ARCANE TEACHING/PART 2

 

Part II.

The Cosmos.

Lesson  IV.  The  Manifestation. Lesson V. The Cosmic Will. Lesson  VI.  Involution  and  Evolution.

 

 

 

 

 

Lesson IV.

The Manifestation.

This is the Arcane Teaching regarding the process whereby the  Unmanifest becomes Manifest; the Latency becomes Activity; the Possibility becomes Actuality; the Potentiality becomes Reality; the Promise becomes Fulfilment. Listen to the Aphorism:

Aphorism vi. “During the aeons of the Cosmic Night, The Law dwells Alone, in solitude; The Cosmos remains resolved into its condition of the Unmanifest—the Infinity of Nothingness. Then comes  the  dawn,  when  The Law superimposes  the  Infinity  of Nothingness,  and  causes  the  Unmanifest  to  become  Manifest; the Nothing to become Everything; Latency to become Activity; Potentiality to become Reality; Promise to become Fulfilment.”

At the extreme swing of the pendulum of Rhythm—at the point of the Cycle in which End fades into Beginning—the climax of the Cosmic Night is reached in the form of Absolute Rest, extending over æons of time. Then after the æons of Absolute Rest come the first activities of the future Cosmic Day. During  the Cosmic Night,  as  the  Aphorism  states:  “The  Law dwells  Alone,  in solitude; The  Cosmos  remains  resolved into its condition of the Unmanifest—the Infinity of Nothingness.” Then begin the first stirrings of the birth of the new Cosmic Day, which the Aphorism describes as follows:

“Then comes the dawn, when The  Law  superimposes the Infinity of Nothingness, and causes the Unmanifest to become Manifest; the Nothing to become Everything; Latency to become Reality;  Promise to become Fulfilment.”

Let us consider what is meant by the words  of  the  Aphorism.

The first step of the new activities is indicated by the words: “The Law superimposes the Infinity of Nothingness.” These words, at first consideration, would seem to indicate a decided action of The  Law  in the direction of “superimposing” Infinity. But such is not the Arcane Teaching. The Teachers hold that The Law  exerts  no  different  degree  or  kind  of  power  at  the  period of dawn, than at the period of dusk; no more at the period of high-noon, than at the period of midnight. During the Cosmic Day and Cosmic Night, The Law is unchangeable and constant in its power and influence. The difference is caused by the Cyclic Swing, or Rhythmic Movement, in the Cosmos itself, Manifest or Unmanifest. The  Law  is  over  and  above  Rhythm or Cyclicity, or any of the Seven Laws, and is Changeless. The Cosmos, on the contrary is under  the Seven Laws superimposed by The  Law, and is Changeable—Constantly Changing. The difference in the degree of power received from The  Law  is due to the changing condition of the Cosmos, or Infinity.

In  order  to  understand  what  has  been  said,  let  us  imagine a mighty magnet, constant in its power, and invariable in its manifestations of magnetic force  upon all within  its  magnetic field.  Then let us  imagine an  Infinity of infinitessimal particles of steel-filings, separated from the magnet by a glass watch-cover. Let us suppose that owing to the operation of some unknown magnetic  law,  the  receptivity  of the steel particles changes in rhythmic periods, or in cyclic recurrence. In that case, it would follow that, although the power of the magnet were unchangeable and its manifestations invariable, still the action of the steel-particles would cause it to appear otherwise. For at times there would be a marked degree of power shown, and at other times a much less  degree would be exhibited—but  the difference  would  be  in  the  nature  of  the  steel-particles,  and  not  in that of the magnet.

Or, suppose, that the Earth were to manifest varying degrees of receptivity to the Attraction of Gravitation of the Sun—then while it would seem to be a varying degree of power of the sun, the difference would really be caused by the changes in the Earth,  the  Sun  remaining  constant  and  invariable  all  the  time. In these two examples, may be seen the nature of the action of The Law upon the Cosmos, or Infinity.

Some of the occult schools who have been influenced by the Arcane  Teaching,  hold  that  The  Law  is  attracted  by  Infinity,  or the Cosmos, just as the latter is  by The  Law. In other words, they hold that there is a  mutual attraction and effect—an action and a reaction—a reciprocal action. But this is incorrect. The Law is never attracted or affected in any way by the Cosmos, or Infinity. It is Absolute and beyond mutual Relationship. Were the Cosmos and Infinity not to exist, The Law would not vary a particle in any way whatsoever. Its Absoluteness raises it above Relations. But while this is so, the fact of the constant outpouring of the Power of The  Law causes the Cosmos to be affected by it, just as are the steel-filings by the Magnet. According to Rhythm, the degree of Power received by the Cosmos must vary—but The Law changes not. In fact, the Seven Laws, themselves, which produce these changes in the Cosmos, are a part of the action and power of The  Law, as experienced by the Cosmos—they are superimposed by The  Law.

The  Aphorism  says:  “The  Law  superimposes  the  Infinity  of Nothingness.” What is meant by “superimposes”? The word “super” means “over, or above”; and “impose” means “to lay or place upon.”  “Superimpose”  means  “to place upon from  above,” or as used in the Aphorism: “To influence from above.” In other words, the Infinity of Nothingness, or Unmanifest Cosmos, owing to the influence of Rhythm and Cyclicity, begins once more to  experience  the  active  radiation of  the Power of The Law, which serves to vitalize and energize it, and thus begins the dawn of the new Cosmic Day—and the beginnings of the new Universal Life, or Cosmic Will.

