The gates of knowledge : with an additional chapter entitled Philosophy and theosophy

Front matter

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Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I. — The Four Modes of Knowledge i

II. — The Occult Functions of Sleep 19

Chapter I The Four Modes Of Knowledge

IN the chapters to which these are a sequel, the Path to the Higher Knowledge has been traced up to the point of meeting with the two Guardians of the Threshold. The relation in which the soul stands to the different worlds, as gradually it climbs the steps of knowledge will now be described. This comprises what may be called "the teachings of Occult Science."

Before man enters the Path of the Higher Knowledge, he only knows the first of its four stages. It is the one which in ordinary life belongs strictly to the world of the senses. Even in what is called " science," he has to do only with this first grade of knowledge; for such science only deals with ordinary knowledge more minutely and in a disciplined way. By means of instruments such as the microscope, the telescope, etc., he makes the senses more effective, and discloses to them what they could not otherwise perceive. But he is still on the same plane of knowledge, whether he sees large things with the naked eye, or observes very small objects and phenomena by the aid of a microscope. Also in the application of thought to facts and things, such science still remains in the field of every-day life. Man arranges the objects, describes and compares them, seeks to picture to himself their variations, and so forth. The keenest naturalist does nothing fundamentally, in this respect, beyond bringing to a fine art the methods of investigating every-day life. His knowledge takes a wider range, becomes more complex and more logical, but he does not come one step nearer to any other mode of cognition.

In Occult Science this first stage of knowledge is called the material mode of cognition. This is followed by three higher; and there are yet others further on. They shall be explained here before proceeding further with the description of the Path of Knowledge. Beginning with the ordinary method of scientific cognition, of apprehension through the senses, we shall have to differentiate the following four stages:

1. Material Knowledge.

2. Imaginative Knowledge.

3. Inspirational, called also " Knowledge of the nature of Will."

4. Intuitive Knowledge.

The stages that follow these will be spoken of later. We must first be quite clear as to what we are dealing with in these different modes of cognition. In the ordinary "sense knowledge" there are four elements to be noticed: (1) The object which makes an impression on the senses; (2) The image which we form of this object; (3) The idea by which we come to a spiritual comprehension of the object or event; (4) The "Ego" which forms for itself the image and idea based on the impression of the object. Before we make for ourselves an image, a representation, there must be an object which causes it. We do not form the object, we only perceive it; and on the basis of

POUR MODES OF KNOWLEDGE 5

the object is the image formed. As long as we are looking at an object we are dealing with that alone; the moment we turn away, we possess only the image of it. The object is relinquished, but the image remains " fixed" in the memory.

But man cannot stop at the imagemaking stage, — he must go on to ideas. The distinction between " image" and "idea" is absolutely necessary if we are to be clear at this point. For instance, let us picture to ourselves an object which is circular in form; then turn away, and retain a picture of the circle in the memory. But we have not yet the "conception" of a circle.- We only attain this when we say to ourselves: "A circle is a figure in which all points are equi-distant from the centre." We come to the knowledge of a thing only when we have formed a conception of it. There are many circles — small, large, red, blue, and so forth, but there is only one conception "Circle." This will be more fully dealt with as we proceed; for the present we shall give only an outline of what is necessary in order to distinguish the first four steps in knowledge.

The fourth element which comes under consideration in Material cognition is the 1 ' ego . ' ' In this is accomplished the union of images and ideas. The ego stores up the image in his memory. If this were not the case, no continuous inner life would be possible. The images of things would remain only so long as the things themselves had some effect on the soul. But the inner life depends upon the linking of one perception with another. The ego finds his way in the world to-day because, with certain objects, the images of similar objects of yesterday re-appear.

It is obvious that the life of the soul would be impossible if we could retain the image of a thing only so long as the thing itself stood before us.

In relation to ideas also, the ego forms the unity. It combines its ideas and in this way makes a survey — arrives at an understanding of the world. This linking up of ideas is what happens when one 1 ' forms a judgment. ' ' One who has only scattered conceptions does not easily find his way about in the world. All man's activity depends on his capacity to combine conceptions, that is, to form opinions.

