Metaphysics

7. METAPHYSICS

THE ESOTERIC TRADITION

The conduct of a conscious life requires knowledge, motives or values and techniques of actions. These three, however, are not independent, but are also contained in each other. For instance, we need knowledge of facts as well as of values and techniques, and there are techniques of action, but also of obtaining knowledge and motivations, and there are values involved in what we seek to know and how we organise the data as well as in what and how we do things. There is a body of knowledge such the Sciences which is distinct from such things as Law, and both are distinct from things such as Engineering and the knowledge contained in the various instruction manuals.

The total knowledge, positive as well as normative, natural, social and technological, existing in the human world may be divided into:-

(1) The Popular or Exoteric, which informs the ordinary transactions between people.

(2) The Special or Mesoteric, such as those of Science, Politics, Economics and Technologies.

(3) There is, however, a third system of knowledge in the world, the Hidden or Esoteric System. It is not popularly known because few people are interested in it or understand it, and it does not enter into the economic, political and ideological systems on which modern life is based. Since knowledge depends partly on the objects to be known and partly on the quality of the observing consciousness, its methods are inner psychological, as opposed to the external methods of science. It assumes the existence of, or the possibility of developing, a higher state of consciousness and functioning.

The difference between these systems is that the first is social, practical and concerned with ordinary life, the second is intellectual, abstract and concerned mainly with objective facts, and the thirds is universal, containing a unitary view of life which combines thought, feelings and action and also facts, meanings and values.



There is sufficient evidence in physical remains as well as legends all over the world that there was in the distant past a highly developed civilisation to which all mankind belonged. This civilisation was destroyed, perhaps, because of a great geophysical disaster, and the people were scattered and reduced to primitive conditions from which they are only now recovering. However, the highly developed sciences were preserved by a few of those who made it their business to do so. This Tradition remained hidden from the general public owing to their primitive state and the tendency to corrupt and reduce to superstition what they could not understand, However, it is said that people belonging to this tradition are guiding the recovery and development of mankind by introducing suitable impulses from time to time, and leakages from these traditions in proportion to their gradual development. The various religions, it is said, arose from this tradition. and they have provided the impetus for the gradual regeneration of mankind. It is from these leakages that we get the evidence for their existence. The life of all the founders of the great religions show a transformation period in their life when they appear to have disappeared from history. Their mission begins on reappearance.

Though a single system, the Esoteric system appears to give rise to many forms adapted to different times, peoples and places. There appear to be three centres where different aspects or interpretations of these traditions were to be found, namely India, Egypt and China and perhaps also in South America. The Indian tradition gave rise to the many systems of Yoga. The Chinese system manifests itself in the philosophy and practice of Acupuncture and various systems of Divination. The traditions from Egypt appear to have been transmitted to the Hebrews and Greeks and later to the Gnostic Christians. Through them it entered into Europe becoming the basis for Western Esoteric systems. The Islamic Esoteric systems, known as Sufism proceeds from the Prophet Muhammad through two streams via Abu Bakr and Ali. Some influences from Zarathustra, Pythagoras and Neoplatonic sources also appear to have been incorporate. Though it may be regarded as continuous with the Egyptian and Hebrew one, there is reason to believe that Arabic is a much more ancient language than Hebrew and that it was deliberately and mathematically constructed to convey complex concept in a highly compact manner, rather than having evolved through usage. The Eastern and Islamic systems have also been recently introduced into the West. It must, however, be stated that the systems available probably bear little resemblance to the originals from which they derive owing to misunderstandings, speculations and changes brought about by unregenerate minds. We can only discuss the part of it which is accessible. The interpretation of this may well be erroneous. It is discussed, therefore, only in order to provide a flavour which can be taken as proof of its existence.

The Universe and all things in it, including human life are seen not in terms of material substances but in terms of the inter-relationships and functions. These are very highly complex concepts. Numbers and Letters of the Alphabet are used as symbols for these. The discussion of Language should have alerted us to the fact that it can be used for purposes other than mere information or conveying literal meanings about sensory data.

When human beings became conscious, they began to wonder about the nature of existence, themselves and their relationship with it. The more conscious ones constructed theories about this which by their very nature had to be the ultimate synthesis of experience and the concepts used had to be the ultimate abstraction. This took the form of Myths, and the way of life built around them gave rise to the religions. It may be assumed that, given the power of the brain to process information, this process still goes on in the unconscious mind while the conscious mind is occupied with the more superficial things, the particularities of life which demand human attention. The myths, however, being connected with the universal fundamentals of existence, continue to be understood by and affect the unconscious mind. However, their exact formulations in words differ from place to place. If we gather all these myths together and study them as psychological phenomena rather than as literal tales or dogmas, we cannot dismiss them as fantasies, superstitions or as primitive theories in Cosmology. They refer to a much deeper reality and they all have something fundamentally in common.

