Elementary particles are vital forces, not acting mechanically, but from an internal principle. They are incorporeal spiritual units [“substantial,”however, but not“immaterial”in our sense] inaccessible to all change from without ... [and] indestructible by any external force. Leibnitz' monads differ from atoms in the following particulars, which are very important for us to remember, otherwise we shall not be able to see the difference between Elementals and mere matter. Atoms are not distinguished from each other, they are qualitatively alike; but one monad differs from every other monad qualitatively; and every one is a peculiar world to itself. Not so with the atoms; they are absolutely alike quantitatively and qualitatively, and possess no individuality of their own.1089Again, the atoms [molecules, rather] of materialistic philosophy can be considered as extended and divisible, while the monads are mere“metaphysical points”and indivisible. Finally, and this is a point where these monads of Leibnitz closely resemble the Elementals of mystic philosophy, these monads are representative beings. Every monad reflects every other. Every monad is a living mirror of the Universe within its own sphere. And mark this, for upon it depends the power possessed by these monads, and upon it depends the work they can do for us; in mirroring the world, the monads are not mere passive reflective agents, butspontaneously self active; they produce the images spontaneously, as the soul does a dream. In every monad, therefore, the adept may read everything, even the future. Every monad—or Elemental—is a looking-glass that can speak.[pg 692]It is at this point that Leibnitz's philosophy breaks down. There is no provision made, nor any distinction established, between the“Elemental”Monad and that of a high Planetary Spirit, or even the Human Monad or Soul. He even goes so far as to sometimes doubt whetherGod has ever made anything but monads or substances without extension.1090He draws a distinction between Monads and Atoms,1091because, as he repeatedly states:Bodies with all their qualities are only phenomenal, like the rainbow.Corpora omnia cum omnibus qualitatibus suis non sunt aliud quam phenomena bene fundata, ut Iris.1092But soon after he finds a provision for this in a substantial correspondence, a certain metaphysical bond between the Monads—vinculum substantiale. Esoteric Philosophy, teaching anobjectiveIdealism—though it regards the objective Universe and all in it as Mâyâ, Temporary Illusion—draws a practical distinction between Collective Illusion, Mahâmâyâ, from the purely metaphysical standpoint, and the objective relations in it between various conscious Egos so long as this Illusion lasts. The Adept, therefore,mayread the future in an Elemental Monad, but he has to draw together for this object a great number of them, as each Monad represents only a portion of the Kingdom it belongs to.It is not in the object, but in the modification of the cognition of the object that the monads are limited. They all tend (confusedly) to the infinite, to the whole, but they are limited and distinguished by the degrees of distinctness in their perception.1093And as Leibnitz explains:All the portions of the universe are distinctly represented in the monads, but some are reflected in one monad, some in another.A number of Monads could represent simultaneously the thoughts of the two million inhabitants of Paris.But what say the Occult Sciences to this, and what do they add?They say that what is called collectively Monads by Leibnitz—roughly viewed, and leaving every subdivision out of calculation, for[pg 693]the present—may be separated into three distinct Hosts,1094which, counted from the highest planes, are, firstly,“Gods,”or conscious, spiritual Egos; the intelligent Architects, who work after the plan in the Divine Mind. Then come the Elementals, or“Monads,”who form collectively and unconsciously the grand Universal Mirrors of everything connected with their respective realms. Lastly, the“Atoms,”or material molecules, which are informed in their turn by their“perceptive”Monads, just as every cell in a human body is so informed. There are shoals of suchinformedAtoms which, in their turn, inform the molecules; an infinitude of Monads, or Elementals proper, and countless spiritual Forces—Monadless, for they are pure incorporealities,1095except under certain laws, when they assume a form—notnecessarilyhuman. Whence the substance that clothes them—the apparent organism they evolve around their centres? The Formless (Arûpa) Radiations, existing in the harmony of Universal Will, and being what we term the collective or the aggregate of Cosmic Will on the plane of the subjective Universe, unite together an infinitude of Monads—each the mirror of its own Universe—and thus individualize for the time being an independent Mind, omniscient and universal; and by the same process of magnetic aggregation they create for themselves objective, visible bodies, out of the interstellar Atoms. For Atoms and Monads, associated or dissociated, simple or complex, are, from the moment of the first differentiation, but the“principles,”corporeal, psychic and spiritual, of the“Gods”—themselves the Radiations of Primordial Nature. Thus, to the eye of the Seer, the higher Planetary Powers appear under two aspects: the subjective—asinfluences, and the objective—as mysticforms, which, under Karmic law, become aPresence, Spirit and Matter being One, as repeatedly stated. Spirit is Matteron the seventh plane; Matter is Spirit at the lowest point of its cyclic activity; and both are—Mâyâ.