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CHAPTER XII CAUSATION
"Every Cause has
its Effect; every Effect has its cause; everything
happens according to Law; Chance is but a name for Law
not recognized; there are many planes of causation,
but nothing escapes the Law."--The Kybalion.
The great Sixth Hermetic Principle
"the Principle of Cause and Effect" embodies the truth
that Law pervades the Universe; that nothing happens
by Chance; that Chance is merely a term indicating
cause existing but not recognized or perceived; that
phenomena is continuous, without break or exception.
The Principle of Cause and Effect
underlies all scientific thought, ancient and modern,
and was enunciated by the Hermetic Teachers in the
earliest days. While many and varied disputes between
the many schools of thought have since arisen, these
disputes have been principally upon the details of the
operations of the Principle, and still more often upon
the meaning of certain words. The underlying Principle
of Cause and Effect has been accepted as correct by
practically all the thinkers of the world worthy of
the name. To think otherwise would be to take the
phenomena of the universe from the domain of Law and
Order, and to relegate it to the control of the
imaginary something which men have called "Chance.
A little consideration will show
anyone that there is in reality no such thing as pure
Chance. Webster defines the word 'Chance as follows:
"A supposed agent or mode of activity other than a
force, law or purpose; the operation or activity of
such agent; the supposed effect of such an agent; a
happening; fortuity; casualty, etc. But a little
consideration will show you that there can be no such
agent as "Chance, in the sense of something outside of
Law "something outside of Cause and Effect. How could
there be a something acting in the phenomenal
universe, independent of the laws, order, and
continuity of the latter? Such a something would be
entirely independent of the orderly trend of the
universe, and therefore superior to it. We can imagine
nothing outside of THE ALL being outside of the Law,
and that only because THE ALL is the LAW in itself.
There is no room in the universe for a something
outside of and independent of Law. The existence of
such a Something would render all Natural Laws
ineffective, and would plunge the universe into
chaotic disorder and lawlessness.
A careful examination will show that
what we call "Chance is merely an expression relating
to obscure causes; causes that we cannot perceive;
causes that we cannot understand. The word Chance is
derived from a word meaning "to fall (as the falling
of dice), the idea being that the fall of the dice
(and many other happenings) are merely a "happening
unrelated to any cause. And this is the sense in which
the term is generally employed. But when the matter is
closely examined, it is seen that there is no chance
whatsoever about the fall of the dice. Each time a die
falls, and displays a certain number, it obeys a law
as infallible as that which governs the revolution of
the planets around the sun. Back of the fall of the
die are causes, or chains of causes, running back
further than the mind can follow. The position of the
die in the box; the amount of muscular energy expended
in the throw; the condition of the table, etc., etc.,
all are causes, the effect of which may be seen. But
back of these seen causes there are chains of unseen
preceding causes, all of which had a bearing upon the
number of the die which fell uppermost.
If a die be cast a great number of
times, it will be found that the numbers shown will be
about equal, that is, there will be an equal number of
one-spot, two-spot, etc., coming uppermost. Toss a
penny in the air, and it may come down either "heads
or "tails; but make a sufficient number of tosses, and
the heads and tails will about even up. This is the
operation of the law of average. But both the average
and the single toss come under the Law of Cause and
Effect, and if we were able to examine into the
preceding causes, it would be clearly seen that it was
simply impossible for the die to fall other than it
did, under the same circumstances and at the same
time. Given the same causes, the same results will
follow. There is always a "cause and a "because to
every event. Nothing ever "happens without a cause, or
rather a chain of causes.
Some confusion has arisen in the minds
of persons considering this Principle, from the fact
that they were unable to explain how one thing could
cause another thing "that is, be the "creator of the
second thing. As a matter of fact, no "thing ever
causes or "creates another" thing. Cause and Effect
deals merely with events. An "event is" that which
comes, arrives or happens, as a result or consequent
of some preceding event. No event "creates another
event, but is merely a preceding link in the great
orderly chain of events flowing from the creative
energy of THE ALL. There is a continuity between all
events precedent, consequent and subsequent. There is
a relation existing between everything that has gone
before, and everything that follows. A stone is
dislodged from a mountain side and crashes through a
roof of a cottage in the valley below. At first sight
we regard this as a chance effect, but when we examine
the matter we find a great chain of causes behind it.
In the first place there was the rain which softened
the earth supporting the stone and which allowed it to
fall; then back of that was the influence of the sun,
other rains, etc., which gradually disintegrated the
piece of rock from a larger piece; then there were the
causes which led to the formation of the mountain, and
its upheaval by convulsions of nature, and so on ad
infinitum. Then we might follow up the causes behind
the rain, etc. Then we might consider the existence of
the roof.
In short, we would soon find ourselves
involved in a mesh of cause and effect, from which we
would soon strive to extricate ourselves.
