The San Francisco call., 1896-07-26

of what the Hindus have always known
and taught, and makes one more guide.
post for the West in trying to arrive at a
real knowledge of man and nature.
Some amusing deductions are made.
however, by the press of the world as to
what the new discovery proves. The
statement of the New York World that
It proves that vital force, vitality,
thought, or whatever you may choose to
call it, is physical force, not spiritual or
metaphysical st all, % is preposterous.
Western science has never investigated
ANYTHING except the physical side of life.
1t knows practically nothing of psychol-
ogy, or the many fine forces which exist
in nature.
The finer forces of nature are almost
wholly unknown to the modern scientific
world, and the few recent discoveries are
not rightly understood. In India and
other Oriental countries we still retain
some knowledge of the hidden powers,
which knowledge was conferred upon hui
mauity during the infancy of the earth.
But even there but little of this knowledge
is in the possession of the masses. The
greater portion is guarded iealously by the
priests, and they only impart it to appli-
cants in the course of initiation into their
mysteries.
The x ray, the photographing of sound
and of thought prove the existence OF a
hitherto unknown realm. 1t has extended
the sphere of electrical knowledge and
brought to view the field of vibrations.
These three discoveries are closely allied
to each other. They bring a super
physical force into the possession of
science Science has passed beyond the
realm of ether, the fifth cosmic element,
and is now concerned with interetheric
forces.
In order to determine the position be-
longing to this new force or forces one has
to turn to Oriental philosophy, where
definite statistical facts may be cleaned.
The deeper philosophy is veiled in al
leeory, but the general scope of evolution
and a somewhat detailed account of the
plane of substance Immediately beyond
physical matter is readily accessible.
The foundation Of the force which is
US d in thought photography may be
found by a study Of what are called the
tattwas; or, matter in an ethereal con-
dition. The writer does not profess a
complete knowledge of these ethereal
bases of nature, for that cones only
through initiation, but the exoteric teach
ings are sufficient to give a general view
of the process of evolution and the inter
action between the various planes of
being. Briefly this may be sketched as
follows:
Lying back of all manifestation is
space-sbsolute, abstract space-the first
postulate to be considered in trying to
anaIyze the process of manifestation OF
life and being. Space is shoreless, bound
less, of unimaginable circumference. 1t
possesses the quality of constant and
ceaseless motion, and this motion has
been given the name of the Great Breath.
Extending throughout space and coexten-
sive with it is Mulapra kritl, spirit matter,
or, to put it roughly, the essence of con-
scionsness and substance.
The Great Breath acts upon the subtitle
matter scattered throughout space, and
there arise certain centers or notifications
known as the three aspects of Mahat
Gdealism) these aspects being respectively
the logos, word or speech; fire or action !;
and, lastly, the germinal essences of the
elements. From the last are emanated the
tanmatras or the potentialities of gross
matter; from the tanmatras come the
mahabhutas or tattwas = matter in an
ethereal condition-and the tattwas in
turn evolve the sthulabhutas or the five
forms of cosmic matter-ether, air, fire,
water and earth.
1t is from study of their tattwas that
definite knowledge may be had concern
ing the forces utilized in Roentgen's X
ray and in the recent experiments in
thought photography.
There are seven of these tattwas, but
as two of them are secret they cannot be
given:
Akasa tattwa; sonoriferous, having the
attribute of sound, and the parent of the
ether of science.
Vayu tattwa; tangiferous; taste; parent
of air.
TEXAS tattwa; luminiferous; color: par
ent of fire.
Apas tattwa; gustiferous; taste; parent
of water.
Prithivi tattwa; odoriferous; smell !;
parent of earth.
The term akasa is generally translated
into English by the word ether but by
reference above it will be seen that while
correspondence exists they are not the
same, akasa being the first of the five
tattwas and ether the first of the five
cosmic elements. Akasa has also been
held by science to be the medium for the
transmission of light, but its nature places
it far above the plane of teias tattwa, the
luminiferous 'ether." Akasa tattwa is
all-pervading, and from its vibrations are
produced sound. In the telephone and
photophone we have the phenomena
of the transmission of sound. 1t
is clear that the rays which carry
such sound are not the visual rays
of the sun. They are audible ravs. the
vibrations of the sonoriferous "ether."
The vibrations themselves never cease,
and we can sense them whenever we pro-
vide proper media for their transmission.
As to the nature of vibration it should
be understood that each tattwa has par
ticular form of its own. In Rama
Prasad's erudite work on Natures Finer
Forces" we find these vibrations ex-
planned in minute detail. In akasa
tattwa the external form of the vibration
is something like the hole of the ear: