Chapter
7 - The ALL in all
While
All is in THE ALL, it is equally true that THE ALL is in
All.
To
him who truly understands this truth hath come great knowledge."
-The Kybalion
How often have the majority of people heard repeated the statement
that their Deity (called by many names) was "All in All," and how
little have they suspected the inner occult truth concealed by
these carelessly uttered words? The commonly used expression is a
survival of the ancient Hermetic Maxim quoted above. As the
Kybalion says: "To him who truly understands this truth, hath come
great knowledge." And, this being so, let us seek this truth, the
understanding of which means so much. In this statement of
truth-this Hermetic Maxim-is concealed one of the greatest
philosophical, scientific and religious truths.
We have given you the Hermetic Teaching regarding the Mental Nature
of the Universe-the truth that "the Universe is Mental-held in the
Mind of THE ALL." As the Kybalion says, in the passage quoted
above: "All is in THE ALL." But note also the co-related statement,
that: "It is equally true that THE ALL is in ALL." This apparently
contradictory statement is reconcilable under the Law of Paradox.
It is, moreover, an exact Hermetic statement of the relations
existing between THE ALL and its Mental Universe. We have seen how
"All is in THE ALL"-now let us examine the other aspect of the
subject.
The
Hermetic Teachings are to the effect that THE ALL is Imminent in
("remaining within; inherent; abiding within") its Universe, and in
every part, particle, unit, or combination, within the Universe.
This statement is usually illustrated by the Teachers by a
reference to the Principle of Correspondence. The Teacher instructs
the student to form a Mental Image of something, a person, an idea,
something having a mental form, the favorite example being that of
the author or dramatist forming an idea of his characters; or a
painter or sculptor forming an image of an ideal that he wished to
express by his art. In each case, the student will find that while
the image has its existence, and being, solely within his own mind,
yet he, the student, author, dramatist, painter, or sculptor, is,
in a sense, immanent in; remaining within; or abiding within, the
mental image also. In other words, the entire virtue, life, spirit,
of reality in the mental image is derived from the "immanent mind"
of the thinker. Consider this for a moment, until the idea is
grasped.
To take a modern example, let us say that Othello, lago, Hamlet,
Lear, Richard III, existed merely in the mind of Shakespeare, at
the time of their conception or creation. And yet, Shakespeare also
existed within each of these characters, giving them their
vitality, spirit, and action. Whose is the "spirit" of the
characters that we know as Micawber, Oliver Twist, Uriah Heep-is it
Dickens, or have each of these characters a personal spirit,
independent of their creator? Have the Venus of Medici, the Sistine
Madonna, the Appollo Belvidere, spirits and reality of their own,
or do they represent the spiritual and mental power of their
creators? The Law of Paradox explains that both propositions are
true, viewed from the proper viewpoints. Micawber is both Micawber,
and yet Dickens. And, again, while Micawber may be said to be
Dickens, yet Dickens is not identical with Micawber. Man, like
Micawber, may exclaim:
"The Spirit of my Creator is inherent within me-and yet I am not
HE!" How different this from the shocking half-truth so
vociferously announced by certain of the half-wise, who fill the
air with their raucous cries of: "I Am God!" Imagine poor Micawber,
or the sneaky Uriah Heep, crying: "I Am Dickens"; or some of the
lowly clods in one of Shakespeare's plays, grandiloquently
announcing that: "I Am Shakespeare!" THE ALL is in the earth-worm,
and yet the earth-worm is far from being THE ALL. And still the
wonder remains, that though the earthworm exists merely as a lowly
thing, created and having its being solely within the Mind of THE
ALL-yet THE ALL is immanent in the earthworm, and in the particles
that go to make up the earthworm. Can there be any greater mystery
than this of "All in THE ALL; and THE ALL in All?"
The student will, of course, realize that the illustrations given
above are necessarily imperfect and inadequate, for they represent
the creation of mental images in finite minds, while the Universe
is a creation of Infinite Mind-and the difference between the two
poles separates them. And yet it is merely a matter of degree-the
same Principle is in operation-the Principle of Correspondence
manifests in each-"As above, so Below, as Below, so above."
And, in the degree that Man realizes the existence of the
Indwelling Spirit immanent within his being, so will he rise in the
spiritual scale of life. This is what spiritual development
means-the recognition, realization, and manifestation of the Spirit
within us. Try to remember this last definition-that of spiritual
development. It contains the Truth of True Religion.
