Metaphysics is the science of the universals;
it is the science of
essences, i.e. realities that are universal and unchanging,i.e. do not
depend on time or any particular degree of manifestation. Metaphysics is
not the same as speculative philosophy or theories of creation.
Metaphysics is and is true whether or not Big Bang Theory of the
Hypothesis of Evolution are true. The subject matter of metaphysics
proper is the Truth as perceived by the so-called Divine Mind.
Metaphysics is not a human knowledge but is the content of the Divine
Intellect or Pure Intellect. Metaphysics is not invented or learned; it
cannot really be taught; it is only discovered, i.e. remembered, by a
Seeing that is altogether other-worldly and absolute. This science,
contrary to all other human sciences, is not done by speculation or
experimentation but through intellection which is a transcendental, and
by no means mental, activity of the spirit.
Metaphysics is about Truth Itself and not what men and women, whether
saints or philosophers, have thought or said about the truth.
Metaphysics is about the architectonics of reality as a whole, i.e.
totality, as opposed to empirical science which consider reality only
insofar as it is sensible and measurable by minds and men. We cannot
say, for example, that metaphysics is other than physics though it is
also not identical with it. Metaphysics encompasses all other sciences
and is their very ground, but the nature of its relation to human
sciences is always misunderstood; this relation is best understood only
within the framework of an analogy, of course until the attainment of
metaphysical realization which is the same as the Liberation. So, we
offer the following analogy that we hope clarifies the nature of the
relationship between metaphysics and empirical reality or empirical
sciences:
Consider a video game in which your avatar, i.e. your embodied
character inside the game-world, is put in a world similar to ours and
its mission is to explore this world and find its natural laws.
Basically, in this game you are a scientist that has to use the tools of
the game to find the most general regularities of that world, things
such as gravity, electricity, etc. Now, if we want to transpose the
idea of metaphysical knowledge into the context of this game, what
element of the game should we choose? Let us begin by saying that
metaphysics is not anything of the nature of a fact or a piece of
knowledge within the game-world and can be sought and found in the same
manner that one seeks and finds the facts of a world. It is not
something that our scientist can find by means of exploring inside the world game.
Within the context of our game, metaphysical knowledge can be
compared not to any natural law or any fact of the game-world but to the
programming code that is behind the very phenomenon called the
game-world and has made that world possible. Our scientist cannot find
this underlying code by exploring inside the game-world and
experimenting on its phenomena; he himself and all his explorations,
etc. are nothing but the manifestations of the programming code
underlying the game. To access metaphysical knowledge, i.e. the code in
this analogy, the avatar does not even have to look outside himself or
to move around, for this knowledge is, as it were, inside him, i.e.
known by realizing that “there is a game” and then trying to transcend
it. Now, how a game can be programmed so to make such our scenario
possible, and whether it is possible or not, is entirely irrelevant
here. The point of analogy was only to show the radical nature of this
science of metaphysics and its relation to all other empirical sciences
which can know only what is inside the game and not what is behind it.
Even the methods of inquiry are radically different: In empirical
science we explore and experiment, but metaphysical truths, i.e. that
programming code, is not susceptible to such methods of investigations;
the only way of accessing such knowledge is to somehow exit or transcend
the game, or more precisely, to wake up rather than to look out and
explore.
It is natural that the methods of inquiry inside the game, methods
designed to find empirical facts and natural laws, can in no way help
one even become aware of the possibility of a programming code behind
the game, let alone finding that code. All such methods, all empirical
sciences, are sciences of phenomena, but metaphysics, being the science
of essences, i.e. the science noumena as opposed to phenomena,
has nothing to do with phenomena but the meaning behind them. In other
words, metaphysics studies the metaphysical roots of phenomena.
Therefore, the failure of empirical methods in becoming conscious of the
possibility of metaphysical knowledge, let alone discovering it, is
only a failure and a shortcoming and doesn’t mean that there is no
metaphysical foundation, or code, behind the game, a code that is
different from the facts and natural laws inside the game simply because
these laws are themselves manifestations, or projections, of that very
code. One cannot use these methods to prove or deny the existence of a
program behind the game, and this indicates the futility of all attempts
at denying that there is a metaphysical foundation behind all things.
The ultimate proof of metaphysical truths and realities is metaphysical
realization, and this realization has been known and done and is not
something up for discussion or refutation. As we have said many times,
those trying to deny metaphysical knowledge, which by the way has
nothing to do with god or religion but encompasses them, are like blind
men trying to dispute the reality of a rainbow. A true metaphysician,
i.e. a Jivan Mukta, never bothers trying to prove to anyone the
possibility and reality of metaphysical truth; he can at best show the
way for the seeker of truth to see and realize for himself that which is
never a matter of opinion or speculation of any kind: The only proof of the Face is the face Itself.
