Unfolding Consciousness E-Book

Edi Bilimoria

• Herausgeber: Shepheard Walwyn Publishers
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

The four Volumes (the fourth being the reference material) have been some two decades in the making and represent the fruits of over half a century of exploration and research in science and the Perennial Philosophy. Drawing on a galaxy of world-class authorities, the result is a closely woven garment that lights up the night sky in the fields of science and philosophy, religion and art. Conveniently presented in three distinct, yet interlinked, Volumes it traces the path of esoteric philosophy and occult science (the kernel of the Wisdom Tradition) in modern idiom explaining how they complement Western science. Evidence from a wide range of sources—scientific, medical, philosophical, religious, and cultural—is put forward to argue the case that humans are spiritual beings, primarily, and not merely complicated biological machines or evolved monkeys. Especially, that consciousness is not the product of matter but the primary ‘element’ from which all else emanates. This process and its underlying mechanisms are described in stepwise detail with much clarity. 

Further information on Volumes I, II and III is detailed on separate Advance Information sheets but, in outline, the subject matter is organized as to:

Volume I: A Panoramic Survey – Science Contrasted with the Perennial Philosophy on Consciousness and ManVolume II: Peering Down the Microscope – Man’s Internal LandscapesVolume III: Gazing Through the Telescope – Man is the Measure of All ThingsVolume IV: Definitions, Glossary, Profiles, Bibliography, Index

In these Volumes, readers will discover their own essential nature since it takes Socrates’ aphorism ‘Man, Know Thyself’ as its keynote. It is true to say that once the ground set out in this trilogy is surveyed, readers are better able to clarify their own beliefs and understanding and to know what is uniquely important to them. For this reason, as the various endorsements point out, it is not a ‘passive’ read but a distinctly participative and engaging one.

These Volumes, spanning the time periods from antiquity to the modern age, possess a breadth and profundity one rarely sees in modern esoteric literature. They expound the esoteric philosophy and occult sciences from arcane sources to the latest expositions from worldwide sources and diverse cultures. Moreover, the author explains their indispensable complement (not alternative) to science, whilst at the same time supporting their affirmations with evidence and references.

Whilst on Earth, we may well ‘see through a glass darkly’, but in this work Edi Bilimoria uses his scientific-philosophic background not only to ‘pierce through’, but to throw into relief the difference between true science and pseudo-science, true mysticism and mock mysticism. Whereas mainstream science can hardly disagree with what the best of science has discovered through its own methods of theoretical analysis and laborious experimentation, yet the deeper philosophical and metaphysical implications have barely penetrated the still predominant materialistic paradigm of science. The author examines this paradigm against the background of the perennial wisdom and finds it sadly lacking, but he provides much optimism finding harbingers of hope in the dawning of a new epoch of spirituality in the wake of the turbulence of recent world events. The 2020 Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is one obvious harbinger—sounding an alarm bell to mankind to reorient its sense of values away from unbridled technology and heartless commercialism back to the timeless realities with which these Volumes are concerned.

The author questions what it truly means to be a human being at all levels from spirit, through soul to body. Questions concerning destiny, purpose, and continuity of consciousness after death are explained with considerable evidence and no preconceptions.

Leseprobe

Science has been triumphant in understanding the material universe and applying the laws of nature in the development of new technologies for humanity’s benefit. But it has achieved this at the price of neglecting other equally important areas, such as mental and spiritual experience. There is a now a dawning realisation—as evidenced by the emergence of the post-materialist science movement—that science must expand beyond the material domain. One needs a new paradigm and a key feature of this must be the realization that consciousness is a fundamental, rather than incidental, feature of the Universe.

The unique achievement of this work is to put this endeavour in a proper conceptual and historical context. For while the search for an expanded paradigm might be viewed as a recent development, it has also been the basis of esoteric traditions—in particular, the perennial philosophy—and occult sciences which go back a thousand years and stem from a variety of both Eastern and Western cultures. Many books have focussed on extending science towards perennial philosophy but without making a link with the occult sciences. Other books have focused on occult sciences without making a link with modern science. They are therefore like two outstretched hands which do not quite connect. This work completes the connection, rather like the two hands in the famous picture by Michelangelo.

This is a magnum opus in every sense of the word. For its thousand pages, spread over three volumes, are not just about the link between traditional and esoteric science. They are also about the many connections between the worlds of matter, mind and spirit. While everyone has a foot in all three worlds, most of us are mainly drawn to just one because success in life—be it on the scientific, artistic or mystical fronts—usually requires narrowly-focussed dedication. However, a full understanding of the universe must embrace all three worlds and Edi Bilimoria is one of the few people with the breadth of vision and width of knowledge required to expound on this. The result is a work which will surely play a vital role in bridging the chasms between matter, mind and spirit.

BERNARD CARR, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy, Queen Mary University of London, and President of the Scientific and Medical Network

This work presents a comprehensive, lucid and well-written overview, with careful attention to detail and yet full of far-ranging and potentially transformative ideas.

RUPERT SHELDRAKE PHD, biologist and author of The Science Delusion

It is refreshing to read a masterly study of consciousness written by an author who roots his arguments in a profound grasp of esoteric wisdom. It is not simply that such wisdom conveys profound insights for understanding the essence of consciousness. Of far greater importance is the skill that Edi Bilimoria brings in clarifying our place in the vast panorama of which we are a part. There is nothing more pressing in our day than this challenge for us to act in synergy with the planet (and, in more esoteric terms, the macrocosm). Bilimoria shows that the ancient axiom that “man is the measure of all things” can be revitalised in the context of contemporary science. And he brings an encyclopaedic grasp of modern physics, neuroscience, and psychology to support his supremely optimistic view that consciousness is fundamental to reality. This is an insight whose time has come, and Bilimoria shows himself to be a diligent and creative guide to what a post-materialist understanding of consciousness will mean for us all.

B LES LANCASTER, Professor Emeritus of Transpersonal Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University and Director, the Alef Trust

Unfolding Consciousness is a remarkable tour de force through spiritual meanders of esoteric traditions, from East and West, and their dialogue with modern science. It is as fascinatingly provocative, as it is informative—and it will equally challenge the scientist, the philosopher, and the artist. In contemporary, unpretentious language, it takes the reader from the spiritual mission of humanity to the principles of the universe (and back), with careful consideration of both scientific evidence and metaphysical subtleties; and underneath it all, it seeks the traces of consciousness, in all its forms. Just like its main theme—ourselves, and our rapport to the universe—this is not an easy work; nor should it be. It is an important work, which is worth taking time to engage with.