In order to understand this awakening, or stirring into activity of the Cosmos, which dwells latent within the Womb of the Infinity of Nothingness, let us consider the Three Principles of the Cosmos, from which all forms, shapes, combinations and varieties of manifestation arise. These “Three Principles” are as follows: (1) The Cosmic Principle of Substance; (2) the Cosmic Principle of Motion; (3) the Cosmic Principle of Consciousness. These Three Principles are Unmanifest during the Cosmic Night, but awaken into nascency and activity with the first thrill of the dawn of the new Cosmic Day. In the end, and at the last, these Three must be considered as phases of One. But that One, in itself, is but the reflection, so to speak, of The Law, although not by any means to be considered as being “qualities” or  “phases” of The  Law. The  Law  has no  “qualities” or “phases”—it is over and above these things, which are but the aspects of Infinity, or the Cosmos. The Three Principles are fundamental in all manifestations of the Cosmos, from lowest to highest—from the simplest to the most complex. Wherever is found any manifestation of the Cosmos, there is and must be found the  presence of the Three Principles in  some  degree of development or activity. If you prefer, you may think of the Cosmos as  consisting of merely these Three Principles, manifest or unmanifest. These Three Principles we can never know of themselves—we know them only through and by their manifestations. Let us consider them in detail, by the light of the  Arcane Teaching.

I. The  First  Principle—Substance.  Substance, as  the term  is used in the Arcane Teaching, means the underlying “body” of things—their  material  quality.  Everything that is manifested in the Cosmos has its “body” or material quality. Substance includes all that we may think of as Matter, in its various degrees of  solidity, or lack of solidity—from the hardest steel or granite, to the most rarefied gas or vapor known to science. It includes all that science dares to think of as material body, even in the  highest  flights  of  its  reason  or  imagination—and  then all that lies beyond those conceptions. The field of substance recognized by science, as compared with the real extent of the Principle of Substance, is as no more than a hair-line drawn across a yard-stick. There are forms of matter as much more solid and dense than steel or granite, as the latter are more solid and dense than hydrogen gas. And at the other end of the scale there are forms  of substance that could not be described in words, so near akin to Nothing are they. Between these two extremes there lies a  bewildering number of degrees. That which science calls  electricity and other subtle forms of energy, are not “energy” at all, but merely energy or motion manifesting through subtle forms of substance, which act as its body. There are forms of substance many times finer and rarer than even these. There are bodies worn by beings on higher planes which are finer and rarer than electricity. Even the ordinary Astral Bodies of beings on our own plane and stage of development, are far rarer and finer than is electricity, or the finest rays of light or magnetism. These bodies are just as real as is the piece of the hardest steel through which they may pass as easily as the X Ray passes through stone. The Universal Ether, which science assumes to be the extreme limit, and infinity, of subtle tenuity and fineness, is solid and compact when compared with many of the higher forms of substance. So much for Manifest Substance.

Unmanifest Substance is held by the Arcanes to be identical with Pure Space. In the preceding Lesson, you have seen that Pure Space is considered as Nothing. This Nothing is merely the extreme  limit  of  the  fineness  or rareness of Substance. Space is not a mere idea—it is substance carried to its extreme highest limit. The Arcanes do not object to the term Abstract Substance, although they do not regard “abstract” as meaning “not.” One of the old Egyptian Hierophants was once asked by the Ruler of Egypt: “What is that which would exist were there no universe; no gods; no anything?” His answer was “Space!” And this Pure Space is the Unmanifest Cosmos, in its aspect or principle of Substance.

II. The Second Principle—Motion. Motion, as the term is used in the Arcane Teaching, means the underlying “energy; force; or motive power” of things—their quality of action. Motion, in the Arcane Teaching is the Principle in which is gathered the cause  of  all  that  we  know  under  the  names  of Energy; Force; Motive Power; Action; Activity; Attraction; Repulsion; of any and all kinds or degrees. Without Motion there could be no activities, energy or force of any kind. We are familiar with many manifestations of the Principle of Motion, such as Gravitation; Cohesion; Chemical Affinity; Electronic Attraction; Expansion; Contraction; Centrifugal and Centripetal Force; the Motive Force or Energy of Light, Heat, Electricity, Magnetism; the Energy of the Ultra-Electric Rays; etc. But these are only a very small fraction of the forms and varieties of energy and force known to the advanced students of the Arcane Teachings, not to speak of the Masters, or those on  higher  planes  of  life. There  are  Finer Forces not dreamt of by even the  most daring scientist. Motion, like  Substance,  is  found  in  each  and  every  manifestation of the Cosmos. Wherever there is Substance there is Motion. In its highest form of  manifestation  Motion manifests in  vibrations of such exceedingly high degree and effect that there seems to be a condition of Absolute Rest.  This  condition is  the  one  existing before the first stirrings of the dawn of the new Cosmic Day. Motion is then Motionless, to all intents and purposes,—but it has not perished or been destroyed.  It is Motion in Latency.

There is no such thing as Absolute Rest in the  Manifest  Cosmos, but in the Unmanifest Cosmos there is Motion of so high a degree that it seems motionless and at rest. Thus do extremes meet, in Infinity. When the Cosmos becomes manifest, Motion decreases  its rate of action or vibration, thus manifestation is really a lowering in the scale of Motion; just as manifestation is a lowering in the scale of Substance. There must first be Involution before there is Evolution, of both Substance and Motion.

III. The Third Principle—Consciousness. Consciousness as the term is used in the Arcane Teaching, means the principle of “awareness” or “mind action” of things—their quality of mentalizing or consciousing, or becoming “aware” of other things, inner and outer. We are familiar with the form and degree of consciousness manifested in ourselves and other human beings, and we recognize different shades and degrees in this. We know a little about consciousness in the lower animals, in varying degrees. And some of us know of the degrees of consciousness in plants, in varying degrees. And, those who have studied  along  occult lines have become aware of the existence of mind and  consciousness in so-called inanimate objects—the minerals, metals, etc., and even in the atoms—and finally in the Ether. Everything in the Manifest Cosmos has some degree of Consciousness. But there are many other higher and lower degrees of Consciousness, than those just  mentioned. From the Unconscious-Consciousness of the Cosmic Night, when the Cosmos is conscious of Nothing, because there is but Nothing of which to  be conscious; to the moment of the High Noon of the Cosmic Day, when the Cosmos is fully conscious of itself as a whole—the extreme of Cosmic Consciousness; there is a scale impossible for man to grasp by reason or imagination. There are degrees  and  planes  of  Consciousness  awaiting  the  Advancing Ego,  which transcend  any  possible  dream  or  picture. The  race has just begun to manifest Consciousness worthy of the name. It is just beginning to enter into the glorious possibilities of Cosmic Consciousness—it is just “beginning to begin.”