Just as a man has two parents, and
four grandparents, and eight great-grandparents, and
sixteen great-great-grandparents, and so on until
when, say, forty generations are calculated the
numbers of ancestors run into many millions" so it is
with the number of causes behind even the most
trifling event or phenomena, such as the passage of a
tiny speck of soot before your eye. It is not an easy
matter to trace the bit of soot back to the early
period of the world's history when it formed a part of
a massive tree-trunk, which was afterward converted
into coal, and so on, until as the speck of soot it
now passes before your vision on its way to other
adventures. And a mighty chain of events, causes and
effects, brought it to its present condition, and the
latter is but one of the chain of events which will go
to produce other events hundreds of years from now.
One of the series of events arising from the tiny bit
of soot was the writing of these lines, which caused
the typesetter to perform certain work; the
proofreader to do likewise; and which will arouse
certain thoughts in your mind, and that of others,
which in turn will affect others, and so on, and on,
and on, beyond the ability of man to think further
"and all from the passage of a tiny bit of soot, all
of which shows the relativity and association of
things, and the further fact that" -there is no great;
there is no small; in the mind that causeth all.
Stop to think a moment. If a certain
man had not met a certain maid, away back in the dim
period of the Stone Age "you who are now reading these
lines would not now be here. And if, perhaps, the same
couple had failed to meet, we who now write these
lines would not now be here. And the very act of
writing, on our part, and the act of reading, on
yours, will affect not only the respective lives of
yourself and ourselves, but will also have a direct,
or indirect, affect upon many other people now living
and who will live in the ages to come. Every thought
we think, every act we perform, has its direct and
indirect results which fit into the great chain of
Cause and Effect.
We do not wish to enter into a
consideration of Free-Will, or Determinism, in this
work, for various reasons. Among the many reasons, is
the principal one that neither side of the controversy
is entirely right "in fact, both sides are partially
right, according to the Hermetic Teachings. The
Principle of Polarity shows that both are but
Half-Truths "the opposing poles of Truth. The
Teachings are that a man may be both Free and yet
bound by Necessity, depending upon the meaning of the
terms, and the height of Truth from which the matter
is examined. The ancient writers express the matter
thus: "The further the creation is from the Centre,
the more it is bound; the nearer the Centre it
reaches, the nearer Free is it.
The majority of people are more or
less the slaves of heredity, environment, etc., and
manifest very little Freedom. They are swayed by the
opinions, customs and thoughts of the outside world,
and also by their emotions, feelings, moods, etc. They
manifest no Mastery, worthy of the name. They
indignantly repudiate this assertion, saying, "Why, I
certainly am free to act and do as I please" I do just
what I want to do, but they fail to explain whence
arise the "want to and "as I please. What makes them
"want to do one thing in preference to another; what
makes them "please to do this, and not do that? Is
there no "because to their "pleasing and "wanting? The
Master can change these "pleases and "wants into
others at the opposite end of the mental pole. He is
able to "Will to will, instead of to will because some
feeling, mood, emotion, or environmental suggestion
arouses a tendency or desire within him so to do.
The majority of people are carried
along like the falling stone, obedient to environment,
outside influences and internal moods, desires, etc.,
not to speak of the desires and wills of others
stronger than themselves, heredity, environment, and
suggestion, carrying them along without resistance on
their part, or the exercise of the Will. Moved like
the pawns on the checkerboard of life, they play their
parts and are laid aside after the game is over. But
the Masters, knowing the rules of the game, rise above
the plane of material life, and placing themselves in
touch with the higher powers of their nature, dominate
their own moods, characters, qualities, and polarity,
as well as the environment surrounding them and thus
become Movers in the game, instead of Pawns "Causes
instead of Effects. The Masters do not escape the
Causation of the higher planes, but fall in with the
higher laws, and thus master circumstances on the
lower plane. They thus form a conscious part of the
Law, instead of being mere blind instruments. While
they Serve on the Higher Planes, they Rule on the
Material Plane.
But, on higher and on lower, the Law
is always in operation. There is no such things as
Chance. The blind goddess has been abolished by
Reason. We are able to see now, with eyes made clear
by knowledge, that everything is governed by Universal
Law "that the infinite number of laws are but
manifestations of the One Great Law "the LAW which is
THE ALL. It is true indeed that not a sparrow drops
unnoticed by the Mind of THE ALL "that even the hairs
on our head are numbered "as the scriptures have said.
There is nothing outside of Law; nothing that happens
contrary to it. And yet, do not make the mistake of
supposing that Man is but a blind automaton "far from
that. The Hermetic Teachings are that Man may use Law
to overcome laws, and that the higher will always
prevail against the lower, until at last he has
reached the stage in which he seeks refuge in the LAW
itself, and laughs the phenomenal laws to scorn. Are
you able to grasp the inner meaning of this?
Human Mind
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