The
chapter 7 of the book The Kybalion
seeks to clarify this hermetic axiom.
"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
wishes 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, Iago, 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 Apollo
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, eloquently announcing that: "I Am
Shakespeare!" THE ALL is in the earthworm, and yet the earth-worm is far
from being THE ALL. And still the wonder remains, that though the earth-worm
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 earth-worm. 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.
(Here the author of the Kybalion confuses THE ALL with
the Supreme Spirit, who is the highest part of THE ALL; and what he says is
incorrect because only the beings that are in the ascending arc go towards the
Supreme Spirit, while the beings that are in the descending arc go towards
matter.)
How does God create?
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.
(Not the entire part of THE ALL is
"enveloped" within Creation, since the Supreme Spirit remains
"above" in its plane of existence.)
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.
(Here the author of the Kybalion continues to confuse
THE ALL with the Supreme Spirit, because the divine sparks separate from the
Supreme Spirit and not from THE ALL, and no matter where those sparks are in
their journey, they continue to be part of THE ALL.)
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.
(Here the author of the Kybalion makes the mistake of
believing that this journey is only carried out once, when in fact it is a
continuous process, and by this I mean that while some beings go towards the
Supreme Spirit through the ascending arc, new ones beings go towards matter through
the descending arc.)
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!
(Here the author of the Kybalion is digressing because
the birth, existence and death of the Universe, instead of resembling a blink
of the eye, corresponds rather to a reincarnation of GOD, and in reality
everything is attracted again within the Supreme Spirit that is where it came
from. And the author of the Kybalion continues to confuse THE ALL with the
Supreme Spirit.)
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."
Why does God create?
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 by 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," compelled it to do anything,
then the "internal nature" or "creative instinct" would be
the Absolute, instead of THE ALL, and so accordingly that part of the
proposition falls.
(I do not see why the internal nature of THE ALL could
not be creative, since we were created in its image and we are creators by
nature. And in fact the author of the Kybalion himself acknowledges this below,
contradicting himself and showing with this did not structure his reflection
well.)
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 the 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."
OBSERVATIONS
I agree with some aspects of this chapter, but I largely disagree.
To
begin with, I do not agree when the author of Kybalion affirms that the
characters depicted by the artists in their works "acquire an
independent spirit and their own reality."
And I don't agree with this statement because those characters don't have a real existence. Those
characters were invented by their authors, and they exist temporarily
in the minds of those who think of them, but those characters have no
reality of their own.
The character of Wilkins Micawber invented by the British writer Charles Dickens is not going to reflect on himself and exclaim:
« The spirit of my creator is inherent in me, and yet I am not him. »
And he's not going to because this character doesn't have the ability to do that, since he is just a fictional character.
So
asserting that falsehood seems very wrong to me, but also the
comparison that the author of the Kybalion makes with the artists is
incorrect, because although it is true that God created from himself,
and therefore left part of his being in his creations, on the other
hand, that does not happen with artists when they create their works,
The
artists do not take their own substance that constitutes them in order
to create, but they create from the substance that they have from the
outside. The sculptor does not take part of his flesh to create a sculpture, but takes a block of stone and shapes it. And the same happens with the painter, the writer and the other artists. And
it is true that they dedicate time, energy and effort to create them
works, but when they finish those works, they continue to be complete,
while instead God was reduced after having created.
And
since the author of the Kybalion does not explain this axiom well, I am
going to clarify it for you in a more illustrative way:
At
the beginning there was nothing, there
was not even a hint of energy, nor a small puff of vibration.
There was absolutely nothing!
And that's when the Creator God emerged from Nothing!
But
when I tell you the "Creator God" do not imagine a bearded Lord, an
anthropomorphic God (as God is usually represented in religions) because
that will mislead you. So
for you to have a more accurate image, imagine the Creator God as an
immense Light endowed with consciousness that arose in the highest plane
of existence that you can imagine.
And
in fact this is what is symbolized in the Bible, although in a somewhat
distorted way, when in Genesis it is said that at the beginning
everything was darkness until light arose
over the face of the abyss.
However,
Where and how did the Creator God come from?
