Dick F.J. - The Meaning of Separated Life

THE late editor of Knowledge, Mr. R. A. Proctor, was one of the most prominent benefactors of humanity in recent times. For he popularised modes of exact scientific thought in a way that few learned men of our day have been unselfish enough to emulate. When the news of his death spread over the earth, thousands felt they had lost a valued friend and teacher.

One of his best, and well-known, lectures was entitled “The Universe”.

In order to carry his audience with him through so vast a subject in the short space of two hours or so, he adopted the expedient of as it were hanging earth, moon, planets, sun and stars upon a tree! Thus earth and moon corresponded to a twig; Saturn and its moons – a miniature solar system – to a small branch; the sun, planets, and solar comets, to a larger branch; and the stars of our galaxy – suns and planets, and systems of suns and planets – to the whole tree. Mr. Proctor here used the Law of Correspondence which exists throughout the universe, though he applied it to one only of the seven phenomenal modes of Being; namely, that of “Three Dimensions”. And while his comparison would at least suggest some of the use and meaning of the gigantic separated life of the star systems, it is now proposed to examine the tree more closely, and read if possible some of the teaching it conveys about life in general, and human life in particular.

First let us draw attention to the teachings and thoughts of another prominent scientist, perhaps the foremost living exponent of abstract Natural Philosophy – Professor P. G. Tait of Edinburgh University – one of the authors of that profoundly thoughtful work “The Unseen Universe”. Not a session passes without Professor Tait referring to the possibilities of a fourth dimensional state of Being. Verbum sat sapienti.

And before proceeding with our investigation let us remember that the foundation of the higher mathematics – the Binomial Theorem – is proved by showing that if true for any dimension it must be true for the next higher dimension; and then, finding it true for the third, we see that it must be true for the fourth, fifth, etc.; and thus find it is actually an incontrovertible truth for any dimension, even if negative.

Now it is admitted by science that all “living” matter is more or less conscious; and this being so, let us endeavor to narrow our consciousness down to the plane of a leaf, and then listen attentively to what occurred to a leaf on a giant tree that had weathered the storms of many centuries. This leaf had been conversing with another leaf on the strange fate which carried them on from night to day and back to night through a bright summer only to wither and die in the autumn, if not sooner destroyed by storms, or other calamities. Our leaves could only see what was of a green color like themselves, and of (practically) TWO DIMENSIONAL modes of being. So that in the air around them they beheld myriads of other leaves who all appeared heirs to the same misfortunes, and fated to die.

Leaf A inquired if there was any historical evidence to throw light on the matter, and leaf B replied that it had heard there was, but didn’t believe much in historical evidence upon so momentous a question. It might have some value, but leaf B, for one, couldn’t see it. Moreover leaf B, 244convinced there must be some meaning in its existence, sent its consciousness in radical lines hither and thither on its surface; pondered on its shape; discovered learnedly on its sap life; and even stumbled on a probable law of evolution of leafy shapes. Yet the mystery of its own life, decay, and death remained a riddle. Some leaves too, were blighted early in spring, while others near them outlived the summer. Leaf A thought it was all very unjust, not to say sad; and turning from a story of how one leaf could become immortal by merely believing that some other particularly well-shaped leaf had died, it resolved to find out the mystery for itself.

Accordingly leaf A, finding the surface already well explored, essayed the task of directing its consciousness, keenly and persistently, all round its EDGE, at some little risk to its vitality. One day, when almost exhausted by this work, it was startled to perceive at one point on the edge something which seemed to recede from the leaf plane AT RIGHT ANGLES to it!

In terror it approached leaf B, and to it communicated the astounding discovery. But leaf B replied that such a thing was quite outside the range of its investigations and could have no possible bearing on the meaning of leaf life; and besides it was probably a hallucination on A’s part, brought about by the unusual direction it had compelled its consciousness to take; adding, moreover, with more force than courtesy, that it had better keep its discovery to itself if it didn’t want to be thought a fool by the other leaves.

Nothing daunted, however, our leaf determined to repeat the experiment, though it had seemed to lose itself in the previous attempt. Passing, with supreme concentration, through the peculiar feeling of loss of identity, it was amazed to find that its consciousness nevertheless became more vivid, and had, moreover, taken a definite direction! And it seemed now to remember something of past summers of leaf life – summers before it had been a leaf! For its conscious life was now moving down a twig. It then returned to tell the other leaves of this still more wonderful discovery. But it found them in many groups, eagerly discussing the problem of leaf life. Some held that when a leaf died it had a “spirit” which floated around somewhere in the air, and occasionally obliged a leaf more or less distantly connected with it by appearing in somewhat phantasmal form. Others held that death was an insoluble mystery, and that the best thing they could do was to arrange that all leaves should have an exactly equal share of sunlight – a foolish notion truly. Others held that they should think of each other and not of themselves; and though these were on the true road, yet when pressed for a practical explanation of how their plan disarmed Death of its terrors for each, they remained speechless – for they knew not. One leaf had said, “I am the way”, but its meaning had become hopelessly misunderstood. There were many other creeds and dogmas ad nauseam, and leaf A noticed a small group too, who thought that a belief in “Karma” and “Re-incarnation” would certainly make them immortal.

Saddened and weary our leaf resolved to carry on its researches considerably, for it found the others would not as yet listen to its tale of exalted consciousness and awakened memory. It came to a point, in later times, where another circular cross section of consciousness approached it, then touched, intersected and united with it!

It seemed now to live in the past and present of a great number of leaves of two kinds. It had quite lost its own especial life, but was able to perceive at the end of a small twig the form of the particular leaf it had quitted.

