The Kybalion

Chapter VII — "The All" in All

Contents List:

Authorship
The Principle of Correspondence
Involution and Evolution
Attention
Why?
Being

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How often have the majority of people heard repeated the statement that their Deity (called by many names) was "All in All", and how little have they suspected the inner occult truth concealed by these carelessly uttered words? The commonly used expression is a survival of the ancient Hermetic Maxim quoted above. As the Kybalion says, "To him who truly understands this truth hath come great knowledge". And, this being so, let us seek this truth, the understanding of which means so much. In this statement of truth — this Hermetic Maxim — is concealed one of the greatest philosophical, scientific and religious truths.

We have given you the Hermetic Teaching regarding the Mental Nature of the Universe — the truth that "the Universe is Mental — held in the Mind of THE ALL". As the Kybalion says, in the passage quoted above, "All is in THE ALL". But note also the co-related statement that "It is equally true that THE ALL is in All". This apparently contradictory statement is reconcilable under the Law of Paradox. It is, moreover, an exact Hermetic statement of the relations existing between THE ALL and its Mental Universe. We have seen how "All is in THE ALL": now let us examine the other aspect of the subject.

The Hermetic Teachings are to the effect that THE ALL is Immanent in ("remaining within; inherent; abiding within") its Universe, and in every part, particle, unit, or combination, within the Universe. This statement is usually illustrated by the Teachers by a reference to the Principle of Correspondence. The Teacher instructs the student to form a Mental Image of something, a person, an idea, something having a mental form, the favourite example being that of the author or dramatist forming an idea of his characters; or a painter or sculptor forming an image of an ideal that he wishes to express by his art. In each case, the student will find that while the image has its existence and being solely within his own mind, yet he — the student, author, dramatist, painter, or sculptor — is, in a sense, immanent in the mental image also. In other words, the entire virtue, life, spirit, or reality in the mental image is derived from the "immanent mind" of the thinker. Consider this for a moment until the idea is grasped.

To take a modern example, let us say that Othello, Iago, Hamlet, Lear, Richard III, at the time of their conception or creation existed merely in the mind of Shakespeare. And yet Shakespeare also existed within each of these characters, giving them their vitality, spirit, and action. Whose is the "spirit" of the characters that we know as Micawber, Oliver Twist, Uriah Heap? Is it Dickens — or has each of these characters a personal spirit, independent of its creator? Have the Venus of Medici, the Sistine Madonna, the Apollo Belvedere, spirits and reality of their own, or do they represent the spiritual and mental power of their creators? The Law of Paradox explains that both propositions are true, viewed from the proper viewpoints. Micawber is Micawber, and also Dickens. And while Micawber may be said to be Dickens, yet Dickens is not identical with Micawber. Man, like Micawber, may exclaim: "The Spirit of my Creator is inherent within me — and yet I am not HE!" How different this from the shocking half-truth so vociferously announced by certain of the half-wise, who fill the air with their raucous cries of: "I Am God!" Imagine poor Micawber, or the sneaky Uriah Heap, crying: "I Am Dickens"; or some of the lowly clods in one of Shakespeare's plays announcing: "I AM Shakespeare!" THE ALL is in the earth-worm, and yet the earth-worm is far from being THE ALL. And still the wonder remains that, though the earth-worm exists merely as a lowly thing created and having its being solely within the Mind of THE ALL, yet THE ALL is immanent in the earth-worm and in each of the particles that go to make up the earth-worm. Can there be any greater mystery than this of the "All in THE ALL and THE ALL in All"?

The Principle of Correspondence

The student will, of course, realise that the illustrations given above are necessarily imperfect and inadequate, for they represent the creation of mental images in finite minds while the Universe is a creation of Infinite Mind — and the difference between the two poles separates them. And yet it is merely a matter of degree — the same Principle is in operation: the Principle of Correspondence manifests in each. "As Above, so Below; as Below, so Above".

In the degree that Man realises the existence of the Indwelling Spirit immanent within his being, so will he rise in the spiritual scale of life. This is what spiritual development means — the recognition, realisation, and manifestation of the Spirit within us. Try to remember this last definition, that of spiritual development. It contains the Truth of True Religion.