Now, what does all this have to do with geometry? Well, as we said
metaphysics is the science of universal and immutable truths, realities
that are unchanging, and hence do not depend on time or any becoming
whatsoever. Thus, all theories of creation, modern or traditional,
religious or secular, are only human theories and speculations and at
best have symbolic value, for they all presuppose a becoming of some
sort. In metaphysics, there is no becoming. Creation is a human fact;
from a metaphysical, i.e. transcendental, point of view, creation and
becoming are absurd and unreal concepts. But since we find ourselves as
humans in the midst of a world of becoming, our thinking is conditioned
by it and can understand things mostly in terms of being and becoming.
At the same time, because of the transcendental nature of metaphysics it
can only be understood through analogies until the point of
metaphysical realization in and through which all metaphysical truths
are grasped immediately and intuitively and with absolute certainty.
A proper and successful analogy is that which is based on a
fundamental but common feature present in both sides of the analogy.
Since immutability and the absence of time and becoming is the most
fundamental and definite characteristic of metaphysics, the most
appropriate analogical means for its expression should be another
science that is devoid of the concepts of time and becoming. We know
that all empirical sciences such as physics, biology, etc. are in fact
about change and becoming, so they cannot possibly provide enough ground
for a successful analogical method of communicating metaphysical
truths. Of all the sciences accessible to man, the only one that is
devoid of the concept of change and time is geometry, and in general
pure mathematics. There is a direct correspondence between most
propositions of geometry and abstract algebra, and this to the extent
that we can even say geometry and abstract algebra are only two
different ways of expressing same mathematical truths: In abstract
algebra we are dealing with abstract symbols and their relationships but
in geometry we are dealing with spatial relationships, so it is like
abstract algebra only with the advantage of visualization. For this
reason, geometry is a little more suitable for communicating
metaphysical truths because it allows some space for visualization which
is a great tool in all learning.
Thus, we believe and we can show that metaphysical truths, which are
entirely independent of the concepts of god, creation, divine, etc. but
are at the same time the very source and ground of all these concepts
and realities, is best conveyed through geometry. And it is no surprise
that geometry has always been considered a sacred science and present
almost in all esoteric schools such as Pythagoreanism, Platonism,
Neoplatonism, Eastern and Western religious esoterisms, and also in
Freemasonry. For example, the letter G at the center of
the symbol for Freemasonry consisting of square and a compass,
traditional tools of architecture, stands both for God and Geometry, in
which God is viewed as the Great Architect of the Universe who creates
by means of immutable and intelligible relationships, i.e. geometrical
forms. We only add that geometry is not to be seen as identical with
metaphysics, and we should not think that in reality there are points
and circles; but geometry and its concepts are used as the best symbolic
means of expressing intelligible realities that are beyond any spatial
relationships. In other words, geometry is the reflection of
intelligible truths in the plane of human mind which can understand
things only in terms of the conditions of time and space. The reflection
of the sun in the pond is not the sun but can tell much about the sun,
at least about its form. Metaphysics too exposes the universal forms by
which truth can manifest Itself, the Truth Itself and in Itself
remaining always unmanifest and only known by being it, a mode of
knowledge accessed upon metaphysical realization, i.e. Supreme Identity.
It is outside the scope of this article to delve into geometry and
show the metaphysical truths that are reflected in it. Our goal was only
to show, firstly, the radical nature of the science of metaphysics and
its relationship to all other spheres of human knowledge, and secondly,
to suggest the best way of approaching this science, which is done
through geometry. We hope that in the future we can devote a few
articles to some aspects of metaphysics using geometrical truths. The
main problem that makes metaphysics difficult to understand for the
average mind is that metaphysics is not a science for everyone and
requires a very refined and objective intelligence not deformed by the
assaults made against the mind by the universal compulsory education.
One needs to know some abstract algebra and be very well familiar with
geometry, particularly the theory of functions, power series, Taylor
Expansions, etc. in order to perceive the subtle metaphysical truth
reflected in these forms. However, metaphysical truths, which is a way
toward liberation and Supreme Identity,
is not the only way. Religion and spiritual disciplines have the same
end in view. While metaphysics is the way to Truth for the born
philosopher, religion is a way for everyone, even the last man. The
spiritual man if he succeeds may come to see the Face of Truth, but the
metaphysician if he succeeds comes to see the Whole of Truth.
Image above: A Hermetic Temple: an integration of the Seventh Book of Hermes
Trismegistos (12 Penalties, 10 Potencies and the Secret Song of
Regeneration) with the Tree of Life, pillars of Solomon and Zodiac signs
with their Elements
Occult Aspects 