THE KYBALION/PART 5
CHAPTER V
THE MENTAL UNIVERSE
"The Universe is Mental
—held in the Mind of THE
ALL."—The Kybalion.
THE
ALL is SPIRIT! But what is Spirit? This question cannot be answered, for the
reason that its definition is practically that of THE ALL, which cannot be
explained or defined. Spirit is simply a name that men give to the highest
conception of Infinite Living Mind—it means "the Real Essence"—it
means Living Mind, as much superior to Life and Mind as we know them, as the
latter are superior to mechanical Energy and Matter. Spirit transcends our understanding,
and we use the term merely that we may think or speak of THE ALL. For the
purposes of thought and understanding, we are justified in thinking of Spirit
as Infinite Living Mind, at the same time acknowledging that we cannot fully
understand it. We must either do this or stop thinking of the matter at all.
Let
us now proceed to a consideration of the nature of the Universe, as a whole and
in its parts. What is the Universe? We have seen that there can be nothing
outside of THE ALL. Then is the Universe THE ALL? No, this cannot be, because
the Universe seems to be made up of MANY, and is constantly changing, and in
other ways it does not measure up to the ideas that we are compelled to accept
regarding THE ALL, as stated in our last lesson. Then if the Universe be not
THE ALL, then it must be Nothing—such is the inevitable conclusion of the mind
at first thought. But this will not satisfy the question, for we are sensible
of the existence of the Universe. Then if the Universe is neither THE ALL, nor
Nothing, what Can it be? Let us examine this question.
If
the Universe exists at all, or seems to exist, it must proceed in some way from
THE ALL—it must be a creation of THE ALL. But as something can never come from
nothing, from what could THE ALL have created it. Some philosophers have
answered this question by saying that THE ALL created the Universe from
ITSELF—that is, from the being and substance of THE ALL. But this will not do,
for THE ALL cannot be subtracted from, nor divided, as we have seen, and then
again if this be so, would not each particle in the Universe be aware of its
being THE ALL—THE ALL could not lose its knowledge of itself, nor actually
BECOME an atom, or blind force, or lowly living thing. Some men, indeed,
realizing that THE ALL is indeed ALL, and also recognizing that they, the men,
existed, have jumped to the conclusion that they and THE ALL were identical,
and they have filled the air with shouts of "I AM GOD," to the
amusement of the multitude and the sorrow of sages. The claim of the corpuscle
that: "I am Man!" would be modest in comparison.
But,
what indeed is the Universe, if it be not THE ALL, not yet created by THE ALL
having separated itself into fragments? What else can it be— of what else can
it be made? This is the great question. Let us examine it carefully. We find
here that the "Principle of Correspondence" (see Lesson I.) comes to
our aid here. The old Hermetic axiom, "As above so below," may be
pressed into service at this point. Let us endeavor to get a glimpse of the
workings on higher planes by examining those on our own. The Principle of
Correspondence must apply to this as well as to other problems.
Let
us see! On his own plane of being, how does Man create? Well, first, he may
create by making something out of outside materials. But this will not do, for
there are no materials outside of THE ALL with which it may create. Well, then,
secondly, Man pro-creates or reproduces his kind by the process of begetting,
which is self-multiplication accomplished by transferring a portion of his
substance to his offspring. But this will not do, because THE ALL cannot
transfer or subtract a portion of itself, nor can it reproduce or multiply
itself—in the first place there would be a taking away, and in the second case
a multiplication or addition to THE ALL, both thoughts being an absurdity. Is
there no third way in which MAN creates? Yes, there is—he CREATES MENTALLY! And
in so doing he uses no outside materials, nor does he reproduce himself, and
yet his Spirit pervades the Mental Creation.
Following
the Principle of Correspondence, we are justified in considering that THE ALL
creates the Universe MENTALLY, in a manner akin to the process whereby Man
creates Mental Images. And, here is where the report of Reason tallies precisely
with the report of the Illumined, as shown by their teachings and writings.
Such are the teachings of the Wise Men. Such was the Teaching of Hermes.
THE
ALL can create in no other way except mentally, without either using material
(and there is none to use), or else reproducing itself (which is also
impossible). There is no escape from this conclusion of the Reason, which, as
we have said, agrees with the highest teachings of the Illumined. Just as you,
student, may create a Universe of your own in your mentality, so does THE ALL
create Universes in its own Mentality. But your Universe is the mental creation
of a Finite Mind, whereas that of THE ALL is the creation of an Infinite. The
two are similar in kind, but infinitely different in degree. We shall examine
more closely into the process of creation and manifestation as we proceed. But
this is the point to fix in your minds at this stage: THE UNIVERSE, AND ALL IT
CONTAINS, IS A MENTAL CREATION OF THE ALL. Verily indeed, ALL IS MIND!