Theosophy
explains that He arose from an emanation of the Unmanifested God, and
in the blog I am posting the interesting information that I am finding
about it, but I recommend that you first read this other chapter for
those who are interested in delving into this subject (see link).
And
after the Creator God appeared, the big problem he faced was that since
there was absolutely nothing outside of him, then in order to create he
had to use his own essence.
So
imagine that this divine Light detached itself from a part of its
substance and densified it in order to be able to form the energy with
which it could create the Universe, while the part that it kept became
the Supreme Spirit.
And
that is why it is said that God is in all, because everything
that exists has been created from his divine substance: each atom, each
energy, each force, everything comes from the substance of the Creator
God.
And
that is why it is also said that the Creator God and his Creation are
ALL, because they are everything that exists, and outside of them there
is nothing.
And
since within God's substance there is also his consciousness, that
means that in each particle of matter and in each portion of energy
there is also his divine consciousness, nothing more than this
consciousness is found in different degrees of consciousness.
The
atom that makes up matter is the same as the atom that makes up the
Supreme Spirit, nothing more than when a divine spark separated from the
Supreme Spirit in order to descend towards the physical plane and thus
be able to transform into an atom of the physical matter. Well,
it turns out that by carrying out this process, the consciousness of
that divine spark ended up falling into unconsciousness.
And the entire path of evolution that this divine spark carries out later serves so that each time it awakens more and more; as it ascends through the planes of existence, until it reunites with the Supreme Spirit.
And having explained this to you, you can now better understand this axiom as follows:
« While
everything (that exists) is in THE ALL (which is
the Creator God and his Creation), it is equally true that
(the substance and consciousness) of THE ALL (that is GOD) it is in
everything (that exists). »
How does God create?
In
the second part of this chapter, the author of the Kybalion tries to
answer this question, but he does it incorrectly because contrary to
what he claims, the Creator God did not create the Universe as an artist
creates his work, since in the case of God, the process is much
more complex.
In
a very summarized way, what the Creator God is going to create are the
Logos, which are the Cosmic Consciousnesses who in turn are going to
create the divine hierarchies, and it is these divine hierarchies that
are going to take care of creating the beings and energies that are
going to compose the Universe.
And for those who are interested in this subject, I detail it more in this other article (see link).
And
in this second section, the author of the Kybalion also relates more or
less correctly the process of involution and evolution that the divine
sparks make up the Supreme Spirit go through, but he makes the
mistake of thinking that all divine sparks involute and evolve at the
same time, when in fact there is an alternation.
And it is so that while some divine sparks are ascending through the ascending arc from matter towards the Supreme Spirit; and
to do that they are evolving through higher and higher kingdoms of
life, which are: the mineral kingdom, the vegetable kingdom, the animal
kingdom, the human kingdom and the celestial kingdoms.
At
the same time there are new divine sparks that are separating from the
Supreme Spirit and that descend through the descending arc towards matter,
involuting through ever lower realms of life, and which are: the ever
denser manifestations of the Divine Spirit , the higher elementals, the
medium elementals, the lower elementals, until finally reaching the
mineral kingdom.
And
this is how THE ALL actually has the shape of a circle that in
esotericism is called "the circle of necessity" and where all existing
beings are located and moving somewhere in that circle.
Why does God create?
And
in the third and last part of this chapter, the author of the Kybalion
tries to answer the question that many ask themselves and which is: Why did God create the Universe?
But
he does it in a very clumsy way, because he himself contradicts himself
in his arguments, and the very principle of correspondence that he
repeats and applies so much to everything, now he no longer accepts it
for this matter.
And
he also mentions an anecdote that I suspect he must have invented
because I had not heard it before, where supposedly Hermes Trismegisto
would have refused to answer this question. And the author of the Kybalion assures that if the great sage Hermes did not do it, then we should not seek to do it either. Which seems to me a hoax that the author of the Kybalion used just to excuse his ignorance.
And
the funniest part of the matter is that the first argument that he gave
and that at the same time he rejected, well it turns out that this is
the main reason why God created the Universe, since in reality God does
have something very important to gain when creating the Universe and it
is His regeneration.
And I explain this to you in more detail in this other article (see link).
~*~
And all this shows me that the author of the Kybalion was very ignorant regarding these themes about God.
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