[pg 694]Atoms are called Vibrations in Occultism; also Sound—collectively. This does not interfere with Mr. Tyndall's scientific discovery. He traced, on the lower rung of the ladder of monadic being, the whole course of theatmosphericVibrations—and this constitutes theobjectivepart of the process in Nature. He has traced and recorded the rapidity of their motion and transmission; the force of their impact; their setting up vibrations in the tympanum and their transmission of these to the otoliths, etc., till the vibration of the auditory nerve commences—and a new phenomenon now takes place: thesubjectiveside of the process or thesensationof sound. Does he perceive or see it? No; for his specialty is to discover the behaviour of Matter. But why should not a Psychic see it, a spiritual Seer, whose inner Eye is opened, one who can see through the veil of Matter? The waves and undulations of Science are all produced by Atoms propelling their molecules into activityfrom within. Atoms fill the immensity of Space, and by their continuous vibrationarethatMotionwhich keeps the wheels of Life perpetually going. It is that inner work that produces the natural phenomenon called the correlation of Forces. Only, at the origin of every such“Force,”there stands theconsciousguiding Noumenon thereof—Angel or God, Spirit or Demon, ruling powers, yet the same.As described by Seers—those who can see the motion of the interstellar shoals, and follow them clairvoyantly in their evolution—they are dazzling, like specks of virgin snow in radiant sunlight. Their velocity is swifter than thought, quicker than any mortal physical eye can follow, and, as well as can be judged from the tremendous rapidity of their course, the motion is circular. Standing on an open plain, on a mountain summit especially, and gazing into the vast vault above and the spatial infinitudes around, the whole atmosphere seems ablaze with them, the air soaked through with these dazzling coruscations. At times, the intensity of their motion produces flashes like the Northern Lights in the Aurora Borealis. The sight is so marvellous, that, as the Seer gazes into this inner world, and feels the scintillating points shoot past him, he is filled with awe at the thought of other, still greater mysteries, that lie beyond, and within, this radiant ocean.However imperfect and incomplete this explanation on“Gods, Monads and Atoms,”it is hoped that some students and Theosophists, at least, will feel that there may indeed be a close relation between Materialistic Science and Occultism, which is the complement and missing soul of the former.
Elementary particles are vital forces, not acting mechanically, but from an internal principle. They are incorporeal spiritual units [“substantial,”however, but not“immaterial”in our sense] inaccessible to all change from without ... [and] indestructible by any external force. Leibnitz' monads differ from atoms in the following particulars, which are very important for us to remember, otherwise we shall not be able to see the difference between Elementals and mere matter. Atoms are not distinguished from each other, they are qualitatively alike; but one monad differs from every other monad qualitatively; and every one is a peculiar world to itself. Not so with the atoms; they are absolutely alike quantitatively and qualitatively, and possess no individuality of their own.1089Again, the atoms [molecules, rather] of materialistic philosophy can be considered as extended and divisible, while the monads are mere“metaphysical points”and indivisible. Finally, and this is a point where these monads of Leibnitz closely resemble the Elementals of mystic philosophy, these monads are representative beings. Every monad reflects every other. Every monad is a living mirror of the Universe within its own sphere. And mark this, for upon it depends the power possessed by these monads, and upon it depends the work they can do for us; in mirroring the world, the monads are not mere passive reflective agents, butspontaneously self active; they produce the images spontaneously, as the soul does a dream. In every monad, therefore, the adept may read everything, even the future. Every monad—or Elemental—is a looking-glass that can speak.[pg 692]It is at this point that Leibnitz's philosophy breaks down. There is no provision made, nor any distinction established, between the“Elemental”Monad and that of a high Planetary Spirit, or even the Human Monad or Soul. He even goes so far as to sometimes doubt whetherGod has ever made anything but monads or substances without extension.1090He draws a distinction between Monads and Atoms,1091because, as he repeatedly states:Bodies with all their qualities are only phenomenal, like the rainbow.Corpora omnia cum omnibus qualitatibus suis non sunt aliud quam phenomena bene fundata, ut Iris.1092But soon after he finds a provision for this in a substantial correspondence, a certain metaphysical bond between the Monads—vinculum substantiale. Esoteric Philosophy, teaching anobjectiveIdealism—though it regards the objective Universe and all in it as Mâyâ, Temporary Illusion—draws a practical distinction between Collective Illusion, Mahâmâyâ, from the purely metaphysical standpoint, and the objective relations in it between various conscious Egos so long as this Illusion lasts. The Adept, therefore,mayread