation but not because of material power or commercial efficiency, as many materially-minded people think. The reason lies in a deeply spiritual, innate idealism, enormous humanitarian potentiality and - above all else - because virgin and non-effete stock of largely peasant and middle class origin is determining the race. [POH25]
When Gemini, Scorpio and Mercury are correctly related we shall see the United States moving also on to the Path of Discipleship through a release from its present self-centered policy, its well-meaning evasion of responsibility and its innate fears and distrust. [EA361]
DESTINY OF THE WORLD DISCIPLE
In the hands of the United States, Great Britain and Russia, and also in the hands of France, lies the destiny of the world disciple, Humanity. Humanity has been passing through the tests which are preparatory to the first initiation; they have been hard and cruel and are not yet entirely over. The Lords of Karma (four in number) are today working through these four Great Powers; it is, however, a karma which seeks to liberate, as does all karma. In the coming crisis, true vision and a new freedom, plus a wider spiritual horizon may be attained. The crisis, if rightly handled, need not again reach the ultimate horror.
The area of difficulty - as is well known - is the Near East and Palestine. The Jews, by their illegal and terrorist activities, have laid a foundation of great difficulty for those who are seeking to promote world peace. [RI429]
I would have you bear these points in mind while you investigate the world picture. This picture is taking shape and warrants recognition. It involves the Jews (who are not a nation but a religious group) the Near East and Russia. In the maps which are to be found in the Archives of the spiritual Hierarchy, the entire area of the Near East and Europe - Greece, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Palestine, the Arab States, Egypt and Russia - are under a heavy over-shadowing cloud. Can that cloud be dissipated by the right thinking and planning of Great Britain, the United States and the majority of the United Nations or - must it break in disaster over the world? Will it present a task too hard for correct handling by that inexperienced disciple - Humanity? [RI430]
WORLD TRIANGLE OF ENERGY
1. UK
2 USA
3 RUSSIA
Russia is, if you could but realize it, a battleground today within her own sealed walls. Her iron curtain is to Russia what the Monroe Doctrine was to the American people. In connection with all the three Great Powers - the U.S.S.R., the U.S.A. and the U.K. - certain major conflicts are being specifically precipitated; these will fundamentally affect the destiny of humanity. These three nations constitute the three points of a most potent world triangle of energy, and once there is a free circulation and a true understanding established between them, then world peace will be assured and the Christ can come. This understanding and this free harmony (if I may use such a term) will come as the result of each of the three Nations arriving at a real measure of internal harmony as a result of its own particular conflict, and then moving forward in an effort to harmonize with each other and the rest of the world.
Russia has the same personality ray as the United States [RI631] and her seventh ray soul (conditioned by the Ray of Order) is closely related to the personality ray of GreatBritain, the first Ray of Will or Power; the will aspect of divinity works out on the physical plane as the seventh Ray of Order or of conformity to the inner divine will.
A YOUNG & INEXPERIENCED NATION
"The United States of America is also young and inexperienced" [RI428]
"The United States of America is always regarded as a young nation". [RI161]
AMERICAN PEOPLE OF THE AGES 17 TO 24
Like all young people, symbolically speaking, the people of the United States show all the characteristics of adolescence. Again, symbolically speaking, the people of the United States are of the ages seventeen to twenty-four. They shout freedom and still are not free; they refuse to be told what to do because it infringes upon their rights, nevertheless they allow themselves to be guided frequently by the inept, the partisan politician and by the inadequate; they are broadly tolerant and yet most intolerant of other nations; they are ready to tell other nations how to handle their problems but as yet evidence no ability to handle their own, as witness the treatment of the American Negroes and the withholding of equal freedom and opportunity from them. They are restlessly experimenting with all phases of life, with every kind of idea and all kinds of relationships. The creative power of the race shows itself as yet in a wonderful control of nature and in great construction projects which bring water under control, or which relate all parts of this vast country through roads and waterways. America is a great battleground for experiment along creative lines; it is profoundly interested in trying out every kind of ideology. The fight between capital and labor will reach its climax in the United States. [POH26]
...the United States, unused to power, somewhat arrogant, with a strong superiority complex, inexperienced and yet at the same time exceedingly well-intentioned and fundamentally sound. It is the mass of the people who are sound in their thinking and not their representatives in Congress. [RI430]
The noisy self-assertion of the United States which leads them to regard their country as the hope of the world is indicative of personality control. [DN83]
YOUNGEST AND OLDEST
The United States, though one of the younger nations, is - owing to the many racial types represented - one of the oldest; this curious balancing must inevitably lead to a rapid development, with a consequent assumption of power, a growing incentive to love and a shouldering of responsibility.
