Page:The Great Book of Magical Art, Hindu Magic and East Indian Occultism.djvu/505

 MEDIAEVAL PHILOSOPHY AND THEOSOPHY 487

The knowledge of Nature as it is, not as it is imagined to be, con- stitutes true philosophy. He who merely sees the external appearance of things is not a philosopher; the true philosopher sees the reality not merely the appearance.

He who knows the sun and the moon has a sun and a moon in him, and he can tell how they look even if his eyes are shut. Likewise the true physician sees in himself the whole constitution of the microcosm of man with all its parts.

He sees the constitution of his patient as if the latter was a clear crystal, in which'not even a single hair could escape detection. He sees him as he sees the stones and pebbles at the bottom of a clear well.

This is the philosophy upon which the true art of medicine is based. Not that your physical eyes are able to show you these things, but it is Nature herself who teaches it to you. Nature is the universal mother of all, and if you are in harmony with her, if the mirror of your mind has not been made blind by the cobwebs of speculations, erroneous theories and misconceptions — she will hold up before you a mirror in which you will see the truth.

But he who is not true himself will not see the truth as it is taught by Nature. It is far easier to study a number of books and to learn by heart a number of scientific theories than to ennnoble one's own char- acter to such an extent as to enter into perfect harmony with the truth. No one can, therefore, be called a theosophist who does not possess the knowledge of his own divine self which enables man to know all things as only an Adept knows them.

This power is in possession of no man, but belongs to the soul in man. Only when man has found his soul power can he partake of divine wisdom. Man is a mixed being; he is the centre of focus in which the three kingdoms — i. e., the three forms of manifestation of the primordial Will ; the world of darkness or fire, the world of spiritual light and that of external nature — are active and in man, which the powers of either of these three kingdoms may become conscious and manifest.

If he is a temple of the spirit power his soul will reveal wisdom to him; if he is a dwelling of evil, this evil will become personified in him; if the world of mind, intellect, emotion, etc., is reflected within his soul and his mind becomes absorbed by it, he will become a spiritual Adept.

It is most true and certain that if there were no natural world Nature could not become manifested in man, and it is equally true that if there were no supreme good or evil in the universe, neither good nor evil could become revealed or personified in a man.

Seed when properly planted has the power to attract unto itself the sunlight which it requires to enable it to grow, and in the same sense there is no man who has the power to attract spirit and occult powers