the future in an Elemental Monad, but he has to draw together for this object a great number of them, as each Monad represents only a portion of the Kingdom it belongs to.It is not in the object, but in the modification of the cognition of the object that the monads are limited. They all tend (confusedly) to the infinite, to the whole, but they are limited and distinguished by the degrees of distinctness in their perception.1093And as Leibnitz explains:All the portions of the universe are distinctly represented in the monads, but some are reflected in one monad, some in another.A number of Monads could represent simultaneously the thoughts of the two million inhabitants of Paris.But what say the Occult Sciences to this, and what do they add?They say that what is called collectively Monads by Leibnitz—roughly viewed, and leaving every subdivision out of calculation, for[pg 693]the present—may be separated into three distinct Hosts,1094which, counted from the highest planes, are, firstly,“Gods,”or conscious, spiritual Egos; the intelligent Architects, who work after the plan in the Divine Mind. Then come the Elementals, or“Monads,”who form collectively and unconsciously the grand Universal Mirrors of everything connected with their respective realms. Lastly, the“Atoms,”or material molecules, which are informed in their turn by their“perceptive”Monads, just as every cell in a human body is so informed. There are shoals of suchinformedAtoms which, in their turn, inform the molecules; an infinitude of Monads, or Elementals proper, and countless spiritual Forces—Monadless, for they are pure incorporealities,1095except under certain laws, when they assume a form—notnecessarilyhuman. Whence the substance that clothes them—the apparent organism they evolve around their centres? The Formless (Arûpa) Radiations, existing in the harmony of Universal Will, and being what we term the collective or the aggregate of Cosmic Will on the plane of the subjective Universe, unite together an infinitude of Monads—each the mirror of its own Universe—and thus individualize for the time being an independent Mind, omniscient and universal; and by the same process of magnetic aggregation they create for themselves objective, visible bodies, out of the interstellar Atoms. For Atoms and Monads, associated or dissociated, simple or complex, are, from the moment of the first differentiation, but the“principles,”corporeal, psychic and spiritual, of the“Gods”—themselves the Radiations of Primordial Nature. Thus, to the eye of the Seer, the higher Planetary Powers appear under two aspects: the subjective—asinfluences, and the objective—as mysticforms, which, under Karmic law, become aPresence, Spirit and Matter being One, as repeatedly stated. Spirit is Matteron the seventh plane; Matter is Spirit at the lowest point of its cyclic activity; and both are—Mâyâ.[pg 694]Atoms are called Vibrations in Occultism; also Sound—collectively. This does not interfere with Mr. Tyndall's scientific discovery. He traced, on the lower rung of the ladder of monadic being, the whole course of theatmosphericVibrations—and this constitutes theobjectivepart of the process in Nature. He has traced and recorded the rapidity of their motion and transmission; the force of their impact; their setting up vibrations in the tympanum and their transmission of these to the otoliths, etc., till the vibration of the auditory nerve commences—and a new phenomenon now takes place: thesubjectiveside of the process or thesensationof sound. Does he perceive or see it? No; for his specialty is to discover the behaviour of Matter. But why should not a Psychic see it, a spiritual Seer, whose inner Eye is opened, one who can see through the veil of Matter? The waves and undulations of Science are all produced by Atoms propelling their molecules into activityfrom within. Atoms fill the immensity of Space, and by their continuous vibrationarethatMotionwhich keeps the wheels of Life perpetually going. It is that inner work that produces the natural phenomenon called the correlation of Forces. Only, at the origin of every such“Force,”there stands theconsciousguiding Noumenon thereof—Angel or God, Spirit or Demon, ruling powers, yet the same.As described by Seers—those who can see the motion of the interstellar shoals, and follow them clairvoyantly in their evolution—they are dazzling, like specks of virgin snow in radiant sunlight. Their velocity is swifter than thought, quicker than any mortal physical eye can follow, and, as well as can be judged from the tremendous rapidity of their course, the motion is circular. Standing on an open plain, on a mountain summit especially, and gazing into the vast vault above and the spatial infinitudes around, the whole atmosphere seems ablaze with them, the air soaked through with these dazzling coruscations. At times, the intensity of their motion produces flashes like the Northern Lights in the Aurora Borealis. The sight is so marvellous, that, as the Seer gazes into this inner world, and feels the scintillating points shoot past him, he is filled with awe at the thought of other, still greater mysteries, that lie beyond, and within, this radiant ocean.However imperfect and incomplete this explanation on“Gods, Monads and Atoms,”it is hoped that some students and Theosophists, at least, will feel that there may indeed be a close relation between Materialistic Science and Occultism, which is the complement and missing soul of the former.