The conflict in the United States is between a love of freedom which amounts almost to irresponsibility and license, and a growing humanitarian ideology which will result in world service and non-separateness. The rays of energy governing the United States are the 6th Ray of Idealism, which is the energy of the country's personality, and the 2nd Ray of Love-Wisdom, which governs the soul of the country. I would here point out to you that it is the soul ray of the United States which relates it to Great Britain. The sixth ray personality energy (at the present stage of unfoldment) produces an idealism which requires transmuting and changing from an idealism intensely preoccupied with the preservation of a high standard of living and physical comfort to an idealistic appreciation of the real spiritual values; these are at present veiled and hidden in the material philosophy of the country. The youthful interpretation of this idealism can be seen in the complete conviction of the American people that everything in the United States is better than anything anywhere else, in its willingness to tell all the world what should or should not be done, in its revolt from all controls, in its unthinking acceptance of any information which falls in with its preconceived ideas and prejudices; the mature aspect of American idealism leads its people to a prompt response to the good, the beautiful and the true, to the expression of an active humanitarianism and an invocative spiritual approach to reality.
2ND MOST SELFISH COUNTRY IN THE WORLD
The most selfish country in the world today is France, with the United States (though along totally different lines) running her a close second; both are materially selfish and capitalistically engrossed. [RI429]
… it is a rampant capitalism which makes the United States one of the most feared of the nations, plus her gestures of armed power. [POH172]
MIXED MOTIVES OF USA
The motives of the United States are very mixed motives: greed of money or its equivalent, such as oil, and at the same time sincerely good intentions for the establishment of human freedom in a democratic world - modeled, of course, on American democracy. Other motives are an appreciation of the armed fist and, at [EOH639] the same time, a longing for economic sharing and for that essential kindness which is such a strong American characteristic - a mass characteristic. These mixed motives will produce eventually a very confused world, one in which it will be found that humanity has learned very little as the result of the World War (1914-1945) and is acquiescent to the cycle of well-intentioned money control.
WEAKENED FAITH IN THE WONDER OF AMERICA
On the other hand, the much vaunted democracies have much to learn. Men are not truly free, even in democratic countries; the Negroes, for instance, lack their constitutional rights in parts of the United States; and in South Africa, their educational facilities and their opportunity [RI746] to work and live as free men are not equal to those of the white race; in the southern states, the Constitution of the United States is infringed every day by those who believe in white supremacy - a supremacy which will be put to a crucial test when Africa awakes. This attitude of the United States and their failure to live up to the Constitution where Negroes are concerned, have greatly weakened the faith of other countries in the wonder of America.
