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.
Lesson III. The Life of the Ego
Lesson VII. The One and the Many.
Lesson IX. Survival of the Fittest.
Lesson VII. The One and the Many.
WE NOW invite you to consider the important philosophical problem of The One and The Many, as explained by the Arcane Teaching. In the philosophies which hold that The One Life is the Absolute, this problem is unexplainable, for it is impossible to conceive of the Absolute, which is immutable and indivisible, changing and dividing itself into parts, or apparently doing so. With the recognition of the fact that the Cosmic One Life is not the Absolute, but is under Law, then the difficulty vanishes. Let us listen to the Aphorism:
APHORISM XII. Know ye, that in Truth, there is but One Life and not many lives. Separateness is but relative and partial—illusory—the creative fiction of the Cosmos. Who teaches otherwise, errs. In the Cosmic Will there is the One Life in which, and by which, is manifested the Many.
In the previous lessons we have seen that the Cosmic Will is the "lifeness" of all Life, just as Consciousness is its "livingness." Back of, and under, all manifestations of Life, there is always the Cosmic Will. But the Cosmic Will precedes the particular manifestation that we call "Life," for it existed before Life appeared in the Cosmos. The great Cosmic energies and activities which manifested in world-building in all its phases, were but manifestations of the Cosmic Will bestirring itself. The fundamental activities show but little evidence of what we call Life—there seems to be but little Life in the mineral kingdom—but still the Will is seen in operation there, building up and tearing down; arranging and rearranging; combining and recombining.
The attraction and repulsion of the atoms (and of the particles composing the atoms) shows us that the Will is present and in operation in these lowly manifestations. In Gravitation, we see a wonderful evidence of the operation of the Cosmic Will. In Chemical Affinity and Molecular Cohesion we have similar evidences. In all the great Natural Laws, in evidence throughout the Cosmos, we may see the operation of the Cosmic Will, always. The laws of Physics demonstrate clearly the existence of some great Conative power, animating, energizing, and manifesting in every part and particle of creation. One must indeed be a blind materialist to fail to see ever at work that "Something Within" manifesting as the "Something Without." The building up of the crystal, from liquid to regular and exact geometrical form, should be sufficient to convince anyone that there is a "Something at work" in it. Even the materialist is forced to recognize these facts—and he does recognize it, and calls that Something by the name of "Nature." We have no quarrel with names—if the term "Nature" suits you, use it by all means. But if you think clearly, you must recognize that your "Nature" is Conative, and acts and manifests as a Cosmic Will.
These fundamental activities and manifestations of the Cosmic Will or One Life, are akin to the activities and manifestations of our own lives. Stop to consider that your body was built up from a single cell by your Live Forces—not only your fleshy parts, but your hair, nails, teeth, and even the hardest bones which form your framework. And, likewise, the flint-like shell of the clam, oyster, and other hard-shell animals were so built up; not to speak of the harder geometrical crystal forms of the diamond and other minerals, which are but "built-up" shapes and forms. The diamond is composed of carbon, which is but a gaseous substance which becomes solid under certain conditions. The hard ivory of the elephant's tusk was built up from cells, by the Life Forces within the animal itself. So you see that Life can build up hard substances as well as soft ones. And the same force that builds up these hard substances, builds up the rocks and hills, and mountains, and minerals that form the body of Nature. Just as certain functions of the animal or human brain manifest in building up the body of the Cosmos.
The Cosmic Will from the beginning has sought to embody itself in objective form, in order to manifest Consciousness, which is the "livingness" of Life, as we have explained in a previous lesson. Like the Life Forces in any being, it first concerned itself in providing a body for itself, in order that it would have a substantial foundation for further and higher manifestation of its Life. In the Cosmos the material plane of activity is the one first operated upon. Then comes the slowing down of the vibrations of Motion, and the Principle of Substance produces the elementary particles which, combining, form matter. Then matter begins to evolve into higher forms, until at last there is produced the combination in which is possible the manifestation that we call Organic Life. From the lowly living cell-like creatures in the slimy depths of the primeval ocean-beds, arise step by step, slowly, tediously, painfully, arduously, and haltingly, but surely and steadily, form after form of higher and still higher living organisms. The modern scientific theory of Evolution—which, however, was antedated some twenty-five hundred years by the Ancient Greek Philosophers—tells us a true tale of the slow rise and development of life forms.
At last Man—a poor, weak, brutal creature with wonderful possibilities, was evolved by the One Life in its urge toward Conscious Life. And this poor creature has advanced wonderfully. And Evolution