Dr ANA-MARIA PASCAL, MBA, PHD, SFHEA, Director, Liberal Arts Programmes, Associate Professor in Philosophy and Public Ethics, Provost’s Group, Regent's University London

When you consider the scope, width and erudition of this work, it is not surprising that it took its author over 20 years to complete. Most philosophical books take a single view of the problem of consciousness, either scientific or philosophical, but Edi Bilimoria takes a much wider, more inclusive view. Who am I? is the underlying question of Volume I: A Panoramic Survey – Science Contrasted with the Perennial Philosophy on Consciousness and Man, which provides an overview of the field, highlighting both the value of science and its limitations as a tool for examining the deeper problems of life and consciousness, and makes the case for the perennial philosophy as a bridge to reach a greater understanding of these areas. In Volume II: Peering Down the Microscope – Man’s Internal Landscapes, Bilimoria manages the seemingly impossible task of finding common ground in the mass of beliefs and practices, old and new, from diverse, cultures, religions and philosophies, to demonstrate an overlap and unifying doctrine even on such issues as post-mortem existence and re-birth and the complexities of the human mind. Volume III: Gazing Through the Telescope – Man is the Measure of All Things is even more ambitious in its aim to show how the human being fits into the grand scheme of the Universe, to examine the question of emergence from the spiritual to the material, from the implicate order to its explicate expression. It draws on the insights of symbolism and mysticism, and the deepest teachings of occultism to explain the nature of consciousness. In this twenty-first century, an era in which science is our dominant paradigm and is playing an ever increasing part in our technology and our lives, this work helps to adjust the balance and resolve the conflicts between science and religion on issues like evolution and purpose, the nature of consciousness, and what it truly means to be a human being as opposed to an animated robot or a biological mechanism.

This is a complex work, but each chapter opens with a synopsis and closes with a summary of the principal themes which are extremely helpful and means that despite their complexity, the three volumes are always easy to understand and follow. I would recommend this trilogy to anyone who wants a broad overview of the various traditions which have led to the current Western understanding of man’s place in the Universe

PETER FENWICKwas a senior lecturer at King’s College, London, where he worked as a consultant at the Institute of Psychiatry. He was the Consultant Neuropsychiatrist and Neuropsychologist at the Maudsley and John Radcliffe hospitals. He worked with the Mental Health Group at the University of Southampton, and held a visiting professorship at the Riken Neurosciences Institute in Japan. He is President Emeritus of the Scientific and Medical Network.

Undoubtedly, we live in historic times. The multitude of surrounding crises, both in everyday life and in the analyses of the experts, testify to this. In such crucial times it is important that men of goodwill raise their voice and thus raise the collective consciousness of humanity. This is the only way we can overcome. Via his trilogy, the author raises exactly such a voice. By a brilliant tour de force, he provides us with a masterpiece that elucidates the origins of science and technology, historically and ontologically, and relates them to the ultimate philosophical quest of perennial philosophy. It also shows why we got it wrong and where. As the author informs us, meticulously, science, in multiple instances, was lured away from truth towards scientism and utilitarianism blinded by its own great power. The trilogy at hand offers a way out by detailing exactly how we can correct this route of mindless exploitation and bring science back on track, back to its quest for the truth. The author is brilliantly clear on that: we treat nature as we treat ourselves, therefore to emerge alive from the crises we have put ourselves into we have to rediscover the sacredness of nature, in nature and in us. It is for this reason that Edi Bilimoria’s work will prove a much needed historic work in historic times.

VASILEIOS BASIOS (BSC, MSC, PHD)PhD in Physics of Complex Systems, University of Brussels (ULB)

Your book is an exemplar of captivating, clear erudite writing. I see it as being of the same class as a Beethoven symphony.

LEON CONRAD, MA, LRAM, polymath, writer, story structure consultant, educator

Let’s be blunt—this is probably the most important and penetrating work on consciousness which has been written in many decades—and possibly ever. Apart from that it represents a hammer blow to scientific hubris.

A number of previous attempts have been made to explore the gaping gulfs and flimsy bridges between hard, contemporary science and the occult understanding contained in the Ageless Wisdom or perennial philosophy currently enshrined by such movements as theosophy. No one has yet offered such a comprehensive assessment as Dr Bilimoria. This is a masterwork by a modern-day polymath, the result of two decades of research and seven years in the writing. (This reviewer uses the word ‘polymath’ advisedly.)

TIM WYATT, journalist, writer, broadcaster, former BBC, ITV and Sky reporter, and award-winning documentary film maker

The consciousness of the world is itself at a crossroads and in need of transformation. Edi Bilimoria with his 4 Volume tome, Unfolding Consciousness: Exploring the Living Universe and the Intelligent Powers in Nature and Humans, has stepped forward and answered the challenge of forming a new paradigm that synthesizes the ageless wisdom with modern science. Over the years I have observed Edi’s intense quest for knowledge at various conferences, lectures, and workshops. He is a very personable individual of the finest character, and is one of the few individuals I have come across who has the determination, fortitude, breath of vision, and skills to pull off such a daunting task.

After some 20 years of intense research, reflection and writing, the result of his efforts is worthy of great admiration. His work is comprehensive, clearly written, thought provoking, touching vast ranges of the sciences and perennial wisdom, and presents an understandable and balanced synthesis of what amounts to a new and profound way of looking at the world. One in which consciousness and its transformation is central. I highly recommend Edi Bilimoria’s 4 Volume masterpiece to anyone seeking an understanding of where the Ageless Wisdom and Science are mutually supportive of humanity and the world’s need for deep insight and transformative experience.

SCOTT OLSEN, Professor Emeritus of philosophy & religion at the College of Central Florida

Many thanks for sending me your magnum opus which has arrived safely. It’s beautifully presented, well printed and bound, and it looks very distinguished in its box. I’ve read several passages and again congratulate you on your clarity and carefulness as well as your ability to synthesize such an astonishing range of literature.

RUPERT SHELDRAKE, PHD, biologist and author of The Science Delusion

Your books arrived today. Many thanks. The boxed set is going to take pride of place on my shelves! It looks great—you must be so pleased to see the fruit of your labours looking so good. A mighty achievement … and a great contribution to the cause of liberating the study of consciousness from the claws of the Philistines!!!

B LES LANCASTER, Professor Emeritus of Transpersonal Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University and Director, the Alef Trust

Edi Bilimoria draws upon perennial philosophy the intuitions on which the sages of all ages partake and restores them to current science with a renewed force and creativity which he has stamped with superb consciousness.