WRONG USE OF MONEY
it is the wrong use of money which colors the press and the radio in Great Britain and still more in the United States, thus keeping much of the truth from the people. [POH173]
The United States would also gladly undertake to force the American brand of democracy upon the world, using her vast capital and resources in so doing, and gathering into her banks the financial results of her widespread financial dealings, preserving them safely by the threat of the atomic bomb and the shaking of the mailed fist over the rest of the world. [ROC176]
DICTATORSHIP OF ORGANZED BUSINESS
In America, you have the dictatorship of organized business seeking to regulate and control every department of the economic life of the nation, and cutting deep down, through the trained minds in the government, to the very roots of the national existence. [EPI175]
HANDICAPPED BY LAWS OF CAPITAL AND FINANCE
The United States of America has no such handicap, except insofar as the laws of capital and finance seek control. [POH25]
FREE PRESS ABSENT IN USA
… there is no truly free press anywhere; particularly is it absent in the United States, where parties and publishers dictate newspaper policies [EOH452]
CENTER OF OLD ATLANTIS
The United States of America was the center of old Atlantis and hence inherited a psychic and ancient religious form which was existent and potently alive in that part of the world for many centuries. [DON46]
DWELLER ON THE THRESHOLD
The powerful thought-forms built up in the early Ibezhan mysteries and which (particularly in America) are as yet undestroyed. This gigantic "Dweller on the Threshold" of all the true Mysteries has to be slaughtered before the aspirant can pass on. [TWM382]
AROUSED ONLY BY SELF-INTEREST AND SECURITY
Even idealistic America can only be aroused into action by an appeal to her self-interest and security. For our encouragement let us recognize that the same humanity which has brought about these terrible conditions can also create the new world, the new order and the new way of life. The selfish, wicked past can give way to a future of understanding, of cooperation, of right human relations and of good. Separativeness must be superseded by unity. The combination of totalitarian aggressors, of allied democracies and of anxious neutral nations must be changed into a world which is characterized by one endeavor - the establishing of those relations which will produce the happiness and peace of the whole, and not only of the part. [EOH184]
ZIONIST FORCES OF EVIL IN AMERICA
As a Jewish member of my Ashram pointed out (and I commend him on his soul vision), the Jews have partially again opened the door [430] to the Forces of Evil, which worked originally through Hitler and his evil gang. The "sealing" of that door had not been successfully accomplished, and it is the part of wisdom to discover this in time. These Forces of Evil work through a triangle of evil, one point of which is to be found in the Zionist Movement in the United States, another in central Europe, and the third in Palestine. Palestine is no longer a Holy Land and should not be so regarded. [RI430]
It is the smug greed of the nations which escaped the war which is hindering progress; it is the devious actions of the Jews and the hatred which they cultivate which tend also to undermine the hope of peace.[POH172]
It was a test for the United States, for it is the American Jews who have created the situation, with relatively little help or endorsement from the Jews of other nations. The United States, urged by expediency, by the financial weight of the Zionists, and by the strategic position of Palestine, have thrown the weight of their influence into the conflict on the side of aggression and of territorial theft. They could have worked for the Principle of Harmony and permitted time and the non-separativeness of the nations to adjust and solve the Jewish problem.[RI636]
The leaders of the Zionist movement of aggression constitute a real danger to world peace and human development and their activities have been endorsed by the expediency policy of the U.S.A. and, in a secondary degree, by Great Britain, under the influence of the U.S.A. It is the Zionists who have defied the United Nations, lowered its prestige and made its position both negative and negligible to the world. It is the Zionists who have perpetrated the major act of aggression since the formation of the United Nations, and who were clever enough to gain the endorsement of the United Nations, turning the original "recommendation" of the United Nations into an order. The rule of force, of aggression and of territorial conquest by force of arms is demonstrated today by the Zionists in Palestine, as well as the demonstration of the power of money to purchase governments. These activities run counter to all the plans of the spiritual Hierarchy and mark a point of triumph of the forces of evil. I am emphasizing the activities of these two countries because through the leaders of these groups of aggressive men the forces of evil - dammed back temporarily by the defeat of the evil group which Hitler gathered around him - have again organized their attack on the spiritual development of humanity.[RI681]
ANGLO-SAXON ELEMENT DOMINATING
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 fulfils 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.
RULED BY GEMINI
America, and indicate the influences working at this time which are in process of bringing to an end the adolescent stage in that country and enabling it to come forth in full maturity.