"THE
ALL creates in its Infinite Mind countless Universes, which exist for aeons of
Time—and yet, to THE ALL, the creation, development, decline and death of a
million Universes is as the time of the twinkling of an eye."—The
Kybalion.
"The
Infinite Mind of THE ALL is the womb of Universes."—The
Kybalion.
The
Principle of Gender (see Lesson I. and other lessons to follow) is manifested
on all planes of life, material mental and spiritual. But, as we have said
before, "Gender" does not mean "Sex" sex is merely a material
manifestation of gender. "Gender" means "relating to generation
or creation." And whenever anything is generated or created, on any plane,
the Principle of Gender must be manifested. And this is true even in the
creation of Universes.
Now
do not jump to the conclusion that we are teaching that there is a male and
female God, or Creator. That idea is merely a distortion of the ancient
teachings on the subject. The true teaching is that THE ALL, in itself, is
above Gender, as it is above every other Law, including those of Time and
Space. It is the Law, from which the Laws proceed, and it is not subject to
them. But when THE ALL manifests on the plane of generation or creation, then
it acts according to Law and Principle, for it is moving on a lower plane of
Being. And consequently it manifests the Principle of Gender, in its Masculine
and Feminine aspects, on the Mental Plane, of course.
This
idea may seem startling to some of you who hear it for the first time, but you
have all really passively accepted it in your everyday conceptions. You speak
of the Fatherhood of God, and the Motherhood of Nature—of God, the Divine
Father, and Nature the Universal Mother—and have thus instinctively
acknowledged the Principle of Gender in the Universe. Is this not so?
But,
the Hermetic teaching does not imply a real duality—THE ALL is ONE—the Two
Aspects are merely aspects of manifestation. The teaching is that The Masculine
Principle manifested by THE ALL stands, in a way, apart from the actual mental
creation of the Universe. It projects its Will toward the Feminine Principle
(which may be called "Nature") whereupon the latter begins the actual
work of the evolution of the Universe, from simple "centers of
activity" on to man, and then on and on still higher, all according to
well-established and firmly enforced Laws of Nature. If you prefer the old
figures of thought, you may think of the Masculine Principle as GOD, the
Father, and of the Feminine Principle as NATURE, the Universal Mother, from
whose womb all things have been born. This is more than a mere poetic figure of
speech—it is an idea of the actual process of the creation of the Universe. But
always remember, that THE ALL is but One, and that in its Infinite Mind the
Universe is generated, created and exists.
It
may help you to get the proper idea, if you will apply the Law of
Correspondence to yourself, and your own mind. You know that the part of You
which you call "I," in a sense, stands apart and witnesses the
creation of mental Images in your own mind. The part of your mind in which the
mental generation is accomplished may be called the "Me" in
distinction from the "I" which stands apart and witnesses and
examines the thoughts, ideas and images of the "Me." "As above,
so below," remember, and the phenomena of one plane may be employed to
solve the riddles of higher or lower planes.
Is
it any wonder that You, the child, feel that instinctive reverence for THE ALL,
which feeling we call "religion"—that respect, and reverence for THE
FATHER MIND? Is it any wonder that, when you consider the works and wonders of
Nature, you are overcome with a mighty feeling which has its roots away down in
your inmost being? It is the MOTHER MIND that you are pressing close up to,
like a babe to the breast.
Do
not make the mistake of supposing that the little world you see around you—the
Earth, which is a mere grain of dust in the Universe—is the Universe itself.
There are millions upon millions of such worlds, and greater. And there are
millions of millions of such Universes in existence within the Infinite Mind of
THE ALL. And even in our own little solar system there are regions and planes
of life far higher than ours, and beings compared to which we earth-bound
mortals are as the slimy life-forms that dwell on the ocean's bed when compared
to Man. There are beings with powers and attributes higher than Man has ever
dreamed of the gods' possessing. And yet these beings were once as you, and
still lower—and you will be even as they, and still higher, in time, for such
is the Destiny of Man as reported by the Illumined.
And
Death is not real, even in the Relative sense—it is but Birth to a new life—and
You shall go on, and on, and on, to higher and still higher planes of life, for
aeons upon aeons of time. The Universe is your home, and you shall explore its
farthest recesses before the end of Time. You are dwelling in the Infinite Mind
of THE ALL, and your possibilities and opportunities are infinite, both in time
and space. And at the end of the Grand Cycle of Aeons, when THE ALL shall draw
back into itself all of its creations—you will go gladly for you will then be
able to know the Whole Truth of being At One with THE ALL. Such is the report
of the Illumined—those who have advanced well along The Path.
And,
in the meantime, rest calm and serene—you are safe and protected by the
Infinite Power of the FATHER-MOTHER MIND.
"Within
the Father-Mother Mind, mortal children are at
home."—The Kybalion.
"There
is not one who is Fatherless, nor Motherless in the
Universe."—The Kybalion.
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