There are many planes of Being — many sub-planes of Life, many degrees of existence — in the Universe. And all depend upon the advancement of beings in the scale, of which scale the lowest point is the grossest matter, the highest being separated only by the thinnest division from the SPIRIT of THE ALL. All progress is a Returning Home. All is Upward and Onward, in spite of all seemingly contradictory appearances. Such is the Message of the Illumined.

Involution and Evolution

The Hermetic Teachings concerning the process of the Mental creation of the Universe are that at the beginning of the Creative Cycle, THE ALL, in its aspect of "Being", projects its Will toward its aspect of "Becoming", and the process of creation begins. It is taught that the process consists of the lowering of Vibration until a very low degree of vibratory energy is reached, at which point the grossest possible form of Matter is manifested. This process is called the stage of Involution, in which THE ALL becomes "involved" or "wrapped up" in its creation. This process is believed by the Hermetists to have a Correspondence to the mental process of the artist, writer, or inventor, who becomes so wrapped up in his mental creation as to almost forget his own existence and who, for the time being, almost "lives in his creation". If instead of "wrapped" we use the word "rapt", perhaps we will give a better idea of what is meant. This Involutionary stage of Creation is sometimes called the "Outpouring" of the Divine Energy, just as the Evolutionary state is called the "Indrawing". The extreme pole of the Creative process is considered to be the furthest removed from THE ALL, while the beginning of the Evolutionary stage is regarded as the beginning of the return swing of the pendulum of Rhythm — a "coming home" idea being held in all of the Hermetic Teachings.

The Teachings are that during the "Outpouring", the vibrations become lower and lower until finally the urge ceases, and the return swing begins. But there is this difference, that while in the "Outpouring" the creative forces manifest completely and as a whole, yet from the beginning of the Evolutionary or "Indrawing" stage, there is manifested the Law of Individualisation — that is, the tendency to separate into Units of Force, so that finally that which left THE ALL as unindividualised energy returns to its source as countless highly developed Units of Life, having risen higher and higher in the scale by means of Physical, Mental and Spiritual Evolution.

Attention

The ancient Hermetists use the word "Meditation" in describing the process of the mental creation of the Universe in the Mind of THE ALL, the word "Contemplation" also being frequently employed. But the idea intended seems to be that of the employment of the Divine Attention. "Attention" is a word derived from the Latin root meaning to reach out or to stretch out, and so the act of Attention is really a mental reaching out or extension of mental energy, so that the underlying idea is readily understood when we examine into the real meaning of "Attention".

The Hermetic Teachings regarding the process of Evolution are that THE ALL, having meditated upon the beginning of the Creation — having established the material foundations of the Universe and having thought it into existence — then gradually awakens or rouses from its Meditation and in so doing starts into manifestation the process of Evolution on the material, mental and spiritual planes, successively and in order. Thus the upward movement begins, and all begins to move Spiritward. Matter becomes less gross; the Units spring into being; the combinations begin to form; Life appears and manifests in higher and higher forms; and Mind becomes more and more in evidence — the vibrations constantly becoming higher. In short, the entire process of Evolution, in all of its phases, begins and proceeds according to the established Laws of the "Indrawing" process. All of this occupies aeons upon aeons of Man's time, each aeon containing countless millions of years, but yet the Illumined inform us that the entire creation, including Involution and Involution, of an Universe, is but "as the twinkle of the eye" to THE ALL. At the end of countless cycles of aeons of time, THE ALL withdraws its Attention — its Contemplation and Meditation — of the Universe, for the Great Work is finished, and All is withdrawn into THE ALL from which it emerged. But, Mystery of Mysteries, the Spirit of each soul is not annihilated, but is infinitely expanded: the Created and Creator are merged. Such is the report of the Illumined!

The above illustration of the "meditation" and subsequent "awakening from meditation" of THE ALL is, of course, but an attempt of the Teachers to describe the Infinite process by a finite example. And yet: "As Below, so Above". The difference is merely in degree. And just as THE ALL arouses itself from the meditation upon the Universe, so does Man (in time) cease from manifesting upon the Material Plane and withdraws himself more and more into the Indwelling Spirit which is, indeed, "The Divine Ego".

Why?