And, so, when “The Law superimposes the Infinity of Nothingness,” the stirrings of Manifestation are felt by the Unmanifest. The Three Principles of the Cosmos are awakened into activity—Substance, Motion, and Consciousness  begin to combine and become active. There is manifested an unrest and tendency to stir into activity the latent possibilities of the Cosmos. Consciousness begins to awaken from its slumber of ages, and strives to know itself, and to realize its being. This imparts  activity  to  Motion,  which  lowers  its  vibrations  in  its effort to manifest itself. This bestirs Substance into changing degrees of being. Thus do the first indications of the Cosmic Day begin to manifest themselves. From thence onward, throughout  the  Cosmic  Day,  until its close, there is constant change of form, shape and degree of Substance; constant change in manifestation of Motion; constant change in manifestation of Consciousness.

This first stirring of Cosmic activity has been symbolized by the first stirring of the embryo within its temporary home, in which it has lain quietly since its conception. It is the first signs of the sprouting of the tiny seed of the plant. It is the peculiar, weird and mysterious light which precedes the first actual glimmer of the rising sun. Creation is beginning. The Cosmic Will or Universal Life Principle is becoming active. The birth of the new Cosmos is approaching. The One Life is arousing itself. Infinity is preparing to become Manifest. The “0” is evolving into the ∞.

In the  Manifestation  of  the  Cosmos  there  is  exhibited an infinitude of variety, degrees, shapes, form, and combinations of the Three Principles. It almost staggers the imagination to think of the fact that in the entire Cosmos there is never a single instance of exact duplication—there are never two things precisely alike. In view of this fact does it not seem folly to endeavor to make human beings adhere to a common standard—to fit into a common mould—to be cut from a common pattern?

And yet through the entire Cosmos there is ever manifest the Law of Analogy—that law which ever manifests a correspondence and agreement between all things on all planes. So true is this that if we discover certain fixed principles in one thing we may reason by analogy regarding other things, and thus discover the unknown “×” quality. “From One Know All,” says the Arcane  axiom.  “As  Above,  So  Below,”  adds  the Hermetist.

And through the entire Cosmos there is ever manifest the Law of Orderly  Trend. Everything proceeds according to Law and Order. There is no Chance or Disorder in the Cosmos. The Universe is governed by Law. And all things are under the Laws of the  Cosmos.

And throughout the entire Cosmos is ever manifest the Law of Sequence. Events proceed in a continuous stream, ever flowing onward. No event is separate or isolated. Every event has its  precedent,  also  its  subsequent  and  consequent. Everything has its cause and its effect. Events compose a continuous and unbroken stream.

And throughout the entire Cosmos there is  ever manifest the Law of Rhythm. Everything vibrates. Everything moves from one pole to the other—from one extreme to the opposite. Everything has its vibratory rate. Everything has its pendulum-like swing between its poles. Day is always followed by Night; Summer by Winter; Heat by Cold; Action by Reaction.

And throughout the entire Cosmos there is ever manifest the Law of Balance. There is universal equilibrium, compensation and  balance. Everything has something balancing and counter-balancing it. Everything has its price. Everything has its compensation. Nature always maintains its balance. And man finds the Law of Balance always operative under the phase of the Law of Compensation. We must pay our price for everything—we cannot have our penny and our cake at the same time. We must ever pay, pay, pay. We can never get Something for Nothing.

And  throughout  the  entire  Cosmos  there  is  ever  manifest the Law of Cyclicity. Everything moves in Circles or Cycles, or Spirals.  Worlds, nations, peoples, and individuals travel in cycles—the strong convert the cycles into Spirals.

And throughout the entire Cosmos there is ever manifest the Law of Opposites. Everything has its opposite pole. Everything has its other side. Everything is a paradox. Everything “is and isn’t” at the same time. The Law of Polarity is one phase of this Law. In it is locked many Arcane Secrets.

 

 

 

Lesson V.

The Cosmic Will.

This is The Arcane Teaching regarding the World-Spirit; the One-Life; the Life-Principle; the Logos; the Demiurge, or that Something which men have called by still other names, but which in Truth is but the Cosmic Will from which arises all life, and action, and shape and form, and change, and appearance, and variety, and manifestation—in fact, all that we include in the term “The Cosmos.” Listen to the Aphorism.

Aphorism vii. “From the bosom of the Unmanifest, arises that which men call the World-Spirit; the One-Life; the Universal Being;  the  Life-Principle;  the Logos; the Demiurge; but  which  in Truth is but the Cosmic Will from which arises all life, and action, and  shape  and  form,  and  change,  and  appearance,  and  variety, and manifestation. The Cosmic Will is the One which becomes Many—the Unity in which  is  Diversity—the  First-Born  from the Womb of Infinity,—the Cosmic Egg from which hatches the Universe. But this too, is under The Law.”

By the term “The Cosmic Will” the Arcane Teaching designates  the  One  Universal  Living Creative Principle which has been recognized in all the great philosophies of all times and places. From the earliest dawn of philosophical thought, the great thinkers of the race have postulated the existence of a One Great Universal Living Creative Principle from which proceeded the  Many. In some cases the One was held to be an Universal Being—even a Personal Being or Deity—while in others it was regarded simply as a Principle. But the underlying conception was the same—a One Living Creative Something from which the Many emerged—a Unity from which proceeded Diversity. This Universal Living Creative Principle was often confounded with The Absolute, although others held that it was subordinate. The Atlantean traditions show that those ancient people held to this fundamental idea; the Egyptians held to the existence of an  Universal Life-Principle; the Chaldeans likewise; the Hindus held to the existence of the principle of Brahman, or the Universal Life-Being, and the ancient Greek philosophers held firmly to the existence of the One Life Principle.

