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A Treatise on Cosmic Fire - Section Three - Division A - Certain Basic Statements
III. The wise student will also ponder well the words "the mystery of electricity," which is the mystery surrounding that process which is responsible for the production of light and therefore of vibration itself. We have concerned ourselves in the other two sections primarily with effects, with the results produced through the operation of the subjective side of nature (that alone which the occultist considers and works with) and the consequent production of objective manifestation. Now we arrive at the realization that there is a cause lying behind that which has hitherto itself been regarded as a cause, for we discover that behind all subjective phenomena there lies an essentially spiritual incentive. This incentive, this latent spiritual cause, is the object of the attention of the spiritual man. The man of the world is occupied with objective phenomena, with that which can be seen, be touched, and handled; the occult student is engaged in studying the subjective side of life, and is occupied with the forces which produce all that is familiar [1237] upon the terrestrial plane. These forces fall into three main groups: Forces emanating from the mental plane in its two divisions. Forces of a kamic nature. Forces of a purely physical description. These the occult student studies, experiments with, manipulates and correlates; through the knowledge thus gained there comes an understanding of all that can be known in the three worlds, and likewise an understanding of his own nature. The spiritual man is he who having been both a man of the world and an occult student has reached the conclusion that behind all those causes with which he has been hitherto engaged is a CAUSE; this causal unity then becomes the goal of his search. This is the mystery lying behind all mysteries; this is the secret of which all that has hitherto been known and conceived is but the veil; this is the heart of the Unknown which holds hid the purpose and the key to all that is, and which is only put into the hands of those exalted Beings Who - having worked their way through the manifold web of life - know Themselves indeed and in truth to be Atma, or Spirit itself, and veritable sparks in the one great Flame. Three times the cry goes out to all the Pilgrims upon the Path of Life: "Know thyself" is the first great injunction and long is the process of attaining that knowledge. "Know the Self" comes next and when that is achieved, man knows not only himself but all selves; the soul of the universe is to him no longer the sealed book of life but one with the seven seals broken. Then when the man stands adept, the cry goes forth "Know the One" and the words ring in the adepts' ears: "Search for that which is the responsible Cause, and having known the [1240] soul, and its expression, form, search for THAT which the soul reveals." Here is to be found the clue to the search which the adept or perfected man undertakes when He puts His foot upon one of the seven possible paths. The only way in which any light can be thrown upon the mystery lies in the consideration of those seven cosmic Paths, of their names, and symbols. Very little can be said for the secrets of the higher initiations may not be revealed, nor the information given in a book for exoteric publication. All that can be done is to make certain suggestions, caution against certain conclusions, and indicate certain symbols which, if pondered upon, may bring a certain amount of illumination. [1241]
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