Elementary particles are vital forces, not acting mechanically, but from an internal principle. They are incorporeal spiritual units [“substantial,”however, but not“immaterial”in our sense] inaccessible to all change from without ... [and] indestructible by any external force. Leibnitz' monads differ from atoms in the following particulars, which are very important for us to remember, otherwise we shall not be able to see the difference between Elementals and mere matter. Atoms are not distinguished from each other, they are qualitatively alike; but one monad differs from every other monad qualitatively; and every one is a peculiar world to itself. Not so with the atoms; they are absolutely alike quantitatively and qualitatively, and possess no individuality of their own.1089Again, the atoms [molecules, rather] of materialistic philosophy can be considered as extended and divisible, while the monads are mere“metaphysical points”and indivisible. Finally, and this is a point where these monads of Leibnitz closely resemble the Elementals of mystic philosophy, these monads are representative beings. Every monad reflects every other. Every monad is a living mirror of the Universe within its own sphere. And mark this, for upon it depends the power possessed by these monads, and upon it depends the work they can do for us; in mirroring the world, the monads are not mere passive reflective agents, butspontaneously self active; they produce the images spontaneously, as the soul does a dream. In every monad, therefore, the adept may read everything, even the future. Every monad—or Elemental—is a looking-glass that can speak.[pg 692]It is at this point that Leibnitz's philosophy breaks down. There is no provision made, nor any distinction established, between the“Elemental”Monad and that of a high Planetary Spirit, or even the Human Monad or Soul. He even goes so far as to sometimes doubt whetherGod has ever made anything but monads or substances without extension.1090He draws a distinction between Monads and Atoms,1091because, as he repeatedly states:Bodies with all their qualities are only phenomenal, like the rainbow.Corpora omnia cum omnibus qualitatibus suis non sunt aliud quam phenomena bene fundata, ut Iris.1092But soon after he finds a provision for this in a substantial correspondence, a certain metaphysical bond between the Monads—vinculum substantiale. Esoteric Philosophy, teaching anobjectiveIdealism—though it regards the objective Universe and all in it as Mâyâ, Temporary Illusion—draws a practical distinction between Collective Illusion, Mahâmâyâ, from the purely metaphysical standpoint, and the objective relations in it between various conscious Egos so long as this Illusion lasts. The Adept, therefore,mayread the future in an Elemental Monad, but he has to draw together for this object a great number of them, as each Monad represents only a portion of the Kingdom it belongs to.It is not in the object, but in the modification of the cognition of the object that the monads are limited. They all tend (confusedly) to the infinite, to the whole, but they are limited and distinguished by the degrees of distinctness in their perception.1093And as Leibnitz explains:All the portions of the universe are distinctly represented in the monads, but some are reflected in one monad, some in another.A number of Monads could represent simultaneously the thoughts of the two million inhabitants of Paris.But what say the Occult Sciences to this, and what do they add?They say that what is called collectively Monads by Leibnitz—roughly viewed, and leaving every subdivision out of calculation, for[pg 693]the present—may be separated into three distinct Hosts,1094which, counted from the highest planes, are, firstly,“Gods,”or conscious, spiritual Egos; the intelligent Architects, who work after the plan in the Divine Mind. Then come the Elementals, or“Monads,”who form collectively and unconsciously the grand Universal Mirrors of everything connected with their respective realms. Lastly, the“Atoms,”or material molecules, which are informed in their turn by their“perceptive”Monads, just as every cell in a human body is so informed. There are shoals of suchinformedAtoms which, in their turn, inform the molecules; an infinitude of Monads, or Elementals proper, and countless spiritual Forces—Monadless, for they are pure incorporealities,1095except under certain laws, when they assume a form—notnecessarilyhuman. Whence the substance that clothes them—the apparent organism they evolve around their centres? The Formless (Arûpa) Radiations, existing in the harmony of Universal Will, and being what we term the collective or the aggregate of Cosmic Will on the plane of the subjective Universe, unite together an infinitude of Monads—each the mirror of its own Universe—and thus individualize for the time being an independent Mind, omniscient and universal; and by the same process of magnetic aggregation they create for themselves objective, visible bodies, out of the interstellar Atoms. For Atoms and Monads, associated or dissociated, simple or complex, are, from the moment of the first differentiation, but the“principles,”corporeal, psychic and spiritual, of the“Gods”—themselves the Radiations of Primordial Nature. Thus, to the eye of the Seer, the higher Planetary Powers appear under two aspects: the subjective—asinfluences, and the objective—as mysticforms, which, under Karmic law, become aPresence, Spirit and Matter being One, as repeatedly stated. Spirit is Matteron the seventh plane; Matter is Spirit at the lowest point of its cyclic activity; and both are—Mâyâ.