In general these myths boil down to this:- There is an original Ultimate, Absolute Unity, variously named. This gives rise to a pair of opposites, which may be described as male and female, heaven and earth, good and evil, active and passive, positive and negative and so on. There is either a conflict, cooperation or compromise between them and events tend to swing from one pole to the other according to which attains dominance. The force of good is often slain by the force of evil, but is resurrected and later gains dominance over evil, or his offspring does. Winter replaces summer and is then replaced by summer resurrected, or by the son of summer. A third factor either arises due to their mutual interaction or is the cause or effect of it There may be many off-springs and they, too, can be divided into positive and negative. We now have a trinity which explains all phenomena. When people looked only at nature on earth and saw how it produced life in spring, they compared it to the female womb, and we have Mother Earth. Nature worship required goddesses. However, it was discovered that the events on earth required energy, heat and light coming from the heavens above, especially from the sun. This is like the fertilising activity of the male father. Thus, we have male gods. It was easier to replace this abstract concept with a King who constituted a living representation and had a similar relationship with the people.

However, in other more sophisticated traditions both forces are recognised as equally important and we get the Chinese Ying and Yang for instance, while still others put the focus of their attention on the interaction between the three forces and we have trinities in Hinduism and Christianity. Yet underlying all these systems we find more highly conscious people who recognise the Absolute beyond all these forces. Hebrewism is distinguished by the fact that the insistence on the exclusive worship of this Absolute was first made into a fundamental principle of life. This removed the danger of the myths becoming superstitions, especially when they were elaborated by the fantasy and self-interest of priests. However, a study of the Old Testament shows that even here Jahveh was often regarded by the mass of the people as a tribal god, and many found it better to replace this abstract notion with first idols and then Kings of their own. Though Christianity came to reform a degenerated Hebrewism, it revived the ancient myths and again identified their Leader with the Absolute. Islam came as the latest attempt to remove the superstition producing tendency of myths. Though more successful, the people in general still have the tendency to substitute idols. If not in stone or person, then in institutions, books, flags, communities or ideologies. There has, therefore, always been a stream of people all over the world, who being above such tendencies, incorporate their ideas in a system which these others find difficult to comprehend.

The Western system is based on the Kabalah. Though it is regarded as being the Hebrew Esoteric system, it is much more ancient in origin. Versions of it existed in ancient Babylon and Chaldea. The Bible itself contains legends which are derived from much more ancient sources. The Hindu and Buddhist esoteric teachings likewise have sources lost in the mists of time, and there are parallels between the two traditions. The Western places its emphasis on the Triad while the Eastern places it on the Septet. It is possible to reconcile the two when we consider that the Tree of Life in the Kabalah consists of 10 Sephiroth, which is 3+7. The Islamic differs from the Hebrew owing to the fact that the Hebrew alphabet only has 22 = (7x3)+1 letters while the Arabic has 28= 7x(3+1). A description of each of these systems will throw light on the Islamic one, and vice versa.

According to the Eastern system processes are cyclic. The Universe is described as the breathing in and out of Parabrahman, the Ultimate Reality, called Allah in Islam. There is a process of development and expansion, actualisation or condensation, followed by one of contraction or dissolution. There is then a period of rest before this sequence of events is repeated. The period of rest may, however, be regarded as the negative side of the cycle. That is, there is a reverse expansion and contraction, or even alternating processes in different aspects of the same thing. A plant, for instance tends to grow alternately above the ground and below ground, the later being its hidden development. When the Universe has dissolved back into nothingness, we should not suppose that all processes have stopped. There are other processes going on within Parabrahman in the same way as when we breathe in air. These cycles are divided into 7 stages. These stages are not arbitrary since they appear as the 7 colours of light, and light is electromagnetic radiation which is the basic substance from which matter is constructed. Each stage may be similarly divided into 7 stages. The great Universal cycle gives rise to 7 lesser cycles within it, and these, in turn produce still smaller cycles within them, and so on to 7 levels. As the various stages produce their own phenomena and may coexist, then it is possible at any given moment to divide things into 7 categories, each of which is divisible into 7 categories and so on. This may be represented as a Wheel (Chakra) as in the diagram below.

Each point on the Wheel can be represented by a similar diagram. The lines are sometimes called the Rays. They emanate from a centre, Parabrahman, which differentiates into a triad, often referred to by the names Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The Wheel may be regarded as turning, so that it it has a spatial, temporal as well as a qualitative significance.

The whole system rests objectively on the Law of Correspondence and, therefore, subjectively or intellectually, on Analogy. “As above so below”. The inner reflects the outer and vice versa. It is possible to obtain knowledge about the inner or hidden workings of the Universe by cultivating inner awareness and knowledge. This requires that human beings should develop the capacity of insight in order to see the underlying similarity beyond the differences between things. Since human welfare depends on progressive adjustment to reality this is also what they must do. The reason why this should be so, and the methods and techniques for achieving it, are themselves derived from the system.

