Serapis Bey
Encyclopedia
Serapis Beyhttp://farm3.static.flickr.com/2528/3694324991_3702798130.jpg , sometimes written as Serapis, is regarded in Theosophy
as being one of the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom
; and in the Ascended Master Teachings
is considered to be an Ascended Master
and member of the Great White Brotherhood
. He is regarded as the Chohan (or Lord) of the Fourth Ray (see Seven Rays
). C.W. Leadbeater wrote that Henry Steele Olcott was given occult
training by Serapis Bey when his own master, Morya
, was unavailable. A series of alleged letters from Serapis to Olcott encouraging him to support Blavatsky in the founding of The Theosophical Society were published in the book Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom.
who migrated to Egypt
at the time of the destruction of Atlantis
. It is also believed that he was incarnated as the Egyptian Pharaoh
Amenhotep III
(who constructed the Temple of Luxor to the god Amon
) and also as Leonidas, the King
of Sparta
, who was killed in 480 BC defending the pass of Thermopylae
against the invasion of Greece
by Xerxes I, Emperor
of the Persian Empire.
According teachings of Agni Yoga, Serapis Bey was in past lives the roman King Numa Pompilius, the philosophers Confucius, Plato and Lucius Anneus Seneca. He is referred in the book Supermundane as "The Thinker".
believe that Serapis Bey, after being killed as Leonidas in the battle of Thermopylae, immediately reembodied as Phidias
(c.480 BC - c.430 BC), the greatest of all classical Greek sculptors. He then attained his Ascension, becoming an Ascended Master
about 400 BC
.
who was the syncretic
Hellenistic/Egyptian
god
created by King Ptolemy I to be the deity
of his capital city of Alexandria
. Serapis was the patron deity of the Library of Alexandria.
s are on the fourth ray of harmony and beauty, which Serapis Bey is said to oversee as Chohan. In the teachings of Alice A. Bailey the fourth ray is called the ray of harmony through conflict. Ascended Master Teachings
organizations consider Serapis Bey to be the Chohan of the Fourth Ray of Purity, Harmony, and Discipline.
maintains that the "Masters" that Helena Blavatsky wrote about and produced letters from were actually idealizations of people who were her mentor
s.
Also see the article “Talking to the Dead and Other Amusements” by Paul Zweig New York Times October 5, 1980, which maintains that Helena Blavatsky's revelations were fraudulent.
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
as being one of the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom
Masters of the Ancient Wisdom
The Masters of the Ancient Wisdom are reputed to be enlightened beings originally identified by the Theosophists Helena Blavatsky, Henry S. Olcott, Alfred P. Sinnett, and others. These Theosophists claimed to have met some of the so-called Masters during their lifetimes in different parts of the...
; and in the Ascended Master Teachings
Ascended Master Teachings
The students of "Ascended Master Teachings" organizations believe that the Presence of Life/God - Individualizes as the "I AM", and incarnates throughout the created universes until it achieves The Ascension . The "Teachings" as all Religious Teachings.....
is considered to be an Ascended Master
Ascended master
Ascended Masters, in the Ascended Master Teachings is derived from the Theosophical concept of Masters of the Ancient Wisdom or "Mahatmas", though they differ in important aspects...
and member of the Great White Brotherhood
Great White Brotherhood
The Great White Brotherhood, in belief systems akin to Theosophical and New Age, are said to be supernatural beings of great power who spread spiritual teachings through selected humans. The members of the Brotherhood may be known as the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom or the Ascended Masters...
. He is regarded as the Chohan (or Lord) of the Fourth Ray (see Seven Rays
Seven Rays
The seven rays is an occult concept that has appeared in several religions and esoteric philosophies, since at least the 6th century BCE, of the Aryan peoples in both Western culture and in India...
). C.W. Leadbeater wrote that Henry Steele Olcott was given occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
training by Serapis Bey when his own master, Morya
Morya
Morya, one of the "Masters of the Ancient Wisdom" spoken of in modern Theosophy and in the Ascended Master Teachings is considered one of the "Ascended Masters." He is also known as the "Chohan of the First Ray" . Morya first became known to the modern world when H. P...
, was unavailable. A series of alleged letters from Serapis to Olcott encouraging him to support Blavatsky in the founding of The Theosophical Society were published in the book Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom.
Incarnations
It is thought that Serapis Bey was incarnated as a high priest in one of the "Temples of the Sacred Fire" on AtlantisAtlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
who migrated to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
at the time of the destruction of Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
. It is also believed that he was incarnated as the Egyptian Pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
Amenhotep III
Amenhotep III
Amenhotep III also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty. According to different authors, he ruled Egypt from June 1386 to 1349 BC or June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC after his father Thutmose IV died...
(who constructed the Temple of Luxor to the god Amon
Amon
Amon can refer to:* Amun, an Ancient Egyptian deity, also known as Amon and Amon Ra* Amon , a Goetic demon* Amon * Former name of the band Deicide* Amon of Judah, king of Judah and son of Manasseh...