[pg 694]Atoms are called Vibrations in Occultism; also Sound—collectively. This does not interfere with Mr. Tyndall's scientific discovery. He traced, on the lower rung of the ladder of monadic being, the whole course of theatmosphericVibrations—and this constitutes theobjectivepart of the process in Nature. He has traced and recorded the rapidity of their motion and transmission; the force of their impact; their setting up vibrations in the tympanum and their transmission of these to the otoliths, etc., till the vibration of the auditory nerve commences—and a new phenomenon now takes place: thesubjectiveside of the process or thesensationof sound. Does he perceive or see it? No; for his specialty is to discover the behaviour of Matter. But why should not a Psychic see it, a spiritual Seer, whose inner Eye is opened, one who can see through the veil of Matter? The waves and undulations of Science are all produced by Atoms propelling their molecules into activityfrom within. Atoms fill the immensity of Space, and by their continuous vibrationarethatMotionwhich keeps the wheels of Life perpetually going. It is that inner work that produces the natural phenomenon called the correlation of Forces. Only, at the origin of every such“Force,”there stands theconsciousguiding Noumenon thereof—Angel or God, Spirit or Demon, ruling powers, yet the same.As described by Seers—those who can see the motion of the interstellar shoals, and follow them clairvoyantly in their evolution—they are dazzling, like specks of virgin snow in radiant sunlight. Their velocity is swifter than thought, quicker than any mortal physical eye can follow, and, as well as can be judged from the tremendous rapidity of their course, the motion is circular. Standing on an open plain, on a mountain summit especially, and gazing into the vast vault above and the spatial infinitudes around, the whole atmosphere seems ablaze with them, the air soaked through with these dazzling coruscations. At times, the intensity of their motion produces flashes like the Northern Lights in the Aurora Borealis. The sight is so marvellous, that, as the Seer gazes into this inner world, and feels the scintillating points shoot past him, he is filled with awe at the thought of other, still greater mysteries, that lie beyond, and within, this radiant ocean.However imperfect and incomplete this explanation on“Gods, Monads and Atoms,”it is hoped that some students and Theosophists, at least, will feel that there may indeed be a close relation between Materialistic Science and Occultism, which is the complement and missing soul of the former.
Elementary particles are vital forces, not acting mechanically, but from an internal principle. They are incorporeal spiritual units [“substantial,”however, but not“immaterial”in our sense] inaccessible to all change from without ... [and] indestructible by any external force. Leibnitz' monads differ from atoms in the following particulars, which are very important for us to remember, otherwise we shall not be able to see the difference between Elementals and mere matter. Atoms are not distinguished from each other, they are qualitatively alike; but one monad differs from every other monad qualitatively; and every one is a peculiar world to itself. Not so with the atoms; they are absolutely alike quantitatively and qualitatively, and possess no individuality of their own.1089Again, the atoms [molecules, rather] of materialistic philosophy can be considered as extended and divisible, while the monads are mere“metaphysical points”and indivisible. Finally, and this is a point where these monads of Leibnitz closely resemble the Elementals of mystic philosophy, these monads are representative beings. Every monad reflects every other. Every monad is a living mirror of the Universe within its own sphere. And mark this, for upon it depends the power possessed by these monads, and upon it depends the work they can do for us; in mirroring the world, the monads are not mere passive reflective agents, butspontaneously self active; they produce the images spontaneously, as the soul does a dream. In every monad, therefore, the adept may read everything, even the future. Every monad—or Elemental—is a looking-glass that can speak.[pg 692]It is at this point that Leibnitz's philosophy breaks down. There is no provision made, nor any distinction established, between the“Elemental”Monad and that of a high Planetary Spirit, or even the Human Monad or Soul. He even goes so far as to sometimes doubt whetherGod has ever made anything but monads or substances without extension.1090He draws a distinction between Monads and Atoms,1091because, as he repeatedly states:Bodies with all their qualities are only phenomenal, like the rainbow.Corpora omnia cum omnibus qualitatibus suis non sunt aliud quam phenomena bene fundata, ut Iris.1092But soon after he finds a provision for this in a substantial correspondence, a certain metaphysical bond between the Monads—vinculum substantiale. Esoteric Philosophy, teaching anobjectiveIdealism—though it regards the objective Universe and all in it as Mâyâ, Temporary Illusion—draws a practical distinction between Collective Illusion, Mahâmâyâ, from the purely metaphysical standpoint, and the objective relations in it between various conscious Egos so long as this Illusion lasts. The Adept, therefore,mayread