The gist of the Kabalah, in so far as it is known, may be explained thus:-

The emergence of Everything from Nothing must be explained. We start with certain basic comprehensive concepts and study their relationships by meditation. That which is responsible for this process is called the Absolute or God whatever other name it is given. There are several stages of development.

1. Ain. Since the Absolute cannot be known it is Nothing,

2. Ain Soph. From this emerges the origin of everything, a homogenous condition.

3. Ain Soph Aur. This gives rise to the Limitless Light or Spirit, the Cause.

These three steps refer to the Absolute and are distinct from the next four steps which refer to the Created world. There is, therefore, a border here. In this border a threefold distinction arises between the Attributes, the Organising forces and the Substances..

(a) The world is created by the Creative Word or Logos which separates but links the Creator with the Created.

(b) There are four steps in the arising of the Created World, namely Origination, Creation, Formation and Expression (Manifestation).

(c) Four forms of substance are recognised. These are named Fire, Air, Water and Earth, not to be confused with what is commonly meant by them. They are symbols for qualities, types of behaviour or functions. They should, perhaps be thought of as classes of energy, the letters of the Creative Word. The four steps below arise from the combination of these factors.

4. Atziluth. The Limitless Light. It differentiates to form the Attributes of the Absolute, thereby creating the world of relativity. Here we have the emanations, the first limitations, the Sephirah. Specialised Light. The Absolute is Himself responsible for this world of Origination.

5. Briah. The Archangels arise from the Spirit and they are the regulating forces. This may be compared to the regulating mechanisms which, for instance, control the balance of the Atmosphere, the soil and the seas, and at higher levels those which control the balance of forces in the sun, galaxies and so on. Intelligence (adaptation, adjustment) is required here. But obviously we do not regard these as material objects. In Pagan systems these are the superior gods.

6. Yetzirah. Angels are created by or arise from Archangels. Angels are considered as givers or controllers of form in general. This may be compared to the forces which maintain patterns or structures such as magnetic and other force fields. These, too, are not regarded as material objects. In Pagan systems these are lesser gods.

7. Assiah. The material world. Planetary powers created by angels which are responsible for more specific tasks of actualisation or materialisation with respect to the different entities and phenomena. These are akin to what science calls force, except that the esoteric systems also recognise an inner psychological dimension to them.

In so far as human beings advance in knowledge, motivation and ability they can be said to obtain these from the planetary powers, angels, archangels and the Absolute. There are, therefore, different levels of knowledge, motivation and ability. They do not come out of nothing. They come from experience. That is, from communication with our environment. Knowledge cannot be created.

We have to be receptive.

Thus the force emanating from the Absolute undergoes several stages of condensation. These stages are named and numbered and represented on the diagram below.

The circles, called Sephirah, represent the various States of the Universe and the lines connecting them are called the 22 Paths. When the 10 Sephiroth are added this gives us 32 Paths. The order of development is represented by the darker lines, which connect the numbers in sequence (1 to 9) and are called the Lightening Flash by which creation took place. The Diagram has a Cosmic as well as a social and psychological significance. There is correspondence between the Tree and the stages described above.

Note:- The various Triads:- (a) The Supernal 1,2,3 (b) The Ethical 4,5,6 (c) The Astral 7,8,9 .

The Three Pillars (d) 3,5,8 (e) 2,4,7 and (f) 1,6,9 are marked Power, Balance and Mercy respectively. The Pillar beginning with Chokmah is positive, active or Male, and the Pillar beginning with Binah is negative, passive or Female. The central pillar is neutral and hidden. The Pair of opposites arises out of Kether which is a unity and gives rise directly to the central pillar.

There is also the division of the Tree into:-

(1) The Supernal Triangle or Macroprosopos, is the top triad, which is separated from the others by an Abyss

(2) The next 6 taken collectively are called the Microprosopos, Adam Kadmon or the King.

(3) Malkuth, the Queen from which springs another level of reality beginning with a new Kether, which can be represented by the same diagram..

There are lesser Abysses between the Ethical and Astral triangles, and between Microprosopos and Malkuth.

Kether is a point at the level Atziluth. The creative energy flows down the Tree until it gets to Malkuth which is a point at the next level where it appears as Kether at that level. Malkuth is, therefore, a reflection of Kether at a lower level.

If we call the first, the Supernal Triad, the Divine World, then the next Septet constitutes the Created World. In this case Malkuth is a reflection of Daath, since that represents the hidden world beyond the Abyss.

Note also that Kether and Malkuth have 3 paths each, Tiphareth has 8 paths, Netzach and Hod have 5 paths, and the others have 4 paths each.