ÀLEX GÓMEZ-MARÍN, PHD, theoretical physicist, neuroscientist, and Associate Professor of the Spanish National Research Council and Director of the Pari Center

I have read no single work, other than the Mahᾱbhᾱrata,, that compares in scope and depth with Edi Bilimoria’s Unfolding Consciousness. These volumes range outwardly over the full extent of time and space and inwardly over the meaning of consciousness and mind. They raise, and seek to answer, fundamental questions concerning human nature, the macrocosm, and the microcosm.

It is refreshing to find a scientist who doesn’t shirk from speaking of the soul. Indeed, Edi goes to some length to explain what the soul is and to open up a unifying vista of human nature and divine nature. Realms that are frequently considered to be separate or even mutually antagonistic are shown to be concordant with each other.

The work is well-researched and well-illustrated. It is a joy to read and a delight to meet for the first time so many ‘new’ facts and perspectives, all presented with intelligence and charm. It merits the attribute magnum opus that some have bestowed upon it and the wording tour de force that is emblazoned on each of its four volumes.

ARTHUR FARNDELL, one of the world's leading translators of Renaissance philosophy, having worked on the translations of The Letters of Marsilio Ficino. His other books include When Philosophers Rule and A Mahabharata Companion

Unfolding Consciousness

Exploring the Living Universe and Intelligent Powers in Nature and Humans

Volume I

A Panoramic Survey –Science Contrasted with the PerennialPhilosophy on Consciousness and Man

EDI BILIMORIA, DPhil, FIMechE, FEI, FRSA

© Edi Bilimoria 2022

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher, Shepheard-Walwyn (Publishers) Ltd

First published in 2022 by Shepherd-Walwyn (Publishers) Ltd107 Parkway House, Sheen Lane, London SW14 8LSwww.shepheardwalwyn.comwww.ethicaleconomics.org.uk

British Library Cataloguing in Publication DataA catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-08-5683-536-0

Copyedit by Elizabeth MedlerTypeset by Ian Wileman

Printed and bound throughs|s|media limited, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire

Dedication

As spoken by a wise man of the East known only to a few: ‘Not one of the Great Teachers allowed this Truth—the transcendent answer to the worldly malaise, material and psychological, of the day—to be soiled by the lure of establishing any earthly Utopia, or his life-energy to be wasted in inventing techniques and systems for dealing with the muddlement and evil of the world’s politics, economics and unregenerate everyday life at their own level. Each of them saw with unerring insight that man the world over is himself the prolific spawner of ubiquitous ugliness and suffering, and that there is only one way to redeem the world situation: the way of purity and truth, wisdom and love; the way of the unselfed, of the transformed man. It is each man’s personal responsibility to realize this.’

This work is the writer’s heartfelt tribute and obeisance to the illimitable sages of the Orient and the Occident who have epitomized the noblest endeavours of humanity, in Philosophy and Science, Religion and Art, thus ever illuminating a Path for mankind through the darkness and turbulence of the mundane world towards his true empyrean abode—should we but listen to their words.

Acknowledgements

In being able to bring to fruition a trilogy with a gestation period of nearly two decades I tender grateful thanks to many well-wishers and supporters.

First and foremost, I am deeply indebted to the late Anthony Werner, Owner, until recently, of Shepheard-Walwyn (Publishers) Ltd, who agreed to publish my work. I can only hope that the end result has justified his early conviction. The Editorial Director, Mirella Lombardo, and Marketing Manager, Tracey Kerrigan, have taken up the mantle in a splendid way and it has been a pleasure to have worked with them.

Immense gratitude and thanks are due to David Lorimer for kindly providing a generous Foreword and reviewing an early draft of the complete work. I can think of no one better equipped to do this. David’s breadth of knowledge and immense erudition—spanning the whole range of science, spirituality, and philosophy—is second to none. Incorporating his numerous suggestions and comments for improving and enrichening my work have provided me with countless hours of enjoyable headaches!

Then to Elizabeth Medler for her painstaking copyediting, insightful suggestions, and ever-active involvement in the message of my work; her expertise in transforming my several angular sentences into elegant narrative; for restraining my penchant for overly long sentences, curtailing my obsessive drive for punctiliousness; and for facilitating communication with my publisher.

Next to Ian Wileman for his inordinate patience, expertise and great care in typesetting a difficult manuscript.

I flatter myself with the thought that to have my publisher, reviewer, copyeditor, and typesetter all in sync with the esoteric and philosophical theme of my work cannot be a matter of coincidence. The synchronicity of Shepheard-Walwyn, David Lorimer, Elizabeth Medler, and Ian Wileman has been a rare privilege and a huge relief. And here I must also include educationalist and designer, writer and lecturer Leon Conrad, not only for some invaluable advice on editorial matters but, above all, in his role as a catalyst in putting me in touch with my publisher.

With well over two thousand references in these Volumes, the advice and assistance from George Timcke, my associate since ‘Channel Tunnel days’, in organizing and formatting this material has been invaluable. Then I must thank Cyrus Bilimoria for producing excellent diagrams from poor quality scanned images; and to Stephan Fowler of Artefact Design for assistance with images and credits. Gratitude is extended to Taposhri Ganguly, and to Beverley Winkler and Bourchier for their help with indexing the three Volumes.

Much appreciation is extended to my friends and colleagues at work: Taz Sinhal for providing me with a crucial source reference that I had been seeking for years, which constituted the foundation of major sections of Volume III; Adrian Rifat for insightful discussions and comments on the current world situation in the light of science and spiritual values; and Sophia Mirza for substantial input to the pure mathematics sections of the Mathematical Codicil to Volume III.

Thanks are due to the Theosophical Society in Australia for permission to reproduce some of the material I was researching in my role as Education Manager.

Whereas all images are fully credited and, where appropriate, rights and permissions obtained, especial thanks are due to the Theosophical Publishing House, India for permission to use several images from their various publications; likewise, to the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International for permission to use pictures from one of their publications.

Immense thanks to all who generously gave of their time to provide generous endorsements: Associate Professor Ana-Maria Pascal of Regent’s University, London; Dr Peter Fenwick, President Emeritus of the Scientific and Medical Network; Professor Bernard Carr, Emeritus Chairman and current President of the Scientific and Medical Network; Dr Vasileios Basios, Senior Researcher of Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels; Professor Les Lancaster, Liverpool John Moores University and Director, the Alef Trust; and Dr Rupert Sheldrake, biologist, researcher, and internationally acclaimed author. Their combined support and encouragement are gratefully acknowledged.

I seem now to have lost count of how many Saturday evenings I must have spent endlessly proof reading and checking my manuscript over dinner at The Withies Inn, England’s finest free house with a fairy-tale garden dating from the sixteenth century. I thank all the staff for being so welcoming and uplifting my spirits.