the future in an Elemental Monad, but he has to draw together for this object a great number of them, as each Monad represents only a portion of the Kingdom it belongs to.It is not in the object, but in the modification of the cognition of the object that the monads are limited. They all tend (confusedly) to the infinite, to the whole, but they are limited and distinguished by the degrees of distinctness in their perception.1093And as Leibnitz explains:All the portions of the universe are distinctly represented in the monads, but some are reflected in one monad, some in another.A number of Monads could represent simultaneously the thoughts of the two million inhabitants of Paris.But what say the Occult Sciences to this, and what do they add?They say that what is called collectively Monads by Leibnitz—roughly viewed, and leaving every subdivision out of calculation, for[pg 693]the present—may be separated into three distinct Hosts,1094which, counted from the highest planes, are, firstly,“Gods,”or conscious, spiritual Egos; the intelligent Architects, who work after the plan in the Divine Mind. Then come the Elementals, or“Monads,”who form collectively and unconsciously the grand Universal Mirrors of everything connected with their respective realms. Lastly, the“Atoms,”or material molecules, which are informed in their turn by their“perceptive”Monads, just as every cell in a human body is so informed. There are shoals of suchinformedAtoms which, in their turn, inform the molecules; an infinitude of Monads, or Elementals proper, and countless spiritual Forces—Monadless, for they are pure incorporealities,1095except under certain laws, when they assume a form—notnecessarilyhuman. Whence the substance that clothes them—the apparent organism they evolve around their centres? The Formless (Arûpa) Radiations, existing in the harmony of Universal Will, and being what we term the collective or the aggregate of Cosmic Will on the plane of the subjective Universe, unite together an infinitude of Monads—each the mirror of its own Universe—and thus individualize for the time being an independent Mind, omniscient and universal; and by the same process of magnetic aggregation they create for themselves objective, visible bodies, out of the interstellar Atoms. For Atoms and Monads, associated or dissociated, simple or complex, are, from the moment of the first differentiation, but the“principles,”corporeal, psychic and spiritual, of the“Gods”—themselves the Radiations of Primordial Nature. Thus, to the eye of the Seer, the higher Planetary Powers appear under two aspects: the subjective—asinfluences, and the objective—as mysticforms, which, under Karmic law, become aPresence, Spirit and Matter being One, as repeatedly stated. Spirit is Matteron the seventh plane; Matter is Spirit at the lowest point of its cyclic activity; and both are—Mâyâ.[pg 694]Atoms are called Vibrations in Occultism; also Sound—collectively. This does not interfere with Mr. Tyndall's scientific discovery. He traced, on the lower rung of the ladder of monadic being, the whole course of theatmosphericVibrations—and this constitutes theobjectivepart of the process in Nature. He has traced and recorded the rapidity of their motion and transmission; the force of their impact; their setting up vibrations in the tympanum and their transmission of these to the otoliths, etc., till the vibration of the auditory nerve commences—and a new phenomenon now takes place: thesubjectiveside of the process or thesensationof sound. Does he perceive or see it? No; for his specialty is to discover the behaviour of Matter. But why should not a Psychic see it, a spiritual Seer, whose inner Eye is opened, one who can see through the veil of Matter? The waves and undulations of Science are all produced by Atoms propelling their molecules into activityfrom within. Atoms fill the immensity of Space, and by their continuous vibrationarethatMotionwhich keeps the wheels of Life perpetually going. It is that inner work that produces the natural phenomenon called the correlation of Forces. Only, at the origin of every such“Force,”there stands theconsciousguiding Noumenon thereof—Angel or God, Spirit or Demon, ruling powers, yet the same.As described by Seers—those who can see the motion of the interstellar shoals, and follow them clairvoyantly in their evolution—they are dazzling, like specks of virgin snow in radiant sunlight. Their velocity is swifter than thought, quicker than any mortal physical eye can follow, and, as well as can be judged from the tremendous rapidity of their course, the motion is circular. Standing on an open plain, on a mountain summit especially, and gazing into the vast vault above and the spatial infinitudes around, the whole atmosphere seems ablaze with them, the air soaked through with these dazzling coruscations. At times, the intensity of their motion produces flashes like the Northern Lights in the Aurora Borealis. The sight is so marvellous, that, as the Seer gazes into this inner world, and feels the scintillating points shoot past him, he is filled with awe at the thought of other, still greater mysteries, that lie beyond, and within, this radiant ocean.However imperfect and incomplete this explanation on“Gods, Monads and Atoms,”it is hoped that some students and Theosophists, at least, will feel that there may indeed be a close relation between Materialistic Science and Occultism, which is the complement and missing soul of the former.