The meanings of the terms are relative to the ones they are connected to and to the whole figure. Briefly, the names or numbers are assigned the following meanings:-

1. Kether (The Crown) - Unity, The Source which is unmanifest, Potentialities, the Reservoir of all Power, the Infinite, Becoming; that which is and remains unchanging from which all things arise and into which all things disappear. It represents whatever is the supreme and ultimate reality with respect to us, and this will depend on our state of development.

2. Chokmah (Wisdom) - The Creative Force, Energy, Activity, Potency, Vigour, Wisdom. The Father. It is masculine and as such is is often symbolised by the Phallus.

3. Binah (Understanding) - The cause of Form, Stability, Understanding, the Receptacle, that which accepts, accommodates and limits; the Mother. Thus though it is the source of life it is also the source of destruction and death. It is female and often represented by the Vagina. Energy by itself is useless, it must be given a form or controlled as in an engine. That which starts consciously becomes automatic or habitual later. Binah comes out of Chokmah, hence symbolically Eve comes out of Adam, and Eve has to be impregnated by Adam to be productive. Binah cannot produce anything without the stimulus from Chokmah. Chokmah provides the impulse but not the result. However, each contains the other like Ying and Yang in Chinese systems, where Kether is Tao.

0. Daath (Experience) does not normally appear on the Tree. It exists on the Abyss. It represents the product of the union of the two opposite forces of Chokmah and Binah, and is a reflection of Kether. This third or reconciling factor is not evident in the manifest world where we only have cycles because events move forward and backwards between the pair of opposites. However, taking all such processes as a whole the two must be in balance. It is clear that we must get beyond the pair of opposites and this kind of pendulum motion in order to reach a state of stability or immortality. However, this lies beyond the Abyss which separates our ordinary terrestrial faculties from higher spiritual ones. To cross the Abyss upwards we must have learnt how to do so in the regions below, otherwise we fall into it. Nothing impure may cross over. It is Judgement, Censorship, and Distillation. As such it is the very purpose for creation, a kind of self-purification or self-transformation. It is the original position of Kether (earth, man, material existence) before the Fall, Descent or Involution.

The other Sephirah are reflections of the same at lower levels. The Abstract processes in the first Triad are given a more concrete form in the lower. In the next triad they may be considered to have become specific Ideas which become actualities in the third triad. There are, for instance, in the first stage, suitable conditions for the arising of, say, aeroplanes. In the next stage, someone develops the idea of an aeroplane and this too, undergoes changes until it is a definite blue print. In the third stage the actual work of organising, financing and gathering materials takes place. It is only at the fourth stage that the aeroplane is actually made. The processes in nature are similar. Indeed, human beings can only imitate these processes. They could not have done this were nature not constructed in this way and if they had not learnt from it.

4. Chesed (Mercy) - Protection and Preservation, Planning, Control, Construction, Anabolism, Application, Intelligence. Note that it arises out of Binah but is positive in action. It presupposes the existence of forces created in Chokmah and forms in Binah.

5. Geburah (Strength) - Justice, Fear, Destruction, Sacrifice, War, Struggle, Catabolism. Clearly, given a fixed amount of substance as provided by Binah, nothing is created or constructed without something else being destroyed, and there can be no anabolism without catabolism, no evolution without involution. It has a balancing effect on Binah.

Nature as well as Nations pass through phases of prosperity, mildness, self-indulgence, tolerance construction into phases of austerity, strictness, discipline, intolerance and destruction, and back again. There are ‘doves’ and ‘hawks’, the soft-headed and the hard-headed, idealists and materialists, in all departments of human life.

6. Tipharet (Beauty) - This is the centre to which all other Sephiroth lead. It is a balance between the Chesed and Geburah, Love and Justice. It reconciles the upper with the lower, Kether with Malkuth, the child, as it were, of the one and the father of the other. It connects Heaven with earth, the Divine with the Profane, the higher, spiritual self with the lower, physical. It represents Transformation, Catalysing, Mediation, Self-sacrifice, Balancing, Coordinating, Illuminating, Healing, Harmony, Beauty, Individualised consciousness, Devotion, Endurance, and Responsibility. Hence it also represents the Messengers who represent or manifest Kether. The Prophet Muhammad was both Beneficent and a Warrior. It rules in the Microprosopos, consisting of the Sephiroth 4 to 9. It is a higher Kingdom ‘not of this world’ as this is above Malkuth. The crucifixion of Christ has a meaning with respect to this symbolism. This would apply to other Prophets who sacrificed their lives similarly. From the point of view of exoteric religion this is the highest point and they mistake it for Kether. When the Messenger himself is worshipped development stops at that level. But a person must die at the lower level of Malkuth to be born at this higher level before he has access to the higher worlds. Tiphareth is represented by the Sun which gives us life, light and heat. However, as the story of the enlightenment of Abraham in the Quran points out, Allah is beyond the Sun.