Above all, the inspiration I have received from those great sages of the Orient and the Occident, along with the luminaries in science, religion, philosophy, and art, as cited in this work, and my debt of gratitude to them cannot be put into words. By their personal example, these Great Ones have shown that the confusion and darkness of this mundane world can be dispelled by the Light of their wisdom to reveal a bright and abundant life, should we but heed their words—spoken and unspoken. I can only hope that this work will encourage those few truly earnest students of life and wisdom to drink deeply of the springs at their source and discover the truths for themselves.

A Personal Note to Readers

These Volumes comprise three stages of an exploratory journey through the diverse terrain of consciousness. Consciousness can neither be subjected to intellectual dissection upon the rack of discursive ratiocination and vindicated by what is fashionably known as a ‘critical argument’; nor can it be put into a box with a neat descriptive label. If I were permitted to mention what I regard as a unique feature of this work it would be this: There are splendid books on science, religion, occult science, philosophy, and art; but few that have brought these diverse streams under a single overarching theme comprising a single body of integral Wisdom, whilst pointing to their Source. Allied to this, a constant theme of these Volumes is the universality of the Mystery teachings of all cultures and religions. That does not mean they are all the same, by any means, but they are in harmony and confluence one with the other and also with enlightened Science. This is not science in the narrow sense, as regarded by the mainstream, namely the knowledge of phenomena and the objective world, appreciable to our physical senses, but Science in its larger and truer sense which has its seat in the noumenal (the final causes of all things) from which it surveys the phenomenal, the things we see all around us. This Science discloses the radiant Truth because it is free from all man-made accretions and superstitions.

Always accepting that in the mundane world the practical application of Truth means that it is sometimes hard to distinguish the wood from the trees in terms of its multifaceted expressions, some of which are very partitive indeed, in the spirit of genuine seeker, I have endeavoured to remain open to exploring Truth throughout, holding on firmly to Ariadne’s Golden Thread amidst the convoluted twists and turns of the labyrinth. To this end, I have avoided the all-too-common tendency amongst writers of stating ‘the truth’ on any particular subject as a fait accompli, then seeking to justify the conclusion with arguments and references. Rather, I have sought to be witness, seeing the various aspects of the subject matter in the round, so as to argue towards the Truth but to leave the reader entirely free to come to his or her conclusions.

Above all, few books have attempted the challenge of this work—to show, with chapter and verse, how innumerable conundrums in mainstream science can be resolved in the light of the philosophia perennis—the eternal Wisdom; and, in some cases, to show how the latter can be corroborated by the inferences and evidence from modern science. In this sense, these Volumes may be seen as a successor to my earlier book The Snake and the Rope: Problems in Western Science Resolved by Occult Science (ISBN 81-7059-484-7 (HC), 2006).

Those few books that respond to the above demands are so abstruse as to leave the modern reader, used to a literary diet of small books and short, bite-sized sentences exhausted by the labour. In a work like this, the unity and cohesion between the broad range and diversity of subjects covered is of major import. To that end, I have spared no effort to render the material accessible and easy to navigate. The Introductory contains abstracts of each Chapter and these contain their own synopses, sidenotes, footnotes, and postludes leading on organically to the next.

Complex chapters are provided with a route map. Many important references are from arcane sources and may be difficult for the researcher to obtain or locate; therefore, with a view to facilitating research, these have been supplied with alternative references and online websites. Moreover, given the wide range of material, proper names have their provenance, role and dates (correct to 2021) outlined. This is important for reason that readers may then appreciate quotes and expositions in the context and epoch in which they were provided. Another feature is that the philosophic and scientific portions are fully up to date. Thus, the work ranges from the ancient to the avant-garde.

In the wake of over half a century of intense involvement and participation in spiritual societies and musical circles, contemporaneous with a working life in diverse roles across numerous industries, I ask the reader’s indulgence in permitting me to pass on four observations hard-won through experience.

First, the need to transcend—never jettison—intellect in order to arrive at even an approximate semblance of truth. We live in a world where reality is ascribed to the surface appearance and ‘thing-ness’ of objects; however the noumenal (thing-in-itself) essences have more reality than their phenomenal, objective counterparts. We cannot approach truth merely through science and the intellect. Great music and art—the eloquence of Mozart, the timelessness of Schubert, the majesty of Beethoven—can sometimes draw an aspirant closer to his Source than a dozen books might do—even the one he happens to be reading! To that end, I am unconditionally and utterly convinced as to the ubiquity and primacy of consciousness. Moreover, all my research leads to the same conclusion, namely—that consciousness is transmitted through the human being and filtered by the brain, its instrument of expression. This is, of course, contrary to the current virtually unanimous mainstream neuroscience diktat that thought is produced, or generated, by the brain, and consciousness is nothing more than a distracting epiphenomenon—‘ghost in the machine’—explained away by physical processes. Be that as it may, whereas there is never any question of artificial intelligence eventually overtaking human intelligence (as leading computationalists and entrepreneurs confidently assert), I regard the blurring of the two by virtue of the increasingly rampant glorification of the former, along with the ‘machinization’ of human intelligence with the promise of a digital afterlife together with researching gene reprogramming in order to live indefinitely, plus the growing transhumanism movement (using advanced technologies to enhance longevity and cognition), related with cryonics (the low-temperature freezing and storage of human remains or a whole corpse with the hope that resurrection may be possible with future medical technology), as some of the most pernicious trends in contemporary mainstream science consciousness research. With notable exceptions, sadly, such research is still driven by materialistic concepts underpinned by unsupportable presuppositions, at the cost of reality and Truth. On a brighter note, there is a burgeoning movement amongst increasing numbers of enlightened scientists and philosophers investigating such research evidence that has been ignored or dismissed because it is philosophically incompatible with materialism. In this we see reflected a heartening attempt to build bridges between spirit, mind, and matter. This movement argues for global dialogue about a science of consciousness without restricting consciousness just to a sub-discipline of mainstream neuroscience. It further proposes that consciousness can give us direct access to the deeper structures of reality and therefore stresses the importance of coupling the normal theoretical third person perspective approach to consciousness studies with the experiential, first-person perspective.