) and also as Leonidas, the King
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
of Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
, who was killed in 480 BC defending the pass of Thermopylae
Thermopylae
Thermopylae is a location in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur springs. "Hot gates" is also "the place of hot springs and cavernous entrances to Hades"....
against the invasion of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
by Xerxes I, Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
of the Persian Empire.
According teachings of Agni Yoga, Serapis Bey was in past lives the roman King Numa Pompilius, the philosophers Confucius, Plato and Lucius Anneus Seneca. He is referred in the book Supermundane as "The Thinker".
Ascension
Adherents of the Ascended Master TeachingsAscended Master Teachings
The students of "Ascended Master Teachings" organizations believe that the Presence of Life/God - Individualizes as the "I AM", and incarnates throughout the created universes until it achieves The Ascension . The "Teachings" as all Religious Teachings.....
believe that Serapis Bey, after being killed as Leonidas in the battle of Thermopylae, immediately reembodied as Phidias
Phidias
Phidias or the great Pheidias , was a Greek sculptor, painter and architect, who lived in the 5th century BC, and is commonly regarded as one of the greatest of all sculptors of Classical Greece: Phidias' Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World...
(c.480 BC - c.430 BC), the greatest of all classical Greek sculptors. He then attained his Ascension, becoming an Ascended Master
Ascended master
Ascended Masters, in the Ascended Master Teachings is derived from the Theosophical concept of Masters of the Ancient Wisdom or "Mahatmas", though they differ in important aspects...
about 400 BC
400 BC
Year 400 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Esquilinus, Capitolinus, Vulso, Medullinus, Saccus and Vulscus...
.
Identification with the Hellenistic deity Serapis
Serapis Bey has been identified by Theosophists and those adherent to the Ascended Master Teachings with the god SerapisSerapis
Serapis or Sarapis is a Graeco-Egyptian name of God. Serapis was devised during the 3rd century BC on the orders of Ptolemy I of Egypt as a means to unify the Greeks and Egyptians in his realm. The god was depicted as Greek in appearance, but with Egyptian trappings, and combined iconography...
who was the syncretic
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
Hellenistic/Egyptian
Egyptian mythology
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians' interaction with a multitude of deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, the forces and elements of nature...
god
God (male deity)
A god, as a male deity, contrasts with female deities, or "goddesses". While the term 'goddess' specifically refers to a female deity, the plural 'gods' can be applied to all gods collectively, regardless of gender....
created by King Ptolemy I to be the deity
God (male deity)
A god, as a male deity, contrasts with female deities, or "goddesses". While the term 'goddess' specifically refers to a female deity, the plural 'gods' can be applied to all gods collectively, regardless of gender....
of his capital city of Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. Serapis was the patron deity of the Library of Alexandria.
Function in the spiritual hierarchy
C.W. Leadbeater wrote that many artistArtist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
s are on the fourth ray of harmony and beauty, which Serapis Bey is said to oversee as Chohan. In the teachings of Alice A. Bailey the fourth ray is called the ray of harmony through conflict. Ascended Master Teachings
Ascended Master Teachings
The students of "Ascended Master Teachings" organizations believe that the Presence of Life/God - Individualizes as the "I AM", and incarnates throughout the created universes until it achieves The Ascension . The "Teachings" as all Religious Teachings.....
organizations consider Serapis Bey to be the Chohan of the Fourth Ray of Purity, Harmony, and Discipline.
Skeptical view
The scholar K. Paul JohnsonK. Paul Johnson
Kenneth Paul Johnson is a historian of esotericism who has written books on Theosophy and Edgar Cayce. He was a member of both the Theosophical Society and the Association for Research and Enlightenment from the late 1970s intermittently through the early 2000s. In 2005 he joined the Church of...
maintains that the "Masters" that Helena Blavatsky wrote about and produced letters from were actually idealizations of people who were her mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
s.
Also see the article “Talking to the Dead and Other Amusements” by Paul Zweig New York Times October 5, 1980, which maintains that Helena Blavatsky's revelations were fraudulent.
Sources
- Leadbeater, C.W. The Masters and the Path Adyar, Madras, India: 1925 Theosophical Publishing House
- Prophet, Mark L. and Elizabeth Clare Lords of the Seven Rays Livingston, Montana, U.S.A.:1986 - Summit University Press
Further reading
- Campbell, Bruce F. A History of the Theosophical Movement Berkeley:1980 University of California Press
- Godwin, Joscelyn. The Theosophical Enlightenment Albany, New York: 1994 State University of New York Press
- Johnson, K. Paul The Masters Revealed: Madam Blavatsky and Myth of the Great White Brotherhood Albany, New York: 1994 State University of New York Press
- Melton, J. Gordon Encyclopedia of American Religions 5th Edition New York:1996 Gale Research ISBN 0-8103-7714-4 ISSN 1066-1212 Chapter 18--"The Ancient Wisdom Family of Religions" Pages 151-158; see chart on page 154 listing Masters of the Ancient Wisdom; Also see Section 18, Pages 717-757 Descriptions of Various Ancient Wisdom Religious Organizations