Though human beings are late arrivals on this earth they have developed mentally to a higher level than other creatures, therefore, they have access to the world at this level, while lower creatures have not.

7. Netzach (Victory) - Here differentiation takes place into General or Abstract Ideas,. Conceptualisation, Nature, Organisation, The intellectual world of thought, Collective consciousness. It is thought which produces classes and categories. We must not suppose that thought is confined to human brains. Human brains are only responsible for, or are affected by, only a small proportion of all thought.

8. Hod (Glory) - Further differentiation into more exact forms. Whereas the former refers to active energy as in Chokmah, this refers to forms as in Binah. If we see the universe and the earth as a huge brain, then the processes in it will be similar to what we by introspection call thoughts. It is now a well known fact that what we see depends to a large extent on our language and, therefore, on our thoughts. We also create objects through invention.

9. Yesod (Foundation) - Instincts, that which organises and animates material objects; the patterns of behaviour. This is represented by the Moon which shines by light reflected from the Sun. The Moon is responsible for many physical and biological phenomena such as the tides which are connected with the evolution of life from the sea onto land, the cycle of fertility in the female, and so on.

10. Malkuth (Kingdom) - The Material World. The particles of the material world are organised by what we have called Instincts. At this level an object is inert. Malkuth has the same relation to Yesod, or to Tiphareth as Binah has to Chokmah, that is, actualisation of potentialities can only take place on the material level, on earth.

The Tree of Life may also be seen in an inverted form in which case we have Qliphah instead of Sephirah. This provides for the possibility of evil, and the reversal of the direction of development.

A great number of ideas found in both the Old and New Testaments, also referred to in the Quran, are found to have a meaning with respect to this Tree of Life. It is believed that most of the gods found in Greek, Roman and other Pagan religions are really other names for these Sephiroth and that the legends connected with them symbolise the relationships between them. It is, therefore, only a literalist interpretation which reduces them to superstition.

An object or organism may have several of these levels active in it. A plant, for instance, has the last two levels, animals have three and human beings have four. A Human being consists of inert matter, but also of the plant and animal level with the addition of a higher level. Further levels exist as potentialities in them. In so far as human beings have developed sensitivity at the higher levels they are said to possess psychic or supra-normal powers. In the same way as human beings can manipulate, organise and make things at the material level, Malkuth, they can also do so at the other levels. The technique by which this is done is called Magic. If on the other hand they reconstruct themselves and develop then they are in the realm of Mysticism.

The last four Sephiroth are taken together to refer to the human world. They form the mineral, plant, animal and human levels, and could be regarded as corresponding to the body, and the motor, emotional and intellectual faculties. If we add consciousness as the fifth we reach Tiphareth. An examination of developments in the West shows that Malkuth is being left behind and the ascent to Yesod has begun. Science, for instance, is no longer materialistic. Its formulations are now regarded as mathematical relationships describing the behaviour of things. Similar changes are taking place in the economic and political field in so far as the underlying dynamics are under consideration.

The Perfect man, represented by a Messenger exists at level 6, Tiphareth, which also represents the real Self within. He comes from Kether, and is the ideal for fallen man at Malkuth. His development should be regarded as taking place up the Middle Pillar of Balance back to Tipharet and beyond. This obviously requires both detachment from Malkuth and devotion to the higher Sephirah, namely Tiphareth and Kether. The Christian may be said to devote himself to Tiphareth. Both Hebrewism and Islam require devotion to Kether. There are many sects of Hindus devoting themselves to different levels, the more sophisticated ones also strive for Kether. The Buddhist Nirvana also exists beyond Daath or the Abyss. Whereas reincarnation is said to continue below this level, it ceases above the Abyss where true immortality exists. Reincarnation may be regarded as the reconstitution of elements into new forms after the dissolution of failures. Since the purpose of creation is knowledge of Allah, only that can pass beyond the Abyss through Daath.

The diagram should not be regarded as rigid. It can change its shape and similar points can be seen as merged with one another. Various parts and patterns of the diagram have been used as symbols by various sects. The Jews use six points to produce the Star of David. This consists of two triangles crossing each other, one pointed to heaven and the other pointing to earth. The 3 points on the left and right sides are condensed into one. If we condense the figure into its vertical and horizontal aspects passing through Tiphareth, we get the Christian Cross. If we leave out the central points and broaden the figure we get an Octagon. The old city of Baghdad is said to have been constructed in this form. Since the Sun is referred to Tiphareth, and the various planets to the other points, the Solar System is also represented. There is also a 5-pointed star, if we leave out the middle and the upper triad. This is used in occult magic. It is probable that Astrology is based on a misunderstanding of the fact that the planets are symbols for the Sephirah.

