HPB-SD(ed.1) v.1 p.1 st.6 sl.4: Difference between revisions

{{Style P-No indent|because the Law for the birth, growth, and decay of everything in Kosmos, from the Sun to the glow-worm in the grass, is {{Style S-Small capitals|One}}. It is an everlasting work of perfection with every new appearance, but the Substance-Matter and Forces are all one and the same. But this Law acts on every planet through minor and varying laws. The “ imperishable Laya Centres ” have a great importance, and their meaning must be fully understood if we would have a clear conception of the Archaic Cosmogony, whose theories have now passed into Occultism. At present, one thing may be stated. The worlds are built neither ''upon'', nor ''over'', nor ''in ''the ''Laya ''centres, the zero-point being a condition, not any mathematical point.}}

{{Style P-No indent|have said that Laya is what Science may call the Zero-point or line ; the realm of absolute negativeness, or the one real absolute Force, the noumenon of the Seventh State of that which we ignorantly call and recognise as “ Force ” ; or again the Noumenon of Undifferentiated Cosmic Substance which is itself an unreachable and unknowable object to finite perception ; the root and basis of all states of objectivity and subjectivity too ; the neutral axis, not one of the many aspects, but its centre. It may serve to elucidate the meaning if we attempt to imagine a neutral centre — the dream of those who would discover perpetual motion. A “ neutral centre ” is, in one aspect, the limiting point of any given set of senses. Thus, imagine two consecutive planes of matter as already formed ; each of these corresponding to an appropriate set of perceptive organs. We are forced to admit that between these two planes of matter an incessant circulation takes place ; and if we follow the atoms and molecules of (say) the lower in their transformation upwards, these will come to a point where they pass altogether beyond the range of the faculties we are using on the lower plane. In fact, to us the matter of the lower plane there vanishes from our perception into nothing — or rather it passes on to the higher plane, and the state of matter corresponding to such a point of transition must certainly possess special and not readily discoverable properties. Such “ Seven Neutral Centres,” * then, are produced by Fohat, who, when, as Milton has it — }}

The ''Primordial Atom ''(''anu'') cannot be multiplied either in its pregenetic state, or its primogeneity ; therefore it is called “ sum total,” figuratively, of course, as that “ sum total ” is boundless. (See Addendum to this Book.) That which is the abyss of nothingness to the physicist, who knows only the world of visible causes and effects, is the boundless Space of the Divine ''Plenum ''to the Occultist. Among many other objections to the doctrine of an endless evolution and re-involution (or re-absorption) of the Kosmos, a process which, according to the Brahminical and Esoteric Doctrine, is without a beginning or an end, the Occultist is told that it cannot be, since “ by all the admissions of

{{Style P-No indent|modern scientific philosophy it is a necessity of Nature to run down.” If the tendency of Nature “ to run down ” is to be considered so forcible an objection to Occult Cosmogony, “How,” we may ask, “ do your Positivists and Free-thinkers and Scientists account for the phalanx around us of active stellar systems ? ” They had eternity to “ run down ” in ; why, then, is not the Kosmos a huge inert mass ? Even the moon is only hypothetically believed to be a dead planet, “ run down,” and astronomy does not seem to be acquainted with many such dead planets. * The query is unanswerable. But apart from this it must be noted that the idea of the amount of “ transformable energy ” in our little system coming to an end is based purely on the fallacious conception of a “ white-hot, incandescent Sun ” perpetually radiating away his heat without compensation into Space. To this we reply that nature runs down and disappears from the objective plane, only to re-emerge after a time of rest out of the subjective and to reascend once more. Our Kosmos and Nature will run down only to reappear on a more perfect plane after every {{Style S-Small capitals|Pralaya}}. The ''matter ''of the Eastern philosophers is not the “ matter ” and Nature of the Western metaphysicians. For what is Matter ? And above all, what is our scientific philosophy but that which was so justly and so politely defined by Kant as “ the Science of the ''limits ''to our Knowledge ?” Where have the many attempts made by Science to bind, to connect, and define all the phenomena of organic life by mere physical and chemical manifestations, brought it to ? To speculation generally — mere soap-bubbles, that burst one after the other before the men of Science were permitted to discover real facts. All this would have been avoided, and the progress of knowledge would have proceeded with gigantic strides, had only Science and its philosophy abstained from accepting hypotheses on the mere one-sided Knowledge of ''their ''Matter. †}}

{{Style P-No indent|orward by Kant and Laplace, was chiefly based on the above fact that all the planets revolved in the same direction. It is on this fact, mathematically demonstrated during the time of Laplace, that this great astronomer, calculating on the theory of probabilities, offered to bet three milliards to one that the next planet discovered would have in its system the same peculiarity of motion Eastward. The immutable laws of scientific mathematics got “ worsted by further experiments and observations,” it was said. This idea of Laplace’s mistake prevails generally to this day ; but some astronomers have finally succeeded in demonstrating (?) that the mistake had been in accepting Laplace’s assertion for a mistake ; and steps to correct it without attracting general attention to the ''bévue ''are now being taken. Many such unpleasant surprises are in store for hypotheses of even a purely physical character. What further disillusions, then, may there not be in questions of a transcendental, Occult Nature ? At any rate, Occultism teaches that the so-called “ reverse rotation ” is a fact.}}