There are many planes of Being-many sub-planes of Life-many degrees
of existence in the Universe. And all depend upon the advancement
of beings in the scale, of which scale the lowest point is the
grossest matter, the highest being separated only by the thinnest
division from the SPIRIT of THE ALL. And, upward and onward along
this Scale of Life, everything is moving. All are on the Path,
whose end is THE ALL. All progress is a Returning Home. All is
Upward and Onward, in spite of all seemingly contradictory
appearances. Such is the Message of the Illumined.
The Hermetic Teachings concerning the process of the Mental
Creation of the Universe, are that at the beginning of the Creative
Cycle, THE ALL, in its aspect of "Being," projects its Will toward
its aspect of "Becoming," and the process of creation begins. It is
taught that the process consists of the lowering of Vibration until
a very low degree of vibratory energy is reached, at which point
the grossest possible form of Matter is manifested. This process is
called the stage of Involution, in which THE ALL becomes
"involved," or "wrapped up," in its creation. This process is
believed by the Hermetists to have a Correspondence to the mental
process of an artist, writer, or inventor, who becomes so wrapped
up in his mental creation as to almost forget his own existence and
who, for the time being, almost "lives in his creation." If instead
of ''wrapped'' we use the word ''rapt,'' perhaps we will give a
better idea of what is meant.
This Involuntary stage of Creation is sometimes called the
"Outpouring" of the Divine Energy, just as the Evolutionary state
is called the "Indrawing." The extreme pole of the Creative process
is considered to be the furthest removed from THE ALL, while the
beginning of the Evolutionary stage is regarded as the beginning of
the return swing of the pendulum of Rhythm-a "coming home" idea
being held in all of the Hermetic Teachings.
The Teachings are that during the "Outpouring," the vibrations
become lower and lower until finally the urge ceases, and the
return swing begins. But there is this difference, that while in
the "Outpouring" the creative forces manifest compactly and as a
whole, yet from the beginning of the Evolutionary or "Indrawing"
stage, there is manifested the Law of Individualization-that is,
the tendency to separate into Units of Force, so that finally that
which left THE ALL as unindividualized energy returns to its source
as countless highly developed Units of Life, having risen higher
and higher in the scale by means of Physical, Mental, and Spiritual
Evolution.
The ancient Hermetists use the word "Meditation," in describing the
process of the mental creation of the Universe in the Mind of THE
ALL, the word "Contemplation" also being frequently employed. But
the idea intended seems to be that of the employment of the Divine
Attention. "Attention" is a word derived from the Latin root,
meaning "to reach out; to stretch out," and so the act of Attention
is really a mental "reaching out; extension" of mental energy, so
that the underlying idea is readily understood when we examine into
the real meaning of "Attention."
The Hermetic Teachings regarding the process of Evolution are that,
THE ALL, having meditated upon the beginning of the Creation-having
thus established the material foundations of the Universe-having
thought it into existence-then gradually awakens or rouses from its
Meditation and in so doing starts into manifestation the process of
Evolution, on the material, mental and spiritual planes,
successively and in order. Thus the upward movement begins-and all
begins to move Spiritward. Matter becomes less gross; the Units
spring into being; the combinations begin to form; Life appears and
manifests in higher and higher forms; and Mind becomes more and
more in evidence-the vibrations constantly becoming higher. In
short, the entire process of Evolution, in all of its phases,
begins, and proceeds according to the established Laws of the
"Indrawing" process.
All
of this occupies aeons upon aeons of Man's time, each aeon
containing countless millions of years, but yet the Illumined
inform us that the entire creation, including Involution and
Evolution, of an Universe, is but "as the twinkle of the eye" to
THE ALL. At the end of countless cycles of aeons of time, THE ALL
withdraws its Attention-its Contemplation and Meditation-of the
Universe, for the Great Work is finished-and All is withdrawn into
THE ALL from which it emerged. But Mystery of Mysteries-the Spirit
of each soul is not annihilated, but is infinitely expanded-the
Created and the Creator are merged. Such is the report of the
Illumined!
The above illustration of the "meditation," and subsequent
"awakening from meditation," of THE ALL, is of course but an
attempt of the Teachers to describe the Infinite process by a
finite example. And, yet: "As Below, so Above." The difference is
merely in degree. And just as THE ALL arouses itself from the
meditation upon the Universe, so does Man (in time) cease from
manifesting upon the Material Plane, and withdraws himself more and
more into the Indwelling Spirit, which is indeed "The Divine
Ego."