Elementary particles are vital forces, not acting mechanically, but from an internal principle. They are incorporeal spiritual units [“substantial,”however, but not“immaterial”in our sense] inaccessible to all change from without ... [and] indestructible by any external force. Leibnitz' monads differ from atoms in the following particulars, which are very important for us to remember, otherwise we shall not be able to see the difference between Elementals and mere matter. Atoms are not distinguished from each other, they are qualitatively alike; but one monad differs from every other monad qualitatively; and every one is a peculiar world to itself. Not so with the atoms; they are absolutely alike quantitatively and qualitatively, and possess no individuality of their own.1089Again, the atoms [molecules, rather] of materialistic philosophy can be considered as extended and divisible, while the monads are mere“metaphysical points”and indivisible. Finally, and this is a point where these monads of Leibnitz closely resemble the Elementals of mystic philosophy, these monads are representative beings. Every monad reflects every other. Every monad is a living mirror of the Universe within its own sphere. And mark this, for upon it depends the power possessed by these monads, and upon it depends the work they can do for us; in mirroring the world, the monads are not mere passive reflective agents, butspontaneously self active; they produce the images spontaneously, as the soul does a dream. In every monad, therefore, the adept may read everything, even the future. Every monad—or Elemental—is a looking-glass that can speak.
Elementary particles are vital forces, not acting mechanically, but from an internal principle. They are incorporeal spiritual units [“substantial,”however, but not“immaterial”in our sense] inaccessible to all change from without ... [and] indestructible by any external force. Leibnitz' monads differ from atoms in the following particulars, which are very important for us to remember, otherwise we shall not be able to see the difference between Elementals and mere matter. Atoms are not distinguished from each other, they are qualitatively alike; but one monad differs from every other monad qualitatively; and every one is a peculiar world to itself. Not so with the atoms; they are absolutely alike quantitatively and qualitatively, and possess no individuality of their own.1089Again, the atoms [molecules, rather] of materialistic philosophy can be considered as extended and divisible, while the monads are mere“metaphysical points”and indivisible. Finally, and this is a point where these monads of Leibnitz closely resemble the Elementals of mystic philosophy, these monads are representative beings. Every monad reflects every other. Every monad is a living mirror of the Universe within its own sphere. And mark this, for upon it depends the power possessed by these monads, and upon it depends the work they can do for us; in mirroring the world, the monads are not mere passive reflective agents, butspontaneously self active; they produce the images spontaneously, as the soul does a dream. In every monad, therefore, the adept may read everything, even the future. Every monad—or Elemental—is a looking-glass that can speak.
It is at this point that Leibnitz's philosophy breaks down. There is no provision made, nor any distinction established, between the“Elemental”Monad and that of a high Planetary Spirit, or even the Human Monad or Soul. He even goes so far as to sometimes doubt whether
God has ever made anything but monads or substances without extension.1090
God has ever made anything but monads or substances without extension.1090
He draws a distinction between Monads and Atoms,1091because, as he repeatedly states:
Bodies with all their qualities are only phenomenal, like the rainbow.Corpora omnia cum omnibus qualitatibus suis non sunt aliud quam phenomena bene fundata, ut Iris.1092
Bodies with all their qualities are only phenomenal, like the rainbow.Corpora omnia cum omnibus qualitatibus suis non sunt aliud quam phenomena bene fundata, ut Iris.1092
But soon after he finds a provision for this in a substantial correspondence, a certain metaphysical bond between the Monads—vinculum substantiale. Esoteric Philosophy, teaching anobjectiveIdealism—though it regards the objective Universe and all in it as Mâyâ, Temporary Illusion—draws a practical distinction between Collective Illusion, Mahâmâyâ, from the purely metaphysical standpoint, and the objective relations in it between various conscious Egos so long as this Illusion lasts. The Adept, therefore,mayread the future in an Elemental Monad, but he has to draw together for this object a great number of them, as each Monad represents only a portion of the Kingdom it belongs to.