The Atlanteans, Chaldeans, and Egyptians held that this Universal Life  Principle subdivided itself  into the many  forms of life and things, in obedience to an inner law of its being. The ancient Hindus held that the One manifested as the Many, the various schools giving different “reasons” for the manifestation as follows: one school held that Brahman manifested as the Many, in order to enjoy objective existence; another school held that  Prakriti, the Universal Principle of Substance, was acted upon by the  Purushas, or Soul-Principles, which it had attracted to itself, and manifestations arose by reason thereof; another school held that Brahman was merely a subordinate creative principle, which was caused to create universes by the power of Para-Brahm; another school held that all manifestation was merely an illusory dream of Maya (the Creative Principle), in the mind of The Supreme Being; the Buddhists held that manifestation was caused by  tanha  or “thirst,” in the Universal Will-to-Live which arose from the Void of Nothingness; other schools held ideas akin to those mentioned, or variations or combinations of them.

The  Greeks  always  held  to  the  existence  of  the  Universal Life Principle, calling it by various names. The very term, “The Cosmos,” was used by  the  Stoics  and  others  to  represent  the idea of the anima mundi or “world-soul.” Heraclitus held to the “world-spirit” which he symbolized as flame. Pythagoras, in his exoteric or popular teachings taught the doctrine of the Life Principle, symbolizing it as light or flame. Other schools recognized the existence of this One Life Principle calling it “Being,” a term which has persisted in modern philosohy. By some schools, notably the Platonian, the  Universal Life Principle was called “The Demiurge,” the term literally meaning the  “universal worker.”  The Demiurge was held to be an exalted and mysterious agent, by and through whom The Absolute was supposed to have created the Universe—the life of the Demiurge flowed out into manifold forms, and became the Many. This idea was adhered to by the Gnostics of the early Christian church.

The term “The Logos” was also applied by some of the schools to this Universal Life Principle. The Logos was held to be the Creative Principle of Nature, objective in the world, giving order and regularity to the universe of shapes and forms which it had manifested. This idea of The Logos was inherent in many  ancient  religions, and permeated even early Christianity. Ueberweg, in his History of Philosophy, says: “The Logos was a being  intermediate  between  God  and  the  world.…The  Logos does not exist from eternity like God, and yet its genesis is not like our  own and that of all other created beings; it is the first begotten son of God, and is for us, who are imperfect, a god.…Through the  agency  of  The  Logos, God created  the  world,  and has revealed Himself to it.”

In the early Christian Church there was much dispute about The Logos, but the revolution in the Church, effected by Constantine, drove it from its place of importance in the Christian theology. But, nevertheless, the idea has persisted, as witness Cudworth, the eminent English theologian and philosopher (1617–1688) who held to the existence of a “Plastic Nature,” of which he claimed: “It may well be concluded that there is a Plastic Nature, under God, which, as an inferior and subordinate instrument, doth grudgingly execute that part of his providence which consists in the orderly and regular motion of matter;” Cudworth held that this idea of Plastic Nature was reasonable in view of the fact that “the slow and gradual process in the generation of things would be a vain and idle pomp, or a trifling formality, if the moving power were omnipotent; as also may be noted those errors and bungles which are committed where the matter is inept and contumacious; which argues that the moving power is not irresistible, and that Nature is not altogether incapable of being sometimes frustrated and disappointed by the indisposition of matter. An Omnipotent Moving  Power,  being  able  to dispatch  its work in  a  moment, would always act infallibly and irresistibly, as no ineptitude and stubbornness of matter would be able to hinder such a one, or to make Him fumble or bungle in anything.” The Plastic Nature of Cudworth, and his followers, was but the old Demiurge, or Logos, of the Gnostics—but another name for the Universal Living Creative Principle, subordinate to the Higher Law.

Modern philosophers and thinkers have held to this idea of the Creative  Principle, regarding it  rather  as  a  Life Principle than as a Being, however. Bruno held the existence of an anima mundi, or world-soul-principle; others have held to the Principle of “Nature”; Schopenhauer held to the existence of an Universal Will-to-Live, which manifested its life in the universe of shape and form and  variety; von Hartman held that there existed an “Unconscious,” or Creative Principle, similar to that of Schopenhauer’s “Will”; Wundt held to the existence of an “Universal Will”; Crusius held to an Universal Dominating Will; Balzac held to a “Universal Something, akin to Will”; Nietsche held to a “World-Will”; Maeterlinck holds to a Life Principle; Bernard Shaw postulates the existence of a Universal Creative Energy which he calls, “The Life Forces.”

The Naturalistic school of philosophy postulates the existence of a composite something which it calls “Nature,” which acts as the Universal Creative Energy; other thinkers speak of “Nature” in  its  metonymic sense, as “The  agent, producer, or creator of things; the powers which carry on the processes of creation; the powers concerned to produce existing phenomena, whether in sum or in detail; the personified sum and order of cause and effect.” Spencer postulates the existence of an “infinite and eternal energy, from which all things proceed,… which transcends our reason and even our imagination.” In short, this Universal Living Creative Principle or Life-Principle, is found, under one name or another, in nearly all of the leading philosophies or schools of thought, ancient or modern. The highest reports of the human reason agree in this conception and postulate.