Second, the indispensable need always to main a universal outlook, which demands a plurality of approaches and universality of outlook which draws on diverse wisdom streams, but always endeavouring to discover their unifying thread and seeking out their Source. Sectarianism and its twin, dogma, are the greatest curses that have blighted not only religion, the obvious example, but, albeit more covertly, science, philosophy, and esotericism no less. I maintain that there is absolutely no one book, teacher or teaching, of any epoch, that can be upheld as an absolute gold standard of Truth. For example, musicians the world over revere Bach; but no musician would ever enter into interminable debates over whether Bach was the final authority over, say, Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven, or whether, to wit, Beethoven’s fugues were merely borrowed from those of Bach. Still less would musicians engage in prolonged, acrimonious debates over whether the Romantic era was inferior to the Classical era, which happened to come first. That sectarian attitudes, like poisonous mushrooms, pervade spiritual societies which are always founded on the basis of truth wherever it leads, is quite deplorable. To maintain such a stance (promulgated in the guise of upholding the ‘purity’ of the original teachings) is nothing short of fundamentalism and indicative of weak minds—the equivalent of religious orthodoxy. Attempting to establish an ultimate ‘Church of Truth’ based on one authority, whose say-so is propped up by its self-appointed popes or archbishops, would be an affront to Truth. Furthermore, Truth is best served by both intellect and intuition—the way of science in hand with the path of mysticism. Depending on the context, the proportion of each will vary, but in any situation, either one is not a substitute for the other. By a judicious balance combining heart, mind and will, any propensity towards arrogance stemming from an over-reliance on the intellect would be tempered; and any over emphasis on the feeling side, leading to gullibility, hyper-sensitivity and sentimentality, would be moderated.

Third, it is a huge mistake to believe (as I credulously did for some decades) that members of spiritual organisations are, by definition, a ‘cut above’ the common folk in terms of their generosity, sincerity, and altruism. Human nature, in general, is always the same and I have personally experienced genuinely fraternal behaviour as much from those in the wide world of industry, from friends and colleagues who would not have (or want to have) any clue about such subjects as theosophy or esoteric science, let alone occultism, as from those few in spiritual organisations. Whereas politics, corruption, and skulduggery are nothing new to commercial organisations, they are no less extant and, in fact, more insidious in spiritual or esoteric societies than the secular world, for reason that such societies were set up for the express purpose of promulgating Truth and therefore have a sacred duty in this respect which, if departed from, for self-seeking motives, constitutes a greater Fall and dereliction of duty than would be the case in ordinary secular life. Clearly, the amount of backbiting and infighting in such societies—amongst those who profess such things as brotherhood and universal love—is an adulteration and falling away from the nobility of the ideals and spiritual vision of their founders. As Mahatma Gandhi counselled, the best way to change society (let alone the world) is first to start with oneself—and that is rarely achieved merely by piously quoting long passages about ‘service to humanity’ from sacred texts or revered books at public lectures.

Finally, the need to listen to all but to maintain one’s own counsel. ‘Art thou able to walk alone?’ was a testing question once put to a contemporary sage and philosopher in his younger days. Those who are not sure about how to answer might care to take to heart this extract from another adept: ‘Be prepared for loneliness. It is the law. This must be endured and passed… [Additionally] have patience. Endurance is one of the characteristics [of the aspirant].’ Whatever societies we may or may not belong to, we can listen to all but must ultimately walk our own path—alone. On that score over the last decade, I have been in the constant company of my ever-faithful friend—solitude. So those amongst my acquaintances, most likely unaware of my acute need for seclusion in writing this work, cannot be entirely blamed for mistaking my necessarily excessive demands for protracted solitude with unfriendliness and aloofness.

As this work is about the perennial philosophy—the eternal Wisdom—and our claim that, by its very nature it provides the solution to the problems that beset any age, given that the COVID-19 pandemic was the backdrop for part of the time as this work was being written, how does the perennial philosophy shine a light on such watershed moments in history? First, we need to be clear that we are not claiming that this Wisdom had foreseen and analysed every complexity or detail of this, or any other generation, but that from an understanding of the fundamental verities of life comes the method and correct solution, and the means, to cope intelligently with those great cultural, intellectual, moral, and social problems which, in their unsolved state, confront the humanity of all times, as the past century of political unrest, terrorist violence (often in the name of religion), ecological disasters, and the recent pandemic bears ample witness. In other words, we have all the tools we need to solve our problems, if we can but grasp these verities of life and work with Prometheus (foresight) as well as learn from our mistakes through Epimetheus (hindsight).

Has this sea-change in all our lives caused by the pandemic raised the possibility of living in a better way—a less materialistic and more environmental way—a way in which Nature is regarded as a living being rather than a resource to be plundered? We have sophisticated tools at our disposal for strategic foresight and analysing emerging trends and risks. And we have massive resources—financial, material, and scientific. We also have global institutions, such as the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and worldwide humanitarian networks. The building blocks exist to build a resilient, sustainable and adaptable future for all. But do we have the wisdom and the will to act on what we know? This is where the perennial philosophy plays an indispensable part in the necessary refining and evolution of man’s character by showing us that, primarily, the solution lies in a reformation of man’s nature, and only secondarily in economic, technological or social schemes. A solution at the physical level will not address the underlying causes. We have only to look at world history to realize for ourselves that, without exception, the great sages, since time immemorial, have sounded the clarion call to man to Know Himself. Not one of these luminaries wasted his life-energy in preaching the lure of any earthly Utopia by inventing techniques and systems for dealing with the confusion and evil of the world’s politics, economics, and daily life at the routine and everyday level. With unerring insight, each of them saw the futility of the conventional economic or technological way of dealing with problems, when it is, in fact, man himself, the world over, who creates the ugliness and misery around him, which he then attempts to remedy by changing outer structures. Those with wisdom know that there is only one way to redeem the world situation and that is through a change in the inner structure of man—that is, through his mindset, the way of the transformed man—the inner revolution in the mind and not its brutal counterpart in the external world that has spilt rivers of blood and caused untold suffering.

What can we glean from the perennial philosophy in the current global climate? Its fundamental tenet is the intrinsic unity, interrelationship, and interconnection of all life forms in nature, at all levels ranging from the physical to the spiritual, from the mightiest galaxy to the minutest speck of matter, even to a virus, to wit. This is really tantamount to saying that all existence is essentially, one, organic and living Being which may be called by the popular but overloaded term ‘God’, or ‘Brahman’, or by the term we prefer, ‘Divine Consciousness’. All beings and all life, organic and so-called inorganic, thus belong together in that we are all the various aspects of one single Being, like the many, almost identical, images which a multi-faceted diamond reflects of the same one object. This is not something that can be proven by ratiocination or is logically deducible. But it is accessible through mysticism and metaphysics, as evinced not only by the great sages, philosophers, and artists since time immemorial but equally by legendary scientists of all ages, past and present. And what better evidence (albeit at the physical level) is there of the fragile interconnectedness of all life forms and livelihoods than the pandemic? Local communities have, in general, become more closely bonded as one large extended family, but have the nations of the world come any closer to this realization of unity? It is to be doubted, especially in the light of the warning by the Director-General of the World Health Organization that ‘the world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure’. Why? Owing to the ‘me first’ strategy to secure vaccines that many countries have adopted, whereby ‘vaccine nationalism’ has resulted in unequal access to vaccines (RSA Journal, Issue 2, June 2021, pages 16, 17).