There is one more matter of which we desire to speak in this lesson, and that comes very near to an invasion of the Metaphysical field of speculation, although our purpose is merely to show the futility of such speculation. We allude to the question which inevitably comes to the mind of all thinkers who have ventured to seek the Truth. The question is: "WHY does THE ALL creates Universes?". The question may be asked in different forms, but the above is the gist of the inquiry.

Men have striven hard to answer this question, but still there is no answer worthy of the name. Some have imagined that THE ALL had something to gain by it: but this is absurd, for what could THE ALL gain that it did not already possess? Others have sought the answer in the idea that THE ALL "wished something to love"; and others that it created for pleasure, or amusement, or "because it was lonely", or to manifest its power — all puerile explanations and ideas belonging to the childish period of thought.

Others have sought to explain the mystery by assuming that THE ALL found itself "compelled" to create by reason of its own "internal nature", its "creative instinct". This idea is in advance of the others, but its weak point lies in the idea of THE ALL being "compelled" by anything, internal or external. If its "internal nature" or "creative instinct" compelled it to do anything, then the "internal nature" or "creative instinct" would be the Absolute instead of THE ALL, and so accordingly that part of the proposition fails. And yet, THE ALL does create and manifest and seems to find some kind of satisfaction is so doing. And it is difficult to escape the conclusion that in some infinite degree it must have what would correspond to an "inner nature" or "creative instinct" in man, with correspondingly infinitely Desire and Will. It could not act unless it Willed to Act; and it would not Will to Act unless it Desired to Act; and it would not Desire to Act unless it obtained some Satisfaction thereby. And all of these things would belong to an "Inner Nature" and might be postulated as existing according to the Law of Correspondence. But still we prefer to think of THE ALL as acting entirely FREE from any influence, internal as well as external. That is the problem which lies at the root of the difficulty — and the difficulty that lies at the root of the problem.

Being

Strictly speaking, there cannot be said to be any "Reason" whatsoever for THE ALL to act, for a "reason" implies a "cause", and THE ALL is above Cause and Effect except when it Wills to become a Cause, at which time the Principle is set into motion. So you see, the matter is Unthinkable, just as THE ALL is unknowable. Just as we say THE ALL merely "IS", so we are compelled to say that "THE ALL ACTS BECAUSE IT ACTS". At the last, THE ALL is All Reason in Itself; All Law in Itself; All Action in Itself — and it may be said, truthfully, that THE ALL is Its Own Reason, Its Own Law, Its Own Act: It is THE ALL. Its Reason, Its Act, Its Law, are ONE, all names for the same thing. In the opinion of those who are giving you these present lessons, the answer is locked up in the INNER SELF of THE ALL, along with its Secret of Being. The Law of Correspondence, in our opinion, reaches only to that aspect of THE ALL which may be spoken of as "The Aspect of BECOMING". Back of that Aspect is "The Aspect of BEING", in which all Laws are lost in LAW, all Principles merge into PRINCIPLE, and THE All, PRINCIPLE and BEING are IDENTICAL, ONE AND THE SAME. Therefore Metaphysical speculation on this point is futile. We go into the matter here merely to show that we recognise the question and also the absurdity of the ordinary answers of metaphysics and theology.

In conclusion, it may be of interest to our students to learn that while some of the ancient and modern Hermetic Teachers have rather inclined in the direction of applying the Principle of Correspondence to the question, with the result of the "Inner Nature" conclusion, still the legends have it that the Great HERMES, when asked this question by his advanced students, answered them by PRESSING HIS LIPS TIGHTLY TOGETHER and saying not a word, indicating that there WAS NO ANSWER. But then, he may have intended to apply the axiom of his philosophy that "The lips of Wisdom are closed, except to the ears of Understanding", believing that even his advanced students did not possess the Understanding which entitled them to the Teaching. At any rate, if Hermes possessed the Secret, he failed to impart it, and so far as the world is concerned THE LIPS OF HERMES ARE CLOSED regarding it. And where the Great Hermes hesitated to speak, what mortal may dare to teach?

But remember that whatever be the answer to this problem — if indeed there be an answer — the truth remains that: "While All is in THE ALL, it is equally true that THE ALL is in ALL". The Teaching on this point is emphatic. And we may add the concluding words of the quotation: "To him who truly understands this truth hath come great knowledge".