THE LAW OF WHOLENESS
It may seem a truism to say that the whole is made up of its parts, but
all the same we often lose sight of this in our outlook on life.
The reason we do so is because we are apt to take too narrow a view of
the whole; and also because we do not sufficiently consider that it is
not the mere arithmetical sum of the parts that makes the whole, but
also the harmonious agreement of each part with all the other parts. The
extent of the whole and the harmony of the parts is what we have to look
out for, and also its objective; this is a universal rule, whatever the
whole in question may be.
Take, for instance, the case of the artist. He must start by having a
definite objective, what in studio phrase is called a "motif"; something
that has given him a certain impression which he wants to convey to
others, but which cannot be stated as an isolated fact without any
surroundings. Then the surroundings must be painted so as to have a
natural relation to the main motif; they must lead up to it, but at the
same time they must not compete with it. There must be only one definite
interest in the picture, and minor details must not be allowed to
interfere with it. They are there only because of the main motif, to
help to express it. Yet they are not to be treated in a slovenly manner.
As much as is seen of them must be drawn with an accuracy that correctly
suggests their individual character; but they must not be accentuated in
such a way as to emphasize details to the detriment of the breadth of
the picture. This is the artistic principle of unity, and the same
principle applies to everything else.
What, then, is the "Motif" of Life? Surely it must be, to express its
own Livingness. Then in the True Order all modes of life and energy must
converge towards this end, and it is only our short-sightedness that
prevents us from seeing this,--from seeing that the greater the harmony
of the whole Life, the greater will be the inflow of that Life in each
of the parts that are giving it expression. This is what we want to
learn with regard to ourselves, whether as individuals, classes or
nations. We have seen the cosmic workings of the Law of Wholeness in the
discovery of the planet Neptune. Another planet was absolutely necessary
to complete the unity of our solar system, and it was found that there
is such a planet, and similarly in other branches of natural science.
The Law of Unity is the basic law of Life, and it is our ignorant or
wilful infraction of this Law that is the root of all our troubles.
If we take this Law of Unity as the basis of our Thought we shall be
surprised to find how far it will carry us. Each part is a complete
whole in itself. Each inconceivably minute particle revolves round the
centre of the atom in its own orbit. On its own scale it is complete in
itself, and by co-operation with thousands of others forms the atom. The
atom again is a complete whole, but it must combine with other atoms to
form a molecule, and so on. But if the atom be imperfect as an atom, how
could it combine with other atoms?
Thus we see that however infinitesimal any part may be as compared with
the whole, it must also be a complete whole on its own scale, if the
greater whole is to be built up. On the same principle, our recognition
that our personality is an infinitesimal fraction of an inconceivably
greater Life, does not mean that it is at all insignificant in itself,
or that our individuality becomes submerged in an indistinguishable
mass; on the contrary, our own wholeness is an essential factor towards
the building up of the greater whole; so that as long as we keep before
us the building up of the Great Whole as the "main motif," we need never
fear the expansion of our own individuality. The more we expand, the
more effective units we shall become.
We must not, however, suppose that Unity means Uniformity. St. Paul puts
this very clearly when he says, if the whole body be an eye, where would
be the hearing, etc. (1 Cor. xii, 14). How could you paint a picture
without distinction of form, colour, or tone? Diversity in Unity is the
necessity for any sort of expression, and if it be the case in our own
bodies, as St. Paul points out, how much more so in the expressing of
the Eternal Life through endless ages and limitless space! Once we grasp
this idea of the unity and progressiveness of Life going on _ad
infinitum_, what boundless vistas of possibility open before us. It
would be enough to stagger the imagination were it not for our old
friends, the Law and the Word. But these will always accompany us, and
we may rely upon them in all worlds and under all conditions. This Law
of Unity is what in natural science is known as the Law of Continuity,
and the Ancient Wisdom has embodied it in the Hermetic axiom "Sicut
superius, sicut inferius; sicut inferius, sicut superius"--As above, so
below; as below, so above. It leads us on from stage to stage, unfolding
as it goes; and to this unfolding there is no end, for it is the Eternal
Life finding ever fuller expression, as it can find more and more
suitable channels through which to express itself. It can no more come
to an end than numbers can come to an end.
