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"The Progress to Knowledge -- God, Man and Nature"

(Book 2 Chapter XVII)

 

-Man is preoccupied with three principle categories; (1) himself, Man, i.e. individual soul; (2) God -- that invisible reality and occult Infinite which he does not know except indirectly; and (3) Nature -- the cosmos, the world, other individual existences. An acceptance and perception of the unity of these three is essential to his Knowledge. Now he is in the egotistic phase, preoccupied with himself, not with others and the world, unless they aid is own self.

-The individual is part of the Cosmic Being; yet this cosmic consciousness remains secret, subliminal to him.

-The cosmic consciousness creates collective powers of consciousness which are large subjective formations of cosmic Nature. It creates a group-mind; a collective consciousness. The collective consciousness even has subconsciousness (i.e. that which it is not outwardly conscious of).

-It is through the individual that the collective consciousness gets organized. The collective consciousness can be extraordinarily effective if it finds individual to embody, express, bring light to, organize, and lead it.

-The perfection of the collective can only come about by the perfection of the individuals who constitute it. As the individuals become more conscious, the collective it belongs to becomes more conscious. Therefore, the individual must find his Individual Self, his Universal Self, and his Transcendent Self.  [These three poises of being are discussed in the previous chapter. See Summary there.]

 

[DETAILS]

• From the point where the involution ends, the evolution begins as inconscience in Matter and continues upward to reveal the hidden and buried Existence, Consciousness, and Delight that is the basis of the Involution. That evolution moves from the material inanaimation and nescience to a consciousness in life to mind where it is more clearly aware of itself.

• Man must move from being the outer man, ephemeral and constrained by the material  embodiment and its limited mentality, to become the inner real Man, master of himself and universal in his being.

• In Man, Existence, Consciousness, Bliss is ever more developing.

• Man is preoccupied with three principle categories; himself, Man or individual soul; God -- that invisible reality and occult Infinite which he does not know except indirectly; and Nature -- the cosmos, the world, other individual existences.

• An acceptance and perception of the unity of these three is essential to his Knowledge. Thus man needs to enlarge his knowledge of himself, of God, and the world; and that knowledge must become a unified whole, a oneness.

• Man principally in the beginning is in the egoistic phase, occupied with himself, not with others and the world, unless they aid is own self.

• The cosmic consciousness remains secret and subliminal to the individual consciousness. 

• The cosmic consciousness creates collective powers of consciousness which are large subjective formations of cosmic Nature.

• It creates a group-mind, a group body based on groups of individuals.

• It is through the individual that the cosmic spirit organizes its collective units.

• As individuals become more and more conscious, the group-being also becomes more conscious.

• The collective consciousness is near the subconscient. It has a subconsciousness too. It needs the individual to express it, bring it to light, organize it, and make it effective.

• The mass-consciousness, life, action can be extraordinarily effective if it can find an individual or individuals to embody, express, lead, and organize it.

• The individual must develop his individuality to enable great evolution in the collective.

• Nature invented the ego so the individual can disengage from the inconscience of the mass.

• The individual is part of the Cosmic being, but is also a soul of the transcendence.

• Sought after perfection of the collective can only come about by the perfection of the individuals who constitute it.

• [A discussion of the need of the] Individual's (Self) unity with Cosmos/Nature and the Absolute (transcendent).

• "The unity of God and Nature cannot fail to manifest in him: ... "