It is not in the object, but in the modification of the cognition of the object that the monads are limited. They all tend (confusedly) to the infinite, to the whole, but they are limited and distinguished by the degrees of distinctness in their perception.1093
It is not in the object, but in the modification of the cognition of the object that the monads are limited. They all tend (confusedly) to the infinite, to the whole, but they are limited and distinguished by the degrees of distinctness in their perception.1093
And as Leibnitz explains:
All the portions of the universe are distinctly represented in the monads, but some are reflected in one monad, some in another.
All the portions of the universe are distinctly represented in the monads, but some are reflected in one monad, some in another.
A number of Monads could represent simultaneously the thoughts of the two million inhabitants of Paris.
But what say the Occult Sciences to this, and what do they add?
They say that what is called collectively Monads by Leibnitz—roughly viewed, and leaving every subdivision out of calculation, for[pg 693]the present—may be separated into three distinct Hosts,1094which, counted from the highest planes, are, firstly,“Gods,”or conscious, spiritual Egos; the intelligent Architects, who work after the plan in the Divine Mind. Then come the Elementals, or“Monads,”who form collectively and unconsciously the grand Universal Mirrors of everything connected with their respective realms. Lastly, the“Atoms,”or material molecules, which are informed in their turn by their“perceptive”Monads, just as every cell in a human body is so informed. There are shoals of suchinformedAtoms which, in their turn, inform the molecules; an infinitude of Monads, or Elementals proper, and countless spiritual Forces—Monadless, for they are pure incorporealities,1095except under certain laws, when they assume a form—notnecessarilyhuman. Whence the substance that clothes them—the apparent organism they evolve around their centres? The Formless (Arûpa) Radiations, existing in the harmony of Universal Will, and being what we term the collective or the aggregate of Cosmic Will on the plane of the subjective Universe, unite together an infinitude of Monads—each the mirror of its own Universe—and thus individualize for the time being an independent Mind, omniscient and universal; and by the same process of magnetic aggregation they create for themselves objective, visible bodies, out of the interstellar Atoms. For Atoms and Monads, associated or dissociated, simple or complex, are, from the moment of the first differentiation, but the“principles,”corporeal, psychic and spiritual, of the“Gods”—themselves the Radiations of Primordial Nature. Thus, to the eye of the Seer, the higher Planetary Powers appear under two aspects: the subjective—asinfluences, and the objective—as mysticforms, which, under Karmic law, become aPresence, Spirit and Matter being One, as repeatedly stated. Spirit is Matteron the seventh plane; Matter is Spirit at the lowest point of its cyclic activity; and both are—Mâyâ.
Atoms are called Vibrations in Occultism; also Sound—collectively. This does not interfere with Mr. Tyndall's scientific discovery. He traced, on the lower rung of the ladder of monadic being, the whole course of theatmosphericVibrations—and this constitutes theobjectivepart of the process in Nature. He has traced and recorded the rapidity of their motion and transmission; the force of their impact; their setting up vibrations in the tympanum and their transmission of these to the otoliths, etc., till the vibration of the auditory nerve commences—and a new phenomenon now takes place: thesubjectiveside of the process or thesensationof sound. Does he perceive or see it? No; for his specialty is to discover the behaviour of Matter. But why should not a Psychic see it, a spiritual Seer, whose inner Eye is opened, one who can see through the veil of Matter? The waves and undulations of Science are all produced by Atoms propelling their molecules into activityfrom within. Atoms fill the immensity of Space, and by their continuous vibrationarethatMotionwhich keeps the wheels of Life perpetually going. It is that inner work that produces the natural phenomenon called the correlation of Forces. Only, at the origin of every such“Force,”there stands theconsciousguiding Noumenon thereof—Angel or God, Spirit or Demon, ruling powers, yet the same.
As described by Seers—those who can see the motion of the interstellar shoals, and follow them clairvoyantly in their evolution—they are dazzling, like specks of virgin snow in radiant sunlight. Their velocity is swifter than thought, quicker than any mortal physical eye can follow, and, as well as can be judged from the tremendous rapidity of their course, the motion is circular. Standing on an open plain, on a mountain summit especially, and gazing into the vast vault above and the spatial infinitudes around, the whole atmosphere seems ablaze with them, the air soaked through with these dazzling coruscations. At times, the intensity of their motion produces flashes like the Northern Lights in the Aurora Borealis. The sight is so marvellous, that, as the Seer gazes into this inner world, and feels the scintillating points shoot past him, he is filled with awe at the thought of other, still greater mysteries, that lie beyond, and within, this radiant ocean.
However imperfect and incomplete this explanation on“Gods, Monads and Atoms,”it is hoped that some students and Theosophists, at least, will feel that there may indeed be a close relation between Materialistic Science and Occultism, which is the complement and missing soul of the former.