But it _must_ find suitable channels. Let there be no mistake about
this. Perhaps some one may say: Cannot it _make_ suitable channels for
any sort of expression that it needs? The answer is, that it can, and it
does so up to a certain point. As we have seen, the Word, Thought, or
Initial Impulse of the Ever-Living Spirit starts a centre of cosmic
activity in which the mathematical element of Law at once asserts
itself; thenceforward everything goes on according to certain broad
principles of sequence. This is a Generic Creation, creation according
to _genera_ or classes, like the "archetypal ideas" of Plato. This
creation is governed by a Law of Averages, and the legal maxim "De
minimis non curat lex"--the Law cannot trouble about minorities--applies
to it. This generic law keeps the class going, and slowly advancing,
simply as a class, but it can take no notice of individuals as such. As
Tennyson puts it in "In Memoriam," speaking of Nature:
"So careful of the type she seems,
So careless of the single life."
This mode of creation reaches its highest level, at any rate in our
world, in Genus Homo, or the human race. We also, as a race, are under
the Law of Averages. The race continues to exist, but from the moment of
birth the individual life is liable to be cut short in a hundred
different ways. In producing man, however, Generic Creation has produced
a _type_ having a mental and physical constitution capable of perceiving
the underlying principle of _all_ creation, that is, of seeing the
relation between the Word and the Law. We cannot conceive creation by
type going further than this. By the nature of this type every human
being has the potential of a further evolution, which will set it free
from bondage to an impersonal Law of Averages, by specializing it
through the Power of the Word, that is, by bringing the Personal Factor
to bear upon the Impersonal Factor, and so unfolding the possibilities
which can be achieved by their united activities. We have the power of
using the Word so as to specialize the action of the Law, not by
altering the Law, which is impossible, but by realizing its principle,
and enabling it to work under conditions which are not spontaneously
provided by Nature, but are provided by our own selection. The
_capacity_ for this exists in all human beings, but the practical
application of this capacity depends on our recognition of the
principles involved; and it is for this reason that I commenced this
book by citing instances of the combined working of Law and Personality
in purely physical science. I wanted first to convince the reader from
well ascertained facts, that the Law contains infinite possibilities,
but that this can only be brought out through the operation of the mind
of man.
It is here that we find the value of the maxim "Nature unaided fails."
The more we consider this maxim and the principle of Unity and
Continuity, the clearer it will become, that Limitation is no part of
the Law itself, but results only from our own limited comprehension of
it; and that St. James uses no meaningless phrase, but is stating a
logical and scientific truth, when he speaks of "The perfect Law of
Liberty" (Jas. i, 25). What we have to do is, to follow this up, not by
petulant self-assertion, but by quietly considering the why and
wherefore of the whole thing. In doing so we can fortify ourselves with
another maxim, that "Principle is not limited by Precedent." When we
spread the wings of thought and speculate as to future possibilities,
our conventionally-minded friends may say we are talking bosh; but if
you ask them why they say so, they can only reply that the past
experience of the whole human race is against you. They do not speak
like this in the matter of flying-machines or carriages that go without
horses; they say these are scientific discoveries. But when it comes to
the possibilities of our own souls, they at once set a limit to the
expansion of ideas, and do not see that the scientific principle of
discovery is not confined to laboratory experiments. Therefore, we must
not let ourselves be discouraged by such arguments. If our friends doubt
our sanity, let them doubt it. The sanity of such men as Galileo and
George Stephenson was doubted by their contemporaries, so we are in good
company. At the same time we must not neglect to look after our own
sanity. We must know some intelligible reason for our conclusions, and
realize that however unexpected, they are the logical carrying out of
principles which we can recognize in the Creation around us. If we do
this we need not fear to spread the wings of fancy, even though some may
not be able to accompany us; only we must remember that we are using
wings. Fancy, in the ordinary acceptation of the word, has really no
wings; it is like a balloon that just floats wherever any passing
current of air may drive it. The possession of wings implies power to
direct our flight, and fancy must be converted into trained Imagination,
just as the helpless balloon has been superseded by navigable air-craft.
It must be "the scientific imagination"; and the "scientific
imagination" carried into the world of spiritual causation becomes the
Word of Power, and its Power is derived from the fact that it is always
working according to Law. Then we may go on confidently, because we are
following the same universal principles by which all creation has been
evolved, only now we are specializing its action from the standpoint of
our own individuality, according to the ancient teaching that Man, the
Microcosm, repeats in himself all the laws of the Macrocosm, or great
world, around him.
As we begin to see the truth of these things, we begin to transcend the
simply generic stage. That first stage is necessary to provide a
starting-point for the next. The first stage is that of Bondage to Law.
It could not be otherwise for the simple reason that you must learn the
law before you can use it. Then from the stage of Generic Creation we
emerge into that of individual Creation, in which we attain liberty
through Knowledge of the Law of our own Being; so that it is not a mere
theological myth to talk of a New Creation, but it is the logical
outcome of what we now are, if, to our recognition of the Power of the
Law we add the recognition of the Power of the Word.