The factor that must and will relate the Principle of Conflict to the expression of harmony and bring about the new world order, the new civilisation and culture, is the trend and the voice of public opinion, and the opportunity offered to people everywhere to bring about social security and right human relations. It is not the government of any nation which will bring this about, but the innate rightness of the people themselves when they have been educated to see the issues clearly, the relationships which should be established, and the immense subjective unity of mankind. This will not come about without an intensive period of planned education, of a truly free press and radio—both free to speak the exact truth and to present the facts as they occur, without being controlled or influenced by governmental interference, pressure groups, religious organisations, or by any dictating parties or dictators. The sin of the Roman Catholic Church is its effort to dictate to people what they should think—theologically and politically—what they should do, read and wear; this, to a still greater extent, is the crime of Russia. The mass of the people in the strictly Catholic countries are not as free in their thinking as are those living in the Protestant lands; the Russian people know no freedom and have no opportunity to form their own point of view; commercial interests and expediency impose restrictions in other countries. By means of these sources of control, the growth of true understanding is prevented, distorted or stunted. Curiously enough, the intention of the dictating agents, in both the Catholic Church and in Russia, is basically good; they believe that the uneducated masses are not fitted to decide for themselves what they should hear, think or [623] decide; they must therefore be protected—in the one case by decrees and prohibitions from the Vatican (via the organised priesthood) as to right attitude and right action to be followed without questioning; and in the other, by withholding the truth as to events and happenings. But men are awakening everywhere and—given some sound leadership, which at present is not to be found in any country in the world—they can be trusted to swing the tide into a great harmonising and unifying movement.
As we study the effect of the Principle of Conflict as the instigator of eventual harmony in relation to the nations. let us remember that the widespread extent of the conflict is indicative of climax, that the “points of crisis” which express the conflict are today well known to all men, that a “point of tension” has now been reached (of which the United Nations is a symbol) which will eventually prove to be the agent that will bring about a “point of emergence.” I would ask you to keep these three phrases—descriptive of the working of the Ray of Harmony through Conflict—constantly in mind in relation to developments in your own life, in the life of your nation or of any nation, and in the life of humanity as a whole. They embody the technique whereby the spiritual Hierarchy of our planet brings good out of evil without originating the evil or infringing the free will of mankind.
There are certain nations which are necessarily more responsive to the energy of this fourth ray than some of the others, because it is either the energy which is conditioning their personality activities or that which conditions their soul expression. Forget not that nations are like individuals, expressive of soul and body. The nations responsive to this ray energy are:
India, whose personality or material ray is that of Harmony through Conflict. This could be seen in full expression in that unhappy country during the years 1947-1948. India is old and crystallised in her separativeness, in her myriads of diversified sects and religious groups, in her manifold languages and in her ancient antagonisms; [624] it will be long before there is any basic synthesis or harmony. There lies her problem, and unfortunately she lacks pure disinterested leadership; as is the case elsewhere in the world, party politics and religious cleavages condition her many peoples. The soul energy of India is that of the Will to Power or government, but that spiritual energy will not come into true activity until she has resolved her many differences and has returned to the old ways of spiritual understanding and of enlightened wisdom which distinguished her many centuries ago. India has nearly lost the light, but when she has passed through the coming points of crisis, and has achieved a point of united tension, then she will find the door or point of emergence into light.
The ray governing the soul expression of the German race is that of Harmony through Conflict, but her materialistic personality, focussed in the emotional nature and not yet under control of the soul, is conditioned by the first Ray of Power. Germany as a nation is too young, immature, and negative to realise the true uses of power; she lacks the wisdom to use power, and her sense of inferiority (based on youth) leads her to misuse it when she has it. The German race is very old, and the German leaders during the past one hundred years have confused racial issues and national ambitions. Races are basically subjective, and nations are basically objective. Their leaders have permitted the ideal of power (which is a great spiritual responsibility) to lead them to make the Germanic race synchronise with the German nation. It was this immaturity and this misguided and almost childish ambition which set the Principle of Conflict operating violently through the world war (1914-1945) in order to bring to an end the increasing nationalism of Germany and of all the nations. Great Britain is at the point of emergence from the nationalistic thoughtform; the United States and Russia are arriving—the first at the point of tension where the concept is concerned, and the other at the point of crisis. Germany's point of crisis and of tension led to the explosion of the world war; nevertheless, after due process of pain, of re-education [625] and of training in right human relations, the German people will discover their soul, and then the soul-infused personality of the German people will demonstrate in a unique manner the significance of harmony. The basic and subjective synthesis of the Germanic race must not be confused with the separate nation of the German people, and the underlying emotional and sentimental unity (using the word “sentimental” in its correct sense) must not be confounded with territorial unity. There is a racial and subjective unity between the British Commonwealth of Nations and the United States of America, but this in turn must not be confused with the outer national groupings and aims.
Italy also is influenced by the Ray of Harmony through Conflict because her personality or material expression is conditioned by this ray. During the world war, Italy had a king, a dictator, and a pope, and this produced a vortex of conflict in the highly intelligent Italian people. The dictator is no longer there; the monarchy has also disappeared, and only the continuing voice of the Vatican is left, but—curiously enough—receives less attention in Italy than in the other Catholic countries. Conflict during the centuries has done much for the Italian people, and their highly extraverted psychology has produced in them a balance which may prove most promising in the future. The conflict of thought through which they have passed during the past one hundred years has worked well for them. Torn as they are by party politics, in revolt against ecclesiasticism, and lacking leadership, they are nevertheless well on the way to the resolution of their problem.
