The Mahdi Times The Mahdi Times Issue #26 January 2015 | Page 84

students of philosophy and
which cause so many to think
and act contrary to what is
generally known as "common
sense." And we caution all
students to be sure to grasp
the Divine Paradox of the
Absolute and Relative, lest
they become entangled in the
mire of the Half-Truth. With
this in view this particular
lesson has been written.
Read it carefully!
The first thought that comes
to the thinking man after he
realizes the truth that the
Universe is a Mental Creation
of THE ALL is that the
Universe and all that it
contains is a mere illusion; an
unreality; against which idea
his instincts revolt.
But this, like all other great
truths, must be considered
both from the Absolute and
the Relative points of view.
From the Absolute viewpoint,
of course, the Universe is in
the nature of an illusion, a
dream, a phantasmagoria, as
compared to THE ALL in itself.
We recognize this even in our
ordinary view, for we speak of
the world as "a fleeting show"
that comes and goes, is born
and dies - for the element of

impermanence and change,
finiteness and insubstantiality,
must ever be connected with
the idea of a created Universe
when it is contrasted with the
idea of THE ALL, no matter
what may be our beliefs
concerning the nature of both.
Philosopher, metaphysician,
scientist and theologian all
agree upon this idea and the
thought is found in all forms
of philosophical thought and
religious conceptions, as well
as in the theories of the
respective schools of
metaphysics and theology.
So, the Hermetic Teachings do
not preach the insubstantiality
of the Universe in any stronger
terms than those more
familiar to you, although their
presentation of the subject
may seem somewhat more
startling. Anything that has a
beginning and an ending must
be, in a sense, unreal and
untrue and the Universe comes
under the rule, in all schools
of thought. From the Absolute
point of view, there is nothing
Real except THE ALL, no
matter what terms we may use
in thinking of, or discussing
the subject. Whether the
Universe be created of Matter,