This vast land is ruled by Gemini, linking it therefore closely with Great Britain and also by Aquarius as the ruler of its soul ray. This combination of a sixth ray personality, ruled by Gemini, and a second ray soul (as has Great Britain), ruled by Aquarius, is potent for future power and usefulness. The capital city, Washington, is ruled by Cancer and Sagittarius, and it is this fact which leads the United States to act like the Crab (Cancer) and be preoccupied with its own house which it carries heavily on its back and [89] to vanish into hiding at the first Signs of trouble. Because also the Sagittarian influence is strong, there is a potent determination to stick one-pointedly to any decision made. This its sixth ray personality enforces at times almost to the point of a fanatical blindness and to the detriment of the long range vision which is needed at such times as these.
POWER SHIFT FROM WASHINGTON TO NEW YORK
Like Russia, this country is in the making and - as I have told you elsewhere - as the nation's power shifts, as it will and as it now really is shifting from Washington to New York, the Cancerian influence will steadily lessen and the country will take its place as an adult among the nations. Its Gemini nature and its Aquarian soul should (when developed and balanced) provide a most remarkable channel for human expression. You will note that none of its zodiacal rulers link it with France, except indirectly through Cancer, which is the polar opposite of Capricorn, one of the rulers of Paris. It is for this reason that such a small percentage, relatively speaking, of French people migrate to the States; there is a closer link with Italy than with France, and hence the large Italian population, for Sagittarius rules both Italy and Washington.
The influences are, therefore, as follows:
1. Aquarius - with its rulers, Uranus, Jupiter and the Moon (the Nation).
2. Gemini - with its rulers, Mercury, Venus and the Earth (the Nation).
3. Cancer - with its rulers, the Moon and Neptune (the Capital).
4. Sagittarius - with its rulers, Jupiter, the Earth and Mars (the Capital).
5. The soul ray - Love-wisdom - 2nd.
6. Personality ray - Idealism, Devotion - 6th. [90]
7. Indirect influences via the planetary rulers are many, and the rays conditioning this country are consequently many, owing to the mixture of races found there. Of these influences there are eleven in all, for the Earth presents two aspects and the Moon veils both Vulcan and Uranus.
a. Ray 7. - Order and Magic, via Uranus. This influence is inherited from the Atlantean world, which still rules the territorial aspect of the States, which is a remnant of old Atlantis. It is this that produces the many magical, spiritualistic and occult groups which flourish today in the States.
b. Ray 2. - Love-wisdom, via Jupiter, thus linking the States closely with Great Britain and indirectly with France.
c. Ray 4. - Harmony through Conflict, via the Moon, veiling in this case the planet Vulcan. Vulcan here "forges on his anvil, through fire and blows, that linking network which covers all the nation and makes it hold together." This ray produces the condition which brings together Germany and the States, for the fourth ray is the German soul ray and the first ray, which Vulcan transmits via the Moon, links the German soul and personality to the United States. Hence the vast numbers of Germans who come to the States in order to escape from the personality activity of Germany as it expresses itself through its first ray destroyer aspect.
d. Ray 4. - I enumerate this ray for the second time because it expresses itself here through Mercury, [DN91] the Messenger, and emphasizes the harmony aspect in contradistinction to the conflict angle which the Moon and Vulcan together have precipitated. It is the Moon-Vulcan relation which produces the political conflict which always rages in the States.
e. Ray 5. - Concrete Knowledge and Science, via Venus. This confers the intelligence which is so marked in the American people and will eventually determine the lines along which their education will run and their religious organizations.
f. Ray 3. - Active Intelligence or Adaptability, via the Earth, thus 'grounding' the American people and basically making the soil their problem. Hence the prominence of agriculture in the public consciousness and the preoccupation of the government with cotton problems, the corn belt problem and many other issues of moment.