When the fourth Ray of Harmony through Conflict is the energy expressing itself through the soul, the indications are that the country concerned is nearing the Path of Discipleship or the Path of Probation. Austria and Germany are nearing the Path of Discipleship; Brazil is on the Path of Probation and will rapidly move forward; Austria is nearer true discipleship than is Germany and, spiritually, Austria has much eventually to give. Spiritual [626] leadership will not be lacking once a measure of security and better living conditions have been assured. Germany has a bitter price to pay because her immaturity and childish interpretation of world affairs, her lack of thinking capacity and her curious innate cruelty permitted the Forces of Evil (temporarily) to work through Germany and precipitate the world conflict. But Germany will recover, provided she does not again permit herself to become a battleground, owing to her strategic position in central Europe. It is for this recovery that all men of goodwill must work.
It is perhaps appropriate to po
int out here that the spiritual forces of the planet do not greatly fear a renewed outbreak of war upon the physical plane. There are many chances that it can be averted because the mounting revolt of the masses against physical plane war, the general fatigue of the nations and the use of the United Nations councils for the ventilation of difficulties and problems may prove effective.
Each of the three Great Powers has its own internal conflict, conditioned by its historical tradition, its national emphases, and its developed habits of thought or—as the case may be—of feeling.
The major conflict in Great Britain at this time is between the reactionary thinkers and those unskilled labourers in the political field who favour the socialistic ideology. This conflict goes deep and is undermining and destroying old forms and producing intense national friction in all groups and parties. One group is fighting to preserve the old order; the other group is fighting fiercely to abolish all the old ways in the shortest possible time; other groups are fighting for their various ideologies and complicating the problem. The interesting thing is that the conflict is largely between party leaders and their immediate convinced followers, with the mass of people questioning the wisdom, the capacity and the activities of both groups and slowly deciding that they like and desire neither of them, but (lacking real leadership) they know not what [627] to do. The predisposing characteristic of the British is a sense of justice and it is for this that the people seek. They find, however, that neither party has an effective plan or programme, that both are animated by party politics, and that the interests of the people as a whole which could be served by a wise coalition are not of major importance to the present party leaders. This internal conflict is slowly, however, going to produce a harmony of purpose and of intention within the mind of the population; this will largely be the result of the increasing power of women in the land and their increasing penetration in municipal and national politics. The quality of the British historical retrospect has been predominantly masculine. Today the balancing factor of feminine interpretation and the feminine point of view is needed and will be provided. Great Britain, from the angle of its personality or material problem, is governed by the energy or Ray of Will or Power, whilst the soul of the country is conditioned by the Ray of Love-Wisdom. In this you have the presentation of a positive and a negative energy, and when they are fused and blended you will have a balance and a wisdom which is at present lacking.
In France, where the contributing rays are both along the line of the intellect, you have necessarily and naturally a strong materialistic influence and the conflict there is hard to resolve. It is ever the mind aspect which produces all the separativeness, the cleavages and the differences in the human arena in France, making it the playground of untold numbers of conflicting ideas, a diversity of groups and of clashing personalities, and leading to an intense preoccupation with France and its welfare; there is small interest in anything else, or in any other nations or groups, except as they affect France or the French people. The French are in no way as yet ready to balance conflict with harmony, even interiorly. The qualities of the mind—pride, self-centredness, a separative attitude, a selfish planning and a materialism which penetrates deep into the mass consciousness—are dominating in their activity and are [628] focussed upon the material well-being of France. There is no dominant ideology, so that the conflict is not lifted on to the ideological level, and until a recognised idealism begins to sway the French mind and the mass consciousness, France cannot grow; there is no basic religious or spiritual sense to be found on a large scale, because the mind which can so inspiringly illumine the plane of the spirit is focussed primarily upon the three worlds of material living. This pronounced activity of the intellect, of which the French are so proud, is largely responsible for the situation in the political and economic fields in France, plus the difficulties which they share with all the nations which were implicated in the war. Any prospect of internal harmony is still far away but it will come. Forget not what I wrote much earlier in one of my books that it is France which will eventually reveal the true nature of the soul or of the psyche and inaugurate the era of true esoteric psychology. To do this she must inevitably find her own soul, and in finding it—through the medium of the illumined mind—she will bring light to humanity. The conflict now raging in France will eventually be resolved into harmony, and France will awaken to the higher spiritual values. Once her soul ray of pure knowledge is active, it will dominate her personality or material Ray of Active Intelligence, once the most powerful of all the rays. The task of the Ray of Harmony through Conflict is to bring this about, thus releasing France into the light.
In the United States, this fourth energy is peculiarly active, because of the conflict of races, nations, ideas, political theories, immature development, corrupt politics, and childish selfishness; this is more prevalent among the leaders in the municipalities and in politics than it is among the masses of little people in every state, who are basically sound though easily misled by their so-called leaders; the southern states are, however, almost unbelievably degenerated and deluded. Remember always, as we look at these various nations dispassionately, that we are concerned with the same trends and ideas which are to be [629] found in each individual aspirant—the conflict of ingrained personality habits and thoughts and faults, with a steadily increasing soul pressure. 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.
It is interesting to note the unusual alignment of ray energies to be found at this time in the United States: [630]
The energy of the soul...Ray of Love-Wisdom...Ray II
The energy of the personality...Ray of Idealism...Ray VI
The energy 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 dualities of the first line of ray energy—l, 3, 5, 7—which are governed by Will or Power. The American civilisation, with all its clamour of youthful precocity, is in reality the heir of the passing sixth ray civilisation, 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 harmonise 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.
Russia is, if you could but realise 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 their own particular conflict, and then moving forward in an effort to harmonise with each other and the rest of the world.
The Rays and the Initiations Page 67