Another cardinal teaching of the perennial wisdom is the coexistence of the spiritual, mental (intellectual), and physical worlds; and that man inhabits, and must live in, all three worlds. Has the excessive focus on purely materialistic concepts and solutions resulted in the present imbalance due to an over dependence on technological schemes at the expense of spiritual insights? Thus, has mainstream science caused as many problems as it tries to solve? Are vaccines and other physical measures, not to be decried, nevertheless, the sole means of dealing with a problem on many levels?

There are bound to be other pandemics in future so what will it take to prepare for future disasters? They must all be approached in the light of the eternal Wisdom which teaches us that the plethora of health and social problems that currently beset individuals, societies, and nations would be greatly alleviated were this simple fact realized: that man (like all other creatures) is the outcome of Divine Ideation and his body the product of Divine Forces sculpted by Divine Handicraft.

Today we are deluged with countless books that contribute little, or nothing, to public improvement and merely represent recreational reading or argumentative discourse, dealing with scandal, gossip, and all kinds of social prejudices, conceits, and a fascination for the ‘cancel culture’ that typifies our age. Clearly, society in general is paying the price of a decline in culture, moral standards, and mental health due to consuming the intellectual equivalent of junk food.

On the other hand, there is no dearth of scholarly books and papers nowadays on broad matters of consciousness and its relation to science and spirituality. This is a welcome development but the current trend in serious literature seems to be heading, to my mind, towards increasing specialization, or populism, in the interests of making the subject user-accessible, resulting, in many cases, with presentation at the expense of content. The consciousness–science–spirituality bandwagon trundles along on three well-oiled wheels! So, to those who might find my work overly cumbersome or abstruse, I can only respond by quoting a passage from a book by the great nineteenth century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer:

I part with the book with deep seriousness, in the sure hope that sooner or later it will reach those to whom alone it can be addressed; and for the rest, patiently resigned that the same fate should, in full measure, befall it, that in all ages has, to some extent, befallen all knowledge, and especially the weightiest knowledge of the truth, to which only a brief triumph is allotted between the two long periods in which it is condemned as paradoxical or disparaged as trivial. The former fate is also want to befall its author. But life is short, and truth works far and lives long: let us speak the truth.i

Who wrote this work is of lesser consequence than the fact that it had to be, and was, written. Well over a decade of protracted effort in producing it has provided little pleasure but boundless joy—anyone who has been involved in strenuous creative endeavour will need no explanation of what I mean. May you, the reader, however, reap both in abundance.

Contacting the writer: If this work has touched you in some way and you would like to share your reflections, your comments would be welcome. Any faults are mine and have nothing to do with the subject matter of science, spirituality or occult science; so if you have spotted any obvious omissions and/or errors, do please contact the writer: [e-mail]; or visit the publisher’s website: shepheardwalwyn.com; general enquiries: [e-mail].

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i Arthur Schopenhauer, Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung [The World as Will and Representation], trans. R. B. Haldane and J. Kemp, 1st edn Leipzig, Germany: Vorrede, 1819; 7th edn, California, US: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015, page 9.

About the Author

Edi BilimoriaDPhil, FIMechE, FEI, FRSA

Born in India and educated at the universities of London, Sussex and Oxford, Edi Bilimoria presents an unusual blend of experience in the fields of science, the arts and philosophy.

Professionally, Edi is an award-winning engineer and was a consultant to the petrochemical, oil and gas, transport, and construction industries. He was Project Manager and Head of Design for major innovative projects such as the Channel Tunnel, London Underground systems, and offshore installations. He also worked in safety and environmental engineering and management for several Royal Navy projects, including the Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carrier and the fleet of River-class offshore patrol vessels.

A student of the perennial philosophy for over half a century, Edi has given courses and lectured extensively in the UK, and internationally in California, the Netherlands, India, and Australia. He has organized and chaired conferences in order to encourage the cross-fertilization of ideas in the fields of science, religion and practical philosophy. He worked as Education Manager for the Theosophical Society in Australia developing courses and study papers, researching, lecturing and organizing international conferences; as well as supervising the Research Library, National Media Library, National Members Lending Library and the development of the website.

Edi has published many informative articles and papers in the disciplines of science, engineering, and esoteric philosophy. In 2007, his book The Snake and the Rope was awarded the Book Prize by the Scientific and Medical Network (SMN). In 2023, this present work, consisting of four volumes, was awarded the SMN’s Grand Prize. Applauded by many, it is considered to be the most penetrating work on consciousness written in decades, and possibly ever.

For many years Edi was a Board Director of the SMN. He now serves as a Trustee of the SMN and in an advisory capacity to both the Board and the SMN’s Galileo Commission, a project set up to find ways to expand science and open up public discourse on the subject.

Edi is also a Trustee and Council Member of the Francis Bacon Society.

An enthusiastic glider pilot for many years, Edi is a choral singer and a dedicated pianist of concert standard.

Summary

The benefit of Edi’s work in science and engineering is that it has enabled him to understand and approach interdisciplinary problems in an innovative, lateral-thinking manner under time and budgetary constraints. It has also provided the necessary team-working, supervision and management skills with the opportunity to actuate eternal principles on an organizational level, in line with his belief that spirituality is reserved not only for quiet retreats, but also applies to daily working life.

The outcome of Edi’s involvement in music and the perennial philosophy is a discernment of the higher laws governing all life and existence, at all levels, and the necessity of striving to live with integrity according to this realization.

Foreword

David Lorimer

You hold in your hand a magisterial treatise, the fruit of a lifetime of careful study and reflection by a man who is also a consulting engineer and concert level pianist inspired not only by Liszt and Beethoven but also, in the context of this work, by Sir Isaac Newton and Erwin Schrödinger, whose scope as scientist and thinker was far greater and deeper than commonly understood. A glance through the detailed contents of the three volumes immediately gives the reader an impression of its comprehensive approach to the subject matter of what a human being is and what life is about.

Culturally, we are dominated—especially in the West—by science and technology with its prevailing philosophy that mind is an emergent property of matter and that everything can or will ultimately be explained in material terms. To doubt this proposition is to risk branding as a heretic and undermine one’s reputation as a ‘serious scientist’, as many have found to their cost, notably in our time Dr Rupert Sheldrake, Nobel laureate Professor Brian Josephson FRS, Dr Peter Fenwick and Dr Eben Alexander among many others. This tendency is not new and can also be exemplified in the nineteenth century by attacks on such leading scientists as Sir William Crookes FRS and President of the Royal Society, Sir Oliver Lodge FRS, Alfred Russel Wallace FRS and Sir William Barrett FRS for their active interest in psychical research.