But the true philosophic conception must be distinguished from that of Pantheism, which at first thought seems to be the same. Pantheism claims that this Creative Principle is Deity; God; or The Absolute—that Deity and Nature are identical— that the Universe is God, and God is the Universe. Herein lies a great error, which true philosophers and true occultists vigorously oppose. The idea of an Absolute—of an Omnipotent, Omniscient (all-powerful; all-wise) Being—being compelled to work Its way up gradually, haltingly, with mistakes and stumbles, is absurd. Cudworth  (quoted  a  moment ago)  makes this point clear. And to claim that an Absolute Being is trying to  “gain  experience” in  this  way,  is ridiculous. The idea that the Absolute is “trying to accomplish something” by the universal manifestation, is illogical—for if It has not been able to reach its goal in all the past of Eternity, It can not reach it in all the future of Eternity, for the one is equal to the other. Moreover, the Absolute must of necessity be self-sufficient, and can want nothing to perfect Itself. In short any attempt to postulate The Absolute; God; Deity or other Supreme Thing as being the struggling, striving, evolving Creative Energy, must end in failure or an illogical conclusion. It  is only when  it is  assumed that this Creative Energy is subordinate to and ruled by an Absolute Sovereign Power, that it becomes logically thinkable. Pantheism, actual or implied, is illogical—even the idea of a Personal Deity is far more logical than is pure Pantheism. The Absolute and Nature can never be the same, try as men may to make it appear possible. Nature must always be relative, and subordinate to a superior and sovereign Power or Law, and the latter must be The Absolute. Pantheism wears many masks and disguises, and is the underlying idea of many modern systems bearing high-sounding names. Any system which is based upon the idea of an Absolute which manifests as a relative—or of a Supreme Being which manifests as Nature, and natural things, is but Pantheism, though perhaps subtly disguised. Beware of this insidious error of thought. Apply these test-questions to any system, to puncture the bubble of Pantheism, if such is contained within it: (1) Why does your Absolute Being depart from Its absolute nature, and become relative, manifold, and divisible?

(2) How can The Absolute  lose  its  absolute  nature  and  become  relative? (3) What becomes of the absolute nature of The Absolute, when the latter transforms Itself into the relative? (4) How can the Unconditioned take on conditions and limitations? (5) How can the Immutable and Changeless manifest change? (6) How can the Indivisible divide and separate itself into parts? And if the teaching in question postulates in Absolute Being, the quality of Omniscience or Absolute Wisdom, ask also this question: (7) How can the Omniscient All-Wise Absolute Being lose Its wisdom, and display the comparative ignorance of the relative forms?

There are but two possible logical explanations of the Absolute and Relative, as follows: (I) That the Cosmos has no existence  except in the imagination of The Absolute Being— either as a dream, meditation, reverie, or deliberate dramatic representation, lacking all reality; or (II) that the Universal Creative Principle or Energy is not Absolute, but is subordinate to a Sovereign Law. The first is the answer of certain Idealistic schools of Philosophy—the second is the answer of the Arcane Teachers of Atlantis, Chaldea, Egypt and Ancient Greece. Take your choice! But if you choose the former, then you must admit that The Absolute deliberately and wilfully creates the illusion for no reason except its own pleasure (for no real result or gain is thinkable in such case), for it is ridiculous to hold that The Absolute could be subject to Illusion, Ignorance, or Maya, for if such were so it would no longer be the Absolute. In either case Pantheism is “escorted to the frontier.” Do not be deluded by Pantheistic subtleties, or casuistic false reasoning. Pantheism at best is but a half-truth—the other half lies in the recognition of the  Absolute Law.

The Arcane Teaching holds that the Cosmic  Will—the first-born of the Womb of Infinity—the Cosmic Egg from which hatches the  Universe—is in its last analysis, Spirit. By “Spirit” is meant “Essence”—remember this definition. “Essence” is a term derived from the Latin word, “esse,” meaning “to be.”

Therefore Essence (or Spirit) means the “beingness” of Being. Spirit is the  essence of  the  Cosmos. Spirit is that which is the first-born of the Infinity of Nothingness—the first thing to be. And from Spirit all the Cosmos proceeds—and at the last the Cosmos  is all Spirit. Back of Spirit there is naught by the Infinity of Nothingness. And over and above Spirit there is naught but The  Law. Spirit is Being; and Being is Spirit.

The Arcane Teaching uses the term “Cosmic Will” to indicate the creative activities of Spirit. Spirit is the essence of the Cosmic Will—the Cosmic Will is the outward activities of Spirit. But Spirit and the Cosmic Will are the same thing—in its inner and outer aspects. By “Will” is not meant that human quality called “will”—this latter is but the mental quality which calls forth Will. Will is the principle of all activity—it is activity in itself. Life is one of the manifestations of the Cosmic Will. Will is the “lifeness” of Life. Will is the outward aspect of Spirit. In the Cosmic Will are inherent the “Three Principles,”  viz., Substance; Motion; and Consciousness. In the infinitude of manifestation of these Three Principles by the Cosmic Will is found the explanation of the Cosmos or Universe. In their play, and interplay, is found the secret of shape, form, variety and degrees of  Substance,  Motion, and Consciousness.  And from these arise Life. Therefore, in considering the Cosmos, in its activities and manifestations, we may now forget the deeper and more subtle metaphysical and philosophical terms which we have been compelled to consider—and, instead, let us see in universal operation and manifestation, a Living Universe or Cosmic Life Principle, ever moving, changing, flowing, evolving, proceeding, desiring, attaining, seeking, accomplishing. This is The Cosmic Will of the Arcane Teaching—possessing all the attributes and qualities of  the  Universal  Being of the  Pantheists, except that of Absoluteness; for greater that the human imagination can conceive it to be, yet it is subordinate to, and ever under, The  Law.