g. Ray 6. - Idealism or Devotion, via Mars. This greatly augments the power of the sixth ray personality of the States, thus presenting very real problems in a young people who are apt always to be fanatical and exclusive. Exclusiveness is one of the major weaknesses of the sixth ray type.
h. Ray 4. - This influence appears, as you see, frequently, but this time it is through the Moon as it veils Uranus. This produces a conflict of a different nature than that which takes place when the Moon veils Vulcan or transmits the energy of the fourth ray direct. Uranus is the medium for the 7th ray and the function of its blending with the fourth, via the Moon, is to bring about a magical relationship between the many diverse [92] nationalities found in the States and so fuse and blend them into an homogeneous whole - which is not the case at this time.
Thus the influences pouring into the United States today are very many; they relate the country practically to every country in Europe; this leads at times to chaotic conditions and to much confusion of thought. Yet it produces a richness in the national life which is a good augury for the future. A study of what I have said and a consideration of the various tabulations will prove how utterly impossible it is for the American people to dissociate themselves from Europe and the rest of the world.
THE TASK OF EVERY NATION IS TWOFOLD
1. To solve its own psychological internal problems. This it does by recognition of their existence; by the quelling of national pride and by taking those steps which would establish unity and beauty of rhythm in the life of its peoples.
2. To foster the spirit of right relations. This is accomplished by the recognition of the one world of which it is a part. This later involves also the taking of those steps which would enable it to enrich the whole world with its own individual contribution.
These two activities - national and international - must proceed side by side with the emphasis upon the work of practical Christianity, and not by dominant theologies and subtly imposed Church controls.
THREE MAJOR NATIONAL RAY PATTERNS
It should be remembered that each ray embodies an idea which can be sensed as an ideal. The rays in time produce the world pattern which moulds all planetary forms and thus bears witness to the inner potency of the evolutionary processes. This pattern-forming tendency is being recognized today by modern psychology in connection with the human being and his emotional or thought patterns are being charted and studied. So it is with the nations and races also. Every ray produces three major patterns which are imposed upon the form nature, whether it be that of a man, a nation or a planet. These three patterns are: the emotional pattern, embodying the aspiration of a man, a nation or a race; it is the sumtotal of the desire tendency at any one time; the mental pattern, emerging later in time and governing the thought processes of a man, a nation or a race. The emotional and mental patterns are the negative and positive aspects of the personality of a man, a nation or a race. The soul pattern is the predisposing and spiritual goal, the ring-pass-not or destiny which the spiritual principle succeeds eventually in imposing upon the [DN58] personality of a man, a nation or a race. This soul pattern eventually supersedes and obliterates the two earlier pattern-producing processes.
EMOTIONAL/MENTAL/SOUL PATTERN OF USA
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. [EPI393]
The Psychological Rehabilitation of the Nations
Humanity, as has been said before, is the world disciple; the impulse behind the disintegration of the old world forms is a spiritual one. The spiritual life of humanity is now so strong that it has disrupted all present forms of human expression. The world of the past has gone and gone forever, and the new world of forms has not yet made its appearance. Its construction will be distinctive of the emerging creative life of the spirit of man. The important factor to bear in mind is that it is one spirit and the nations have each to learn to recognize that spirit within themselves and within each other.
To sum up: the task of every nation is, therefore, a twofold one:
1. To solve its own psychological internal problems. This it does by recognition of their existence; by the quelling of national pride and by taking those steps which would establish unity and beauty of rhythm in the life of its peoples.
2. To foster the spirit of right relations. This is accomplished by the recognition of the one world of which it is a part. This later involves also the taking of those steps which would enable it to enrich the whole world with its own individual contribution.
These two activities - national and international - must proceed side by side with the emphasis upon the work of practical Christianity, and not by dominant theologies and subtly imposed Church controls.
From the angle of the spiritual Forces of Light, the immediate world process should include:
1. The impending crisis of freedom. This involves free elections in all countries to determine the type of government, the national boundaries (where that [30] problem exists) and a plebiscite of the people to determine their nationalities and loyalties.