The Islamic Sufi system is as follows:-

At first there was nothing recognisable since knowledge requires relativity. There was Absolute Unity and Homogeneity. When that Absolute looks at, or interacts with, itself (there is nothing else with which it can do so) then a division must occur between the observer and the object, between the objective and the subjective, between an inner and an outer, between the ideal and the material. And a third factor namely the knowing, the interaction, the experience must also arise, though this could be regarded as the impulse which caused the distinction between the other two. Thus relativity, a pair of opposites and a triad are formed. Note, that the recognition of one thing requires it to be contrasted with its opposite. But that if the pair of opposite are in complete static equilibrium then they annihilate each other. Therefore, existence depends on the separation of, and a cyclic to and fro motion between the opposites poles. The energy is created by the tension between the two. This act of observation is itself the act of creation. All this is a necessity, primarily, of consciousness. This cannot operate without a stimulus which can be defined as an opposition. The new born child also undergoes the same process of differentiation. It does not know the difference between ‘self’ and ‘not-self’. Later it must also distinguish between its family and not-family, its body and its mind and so on. A distinction also arises between the Essence (Dhat), what a thing is, and the Attributes (Sifat), that which manifests in interaction. The perception of Essence in Attributes is called Illumination (Tajalli) and manifests itself as Soul (Mithal).

We could continue to divide each of these three aspects, the inner, the external and mediate, into other triads. The external into order, energy and substance; the inner into spirit, mind and instincts; spirit into consciousness, conscience and will; the experience could be divided into types according to whether the observer takes the dominant role, or whether this role is taken by the object or the experience itself. In the one case we actively interpret and organise our experiences, in another case we passively allow the object to form our idea, and in a third case the conditions of the experience dictate what we see. The medium of language, systems of thought or social interactions govern what we see. Each of these can be further sub-divided into similar types. We can, for instance, discover different types of order, energies and substances. Consciousness can be divided into thought, feelings and sensations. Activities could be divided into the systems of thought, social interactions, and physical activities; and the processes of thought into abstract, social and material. Abstract thought into religious, philosophical and scientific; and physical activities into cultural, social or economic. This process can be continued until everything what ever is included in the system. There will be a correspondence between the triads at each level and aspect. There would then be three broad types of phenomena or world:- The external physical, the inner psychological and the mediate social. We will, however, leave this subject for future development.

An examination of the Quran shows that many of the ingredients of the Kabalah and the Eastern system can be found in it.

1. There are 7 heavens and the causal force comes down through them in stages. (65:12)

2. An examination of the Light Verses (24:35 - 37) shows that the same three steps in the Absolute as those found in the Kabalah, are recognised. (a), Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. (b) The light comes forth from a lamp, (c), and it is kindled from a blessed tree, an olive neither of the East nor of the West. The verse also tells us that it is an allegory, that Allah draws to Himself who He likes, and this light exists also in human beings.

3. The various steps in creation are also mentioned in the Quran. Allah is the Originator (Al-Badi) (2:117,). He is also the Creator, Shaper and Fashioner. (59:24). However 59:23 also mentions the following 8 Attributes:- The Sovereign, The Holy One, Peace, The Keeper of Faith, The Guardian, The Majestic, The Compeller, The Superb.

4. That there is a Law of similarity and correspondence.

“He it is Who produces creation, then reproduces it, and it is easier for Him. His is the Sublime Similitude.” 30:27

One version of the Islamic system may be described as follows:-

Allah is said to have created the Universe by his Word. Arabic, specially that of the Quran, is said to be a divine language. (Remember we are speaking symbolically) There are 8 levels of creation, in which the 8th is the reflection of the first, or the culmination of the other 7.

(1) The first level is called Ahdiyat - The Unlimited and Absolute

(2) Wahdat which is regarded as having four aspects or itibarat, but these exist as potentialities:-

(a) Knowledge of Self which differentiates into (b), Essence (c) Light (d) Power

(3) Wahdiyyat consisting of 7 Sifat. The first four are actualisations of the above, namely

(a) Knowledge of Potentialities (Shuyunat) (b) Derived existence (c) Ego (d) Will. To these are added the triad, powers of (e) Sight (f) Hearing (g) Speech (This refers to their essence. That is, they are forms of sensitivity and expression)

Multiplying the 4 by the 7 we get 28, and these are represented by the 28 letters of the Arabic Alphabet.

There is now a Barrier or Abyss (Barzakh). On the hidden side of this the 28 letters represent the names or Attributes of Allah. On the Manifest side the same 28 letters represent that which these Attributes produce in the Created Universe. (Remember that Islam does not recognise gods other than Allah. Therefore, the causes of these various levels of existence are not gods as in Hinduism. However, we have to distinguish between the various Attributes without regarding them as separate entities. They are, therefore, separately named.)