In  this teaching regarding the  Cosmic  Will,  the Arcane Teaching gives us an intelligible explanation of that most perplexing idea of the One Life, or Universal Life, which has appeared  in  various  guises  and  under  various  names  in  the philosophies  of all  times  and  peoples. That all Life, in the end, is One—that the individual lives are but manifestations of, and centres in, One Universal Life, has been the Truth taught by some of the greatest teachers of the race—the illumined of all ages. The majority of the schools make the fatal error of ascribing to the One Life the nature of The Absolute. The moment this is done the thinker is confronted with the paradox of the Absolute becoming Relative—a logical impossibility. The best modern thought is fast coming to an agreement with the original Arcane principle that the Universal Life is not Absolute—not Independent and Self Governed—not Sovereign Power—not God, in the highest sense of the word; but instead is Relative, Subordinate, and  under The Law. The Arcane Teaching that the Universal Life is not its own law, but is under Law and governed by Laws, is the only explanation consistent with the highest  report  of  the  reason—the  highest  form of Logic—and the experience of science, based upon observed facts. One of the greatest and most glaring of the fallacies of Pantheism or allied systems of thought, is that which assumes that The Absolute or Deity is “trying to” accomplish something—either in the direction of “gaining experience,” or “building up” some great universe by continual progression. The idea  of  an Absolute, which  must be  Perfect,  desiring  anything other than it has is illogical. The idea of an Absolute Pantheistic Deity who must be All-Wise,  trying to  “gain  experience”  or learn something by playing the game of Many Parts, is childlike and ridiculous—surely an unworthy role to attribute to an Omniscient Deity. The idea of an Absolute or Omnipotent Deity “trying to,” or  endeavoring to build up universes by slow and arduous labor belongs to the category of child-thought. To think of such a Being doing “day work” is ridiculous—and then what could He gain by it, this Perfect and Self-Sufficient Being? And the fact remains that if all past Time has not been sufficient to  accomplish  perfect  results, then all future Time will fail to accomplish them—for just as future Time has no ending, past Time has no beginning, and existed forever. And then, what did this Creative Being do in all the Eternity before Creation, if it be held that Creation had its beginning in time? At the last analysis, the report of the illumined of the race will be found to agree with the highest report of the human reason—the report that the Universal Life can be but Relative; governed by a Sovereign Absolute Law; and subject to the Laws of Rhythm and Cyclicity—having its Ebb and Flow; its Action and Reaction; its Rise and Fall; its Days and Nights; its Periods of Creative Activity, and Creative Rest. And the Arcane Teaching squares fully with these requirements—for it is founded on Cosmic Truth.

 

 

 

 

Lesson VI.

Involution And Evolution.

In order to understand the Arcane Teaching regarding the processes  whereby  the  Cosmic  Will  manifests  in  the  universe of life and action; shape and form; change, appearance, and variety; let us seek the wisdom of the Aphorisms. Listen to the Aphorism:

Aphorism viii. By the Law of Analogy the Manifest Cosmos may be known. “Ex Uno disce Omnes”—From One know All. Like unto a World‑Brain is the Cosmos. Its brain‑substance is the Substance‑Principle; its thought‑energy is the Motion‑Principle; its Mind is the Consciousness‑Principle. Its will is the Cosmic Will. Its spirit is the Cosmic Spirit. Its laws are the Seven Laws. Its Sovereign is The Law.

Many philosophies have held that the universe is mental, in its last analysis, and that the Universal Mind is the reality behind the appearances. Others have held that the universe is merely an imagination, illusion, or dramatization, in the mind of a Supreme Being. But all of these conceptions use the terms “mind” or “mental” as something having no connection with material substance, the latter being an illusion. But the Arcane Teaching recognizes Substance as being as real and actual as Mind or Motion—the three being but aspects of the same thing—the Three Principles which are really One. And in giving to Substance and Motion equal places with Mind, the conception is seen to be rather more like a “World‑Brain” than a “World‑Mind,” for like the brain it contains the principles of Substance, Motion and Consciousness. Thought is the product of these three—the action of Consciousness upon Substance, by means of the vibrations of Motion. As in the human brain, so in the Cosmic Brain—“as above, so below; as below, so above.” From One know All. Substance and Motion are not illusions— they are co‑equal with Mind, in reality and actuality. There can be no Mind without  Substance and Motion; there can be no Substance without Mind and Motion; there can be no Motion without Mind and Substance. The “Three Principles” are always found together—in Everything the Three are found. There is no separateness in the Three Principles—they are, and must be, always in combination. And this combination in the Cosmos, gives us that which may be called the World‑Brain.

Aphorism ix. In the World‑Brain of the Cosmos arises and is manifested all natural phenomena. All natural phenomena is but the perpetual action and reaction; combination and re‑combination; distribution and redistribution; of the Three Principles, in the World‑Brain, by the Cosmic Will. As in the human brain material changes of form, shape, combination, character,  and  degree,  result  from  mental  activities—organic structural changes accompany mental states—states of consciousness are embodied in forms of material brain substance—so in the World‑Brain, by the Cosmic Will, do Thoughts become Things; Desires take on Material Form; Ideas become Manifested; Mental Images become reproduced in the Material and Physical Forms, Shapes, and Appearances. Mental  States precede Material Form—Mental Images precede Materialization.

In this Aphorism is contained a marvelous scientific truth, little suspected by the majority of thinkers. Every mental state produces a corresponding material change in the structure and substance  of  the  brain—the  brain‑cells  respond  to  the  faintest mental state. The Arcane Teaching informs us that the Cosmos, being a great World‑Brain, is governed by the same laws—“as below, so above.” This being so, we may see how the Cosmos while  still  being  mental  may yet manifest in actual material and physical forms and phenomena, under the direction of the Mind. There is Mind back of every material and physical form and appearance. Here is the reconciliation between mentalism and materialism—idealism and naturalism. Read the above Aphorism carefully, a number of times—it contains the key of the material Cosmos, and the secret of Mentalism. Read between its lines. It informs you why and how Thoughts become Things—Mental States produce Material Forms— Mental Images cause Materialization. Here is the Key to unlock many Occult Doors. Can you use it?