2. The cleaning up process carried on in all the nations without any exception whatever so that a wholesome unity, based on freedom and demonstrating unity in diversity, can be brought about.
3. A steadily pursued educational process by which all the peoples in the world can be grounded in the only ideology that will prove finally and generally effective - that of right human relations. Slowly but surely, this educational movement will inevitably produce right understanding and correct attitudes and activities in every community, in every church and nation, and ultimately in the international field. This will take time but it presents a challenge to all men of goodwill throughout the world.
The spiritual guides of the race can present this formula of progress. They cannot guarantee its enactment, for humanity is left free to decide its own problems. Certain questions, therefore, emerge immediately.
Will the great powers, Russia, the United States, and the British Commonwealth of Nations stand together for the total good of humanity, or will they each proceed upon their separate way towards their own selfish objectives?
Will the smaller powers as well as the great Powers be willing to relinquish some of their so-called sovereignty in the interests of the whole? Will they attempt to view the world situation from the angle of humanity, or will they only see their own individual good?
Will they omit the constant carping criticism which has distinguished the past and which breeds a growing hatred, and recognize that all nations are made up of human beings, at different stages of evolution, and conditioned by their background, race andenvironment? Will they be willing to leave each other free to shoulder [31] individual responsibility and yet be willing ever to assist each other as members of one family and as animated by one human spirit, the spirit of God?
Will they be willing to share the produce of the earth, knowing it belongs to all, freely distributing it as nature does? Or will they permit it to fall into the hands of a few powerful nations or a mere handful of powerful men and financial experts? Such are only a few of the questions for which answers must be sought and found. The task looks hard indeed.
Yet there are enough spiritually minded people in the world today to change world attitudes and to bring in the new spiritually creative period. Will these men and women of vision and goodwill arise in their might in every nation and make their voices heard? Will they have the strength, the persistence and the courage to overcome defeatism, to break the chain of hampering theologies - political, social, economic and religious - and work for the good of all peoples? Will they overcome the forces arrayed against them through firm conviction of the stability and potentiality of the human spirit? Will they have faith in the intrinsic worth of humanity? Will they realize that the entire trend of the evolutionary process is sweeping them on to victory? The firm establishment of right human relations is already a determined part of divine purpose and nothing can arrest its eventual appearance. That appearance can, however, be hastened by right and selfless action. [32]
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEM
The psychological problem with which the United States of America is confronted is that of learning to shoulder worldwide responsibility. Both Great Britain and Russia have already learned that lesson in some form.
The American people - as they pass out of the stage of adolescence - must learn the lessons of life through experimentation and resultant experience. This is a lesson that all young people have to learn. The German race is old; the German nation is very young. The Italian people are of ancient origin; the Italian state is historically of very recent date. The accusation of youth (if it is an accusation) is also true of the United States. A great future lies ahead of that nation but not because of material power or commercial efficiency, as many materially-minded people think. The reason lies in a deeply spiritual, innate idealism, enormous humanitarian potentiality and - above all else - because virgin and non-effete stock of largely peasant and middle class origin is determining the race. Steadily in all nations, the power in government and in determining practical ideologies is rapidly passing into the hands of the "people" and out of the hands of the so-called ruling classes and the aristocracy. Countries such as Great Britain and France, which have accepted the determining evolutionary tendencies, can move forward with greater ease into the future than can such countries as Spain and Poland which have been ruled for centuries by a dominant aristocracy and a politically-minded church. The United States of America has no such handicap, except insofar as the laws of capital and finance seek control. The same is largely true of Great Britain.
The roots of the people in the United States are necessarily in other countries because its citizens have [26] originally come out of those countries. They have no indigenous people except the Red Indian who has been ruthlessly dispossessed by the on-rushing tide from other lands. The racial groups within the States still bear the marks of their origin and of their racial heritage; they are psychologically and physically of Italian, British, Finnish, German and other origins. In this fact consists part of the wonder of this rapidly integrating nation.