The Created Universe is divided into the following stages or levels:-

(4) The Soul World (Arwah) consists of 4 levels (the first four letters):-

(i) 1-Absolute Reason (ii) 2-The Preserved Tablet or Absolute Soul (iii) 3-Absolute Nature (iv) 4-The Essence of matter.

(5) The Archetypal World (Mithal) consisting of 3 levels (letters 5 to 7):-

(a) 5-Absolute Corporeality (b) 6-Absolute Form (c) 7-The Throne

(6) The Causal World (Ajsam) also called the Celestial Fathers. This consists of 10 levels (letters 8 to 17). These are represented by

     8-The Seat, 9-the Crystal Sphere, 10-The Zodiac, 11-Saturn, 12-Jupiter, 13-Mars, 14-The Sun, 15-Venus, 16-Mercury, 17-The Moon. (It is not the physical planets which are being spoken of)

(7) The Mundane Mothers consisting of 10 levels (letters 18 to 27):-

18-Fire, 19-air, 20-water, 21-earth, (We are speaking of types of function rather than substances) 22-minerals, 23-plants, 24-animals, 25-angels, 26-jinn, 27-man.

(8) The Perfect Man (Insan Kamil , letter 28). He arises by the combination of the influences of the Celestial Fathers and the Mundane Mothers.

In this system no distinction of virtue is made between the higher or lower. It is a logical sequence. Thus, the Perfect man is last in the series, the goal of the process. His position does not imply he is the basest or densest. This is so, probably on the grounds that since Allah is the source of all creation, nothing should be regarded as superior or inferior to anything else. There is nothing intrinsically evil. Everything is good in contrast to the evil as judged by man. It arises when the system is neglected (Passive evil) or flouted and opposed (Active evil) by him. The various forces referred to can be used either constructively or destructively. Destruction gets rid of what is harmful, releasing energy for reconstruction, and is, therefore, also good. Development requires both strict outer discipline and inner creative spontaneity.

The Attributes are:- 1-The Originator (Badi), 2-The Cause (Baich), 3-The Unmanifest (Batin), 4-The External (Akhir), 5-The Manifest (Zahir), 6-The Wise (Hakim), 7-The Surrounder (Muhit), 8-The Multiplier of Rewards (Shakur), 9-The Independent (Ghani), 10-The Exerter of Influence (Muqtadir), 11-The Supporter (Rabb), 12-The Knower (Alim), 13-The Overwhelming (Qahir), 14-The Light (Nur), 15-The Painter (Musawwir), 16-The Recorder (Muhsiy), 17-The Guardian (Muhaymin), 18-The Curtailer of Life (Qubid), 19-The Living (Hayy), 20-The Quickener (Muhiyy), 21-The Annihilator (Mumit), 22-The Valued (Aziz), 23-The Provident (Razzaq), 24-The Degrader (Muzil), 25-The Powerful (Qawi), 26-The Observer (Latif), 27-The Gatherer (Jami), 28-The Elevator (Rafi-ud-Darajat).

The corresponding Arabic letters are:- 1-hamza, 2-ha, 3-ain, 4-hai, 5-ghain, 6-khay, 7-khaf, 8-qaf, 9-gim, 10-sheen, 11-ya, 12-zad, 13-lam, 14-nun, 15-ray, 16-toe, 17-dal,18- tay, 19-zay, 20-sin, 21-sad, 22-zoe, 23-tay, 24-zal, 25-fay, 26-bay, 27-meem, 28-wau.

Level 1 refers to Allah as Absolute and Hidden.. In level 2 the Attributes are potentialities which are actualised at level 3. These Attributes now create the other levels. Note also that levels 4 and 3 together give rise to 4+3=7 factors. That these 7 plus the 3 associated with level 2 adds up to 10 factors just as the two levels below do. There are 7 levels above the material world and these represent the 7 heavens.

The figure is divided by broken lines, representing barriers, thus creating three lower sections. Each of these corresponds to the upper triad. The First Barrier can only be traversed by the Divine Impulse. The second and third also require the introduction of a new impulse from the Divine Source since there is a difference in the quality of the things belonging to these groups.

It should be noted that Alchemy, medicine and other Sciences as well as Arts and much of Religious symbolism had their root in metaphysical systems such as these. The progress of knowledge will take place in a direction which is the reverse of the direction of manifestation. It moves upwards from the material to the subtle. The stages are something as follows:-

1. Observation, through the senses in this material world.

2. Classification. Here we begin to see more than what the senses provide.

3. Search for the relationships between these classes.

4. The search for the causes for such relationships.

5. The search for patterns among the causal forces.

6. The search for the function or purposes of things with respect to the whole.

7. The search for the overall unity behind diversity.

8. We now only have the Unknowable Absolute. The last stage is the same as the first at a higher level. The individual can only experience the existence of Reality. We cannot explain the ultimate in terms of anything else.