There is one more matter of which we desire to speak in this
lesson, and that comes very near to an invasion of the Metaphysical
field of speculation, although our purpose is merely to show the
futility of such speculation. We allude to the question which
inevitably comes to the mind of all thinkers who have ventured to
seek the Truth. The question is: "WHY does THE ALL create
Universes?" The question may be asked in different forms, but the
above is the gist of the inquiry.
Men have striven hard to answer this question, but still there is
no answer worthy of the name. Some have imagined that THE ALL had
something to gain by it, but this is absurd, for what could THE ALL
gain that it did not already possess? Others have sought the answer
in the idea that THE ALL "wished something to love;" and others
that it created for pleasure, or amusement; or because it "was
lonely"; or to manifest its power; -all puerile explanations and
ideas, belonging to the childish period of thought.
Others have sought to explain the mystery buy assuming that THE ALL
found itself "compelled" to create, by reason of its own internal
nature"-its ''creative instinct.'' This idea is in advance of the
others, but its weak point lies in the idea of THE ALL being
"compelled" by anything, internal or external. If its "internal
nature," or "creative instinct," would be the Absolute, instead of
THE ALL, and so accordingly that part of the proposition
falls.
And,
yet, THE ALL does create and manifest, and seems to find some kind
of satisfaction in so doing. And it is difficult to escape the
conclusion that in some infinite degree it must have what would
correspond to an inner nature," or "creative instinct," in man,
with correspondingly infinite Desire and Will. It could not act
unless it Willed to Act; and it would not Will to Act, unless it
Desired to Act; and it would not Desire to Act unless it obtained
some Satisfaction thereby. And all of these things would belong to
an ''Inner Nature,'' and might be postulated as existing according
to the Law of Correspondence. But, still, we prefer to think of THE
ALL as acting entirely FREE from any influence, internal as well as
external. That is the problem which lies at the root of
difficulty-and the difficulty that lies at the root of the
problem.
Strictly speaking, there cannot be said to be any "Reason"
whatsoever for THE ALL to act, for a "reason" implies a "Cause,"
and THE ALL is above Cause and Effect, except when it Wills to
become a Cause, at which time the Principle is set into motion. So,
you see, the matter is Unthinkable, just as THE ALL is Unknowable.
Just as we say THE ALL merely "IS"-so we are compelled to say that
"THE ALL ACTS BECAUSE IT ACTS." At the last, THE ALL is All Reason
in Itself-All Law in Itself; All Action in Itself-and it may be
said, truthfully, that THE ALL is Its Own Reason; its own Law; its
own Act-or still further, that THE ALL; Its Reason; Its Act; is
Law; are ONE, all being names for the same thing. In the opinion of
those who are giving you these present lessons, the answer is
locked up in INNER SELF of THE ALL, along with its Secret of Being.
The Law of Correspondence, in our opinion, reaches only to that
aspect of THE ALL, which may be spoken of as "The Aspect of
BECOMING." Back of that Aspect is "The Aspect of BEING," in which
all Laws are lost in LAW; all Principles merge into PRINCIPLE-and
THE ALL: PRINCIPLE; and BEING: are IDENTICAL, ONE AND THE SAME.
Therefore, Metaphysical speculation on this point is futile. We go
into the matter here, merely to show that we recognize the
question, and also the absurdity of the ordinary answers of
metaphysics and theology.
In conclusion, it may be of interest to our students to learn that
while some of the ancient, and modern, Hermetic Teachers have
rather inclined in the direction of applying the Principle of
Correspondence to the question, with the result of the "Inner
Nature" conclusion, -still the legends have it that HERMES, the
Great, when asked this question by his advanced students, answered
them by PRESSING HIS LIPS TIGHTLY TOGETHER and saying not a word,
indicating that there WAS NO ANSWER. But, then, he may have
intended to apply the axiom of his philosophy, that: "The lips of
Wisdom are closed, except to the ears of Understanding," believing
that even his advanced students did not possess the understanding
which entitled them to the Teaching. At any rate, if Hermes
possessed the Secret, he failed to impart it, and so far as the
world is concerned THE LIPS OF HERMES ARE CLOSED regarding it. And
where the Great Hermes hesitated to speak, what mortal may dare to
teach?
But,
remember, that whatever be the answer to this problem, if indeed
there be an answer-the truth remains that: "While All is in THE
ALL, it is equally true that THE ALL is in All." The Teaching on
this point is emphatic. And, we may add the concluding words of the
quotation: "To him who truly understands this truth, hath come
great knowledge."