The Material mode of cognition consists in receiving through the senses an impression of things together with representations of the outer world. Man has the power of perceiving, or " sensibility.' ' The impression received from "outside"

is also called " sensation." Therefore in "material cognition" four elements have to be considered: Sensation, Image, Conception, Ego. In the next higher stage of knowledge, the impression made upon the physical senses, the "sensation" falls away. There is no longer any outer sense-object. There remain only three of the factors to which man is accustomed in ordinary knowledge: Image, Conception, and Ego. Ordinary knowledge in a healthy individual creates no image and no idea when there is no object present to the outer senses. The ego is then inactive. He who forms images of sensible objects which do not actually exist lives in fantasy.

But the occult student acquires this very faculty of forming images even when no external sense-object is present. Something else in him must take the place of external objects. He must be able to call up images when no object affects his senses. Something else must take the place of sensation; and this something is Imagination. At this stage, images appear to the occult student exactly the same as if a sensible object were making an impression upon him; they are as vivid and true as sense-images, yet they come, not from the "material" world, but from the world of soul and spirit. The senses then remain entirely inactive. It is evident that this faculty of forming pregnant images without sense-impressions must first be acquired. This is accomplished through meditation, and through the exercises which have been described elsewhere. x The man confined to the world of sense, lives within the

J See The Way of Initiation, by Rudolf Steiner, Ph.D. Third Edition. 237 pp. Cloth, crown 8 vo. 3/10 post free.

io THE GATES OF KNOWLEDGE

limits of a sphere of images which have gained access to him through the senses. But the imaginative man has a world of images which he has drawn from a higher source.

A very careful training is necessary in order to distinguish delusion from reality in this higher world of images. When such images first enter a man's mind he is inclined to say : ' ' Ah ! that is only fancy ; a mere out-flow of my imagination." This is quite comprehensible, for man is accustomed at present to call that alone "rear' which, without his own effort, he finds on the sure foundation of the evidence of his senses. And he must first accustom himself to accept as "real" things which are caused in quite another way.

In this matter he cannot be too careful not to fall into fantasy. The

THE FOUR MODES OF KNOWLEDGE n

capacity to decide, in these higher regions, what is "real" and what is " illusion," can only come by experience. And this experience must be gained in a quiet, patient inner life. We must be quite prepared to find that at first Illusion plays sorry tricks with us. Everywhere lurks the possibility that images will present themselves which are the result of some delusion of the outer senses, or of abnormal life. All such possibilities must first be done away with. We must first completely arrest the flow of fancy ; then alone can we achieve Imagination. When a man has come so far, it will be clear to him that the world which he has thus entered is not only just as real as the world of sense, but much more so.

In the third stage of knowledge, images no longer appear. We have now to deal only with the Conception and the ego.

Whereas in the second stage there was still a world of images around us, reminding us of the moment at which a vivid memory conjures up instantaneously impressions from the outer world, without ourselves receiving such impressions, — in the third stage even such images are absent. Man lives altogether in a spiritual world. Those accustomed to confine themselves to the senses will be tempted to believe this world to be pale and colourless. But this is far from being the case. Neither has the image- world of the second stage anything pale or shadowy about it; though this is what the images of memory for the most part are, when the physical objects have vanished. But the pictures of the Imagination have a vivacity and a comprehensiveness which far surpass those of the shadowy memory-pictures of the sensible world, and even the gaudy and ever-changing physical world itself. Even this is a mere shadow beside the realm of Imagination.

But how shall we describe the world of the third stage of knowledge? Nothing in the world of sense can give any idea of its wealth and luxuriance. That which was Sensation in the first stage, Imagination in the second, here becomes "Inspiration . ' ' Inspiration gives the impression, and the ego forms the idea. If anything at all in the realm of sense can be compared with this world, it is that region opened up to us by the sense of hearing, the world of tones. But now we have to do, not with the tones of earthly music, but with a purely spiritual cadence. One begins to "hear" what is going on at the heart of things. The stone, the plant, and §q forth, become

" spiritual words.' ' The world begins to express its true nature to the soul. It sounds grotesque, but it is literally true, that at this stage of knowledge one " hears " in spirit the growing of the grass. The form of the crystal is perceived as sound; the opening blossom " speaks' ' to man. The inspired man is able to realise the inner nature of things ; his soul beholds the resurrection of all things in a new form. He speaks a language which belongs to another world, but which alone can make the every-day world comprehensible.