It is evident from a study of all these systems that they have something in common between them. It is, therefore, possible to combine them in a Unified Theory. A diagram such as the one below combines and summarises all these systems.



The Points on the circle refer to the various factors mentioned. The Triangle shows the connections in the triad, while the dotted line shows the connection between the 7 points, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 0. (Zero, it should be remembered, is a notion introduced into mathematics by the Arabs) There are also 12 intersections with the triangle (4 on each line) plus another 3 where the dotted lines cross equalling 15 in all. The number 10 is represented by the Circle itself or by the O in the middle where the dotted lines cross.

Notice that if we continue the numbering along the circumference then 10 will coincide with 1, 11 with 2, 12 with 3 and so on. Thus by addition of the digits 10 = 1 + 0 = 1, 11= 1 + 1 = 2, 12 = 1 + 2 = 3 and so on. The second cycle beginning with 11 will fall on 2, thus showing that the circle should be regarded as revolving. The first digit in the numbers 10 to 19 simply means that one cycle has been completed, and the second digit tells us the stage reached in the next cycle. Thus, the number 123, for instance, means that one great cycle consisting of the lesser cycles has been completed, two new lesser cycles have also been completed and a third stage has been reached in the next cycle. Thus 123 by digital addition gives us 1+2+3=6 which is the point we will have reached. All development takes place through these cycles. But the cycles cannot proceed until some new impulse has been introduced at the points 3, 6 and 9 connected with triangle. Dead matter, for instance, does not turn into life, or life into human intelligence without such impulses.

10 = 9 + 1 so that a second cycle begins with 10. The number 19 by digital addition gives 1+9=10 which is again 9+1. But this time it refers to the beginning of a third cycle. The Baha’i religion appears to use the numbers 9 and 19. They have a 19 day fast and 19 months each having 19 days. =361 days. The other 4 or 5 days in the year are holidays during the year.

The Quran mentions the number 19 as follows:-

“Above it (Hell fire) are nineteen (angels)” 74:30

This has led to much speculation. The angels are sometimes regarded as human faculties which may be used beneficially or wrongly. The number is regarded by some people as guarding the authencity of the Quran. It is pointed out that this number occurs repeatedly when the number of words or letters in the Quran is counted in various ways:-

The first verse 1:1 has 19 letters. The Quran has 114 chapters = 19x6. The Quran consists of 114 suras, which is 19 X 6. The total number of verses in the Quran is 6346, or 19X334. The famous first revelation (96:1-5) consists of 19 words. This 19-worded first revelation consists of 76 letters, & 76=19X4. Sura 96, first in the chronological sequence, consists of 19 verses. The word God (ALLAH) occurs throughout the Quran in its 114 Suras 2698 times = 19X142. The number of verses where the word God occurs add up to 118123 also a multiple of 19, = 19X6217 The Quran's dominant message is that there is only "ONE GOD" The word 'One", in Arabic "Wahid" in reference to God occurs 19 times throughout the Quran. The word "Wahid" itself, (one) has a numerical value of 19 according to the Abjad coding system:- W=6, A=1, H=8, D= 4. .

It is, however, possible to examine the Quran in a great number of different ways and select all the instances in which the number 19 fits while ignoring those where it does not fit. The same can be done using any other number. It is argued, however, that nothing of comparable significance can be found using other numbers.

Note also that if we divide 10 by 7 we get 1.428571428571...etc.. The sequence of numbers repeats itself and this is shown by the dotted lines. It represents inner or hidden causal connections as opposed to the more obvious ones on the circumference. If 10 is divided by 3 we get 3.33333 etc.. If we divide 7 by 3 we get 2.33333 etc.. The triad repeats itself.

It is not difficult to see that there is an underlying unity between all these systems which corroborates the assertion in the Quran that all religions are one and that mankind was once united. The systems have been compared to a computer program which must be introduced into the mind, where it will yield results according to the efforts and intelligence of the operator. The purpose is to aid consciousness of, and adjustment to, reality as a whole. It looks at the world from another dimension, a vertical direction, as it were, as opposed to the horizontal one of science.

As these systems exist to be used for developmental purposes under the guidance of expert adepts rather than merely as descriptions, and it is likely that other systems will be created or revealed which are more suitable for the world as it changes and develops, we shall not pursue this subject any further.

The purpose of this discussion is to show that it is entirely possible to think and to be conscious in ways quite different from those which normally obtain, and that this shows us an entirely different world. Normally human beings are confined to a bubble, as it were, having the three dimensions of space and one of time. It is possible to break out of it into a greater world and to see and think along still other dimensions. This is not different from the fact that the world as seen by man is unavailable to the ape. The Universe is not merely an extension of our worldly space and time. It is necessary to remember that neither Science nor these Esoteric systems are themselves the truth, but that they are constructed in order to point, and lead us, to the truth. The reader may decide which of these systems is more likely to do this.

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