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The First Theosophical Ray is the Ray of strong leadership. This Ray pertains to strength and controls wise government and social organization. The leadership of the Ray rests in Sanat Kumara, the Manasaputra “Lord of the World.” Beneath him resides the Manu, the Hindu term for a primordial man and lawgiver who is the progenitor of each age of the world; in Theosophy each Root Race has its own Manu. Finally, Master Morya works on this Ray. A.G.H.

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Source:

Ellwood, Robert. Theosophy: A modern expression of the wisdom of the ages. Wheaton, IL. Quest Books. 1994. p. 141

 

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The Third Theosophical Ray is the Ray of adaptability and a subtle sense of timing and of interrelationships. Controlling it is the entity Mahachohn who it seems has authority like a Prime Minister over the Third to Seventh Rays since they each affect in some way the mind, bliss or activity. The Masters of these Rays are similar to ministers of his Cabinet. This Ray’s function might be considered astrological; that is, astrology properly being thought of as the science of interconnectedness of all things in the universe, both the movement of the stars and the affairs of men, to some these are interrelated. Also influenced by this Ray is the correct understanding of history and its great cycles. Its Master is known as Venetian. A.G.H.

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Source:

Ellwood, Robert. Theosophy: A modern expression of the wisdom of the ages. Wheaton, IL. Quest Books. 1994. pp. 142

 

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The society was formed in September 1875. Its co-founders were Henry Steele Olcott and William Q. Judge. Its secretary was Helena P. Blavatsky who was the actual instigator of the organization.

 

 

Its name was furnished by Charles Sotheran who was of independent means, a high Mason, a Rosicrucian, and a student of the kabbalah. Sotheran looking through a dictionary, found the word theosophy, a word that was unanimously agreed on at the next meeting because it seemed to express esoteric truth as well as covering the aspects of occult scientific research, both of which were goals of the Society.

After its establishment the Theosophical Society expounded the esoteric tradition of Buddhism aiming to form an universal brotherhood of man, studying and making known the ancient religions, philosophies and sciences, and investigating the laws of nature and divine powers latent in man. The direction of the society was claimed to be directed by the secret Mahatmas or Masters of Wisdom.

Following Olcott the successive international presidents were Annie Besant, G. S. Armdale, C. Jinarajadasa, and in the 1970’s N. Sri Ram.

In 1882 the international headquarters was established in Adyar, Madras, India, with national organizations in more than 60 countries by the 1970’s. The headquarters of the American Theosophical Society is in Wheaton, Ill. There are over 150 branches. At Wheaton there is a Reference and Lending Library. The Society publishes The American Theosophist a monthly magazine.

The three objectives of the Theosophical Society are (1) to form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, or color; (2) to encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy, and science; (3) to investigate unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in man.

The society’s policy is one of complete freedom of individual search and belief. A.G.H.

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Sources: 9, Joy Mills, The Theosophy Society in America 61.

Meade, Marion, Madame Blavatsky: The Woman Behind the Myth, New York, G. P. Putman’s Sons, 1980.
Williams, Gertrude Marvin, Priestess of the Occult: Madame Blavatsky, New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1946

 

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The theosophical concept of evil as stated in The Secret Doctrine by Helena Blavatsky is not the negative result of a thought but rather the opposing Power generated by the “thought per se: something which, being cogitative, and containing design and purpose, is therefore finite, and must thus find itself naturally in opposition to pure quiescence, as the natural state of absolute Spirituality and Perfection.

This opposing Power assumes innumerable shapes or forms which have a variety of immediate effects. Some are willfully enacted such as robbery, lying, cheating, bribing, and killing while others wrongful acts may just be mild human sins of omission when the person fails to alleviate suffering and spread love.

One should be careful when labeling evil especially when ascribing it to various sources. Some suffering, apparently caused by evil, is inherently caused by nature itself such as earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, incurable diseases, animals devoured by predators. Such natural phenomena just exist.

Some define evil as the feeling of what is but should not be. St. Paul described it as the “mystery of iniquity.” Jesus said it was “the abomination…standing where it ought not.”

In human life, according to theosophy, evil prevents something from becoming something it should have become but did not. It stops the individual’s physical attainment of maturity and old age; and, on a deeper level, the enriched spiritual enjoyment of life. The seeing of natural killing of animals by nature in the wild, young soldiers and boys senselessly blown to bits in wars, the horrors of Auschwitz, and victims of plagues and famines hardly supports the concept that life is reasonably controlled. A.G.H.

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Sources:

Campbell, Bruce F. Ancient Wisdom: A History of the Theosophical Movement. Berkeley. University of California Press. 1980 p. 47
Ellwood, Robert. Theosophy: A modern expression of the wisdom of the ages. Wheaton, IL. Quest Books. 1994. pp. 146-147

 

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Theosophic addition is determining the theosophic value of a number by adding together all the figures in a sequence; for example, 4 equals all the digits from 1 to 4 added together thus: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 which together equal 10. A.G.H.

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Source: 2, 303.