Aphorism x. What men call “Matter” is but the countless centres produced by Will in the Substance Principle, through the action of the Motion Principle. What men call “Force and Energy” is but the action of the Motion‑Principle upon the Substance‑Principle, induced by the Will. What men call “Thought” is but the action of the Will upon the Consciousness‑Principle, employing the Substance and Motion‑Principles in the operation. In every action of the Cosmic Will all Three Principles are employed and involved, in varying degrees and combinations. The Will is the Motive Power behind all manifestation in the World‑Brain of the Cosmos.

The above Aphorism states that which some of the more advanced of modern scientists and philosophers now hold to be a proven fact. Science and Philosophy is fast approaching a meeting point, where they will see that behind the activities and phenomena of the universe there is to be found a Cosmic Will manifesting in the multitudinous variety of shape and form; life and action. Science and the Arcane Teaching agree upon this point. As a celebrated philosopher‑scientist said: “The material universe is but the outer wrapper behind which is hidden a  spiritual creative activity; a striving, feeling, sensing, like that which we experience in ourselves.” Conation (the voluntary power impelling to effort) is held by Wundt to be the fundamental essence of this activity. Thus Wundt postulates the existence of a Cosmic Will, similar to that of the Arcane Teaching. A recent paper by an English scientist says: “There is  but  one  substance,  and  that  is  Spirit.  Matter,  so‑called,  is nothing  but  rigid  places  in  spirit.” Matter is now known to be but combinations of the ions  or electrons, which are held to be little more than “centres of force” in the ether. Thought without thinking‑substance and motion  is held to be unthinkable. Likewise science now holds that there is life and mind in all material substance, from atom to protoplasm. Science like the Arcane Teachers, finds the Three Principles, Substance, Motion and Consciousness in everything. And science is beginning to see in “energy and force” the evidences of “something akin to conation.” “Conation” is “the  voluntary power impelling to effort; the faculty of voluntary agency,” etc.; or as Mill said: “Conation, in other words, is Desire or Will.” So that science is meeting the Arcane Teaching face to face, on level ground. The symbol of the “World‑Brain” is sure to come into general use in the science of the future.

And now for the inevitable question—the question which punctures the philosophical  and  metaphysical  bubble of  the Pantheists:  “Why  does this Cosmic Will manifest this energy, activity, desire, longing, striving, seeking and evolution?—what is  the  necessity  of it all?—what is the end sought for? As difficult as this question may be—and though it has repeatedly been styled “unanswerable”—the Arcane Teaching does not shrink from its consideration; but gives the logical and only answer, for the  answer  exists. Listen to the Aphorism!

Aphorism xi. The Cosmic Will, as the World‑Brain, seeking Consciousness through its appropriate Principle, manifests the natural phenomena of the universe. From a state of Unconsciousness, through many stages of Semi‑Consciousness —through many degrees of Simple Consciousness;  Self‑Consciousness;  Super‑Consciousness;  and states still higher in the scale, undreamt by mortal mind, on toward the  highest  states  of  Cosmic  Consciousness—Spirit conscious of  Itself; the Cosmic Will proceeds. Consciousness, in all of its phases, proceeds through Change—Consciousness depends upon Constant Change. Consciousness always produces Activity,  and manifests  Motion. Consciousness always manifests objectively in Change and Motion in Substance—in substantial shape and form. In this, then, is to be found the explanation of the phenomena of the involution and evolution of the Cosmos, with all the incidents thereof—in this is found the answer to the Ultimate “Why.”

The above is one of the most important of the Basic Aphorisms—the one which explains the “Why” of the Manifest Evolving Cosmos. The answer is understandable only through the symbol of the “World‑Brain.” The Cosmic Spirit or Will, awakening from its sleep of Unconsciousness, during the Cosmic Night in the Infinity of Nothingness, seeks Consciousness. Consciousness is the “livingness” of Life—therefore  the  Cosmos seeks  Life  itself.  The  Cosmos  manifests  in  order  to  gain  Conscious Life. Like the mortal awakening from a profound sleep, almost death‑like in its intensity, the Cosmos begins its task of regaining Consciousness, which is the “livingness” of its Life. And as to the mortal sleeper, such Consciousness comes to it slowly.

In order to fully appreciate the meaning of the Aphorism, we must regard the nature and meaning of “Consciousness.” Consciousness means “awareness,” and, of course, is purely mental in principle. The Aphorism says: “Consciousness in all of its phases, proceeds from Change—Consciousness depends upon constant Change.” Is this borne out by modern psychology— let us see! The best authorities in modern psychology agree to this statement. To them, Consciousness is a stream of changing mental states, with their corresponding physical changes. The text‑books say: “Every act of consciousness involves a change from a past state to a present.” A leading authority says: “Consciousness is in constant change”; also : “No state once gone can recur and be identical with what it was before”; also: “Consciousness does not appear to itself chopped into bits.…It is nothing jointed; it flows. A ‘river’ or a ‘stream’ are the metaphors by which it is most naturally described. In talking of it, let us call it the stream of consciousness.” Another authority says: “Consciousness results from perpetual change. It is impossible to maintain a uniform conscious state. A uniform sensation of pressure becomes quickly unnoticeable—the pressure must perpetually vary or the sensation will cease, and this is true of all conscious states whatsoever.”  All the  best  authorities agree in the above position. The Cosmic Will which is embodied in the Cosmic Substance, just as is the will of man embodied in his brain‑substance, must constantly manifest changes within that substance in order that it may be Conscious. It must do this constantly and perpetually, else it becomes Unconscious. When it is remembered  that  states  of consciousness are always accompanied by corresponding material and physical changes—that thoughts become brain‑things—then we can see the explanation of the constant change in the physical world, which we call natural phenomena. The Aphorism also says: “Consciousness always produces Activity, and manifests Motion.” Modern psychology also bears out this statement. Prof. William James has brought out this point  most forcibly in his works. He says, among much else on the same subject: “All Consciousness is Motor”; also: “Using  sweeping  terms  and  ignoring  exceptions,  we  might say  that  every possible feeling produces a movement, and that the movement is a movement of the entire organism, and of each and all its parts.…In short, a process set up in the centres reverberates everywhere, and in some way or other affects the organism throughout, making its activities either greater or less.” Is it not plain that, granted the existence of the Cosmic Will in its aspect of a World‑Brain, then every state of consciousness within  it must produce activity and motion within it; and must also manifest the corresponding physical and material changes in its substance and organic structure?  Does not this, coupled with the  fact that consciousness depends upon constant change, give us, in the words of the Aphorism, “the explanation of the phenomena of the involution and evolution of the Cosmos, with all the incidents thereof? Does not this explain to us the workings of the Law of Sequence?

