Читать книгу THE MASTERY OF BEING - William Walker Atkinson - Страница 8

Table of Content

AXIOM OF ORIGINALITY AND CAUSELESSNESS.

EIGHTH AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY is Original and Causeless.

THIS AXIOM announces the Originality and Causelessness of REALITY. By "original" is meant "preceding all others; first; primary; primitive; that which is the origin, cause, source, or primary root from which all else has proceeded." By "causeless" is meant "without preceding cause, origin, root, or source; uncreated." REALITY is perceived to be primary, first, preceding all, the source, origin, or root from which all else has proceeded. It is also perceived to be uncaused and uncreated. As it is the essence, nature, substance, and very being of All-that-is, and as there is nothing other than itself, it must be original and uncaused, for there is nothing else which could have preceded it, nothing else which could have caused it, nothing else which could have created it. It cannot have proceeded from or been caused or created by Nothing, for Nothing is denied and is not in existence. If there is a Creator of REALITY,—a Something preceding it,—then that Something is really REALITY, and that which we have been considering as REALITY is a mere manifestation or appearance,—in which case the inquiry is merely moved back a point and the axiom still stands in its full effect and virtue.

REASON VS. IMAGINATION.

All human thought and reasoning, carried to its logical conclusion, brings one to the inevitable conclusion that there must be assumed to exist an ORIGINAL SOMETHING, an Uncaused and Uncreated Thing. The reason cannot escape this conclusion, although the imagination may find it impossible to image or make a mental picture of an original, uncaused, uncreated thing. The imagination having had experiences only with secondary, caused, and created things, is unable to picture the contrary thereof. But the reason is enabled to transcend the imagination when trained and developed by logic.

All human thought, in spite of the imagination, eventually postulates the existence of Something original, uncaused, uncreated. This Something it may call Matter, Spirit, Mind, Being, or God—names matter not. The reason bases its entire edifice of thought upon this postulate. But the imagination, like the child, persists in inquiring, "But who made God?"—so hypnotized by finite cause and effect is it.

When the reason trains the imagination to picture cause and effect as merely the procession of changes which eternally passes in infinite array upon the surface of Appearance,— REALITY being the eternal background of REALITY upon which the Cosmic Moving-Picture Show moves and appears,—then REALITY is perceived to be original, uncaused, and uncreated. When the nature of cause and effect is perceived by reason, then the hypnotism of Causation is dispelled and the imagination is able to form the proper image.

The only escape from the conclusion that REALITY is original, uncaused, and uncreated is the idea that it proceeded, arose, or sprung from Nothing. This is seen at once to be a fallacy, for from Nothing no thing can come; and, finally, there is no such thing as Nothing—it is merely a word.

The reason should be tested upon this axiom. It should be urged and encouraged to endeavor to discover the possibility of there being no original, uncaused, or uncreated thing in existence. Even if it regards the universe as a Whole Thing composed of an infinity of ever-changing parts, then it must hold that the Whole Thing is original, uncaused, and uncreated. Even if it regards the universe as a procession of ever-changing forms and shapes, permeated by a common essence, nature, substance, and principle, then the latter must be held to be original, uncaused, and uncreated. Even if it regards the universe as something created by a Supreme Being, either apart from itself or immanent in it, then that Supreme Being must be held to be original, uncaused, and uncreated. In either case the result is the same. And whatever may be the conception which serves as the premise, the original, uncaused, and uncreated Something which emerges as the conclusion of the reasoning is seen to be the REALITY of our inquiry.

AXIOM OF ETERNITY.

NINTH AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY is Eternal.

This axiom announces the Eternity of REALITY. By "Eternal" is meant "without beginning and end of existence; always existing; existence without intermission; ceaseless; constant; everlasting; interminable; perpetual."

REALITY is perceived to be eternal by the very fact of its essence, nature, substance; and being. For the same reasons that it is seen to be original, uncaused, and uncreated, it is perceived to be eternal. For there is nothing else than itself from which it could have come; and it could not have come from Nothing.

Neither is there anything else into which it can change. It must always be itself; and it cannot change, proceed, or disappear into Nothingness.

If there had ever been a time in which REALITY was not in existence, then it would not be in existence now, for Something cannot come from Nothing. If it is in existence now, it will always be in existence, for Something cannot disappear, proceed, or change into Nothing. And there never has been, is not now, and never can be anything else than itself for it to proceed from or into.