Afterwards came a more appalling change, yet similar to one that occurred on its first quitting the leaf. The united stream of life became absorbed in a much larger one, a main branch.

And so it discovered with a delight beyond the capabilities of mediocre leaf language to convey, that although leaves did fade and seemingly die, 245those who during life suceeded in removing their centre of consciousness from the leaf superficies into the more REAL and THREE DIMENSIONAL depths of the branch could perceive that the life was only drawn inwards, or into a higher state of being along a definite branch, with all the potentialities and aspirations for further development; and that death was but a change of precisely the same character which took place during the night life of leaves, only that the casting off or abandonment of the leaf mode of existence was of much longer duration. Thus it saw that leaves had no cause to fear the winter. Then it saw, too, the proximate purpose of this separated leaf life – the growth and perfecting of the whole branch. It saw, too, that the electric thread of its own life was continuous, though not always in consecutive summers, and this led it to inquire into the deeper purpose of tree life.

It found that the outward flowing day currents of branch life went in a spiral whirl which without changing its rotative direction flowed backwards at night. Then it seemed like a sun-derived suggestion from a higher and already existent mode of being that if this forward and backward motion could be combined with the simpler advancing rotative motion, the leaves would curve themselves into more or less complex flower forms; and that if after this point of development had been reached, the principle of rotation about an axis advancing along the central line at right angles to it, were further perfected, more or less spherical fruit shapes would be formed, THREE DIMENSIONAL, and containing within potentialities of infinite future development.

Thus it saw that if the other leaves could all be induced to reverse their currents of life during the day, send their united life back into the tree, and again let it flow outwards, the tree would rise in the scale of self-created beings. But it noticed a small branch, which having perceived some of this, resolved to turn its own leaves into flowers and so look prettier than the other branches. The consequence of the reversal of some of the whirling life currents in this branch – causing them to proceed in an opposite direction to similar currents in the other branches – was, that although some small flowers came, this branch, with all its dependent leaves, withered very soon. And our leaf at once comprehended that if it cherished a like purpose for itself, whether in narrow leaf life, or responsible branch life, Death was simply a scientific certainty. For if two ends of one shaft are desired to rotate in opposite directions, and the torsional resistance be less than the opposing rotative forces, the shaft must break at some intermediate point. Hence the flower and fruit life of a tree cannot be permanently developed till all the whirling life currents of the tree flow outward and inward in similar harmonic motion.

The leaves uuitedly sacrificed their modes of being and consciously retreated into temporarily unknown regions to re-appear as flowers; these again sacrificed their modes of being and re-appeared as fruit. And there came a time when these changes occurred to one leaf during one summer, and the flowers were called blossoms. Again the ripe fruits sacrificed their lives, became detached and fell to mother Earth, that other trees might spring up in future times of even greater perfection, and lead ultimately through further sacrifices to higher modes of existence.

Thus our leaf perceived very clearly that while it might become a magnificent tree bearing strange fruit in future times, yet if it cherished such a desire at any stage of progress, it would risk becoming detached from the greater whole of which it ever formed a part, falling to earth not as ripe fruit, but as a withering branch or leaf, doomed to commence life again – if there was time left, in lower dimensional modes of existence.

Returning to the original leaf state and consciousness it will be seen that while its form was sensibly Superficial, its displaced centre of consciousness had only one kind of motion round its real centre – the point of junction 246with the twig – and this kind of motion is usually called motion in a plane surface. That is, the form being two dimensional, the conscious motion was of one kind. But in the twig, the form being three dimensional, the conscious motion was of two kinds, circular and uniformly retreating at right angles to the former plane of the leaf. The conscious motion in the second case was quite like that in the first case, radial and rotative, but it had the abnormal attribute of receding at right angles from the familiar leaf plane of existence. And its first experience in doing so, be it remembered, was the recollection of former summers. And be it further noted that this was only attained by passing backwards concentratively through the point of attachment to the twig.

Now the form of the human skull is globular or three dimensional, and within it is a certain magic point, by which it is connected to a remarkably real chain of consciousness in the realm of four dimensions. As with the leaves, so ordinary human skulls only see around them what is like themselves: in this case three dimensional. And ordinary modes of waking or day-time skull-consciousness are of two kinds, forward and backward, and from side to side. These two notions must be stilled, and the conscious life pass through the point of attachment backwards by supreme concentration, before height and depth can be added to the consciousness, and the far more REAL empire of four dimensions be explored.

The analogy to the tree is even more perfect, for the nearer the centre of the tree, the more the varied leaf life becomes united into one life. And thus we can see pretty clearly what is a strange but eternal fact, that in a much higher plane of Being the vast separated life of Humanity is but One Life. And again these planetary single lives unite in the controlling Spirits of their central orbs. And thus the Eternal Truth is reached that All Life is One, the apparent separation only occurring through lower and lower planes or modes of being, for the development and perfection of the Divine Idea through the present Day of Brahm.

Thus the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity is not a new-fangled notion, but an eternal scientific fact, which anyone who stills the self-centreing currents of his lower nature by becoming universal in his sympathies, and then making the experiment that leaf A made, can verify for himself. It is not an easy task, but by following the lines laid down by Gautama Buddha, or Jesus, or Paul – it can be done; and he will himself accomplish the at-one-ment with his Higher Self, even as that in turn will in time become absolutely united with other Higher Selves and flow ever Godward.

But he must make the experiment himself. No other can do it for him. And when the nations, the other leaves, shall have verified the truth of this experiment – it may be ere long – then will it be possible for the Human Progress to make a sudden leap onward – flower-like – to forms and lives of infinitely greater Beauty, Truth, and Love, than seems possible to any one leaf at present.

Fred. J. Dick.

Footnotes