This then is the cause behind the involution and evolution of the Cosmos as told by Modern Science. In awakening into Consciousness the World‑Brain creates centres of material shape and form within itself. Then by slow degrees more complex  forms, and  combinations  appear. Upon the created worlds  appear the material appropriate for the manifestation of organic life. Then Life, as we know it, appears. Then higher forms come. Then man. Then worlds and beings much higher in the scale than man, appear. And on, and on, and  on, ever in an ascending  scale of Life and Being; shape and form; combination and degree. In the World‑Brain, there are many planes of consciousness, just as there are in your own brain‑mind. There are the instinctive  planes, and those still below—the sub‑conscious, and those above—and the super‑conscious, and other stages of which  man  does not as yet dream. Just as the various brain‑cells perform their several functions, varying in the degree of importance and function—so do the various centres in the World‑Brain play theirs, in the same varying importance and degree. Each is a part of the All. And there is a relationship and interdependence between all. None is alone and separate. Separateness is an illusion. All is One. The part played by Man— by You—in this great Cosmic Drama, will be considered in the succeeding parts of this series of lessons. Therein will be taught the lesson of “Man, Know Thyself!” In considering the World‑Brain, do not make the mistake of the average student, in thinking merely of this speck of dust called the Earth, as being all that is included in the Cosmos. In the Cosmos are contained an infinitude of infinitudes of universes; of suns, and planets. Space itself must be exhausted before the universes are exhausted. Number itself must be exhausted, before their number is exhausted. Remember, they are the products of Infinity, and consequently  their  number, degrees, and variety is infinite in extent and possibility.

Nor, should you make the mistake of explaining of the Cosmos  in  the  terms of Time, except as a convenience in thinking. Conceptions of finite time or space have no place in the consideration of the Cosmos—that is, the mind is unable to think of a period of time  sufficiently great to cover even one phase of the Cosmic Process. The Cosmic Day is unthinkable in figures. The highest figures possible to the mind of man would not represent the year‑periods involved in a single second of the Cosmic Day. We are still in the Dawn of the Day, and yet that which men would call an Eternity has passed in the present Cosmic Day. Thought fails us. We are dealing in terms of Infinity.

The Symbol is ∞. In this lesson we have heard the answer to the Ultimate Question of the “Why” of the Cosmos. We have seen that that Answer is “Necessity and Law.” It is the Law of the Cosmos that the Cosmic Will should desire and will to live; and, that in order to live, Consciousness (the “livingness of Life”) is necessary; and that in order to gain consciousness, continual and constant change is an actual necessity. And this constant change produces the phenomena of the Manifest Cosmos. In a nutshell:  The Cosmos manifests in order to Live—and it Lives because Life is a  Necessity  of its  nature  under  the Laws,  and  subordinate  to The Law. This is the Arcane Answer to the “Unanswerable  Question” of the philosophers of the schools.

And in the Arcane conception of the World‑Brain of the Cosmos, we have another great fundamental truth stated in simple terms, and by a familiar symbol. The human‑brain has its analogy in the World‑Brain. In this Arcane Teaching we may understand the principles of the embodiment of mind in matter, and the action of mind upon matter by means of energy. Compare this Teaching of the World‑Brain with the teachings of science, in its phases of Inorganic Evolution, and Organic Evolution, and see how the Teaching throws light on the whole process. See how there is ever a mental action preceding the physical manifestation. Desire ever precedes function, shape and form. Mind is always  embodied  in  substance. Substance always contains mind. The building of the crystal; the growth of the animal form from the single cell; the evolution of the chicken from the creative cell in the egg; all these are manifestations of physical action, structural change, and substance moving in response to mental inner causes. From One, know All. The Law of Analogy is ever manifest in the Cosmos—“As Above, so Below;  as  Below,  so  Above.”

The conception of the Cosmic World‑Brain also throws much light upon many phases of mental, psychic, and occult phenomena, in  which the world is now taking such a decided interest. If Thoughts become Things in the Cosmic Brain, then following the Law of Analogy it is possible for Thoughts to materialize in Things on  other planes of activity. The same principle is involved—the principle of mental creative activity.

This is the Secret of Mentalism. This is the Key to Psychic Phenomena. This is the Explanation of Occultism. With a Cosmos,  mental in its nature, with energy and substance; matter  and motion;  all  receptive, responsive,  and plastic and obedient to Mind—what cannot be accomplished by those who understand the Laws of Mentalism? With Will as the great creative power in the Cosmos—what is not possible to him who understands the Art of Willing. With  Desire  as the great Creative Energy, can we not see why Desire should be harnessed, controlled, directed, guided, mastered and employed in our lives, careers and destinies? Apply these various conceptions of the Arcane Teaching to the various philosophical and metaphysical problems which have puzzled you—and see how many tangles it straightens out; how many inharmonies it reconciles; how it brings order out of the chaos of conflicting theories, dogmas and teachings.

The Arcane Teaching is a Disturber of teachings—but it is also the great Reconciler. It is the Chemical of Truth, which clears the waters of Thought.