The Theosophical Society was also founded in this era—1875—and its three declared objects are highly relevant to this study, especially as the author has drawn deeply on this tradition, which he knows very well:

❖ To form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or colour.

❖ To encourage the comparative study of religion, philosophy and science.

❖ To investigate unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in humanity.

The second and third objects are particularly relevant here in the author’s quest to bring together into a coherent framework key findings of religion, philosophy and science as well as investigating unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in humanity in terms of subtle anatomy going beyond brain and physical body and exerting causal influence from the inside out. Our current scientific tendency is to examine everything from the outside in and assume that causality also operates in this manner in that matter gives rise to mind and brain to consciousness.

Historically, this reflects the 17th-century classification of quantitative and measurable aspects of reality as primary and qualitative or subjective aspects as secondary. As Michael Aeschliman points out in his book The Restitution of Man in 1983, this has momentous consequences in terms of what is now known as scientism, that is, materialism as an ideology: ‘the ultimate effect of scientism is to dissolve the absolute qualitative distinction between persons and things—the very heart of the metaphysical tradition of sapientia—reducing persons to things, denying man’s rational soul and his transcendence of the physical, giving him a value no higher than that of a camel or a stone or any other part of nature. This reduction of the human category to the natural runs parallel with a whole series of reductions from quality to quantity, from value to fact, from rational to empirical.’ Scientists tend to take this new perspective for granted unless they become aware that scientism is in fact philosophy not science. One cannot get away from metaphysics, as Aldous Huxley observed in his book Ends and Means in 1937: ‘it is impossible to live without metaphysics. The choice that is given is not between some kind of metaphysics and no metaphysic: it is always between a good metaphysic and a bad metaphysic’. What the author has in mind in this work is a more adequate and comprehensive metaphysic.

In his seminal work published in 1924—The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science—E. A. Burrt observes that ‘just as it was thoroughly natural for mediaeval thinkers to view nature as subservient to man’s knowledge, purpose and destiny; so now it has become natural to view her as existing and operating in her own self-contained independence, and so far as the ultimate relationship to her is clear at all, to consider his knowledge and purpose somehow produced by, and wholly dependent on her.’ ‘Natural’ in this context means normal and taken for granted. Taking up this point, the historian and Orientalist Patricia Crone (quoted in Sufism, by Alexander Knysh, p. 231) says: ‘People see things from their own perspective, much of what they say adds up to comforting ideas or outright propaganda for themselves and the groups to which they belong. They believe their own propaganda because they cannot see that this is what it is: the bias is invisible because the angle which produces it is felt as normal, not as a perspective peculiar to a special group (you cannot see it unless you stand outside it).’i

This is not surprising, as the historian Marshall Hodgson observes: ‘Scholarly pre-commitments manifest themselves in the questions the scholar poses and in the type of category he uses, where, indeed, bias is especially hard to track down because it is hard to suspect the very terms one uses, which seem so innocently neutral.’ The key phrase is the last one ‘innocently neutral’ as the lens through which one peers is naïvely assumed to represent underlying reality when it is precisely that: an abstract representation or model. A good example from modern neuroscience and philosophy is the formulation by the cognitive scientist and philosopher David Chalmers of the ‘hard problem of consciousness’ where he asks how the brain generates consciousness, thus implicitly assuming that the brain does in fact generate consciousness, which may not in fact be true as William James pointed out over 100 years ago when he observed that the relationship between brain and consciousness might not be ‘productive’ (the brain produces consciousness) but rather transmissive or permissive (the brain transmits or permits consciousness)—a view becoming more popular among cutting-edge neuroscientists and philosophers represented in such scholarly books emanating from the University of Virginia as Irreducible Mind and Beyond Physicialism.

The philosopher and mathematician Alfred North Whitehead FRS, FBA was well aware of the relationship between science and philosophy: ‘Modern scholarship and modern science reproduce the same limitations as dominated the bygone Hellenistic people, and the bygone Scholastic epoch. They canalise thought and observation within predetermined limits, based upon inadequate metaphysical assumptions dogmatically assumed. The modern assumptions differ from older assumptions, not wholly for the better. They exclude from rationalistic thought more of the final values of existence.’ His key point is that the underlying philosophy or metaphysical assumptions constitute the predetermined limits he refers to and that these are dogmatically mostly unconsciously assumed, as C. G. Jung also warned when he said that the basic error of every worldview is its remarkable tendency to pretend to be the truth of things themselves, whereas it is actually only a name which we give to things. Hence an explanation—literally an unfolding—can only reflect the assumptions implicit in the question, as already noted in the example above of the hard problem of consciousness.

Whitehead introduces an important distinction relevant to this study between what he calls the observational order and the conceptual order. The observational order is ‘constituted by the direct, immediate discriminations of particular observations’ while the conceptual order ‘is constituted by our general way of conceiving the Universe’—the central point here is that ‘the observational order is invariably interpreted in terms of the concepts supplied by the conceptual order… We inherit in observational order, namely types of things which we do in fact discriminate; and we inherit conceptual order, namely a rough system of ideas in terms of which we do in fact interpret.’

The reader will find in these volumes a thoroughgoing and justifiably polemical critique of the conceptual order supplied by scientism as well as a systematic elaboration of a deeper and more comprehensive conceptual order based on the author’s understanding of occult science and the principles of the perennial philosophy. Distinctive features of this work are comprehensive accounts of the universality of the perennial wisdom from the East and the West, ancient and modern, their self-consistent philosophy and methodology, and the manner in which they reveal the hidden laws and processes of nature that throw light on such areas as: paranormal phenomena, the subtle bodies of a human being, evolution considered from the mental and spiritual perspectives, death as transition and not extinction of consciousness, and most importantly, the nature of mind and the unfolding of consciousness from the implicate order to its explication in the world of matter.

The result is the re-establishment of the dignity of the human being and human life beyond the reductionist and mechanical categories of modern science. Importantly, this includes purpose, a category removed with Aristotle’s final causes when science decided to focus on the instrumental and efficient causality of how, while at the same time eliminating the possibility of an ultimate why – thus effectively removing the qualitative, subjective aspect of human life, that is consciousness itself. The irony, not lost on such thinkers as Mary Midgley and Rupert Sheldrake, is that the formulation of scientific theories presupposes consciousness, as Descartes implicitly realised in his famous cogito – ‘I think therefore I am’.

