In Search of the Miraculous

the relation of the Mesocosmos to the Deuterocosmos is that of zero to infinity; and so

on.

"In order to understand the meaning of the division into cosmoses and

the relation of cosmoses to each other, it is necessary to understand what the relation

of zero to infinity means. If we understand what this means, the principle of the

division of the universe into cosmoses, the necessity of such a division, and the

impossibility of drawing for ourselves a more or less lucid picture of the world

without this division will immediately become clear to us.

"The idea of cosmoses helps us to understand our place in the world;

and it solves many problems, as for instance, those connected with space, with time,

and so on. And above all this idea serves to establish exactly the principle of relativity.

The latter is especially important for it is quite impossible to have an exact conception of the world without having established the principle of relativity.

"The idea of cosmoses enables us to put the study of relativity on a firm basis. At

the first glance there is much that seems paradoxical in the system of cosmoses. In

reality, however, this apparent paradox is simply relativity.

"The idea of the possibility of broadening man's consciousness and increasing his

capacities for knowledge stands in direct relation to the teaching on cosmoses. In his

ordinary state a man is conscious of himself in one cosmos, and all the other cosmoses he looks at from the point of view of one cosmos. The broadening of his

consciousness and the intensifying of his psychic functions lead him into the sphere of

activity and life of two other cosmoses simultaneously, the one above and the one below, that is, one larger and one smaller. The broadening of consciousness does not

proceed in one direction only, that is, in the direction of the higher cosmoses; in going above, at the same time it goes below.

"This last idea will, perhaps, explain to you some expressions you may have met

with in occult literature; for instance, the saying that 'the way up is at the same time

the way down.' As a rule this expression is quite wrongly interpreted.

"In reality this means that if, for instance, a man begins to feel the life of the

planets, or if his consciousness passes to the level of the planetary world, he begins at the same time to feel the life of atoms, or his consciousness passes to their level. In

this way the broadening of consciousness proceeds simultaneously in two directions,

towards the greater and towards the lesser. Both the great and the small require for

their cognition a like change in man. In looking for parallels and analogies between

the cosmoses we may take each cosmos in three relations:

"1. in its relation to itself,

"2. in its relation to a higher or a larger cosmos, and

"3. in its relation to a lower, or a smaller cosmos,

"The manifestation of the laws of one cosmos in another cosmos constitutes what

we call a miracle. There can be no other kind of miracle. A miracle is not a breaking of laws, nor is it a phenomenon outside laws.

It is a phenomenon which takes place according to the laws of another cosmos. These

laws are incomprehensible and unknown to us, and are therefore miraculous.

"In order to understand the laws of relativity, it is very useful to examine the life and phenomena of one cosmos as though looking at them from another cosmos, that

is, to examine them from the point of view of the laws of another cosmos. All the

phenomena of the life of a given cosmos, examined from another cosmos, assume a

completely different aspect and have a completely different meaning. Many new

phenomena appear and many other phenomena disappear. This in general completely

changes the picture of the world and of things.

"As has been said before, the idea of cosmoses alone can provide a firm basis for

the establishment of the laws of relativity. Real science and real philosophy ought to

be founded on the understanding of the laws of relativity. Consequently it is possible to say that science and philosophy, in the true meaning of these terms, begin with the idea of cosmoses."

Having said these words, after a fairly long silence, G. turned to me and added:

"Try to discuss all I have said just now, from the point of view of your dimensions."

"All that you have said," I said, "refers without doubt to the problems of dimensions. But before I pass to them, I should like to elucidate one point, which is

not quite clear to me. It is what you said about the Microcosmos. We are accustomed

to connect the idea of the Microcosmos with man. This means that man represents a

world in himself. A world analogous to the large world, the Macrocosmos. But you

give man the name of Tritocosmos, that is, the third cosmos. Why third? The first is

Protocosmos; the second, the sun or Deuterocosmos. Why is man the third cosmos?"