|
Science and The Esoteric
Teachings
– A World of Difference
All throughout the world today, many people insist that religion has
not kept in step with modern scientific advances. This feeling is not without
some basis in fact. Much of the exoteric religious dogmas and teachings,
having been formulated, as they were, during those early days before mankind
was able to emerge out of its dark days of ignorance into the Age of Reason,
were intended mainly for the masses of people who, during those ancient
times, could only understand the very simplest explanations and concepts.
Then, electricity had not yet been discovered; there were no telephones,
no radios and no television sets; and at night, people had to light up
a torch or keep an open fire. There were no automobiles; most people walked
while the more affluent rode on the backs of animals. There were no trains
or buses, airplanes or spaceships. Water couldn’t be had by turning a faucet.
There was probably a 99% illiteracy rate — reading and writing accessible
only to the members of the nobility and the monastic scholars. People believed
that the world was flat, that the Sun was God and that the Earth was the
center of the Universe. What need was there of providing deeper explanations
to people who did not have the capacity to understand.
Today, however, much has changed. And man has come a long way forward.
It is only now that the Occult Sciences may be appreciated and understood.
The true and deeper explanations to the mysteries of life have always been
awaiting discovery by those who seek for them. But first, every seeker
must have to understand and transcend the great differences between the
science revered by the materialists of this world and the Esoteric Teachings.
While the material sciences by their definition is confined and limited
to the purely physical or the material aspects of life, the Occult or the
Esoteric Teachings which are little known and much less understood encompasses
far more. Science, as a general rule, accepts only what the five senses
can perceive and those that can be perceived by its puny scientific instruments.
All things must be capable of measurement and physical verification before
they can be accepted as a fact worthy of consideration.
However, there is so much more to life than what we can see, hear, touch,
taste and feel. But then, since science cannot pin these down and stick
them in a test tube, these must, for the moment, to science, at least,
remain non-existent. We must accept that the physical laws are in full
force and effect everywhere in this physical Universe, but, in addition
to these laws, there are higher, spiritual laws that also apply and, in
fact, take precedence. But the men of science are not aware of nor do they
recognize these higher principles, so therefore, their knowledge remains,
at best, partial and incomplete. It is mainly for these reasons that their
findings and conclusions leave much to be desired.
The student of the Occult Sciences is open to realities apart from the
physical and the material. Certain of them are capable of increased perceptions.
Through the development of their inner faculties, they are able to apperceive
vibrations which are beyond the range of our physical senses and even of
the most sensitive scientific instruments. Where the scientist can only
surmise, speculate, deduce or infer, the highly proficient occultist, due
to this increased awareness, claims to have the unique advantage of actual
perception of the fact. And this knowledge is what he declares
to all the world. The Esoteric Teachings embody all such declarations.
Even as it is explained that all this knowledge can be drawn from an Akashic
Record or that such can be available to everyone through the expansion
of his own consciousness and the development of his spiritual faculties,
the men of science are more inclined to disagree and deny the existence
and possibility of the same.
Human development proceeds from the material to the spiritual. Before
one can become open to the latter, one must first be sufficiently conversant
with the principles governing physical existence. Such person will have
undergone all the necessary experiences that will demonstrate for him the
validity of the physical laws. And while he may not have encountered these
experiences in his present incarnation, he maintains that he is fully cognizant
of the operation of such laws owing to his having undergone all the requisite
experiences in his previous lives. But such a preposterous doctrine as
reincarnation is, likewise, not acceptable to materialistic, scientific
minds. Still, it is strongly hinted that the spiritual person is far more
experienced, more highly evolved. And therefore, while the materialists
on the lower scale of evolution have yet to undergo their own very necessary
experiences in order to obtain the proofs they require, the more spiritually-inclined
student of the Occult finds it easier to accept Occult principles without
the need for further and more elaborate proofs. To one
who is ready, no proof is needed while to one who
is not, no proof will suffice.
Almost exclusively through the development of the intellect, science
can be mastered. But the higher levels of learning are reserved only for
those who have earned the right to have access to them and who have proven
that their possession of such will not bring harm, as much to themselves
as to others. The mastery of the Occult Sciences, therefore,
can only come to one through the development of his spirituality.
This is simply one of those things Christ alluded to when he said, "Seek
first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all
things will be added unto you." And so it is that the principal
exponents of the Esoteric Teachings are the prophets, the saints, the seers
and sages.
Nevertheless, even the original proponents of Esoteric Teachings are
themselves, subject to pitfalls and errors. Their comprehension is limited
to the stage of development to which they have arrived. They understand
much more than others, but they don’t understand everything completely.
And not everything they believe to be true is, in fact, true. They are
aware of far greater realities than most of the people in this world, but
not all. Clearly, they, too, have their own limitations. No
one is perfect but God.
We must, at all times, exercise prudence and caution. We must be aware
of the limitations and strengths of these two divergent approaches to the
attainment of knowledge. All the allegations and propositions of both camps
must have to be analyzed, thoroughly, and put to the test of reason and
personal experience. However, both are necessary. Both should complement
each other. Both should work together for the common good. Only as we realize
these truths can we make substantive advances in our own development.
Contributed to and published by the Philippine Theosophist
|
|