During the 1990s the author was a key member of the Science and Esoteric Knowledge Group of the Scientific and Medical Network (www.scimednet.org). The work of this group sought to extend the metaphysical framework of science to include consciousness, spirituality and so-called paranormal phenomena that are not amenable to materialistic explanations. In the brilliant analysis and exposition of this well illustrated and fully referenced work, the reader will find a comprehensive explanation of how religion and spirituality, science and philosophy can complement each other. He provides a systematic metaphysical framework that extends rather than contradicts science and its spirit. In doing so, he overcomes the limitations of materialistic scientism to introduce a wider and deeper context that is also meaningful in terms of the nature of human life. In this sense, this work is a magnificent work of metaphysical reconstruction and moral reorientation, a vital enterprise in our era of rising mental distress arguably correlated with the idea that economic prosperity and celebrity are the royal highways to happiness and that human life is merely a chance accident in an ultimately meaningless universe. The author demonstrates that this view is very limited and partial, providing a firmer and more extensive basis for a positive philosophy of life.

As he himself explains:

‘1. nature is not simply a fortuitous concurrence of atoms that happened to self-assemble themselves according to blind, mechanical laws in the fullness of time;

2. since there are invisible and unseen worlds all under the governance of divine law that have barely been understood or approached by modern science;

3. moreover, there is an accumulated and uninterrupted wisdom that constitutes the archaic truths which are the basis of all religions and sciences since antiquity to the present day.’

Prepare to embark on an intellectual and spiritual odyssey that will open up new vistas and immensely enhance your understanding of many branches of science and philosophy as well as of the perennial philosophy and the deeper aspects of esotericism, symbolism, mythology, and allegory. I know of no other work of such scope and depth relating to the ultimate questions raised by human existence both in terms of our origins and destiny.

David Lorimer is Chair of the Galileo Commission and International Programme Director of the Scientific and Medical Network, Editor of Paradigm Explorer since 1986, and author and editor of over a dozen books, most recently A Quest for Wisdom.

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i Alexander Knysh, Sufism: A New History of Islamic Mysticism, Princeton University Press, 2017.

Outline Contents for the Four Volumes

VOLUME I

Proem: The Purpose and Justification for this Work

Introductory: The Plan of the Contents and Route Map

1 Who, or What Am I?

2 The Mind–Brain–Thought Problem: Even Nobel Scientists Disagree

3 The Paradigm of Science – its Ideology, Assumptions, and Beliefs

4 Limitations in the Modern Scientific Picture

5 Straining Our Eyes to See Beyond – ‘Uncomfortable Science

6 A New Continent of Thought

7 The Mystery Teachings of All Ages – A General Overview

8 What Occult Science Affirms – its Contrast with Natural Science

9 The Mystery Teachings About Man – Who, or What Am I?

Recapitulation: Unifying Consciousness Through Science and the Mystery Teachings

APPENDIX I-A: Timeline of the Progression of the Physical Sciences – Physics and Cosmology

APPENDIX I-B: Timeline of the Progression of the Life Sciences – Biology and Evolution

Endnotes to Volume I

VOLUME II

Prefatory: ‘Man, Know Thyself’– but Who, or What is Man?

1 What Occult Science says about the Composition of Man – Clearing the Decks

2 The Occult Constitution of Man – How Man is ‘Builded Up

3 The Occult Nature of Man – How Man Functions

4 The Three Selves – Man’s Three Primary Vehicles of Consciousness

5 Death is Transition – Time at the Door of Eternity

6 Clarifying Some Common Misconceptions

7 Is the Brain a ‘Wet Computer’ – Are Humans ‘Lumbering Robots’? The Closing of the Scientific Mind

8 Diverse Classifications of the Composition of Man – Harmony with Different World Teachings

Coda: How to Construct and Energize a Human Being – a Temple of the Divine

APPENDIX II-A: Light, Ether, and the Theory of Relativity – An extended example of ‘Knowledge Filtration’ in Science

APPENDIX II-B: Antaḥkaraṇa – its Purpose and Function

APPENDIX II-C: The Traditionalist Stance and Mindset – Truth from just One Authority?

Endnotes to Volume II

VOLUME III

Preamble: MAN, a Miniature Universe – a Mirror of Cosmos

1 Symbolism – the Language of the Mystery Teachings

2 Symbolic Representations of the Unity of Cosmos, Nature, and Man

3 Man is the Measure of All Things – the Human Body in Symbolism

4 Symbolic Representations of the Principles of Man

5 The Hermetic Axiom and the Law of Analogy

6 Cosmogenesis: the Unfolding of Consciousness – Kosmic Planes to Terrestrial Planes

7 Anthropogenesis: the Unfolding of Consciousness – Divine Self to Human Body

8 From External Sensation to Internal Experience – the Subjective Perception of an Objective Universe

9 Divine Forces in the Human Being – the Awakening of Latent Faculties and Powers of Consciousness

10 Man’s Limitless Evolution – Our Unfinished Journey

11 Summary of the Theme – Consciousness is an ELEMENT

Epilogue: Towards Immortality

A MATHEMATICAL CODICIL: Mathematics Alludes to the World as Mind, the Matrix of all Matter

Endnotes to Volume III

VOLUME IV

Foreword

Timeline

Profiles

Definitions

Editorial Notes

Glossary

Further Reading

General Index

Detailed Contents for Volume I

Acknowledgements

A Personal Note to Readers

About the Author

Foreword

List of Illustrations and Tables for Volume I

Abbreviations

Exordium

Proem: The Purpose and Justification for this Work

The Meaning and Significance of Unity

Reason and Justification for the Work

If Science Won’t Eventually Provide Us with All the Answers, Then What Will?

Major Turnarounds in Science

Science Itself Demolishes Scientific Materialism

But How Many Scientists Admit This?

Modern Science Opens a Window on to the Perennial Philosophy

If Not Materialism, Then What?

What Then is so Special about this Work Amongst All Others?

What Central Message Does This Work Convey?

What Then is the Particular Purpose of this Work?

Readership

Man, Know Thyself! But Why? What’s the Point?

Endnote

Introductory: The Plan of the Contents and Route Map

The Role of Science Today

Could Science Possibly be Missing Something?

So What is the Underlying Message?

Layout and Content of this Work

Volume I: A Panoramic Survey – Science Contrasted with the Perennial Philosophy on Consciousness and Man

Abstract and sequential progression of Chapters of Volume I

Volume II: Peering Down the Microscope – Man’s Internal Landscapes

Abstract and sequential progression of Chapters of Volume II

Volume III: Gazing Through the Telescope – Man is the Measure of All Things

Abstract and sequential progression of Chapters of Volume III