Lastly, in the fourth stage of knowledge Inspiration also ceases. Of the several factors which man is accustomed to observe in every-day knowledge, the ego alone remains to be considered. The attainment of this stage by the occult student is marked by a very definite inner experience. This experience manifests itself in the feeling that he no longer stands outside the things and occurrences which he recognises, but is within them. Images are not objects, but only the expression of them. Again, what Inspiration gives is not an object, but only an utterance of it. For that which now lives within the soul is verily the object itself. The ego has poured itself forth over all beings; it has merged itself in them. The life of things in the soul is now Intuition; and when we say of Intuition that "through it man glides into all things,' ' this is literally true.

In ordinary life man has but one ' ' Intuition," — that is, of the ego itself. For the ego can in no way be perceived from without; it can only be experienced within. A simple consideration will make this fact clear, and it is one which psychologists have not used so forcibly as might be wished. Insignificant as it may appear, to those who understand it fully it is of the most far-reaching significance. It is as follows: in the outer world the same name may be applied by all to the same thing. Any one may call a table a "table"; a tulip, a "tulip"; or address Mr. Miller as "Mr. Miller." But there is one word which each can apply to himself alone: it is the word "I." No other person can say " I " to me. To every one else I am "you," just as every one else is a "you" to me. Only of myself can I say "I." And this is because each man lives, not outside, but within the "I." And in the same way, in Intuitive Cognition, does a man live in all things. This perception of the ego is the type of all intuitive knowledge. And in order thus to enter into all things, we must clearly begin by coming out of our self. We must become "selfless" before we can blend the self, the ego, with another being. Meditation and Concentration form the sure method by which this stage, as the earlier ones, may be reached. But it is essential that these be practised in a quiet and patient way. He who imagines that he can violently and forcibly climb into the higher worlds is greatly mistaken. One who so believed would also make the mistake of expecting the realities of the higher regions to approach him in the same way as those of the sensible world. Rich and vivid as are the worlds to which man may climb, they are rare and subtle, while the world of sense is coarse and rude. The most important thing to be learned is that we must accustom ourselves to regard as "real" something quite other than that which we so designate in the realm of sense. And this is not altogether easy. Herein lies the reason why so many who would fain tread the Occult Path are frightened away at the first steps. They expect to encounter things like tables and chairs, and find, instead of these, "spirits." And because "spirits" are not like tables and chairs, they take them for "imaginings." The fault lies only in their unfamiliarity with them. We must first acquire the right attitude towards the spiritual world; then shall we not only behold that which is spiritual, but also recognise it. And a great part of occult training is concerned with this right recognition and valuation of the spiritual.

Chapter II

\ A/E must next consider the state of " sleep, if we are to come to any

understanding of Imaginative Knowledge. So long as man has attained to no higher stage than Material Cognition, the soul, although it truly lives during sleep, is unable to perceive anything in the world in which it then dwells. It is in this world like a blind man in the world of matter. Such a one lives in the midst of light and colour, but is unable to perceive them. From the outer sense-organs — the eye, the ear, the ordinary activity of the brain, and so forth — the soul, in sleep, has withdrawn. 19

It receives no impressions through the senses. What, then, is it doing during sleep?

We must realise clearly that in waking life the soul is in a state of constant activity. It takes in the impressions of the outer senses and works upon them: that is its occupation. This ceases during sleep, but the soul is not then idle. Asleep it works upon its own body. This is worn out by the activity of the day, which manifests itself in fatigue. And during sleep the soul occupies itself with its own body in order to prepare it for further waking work. We see by this how essential is good sleep for the maintenance of bodily health. The man who does not sleep sufficiently, does not allow his soul to execute upon the body the needful work of repair; and the consequence of this must be the deterioration of the body. The forces with which the soul works upon the body in sleep are the same with which it acts during the waking state ; only in the latter case they are used to take in impressions from the outer senses and to work upon them.

Now when Imaginative Cognition awakes in man, part of the force expended upon the body in sleep must be employed in another way. By these forces the spiritual sense-organs are formed, which enable the soul, not merely to exist in the higher worlds, but also to take cognisance in them. Thus the soul during sleep works no longer upon the body only, but also upon itself. This result is brought about by meditation and concentration, and also by other exercises. It has already often been stated in my other books, giving the methods for the attainment of the Higher Knowledge, that the particular directions for these exercises are given only from man to man. No one should undertake such exercises on his own account. For only those who have experience of these things can judge what will be the result, in any individual, of withdrawing the activity of his soul from the body and applying it to a higher purpose.