The imagination, for reasons already stated, finds it almost impossible to picture a beginningless and endless Thing. But the reason finds the report of the existence of Something Eternal at the foundation of all thought. It cannot escape the conclusion. It may call this Something Eternal by one of many names, but the recognition is universal and common to the reason. Whether the universe be considered as one in essence, or a union of diverse parts of things, the Whole Thing must be considered as Eternal. The fact of the Eternity of REALITY is axiomatic, self-evident, and indisputable. The human reason must so ever report.

AXIOM OF INFINITY.

TENTH AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY is Infinite.

This axiom announces the Infinity of REALITY. By "Infinite" is meant (1) "unlimited; boundless; immeasurable; illimitable; interminable; limitless; (2) ultimate capacity and possibility of expression and manifestation in time, space, quantity, quality, and variety."

REALITY is perceived to be infinite, in both of the above general meanings of the term, by the very fact of its essence, nature, substance, and very being. For there is nothing else than itself to limit, bound, or determine it. Neither is there anything other than itself to impair its ultimate capacity and possibility of expression and manifestation. There is nothing to limit it and nothing with which to limit it even in thought. The mind is unable to conceive of a limit in time, space, quantity, quality, or variety to REALITY. Try as hard as we may, we are not able to place the limit on the manifestation and expression of REALITY. The reason refuses to entertain the idea of such limit. And even the imagination is unable to fix the same, although it is likewise unable to make a mental picture of the Infinite, for reasons already stated. The fact of the infinity of REALITY is axiomatic; it cannot be denied.

AXIOM OF ULTIMATENESS.

ELEVENTH AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY is Ultimate.

This axiom announces the Ultimateness of REALITY. By "Ultimate" is meant "extreme; last; final; elemental; pure, simple, and essential; incapable of further analysis, refinement, reduction, or resolution."

REALITY is perceived to be ultimate, in the above meanings of the term, by the very fact of its essence, nature, substance, and REALITY. It is conceived of and perceived as being the final, extreme, refined, pure, simple, and essential nature, substance, and REALITY of All-that-is. It is seen to be the ultimate source or origin from which all existence flows; the ultimate element and essence of existence; the final and ultimate fact of existence; the essential, simple, pure, and ultimate substance of existence; incapable of further analysis, resolution, refinement, purification, simplification, or perfection. REALITY is the ultimate fact of existence. Further than it the conception of existence cannot go. Further than it we cannot think of existence. It is the very heart and soul of existence; it is the very center of That-which-is. It is the very QUINTESSENCE OF IS-NESS.

AXIOM OF ABSOLUTENESS.

TWELFTH AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY Is Absolute.

This axiom announces the Absoluteness of REALITY. By "Absolute," as the term is herein employed, is meant "sovereign; self-existing; self-sufficient; self-controlled; unqualified."

REALITY is seen to be absolute, in the above stated meanings of the term, by the very fact of its essence, nature, substance, and REALITY. It being the ultimate essence of The All, there can be nothing sovereign to it; nothing to rule, govern, or control it. Being All-there-is in real existence, being original, uncaused, uncreated, independent, infinite, eternal, and ultimate, it follows that it must be self-existent, self-sufficient, and self-controlled. In Absolute REALITY there must be all the presence and power there is. Just as infinity expresses boundlessness in manifestation in time, space, variety, etc., so does absoluteness express boundlessness in power and authority and being. There is no higher term in the language. It expresses the limit of power. REALITY is seen to be absolute by the very fact of its Being. There is nothing else to share or divide power, authority, or being with REALITY. It is perceived by reason to be absolute, and the imagination will offer but little objection to the idea.

AXIOM OF FORMLESSNESS.

THIRTEENTH AXIOM OF REALITY: REALITY is Formless.

This axiom announces the Formlessness of REALITY. By "Form" is meant "shape, mould, figure, configuration," all of which indicate finite dimension or measure, length, breadth, height, thickness, or circumference. "Formless," of course, means "without form; lacking determinate form or shape."

REALITY is perceived to be Formless in the full sense of the term, as above stated, by the very fact of its essence, nature, substance, and REALITY. Form is an attribute of matter, and must be absent from immaterial substance. Moreover, form indicates and expresses finite limitation and determination in space. No thing that is infinite can have form. Form immediately sets up limits and bounds. Form would destroy the infinity of REALITY. It is impossible for an infinite thing to have bounds or limits in space. Form is a characteristic indication, quality, attribute, and property of material phenomena and is utterly opposed to the facts of REALITY. To attribute form to REALITY is akin to attributing "parts" to it. Form can no more be attributed to REALITY than to the concept of Infinite Space, or Infinite Substance, or Infinite Anything. Moreover, form can no more be considered as an attribute of REALITY than of Mind, or Life, or Energy, or Law. REALITY cannot be thought of as having Form, Shape, or Size by reason of the very facts of its being.