Maha Chohan

Maha Chohan means Great Lord. It is the name of an office rather than of a person. The Master who holds it oversees the seven Chohans of the rays, and represents the Holy Spirit to humanity and to the whole kingdom of nature. Of all the Masters he is the one most often described simply as comforting.

His presence is felt as warmth, breath and gentle wind. Students who call on him in grief often say that they did not receive an explanation of their loss, but that for the first time since it happened they could breathe all the way out.

The Great Lord

Each of the seven rays has its Chohan, the Master who administers it for the Earth and trains the souls developing along it. The Maha Chohan stands above all seven and holds them in balance. If the rays are the colors of a prism, he is the white light that has not yet been divided. Through him the work of the seven Chohans is coordinated, so that no single quality is developed in humanity at the expense of the others.

The teachings say less about his embodiments than about his office. He is said to have prepared for it through many quiet lives close to the land, as a herdsman, a gardener and a keeper of sacred fire, and to have learned in them the patient attention that the kingdom of nature requires.

The Comforter

In the Christian scriptures the Holy Spirit is called the Comforter, and it is pictured as breath, wind, fire and a descending dove. The ascension teachings regard the Maha Chohan as the one who carries that presence for the Earth. He is said to be present at every first breath and every last one, and to hold the breath of life in trust for every creature that breathes.

For this reason the simplest of all practices, conscious breathing, is regarded as a way of drawing near to him. Each breath taken with gratitude is, in the teachings' phrase, a receiving of the Spirit.

The Maha Chohan and Nature

The Maha Chohan is also the representative of the Holy Spirit to the kingdom of nature: to the plants and animals, and to the elemental beings that the teachings describe as tending earth, water, air and fire. He is close to all who garden, farm, care for animals or work to protect the living world, and he works alongside Archangel Ariel in that service.

The teachings make a point that is easy to overlook. The elemental beings are said to carry much of the weight of human discord, and the Maha Chohan asks those on the path to remember them with love: to give thanks for water, for air and for the ground underfoot.

What the Maha Chohan Teaches

• Breathe as if each breath were given to you. It is.
• Comfort is not weakness. It is strength offered gently.
• The living world is not scenery. It is your family.
• Balance is not a compromise between qualities. It is all of them, whole.

When to Call on the Maha Chohan

• Comfort in grief and loss
• Calming the breath in anxiety or panic
• Restoring balance when one part of life has crowded out the rest
• Care of gardens, animals and the natural world
• The gifts of the Spirit: inspiration, discernment, healing and joy

How to Work With the Maha Chohan

Sit or lie comfortably. Breathe in slowly through the nose and picture white light entering with the breath and filling the chest. Breathe out slowly and let the light spread through the whole body. On each in-breath, say inwardly: I receive. On each out-breath: I give thanks. Continue for seven breaths. If you are grieving, let the tears come. They are not an interruption of the practice. They are part of it.

A note of care. The Maha Chohan's comfort is real, and it works alongside human help, not instead of it. If grief or anxiety is overwhelming, please reach out to someone you trust or to a qualified professional.

An Invocation

Beloved Maha Chohan, Great Lord of the seven rays,
breathe through me the breath of the Spirit.
Comfort what is grieving in me,
balance what has grown uneven,
and make me a gentle presence on the Earth.

A Word From the Maha Chohan

You do not have to be strong in my presence. Many of you have been strong for so long that you have forgotten you were allowed to rest.

Breathe out. All the way. I am here at the bottom of the breath, where you are afraid there is nothing. There is something. There is me.

Received by Ilse Varrow

Related Entries

• Pallas Athena
• Archangel Ariel
• The Seven Rays
• The Spiritual Hierarchy