5th Ray, Concrete Knowledge

5th Ray, Concrete Knowledge, green colour.

The fifth ray is the ray of disclosure: knowledge that is shared so that all can access it. Professions included among the exponents of the 5th ray are: teachers, professors, tourist guides, museum guides, lecturers; all those who feel the urge to explain things to people, illustrating the concepts to them, helping to disseminate what the exponents of the third ray (therefore scientists and researchers) have previously discovered in the solitude of their laboratories. The fifth ray fixes and diffuses.

One of its refractions was and still is, spreading knowledge without common sense in a reckless manner to the point of "squandering" it or making a purely speculative and dangerous use of it. Spreading knowledge without criteria turns out to be dangerous and misleading: negative and unpleasant effects can occur in listeners who are not ready and prepared to understand and comprehend certain information. Then there may be ill-intentioned people maliciously using this information and misusing it. The fifth ray is the ray of the academic career, of great libraries and bookstores. The fifth ray is popular knowledge, which unfortunately often, instead of helping true education, transforms into a one-way instruction, imparted by completely forgetting the maieutic part.

Let's simply look at how traditional state schools work nowadays, at least here in Italy. As mentioned above, one of the refractions of the fifth ray was the reckless diffusion of knowledge; this pushed the sixth ray to constitute the castes, distinct and separated by degree/level, trying to match the degree of knowledge disclosed with the level of the people to whom it was delivered. Yet another refraction of the 5th ray was the belief of being capable to describe all of creation according to measurable and quantifiable laws, explaining life through so-called science.

A story for the 5th ray:

Stephane's grandfather Piero used to spend hours and hours in the basement of the house. He spent entire days using the microscope, meticulously observing the micro-worlds visible to him, and mixing substances in stills and ampoules. He wrote down all the different reactions that occurred along with detailed information, explanations, processes and chemical formulas. One day Stephane asked his grandfather: “Have you ever thought about telling these things to the people? To tell what you do? To explain your discoveries to others?” The grandfather jolted, his gaze darkened and took a few steps back clutching his personal notebook tightly to his chest; he replied: "Do you think the others could understand? No I don't think so. I'm not interested in people knowing all this... I'm interested in knowing that it IS like this, then later I'll do something with it... maybe. No one would understand, then how... how.. what do you mean by explaining? How am I supposed to explain? What should I explain.. where to start.. how.. no no look.. it's not my thing.” The young nephew was thus silenced, he was disappointed and more than anything taken aback. Stephane felt a twinge in the center of his chest thinking about sharing his grandfather's knowledge with others... and giving and donating these pearls to the world. He thought that every pearl would be an extra light, and he had the intimate conviction that thanks to his grandfather's science he could describe every event of all of Nature be it human, vegetal, mineral and animal. He imagined audiences of people in front of whom he could share his knowledge and experience: telling the world how things work, and making it known and showing how things work. He thought he could describe everything, thoughts, emotions and the functioning of every mechanism inherent in the human being. Everything was explainable and describable by the wonderful science of which the grandfather was an exponent and bearer.

Stephane wrote books, gave conferences and university lectures but one day an event happened that shocked him. After a very tiring and straining day he decided to take a walk to get away for a bit; Stephane took the main road and, walking immersed in a chaos of thoughts, confused states of mind and conflicting emotions, ended up without realising it by deviating from the main road. At a certain point he felt that something was different, the sounds of the cars were not there, the smell of exhaust gas had disappeared. He didn't even know why he was doing it, but his hands went to his feet to take off his shoes and socks. The damp earth made contact with the bare sole of his feet and a sensation of electric freshness scented with musk quickly rose inside his body, expanding deep into the muscles and beyond the skin. It was as if many small microscopic fizzing bubbles surrounded him and crackled around his body. For a moment he tried to explain the phenomenon according to the scientific laws that he knew so well but he soon realised that he didn't understand. As he projected his mind towards those thoughts, the new sensations tended to vanish.. he then immediately closed his eyes, became silent.. and then the melodious silence from before returned to visit him. Stephane smiled. He didn't rationally understand well what was happening, but he felt it very well, and he recognised it. Somewhere inside him there was something that said “yes!”. He continued on, walking barefoot on the soft, damp earth. He arrived at the edge of the woods, at the edge of a clearing he sat down on a rock and a voice began to speak to him. It was melodious, and seemed to come from a woman who was wise and ancient but young at the same time. He told him of the wind and the stars, and reached a place in Stephane that he didn't even remember having, or having had. This part was located approximately between the heart and the sternum, and resembled an archaic and modern shore, happy and melancholy, strong and safe. Stephane understood that this experience could not really be fully explained with any mathematical formula, or chemical reaction, or long-winded description of standardized events; there was something that escaped his analytical ability; he certainly would have loved to be able to share what he had just experienced but he didn't know how, nor did he know if it was the case. So he returned to his house, went to bed full and satisfied with the strange but beautiful day, and let himself drift off to sleep, knowing that life was much more than what he was certain he knew until now. A few months later, he found himself teaching at the high school in his town. He was happy to be able to transmit his knowledge to his students, but he no longer had the expectation of being able to explain every small infinitesimal detail thanks to his knowledge; he always left a glimmer of light for something else, for a mystery that surprises and shocks outside the beaten track.

A poem for the 5th Ray.

Once upon a time there was a scientist
he spoke, he spread variegated knowledge
of red, blue, green and yellow shades
waking at dawn with the rooster crowing
he had discovered great secrets
he wanted to explain them to young people and priests
he wanted to show that
what in the monasteries they used to only pray
could be measured and be proven
he persisted in divulging everything of his knowledge
direct and stubborn in wanting to prove
that life was only what you could see…

…one day, however, the mystery touched him
not knowing what it was he jumped and jolted
but this sensation was so beautiful and ungovernable
that the scientist could only surrender
to the inexplicable amazement and wonder,
not explainable but certainly liveable.