Meditation, Concentration, and other exercises, cause the soul to withdraw for a time from its connection with the sense-organs. It is then sunk in itself, and its activity is turned inwards. In the first stages of this detachment, its inner activity does not differ greatly from its daily work. The same representations, feelings, and sensations must be employed in the work within as during ordinary life. But the more it accustoms itself to be in a measure blind and deaf to its physical surroundings, the more it lives within itself, the more fit does it become for the inner achievements. And that which is accomplished by meditation first bears fruit in the condition of sleep. When the soul is freed from the body at night, that which has been quickened in it by the exercises of the day, continues to work. Organs are formed in it, by which it can come into relation with its higher surroundings, in exactly the same way as it has already come into contact with the physical world through the outer organs of sense. Out of the darkness of the nocturnal environment come forth visions of light from the higher worlds. Subtle and intimate is this intercourse at first.

It must always be borne in mind that for a long time to come the act of waking to the light of day will immediately draw a dense veil over the experiences of the night. The recollection of having perceived something during the night, only very slowly and gradually comes through. For the disciple does not easily learn to pay attention to the delicate images of his soul, which in the course of his development begin to mingle with the common events of every-day sense-life.

At first, such images resemble what one calls the accidental impressions gathered by the soul. Everything depends upon his learning to distinguish what is due to the ordinary world from that which presents itself through his own being as a manifestation from the higher worlds. In a quiet, introspective mental life, he must acquire this discernment. It is necessary that he should first develop a sense of the value and meaning of those intimate soul-images which, like chance impressions, mingle themselves with daily life, but which are really recollections of the nightly intercourse with a higher world. As soon as one grasps these images roughly and applies to them the standards of the sense-life, they vanish away.

It is clear from what has been said that, owing to this work in a higher world, the soul must withdraw from the body part of the activity formerly bestowed upon it with such care. It leaves it, to a certain extent, alone. And the body needs a substitute for that which the soul did for it before. If it does not obtain such a substitute, it runs the risk of falling a prey to maleficent powers. For we must clearly recognise that man is continually exposed to the influences of his surroundings. In fact, he maintains life only through co-operation with his surroundings. Among these we must consider first the kingdom of visible Nature. Man himself belongs to this visible Nature. If there were no mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms, and no human beings around him, he could not live. If an individual could be imagined as cut off from the earth and lifted up into surrounding space, he must inevitably perish quickly as a physical being, just as the hand will perish if cut off from the body. The illusion of a hand that imagined that it could exist without the body would be no greater than that of a man who maintained that he could live as a physical being without the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms, and the rest of humanity.

But besides the above-named kingdoms there are three others, which generally escape the notice of man. These are the

THE OCCULT FUNCTIONS OP SLEEP 27

three elemental kingdoms, which stand in a sense below the mineral kingdom. There are beings who do not condense into the mineral condition, but who are none the less present and exert their influence upon man. (Further information concerning these elemental kingdoms will be found in my Atlantis and Lemuria* and also in the remarks upon them in my Theosophy.) Man is thus exposed to influences from kingdoms of Nature which in a sense must be called invisible. Now when the soul works upon the body, a considerable part of its activity consists in regulating the influences of the elemental kingdoms in such a way that they are beneficial to man. But the instant the soul withdraws part of its activity from

1 The Submerged Continents of Atlantis and Lemur ia. Their History and Civilisation. By Rudolf Steiner, Ph.D. The Rajput Press, Chicago; Theosophical Publ., Soc. f London.

the body, injurious powers from the elemental kingdoms may get hold of it. Herein lies one of the dangers of the higher evolution. Care must therefore be taken that the body is in itself accessible only to the good influences of the elemental world as soon as the soul is withdrawn from it. If this be disregarded, the ordinary man will be, to a certain extent, physically and morally injured, in spite of having gained access to the higher worlds.