Like all young people, symbolically speaking, the people of the United States show all the characteristics of adolescence. Again, symbolically speaking, the people of the United States are of the ages seventeen to twenty-four. They shout freedom and still are not free; they refuse to be told what to do because it infringes upon their rights, nevertheless they allow themselves to be guided frequently by the inept, the partisan politician and by the inadequate; they are broadly tolerant and yet most intolerant of other nations; they are ready to tell other nations how to handle their problems but as yet evidence no ability to handle their own, as witness the treatment of the American Negroes and the withholding of equal freedom and opportunity from them. They are restlessly experimenting with all phases of life, with every kind of idea and all kinds of relationships. The creative power of the race shows itself as yet in a wonderful control of nature and in great construction projects which bring water under control, or which relate all parts of this vast country through roads and waterways. America is a great battleground for experiment along creative lines; it is profoundly interested in trying out every kind of ideology. The fight between capital and labor will reach its climax in the United States, but will also be fought out in Great Britain and France. Russia already has her own solution but the lesser nations of the world will be guided and conditioned [27] by the result of this battle in the British Commonwealth of Nations and in the United States.
ORDER MUST BE BROUGHT ABOUT
Order must be brought about in the States and this order will come when freedom is interpreted in terms of self-chosen discipline; a freedom which can turn into license and which is interpreted by each individual in the best interests of himself constitutes a danger to be avoided. It is a danger of which the best minds are deeply aware.
AMERICANS FEELS SUPERIOR
Like all young people, Americans feel superior to more mature fellow nations; they are apt to think that they have a higher idealism, a saner outlook and a greater love of freedom than other nations; they are apt to forget that though there may be some backward nations, there are many nations in the world with as high an idealism, as sound a body of motives, and with a more mature and experienced approach to world problems. Again, like all young people, the American is intensely critical of other people, but often blind to and always resentful of criticism. Yet there is as much to criticize in America as there is in any other nation; all nations have a vast house cleaning to do, and the difficulty at this time is that they must do it alongside of the strict fulfiling of their international relationships. No nation can live unto itself today. If it attempts to do so it treads the way of death and that is the true horror of the isolationist position. Factually today we have one world and this sums up the psychological problem of humanity. The goal is right human relations; nations will stand or fall just in so far as they measure up to that vision. The era ahead of us - under evolutionary law and the will of God - is to see the establishment of right human relations.
We are entering a vast experimental period of discovery; we shall discover just exactly what we are - as [28] nations, in our group relationships, through our expression of religion and in our mode of governments. It will be an intensely difficult era and will be only successfully lived through if each nation will recognize its own internal defects and will handle them with vision and deliberate humanitarian purpose. This means for each nation the overcoming of pride and the attainment of interior unity. Each country today is divided within itself by warring groups - idealists and realists, political parties and farsighted statesmanship, religious groups, fanatically occupied with their own ideas, capital and labor, isolationists and internationalists, people violently against certain groups or nations and others working on behalf of them. The only factor which can eventually and in due time bring harmony and the end of these chaotic conditions is right human relations.
Every country also has much to contribute but as long as that contribution is considered, as it now is, in terms of its commercial value or its political usefulness, that contribution will not be given in aid of right human relations.
Every country must also receive from all other countries. This involves a recognition of certain specific lacks, plus a willingness to take from others on terms of equality. Every country has its own peculiar note which must be brought into unison and swell the great chorus from all the nations. This will only be possible when pure religion is restored and the spiritual impetus, nascent in every nation, is given free expression. This is not yet the case; theological forms still hold the spiritual life.
Every nation, owing to its past history, and to its own deeds and enactments, is closely related to every other nation, and of this fact the U.S.A. is perhaps more expressive than many, because its nationals have come from all the known races. Isolationism was [29] defeated even before it reared its ugly head because the people of America are international by origin and background.