While the soul dwells in the higher regions, pernicious forces steal into the dense physical and etheric bodies. This is the reason why certain bad qualities, which, previous to this higher development, had been held in check by the regulating power of the soul, may now, for lack of such power, become apparent. Men who were formerly of good moral behaviour may, under such circumstances, when they enter the higher worlds, reveal all kinds of low propensities, — extreme selfishness, untruthfulness, vindictiveness, wrath, etc. No one need be alarmed by this fact, or deterred from ascending into the higher worlds, but care must be taken to prevent the occurrence of such things. The lower nature of man must be fortified and made inaccessible to the dangerous elemental influences. This can be brought about by the conscious cultivation of certain virtues. These virtues are set forth in the theosophical handbooks dealing with spiritual development; and here we have the reason why they must be carefully sought after. They are the following:

First of all, the pupil must deliberately, continually, and in all things, recognise the imperishable, the lasting; distinguish it from the perishable, and turn his attention towards it. In all things and in all beings he may assume and discern something which abides when the transitory appearance has vanished. If I see a plant, I can first observe it as it presents itself to the senses ; and this no one should neglect to do. For no one will be able to discover the permanent in objects, who has not first made himself thoroughly familiar with their perishable aspect. Those who are continually afraid that to fix their attention on the spiritual and eternal will cause them to lose the freshness and naturalness of life, do not yet understand of what we are really speaking. When I look at a plant in this way, it may become evident to me that there is in it a permanent life-impulse which will re-appear in a new form when the plant before me has long since crumbled to dust. This attitude of mind towards things must become thoroughlybound up with our nature. Then we must fix our hearts upon all that is worthy of esteem, and genuine, and learn to value it more highly than that which is fleeting and insignificant. In all our feelings and actions we must take into consideration the value of any one thing in relation to the whole. Thirdly, we must cultivate six qualities: control of thoughts, control of actions, endurance, impartiality, confidence in our surroundings, and inner equilibrium.

Control of the thought-world can be attained if we take the trouble to combat that wandering of the thoughts and feelings which tosses the ordinary man to and fro. In every-day life man is not the master of his thoughts: he is driven by them. And, as a matter of course, it cannot be otherwise; for life itself rules man and, as a worker, he must yield to the pressure of life. In ordinary life this must be so. But if man would rise into higher worlds, he must set apart at least certain short periods in which to make himself master of his world of thought and feeling. Then, with full inner freedom, he sets a thought in the centre of his soul; whilst ordinarily, ideas were driven into it from without. Then he tries to keep at a distance all other thoughts and feelings, and to add nothing to the first thought except that which he admits of his own will. Such an exercise has a beneficial effect upon the soul, and through it, upon the body. It brings the latter into such a harmonious condition that it evades pernicious influences even when the soul is not directly working upon it.

Control of actions consists in a similar regulation of these by inner freedom. A good beginning is made when we set ourselves to do regularly something which it would not have occurred to us to do in ordinary life. For in the latter, man is driven to action from without. But the smallest action which we undertake of our own innermost initiative, does more for us in the direction of which we are speaking than anything we may do through the pressure of life from without. Endurance consists in deliverance from those moods which may be described as alternating betweeen " exulting to the highest heaven* ' and " sorrowing even unto death.* ' Man is driven to and fro between all kinds of moods. Pleasure makes him glad; pain depresses him. This finds its justification. But he who seeks the Path to the Higher Knowledge must be able to moderate both his joy and his sorrow. He must become stable. He must be able to restrain himself in the midst of pleasurable, as well as of painful experiences; he must carry himself with dignity through both. He must never be unmanned or disconcerted. This does not imply any lack of feeling; but only that the man has made for himself a fixed centre in the tide of life which ebbs and flows round about him. He has himself always well in hand.

Another very important quality is the "instinct of affirmation." He will develop this for himself who notices in all things their good, beautiful, and serviceable characteristics; not, in the first place, that which is blameworthy, ugly, perverse. There is a beautiful story among the Persian legends concerning Christ, which illustrates the meaning of this quality. A dead dog was lying in the road, and Christ was among the passers-by. All the others turned away from the ugly spectacle which the animal presented; but Christ paused to speak admiringly of its beautiful teeth. It is possible to see all things in this way ; and he who truly seeks will find even in the most repulsive object something worthy of appreciation. | The fruitful principle in everything is not what it lacks, but what it has.

Further, it is important to cultivate the quality of " impartiality.' ' Every one has gained his own experiences, and has formed from them a definite number of opinions by which his life is regulated. And as it is self-evident on the one hand that conduct must be guided according to experience, it is no less important that he who would advance spiritually in the