All lovers of truth, progress, and freedom of thought must be grateful
to Dr. J. R. Buchanan for his discovery of the science of SARCOGNOMY.
His system brings us nearer to a recognition of the true nature of
man, his origin and his destiny, and of the relations which he bears
to the Divine Source from which he emanated in the beginning, and to
which he will ultimately return; for the enlightened ones of all
nations agree that the _real_ man, who resides temporarily in the
physical human body, who feels through the instrumentality of the
heart, and thinks through the instrumentality of the brain of the
external body, does not originate in the womb of the mother from which
the physical body is born, but is of a spiritual origin, again and
again re-incarnating itself in physical masks and forms of flesh and
blood, living and dying, and being reborn, until, having attained that
state of perfection, which renders the inner man capable to exist in a
state of spiritual consciousness without being encumbered by a gross
earthly organization, which chains him to animal life.
[It should here be remarked that the great majority of those who
are considered enlightened, and to whom the world is indebted
for the sciences which it now possesses, do not accept this
theory of re-incarnation. As commonly stated, it is liable to
many decisive objections, and these objections, which I have
clearly stated in the Religio-Philosophical Journal, have not
been, and I think will not be, removed by the teachers of
re-incarnation.]
It may perhaps not be premature to examine how far the doctrines of
Dr. Buchanan correspond with the doctrines of occult science; that is
to say, with that science which is based upon a perception and
understanding of certain facts, which, to be perceived, require
spiritual powers of perception, such as are not yet developed in the
majority of mankind, but which are only in possession of those who
have mentally risen above the sphere of external phenomena and
accustomed themselves to look at spiritual things with the eye of the
spirit. It is not my intention to enter at present into an elaborate
review of the most prominent writers on occult subjects, and to quote
passages from such authors to support the views expressed in the
following pages, but rather to give a short statement of their
doctrines in regard to the omnipotent power of Will and Life; both
these powers being fundamentally identical; both being merely
different modes of actions, or functions, of that universal, eternal,
and divine Central Power of the universe, which is beyond the
conception of mortals, and which the latter call _God_.
The ancient religions, as well as reason and logic, tell us that there
is, and can be, only one supreme God, or First Cause of the universe,
and that from this one first and fundamental Cause or Power every
secondary power and everything that exists has come into existence, or
been evolved within it and through its eternal activity. The whole of
the universe with everything contained therein, man included, is and
can be nothing else but a manifestation of this internal fundamental
power, or, as it has been expressed by the ancient philosophers, the
universe is the product of the Divine Imagination (thought) of the
First Great Cause, thrown into objectivity by its eternal Will.
We see, therefore, the great unmanifested _One_ manifesting itself in
its own _Substance_ (Space) by means of _two_ powers, _Thought_
(imagination) and _Will_ (the _Word_ or Life); both powers being
fundamentally identical and merely two different modes of activity or
functions of the _One_ Eternal, internal Principle, called God.
According to the _Bible_, God said, "Let there be light," and through
the power of this outspoken "_Word_," the world came into existence.
This allegory, expressed in modern language, means that by the
_active_ Will of the universal First Cause, the images existing in its
eternal memory were thrown into objectivity and thus produced the
germs from which the worlds with all things existing therein were
evolved and grew into the shapes in which we see them now. The
_Brahmins_ say that when _Brahm_ awoke from his slumber after the
night of creation (the great Pralaya) was over, he _breathed out_ of
his own substance, and thus the evolution of worlds began. If he
_in-breathes_ again, the worlds will be re-absorbed in his substance,
and the day of creation will be over.
[God being essentially and self-evidently inconceivable by man,
all attempts of Brahmin, Christian, or any other theologians to
explain his existence and his methods of creation can be
recognized by the scientific mind only as hypotheses
unsusceptible of verification, and, therefore, incapable of
becoming a proper basis of Philosophy.]
Thus we find, on examining the doctrines of all the greatest religions
of the world, that they all teach the same truth, although they teach
it in different words and in different allegories. They all teach that
there exist two fundamental powers, originating from the absolute
_One_, namely, _Thought_ and _Will_; and it logically follows that if
a man were a complete master over his thoughts and his will, he could
become a creator within the realm to which his thought and imagination
extend; he could, consequently, by the power of his will and thought,
control all the functions of his organism, the so-called involuntary
ones as well as those which are voluntary. He could--if he possessed a
perfect knowledge of his own constitution--restore abnormal functions
to their normal state, and restore diseased organs to health.
[The mode of expression used in this paragraph is rather
misleading. One may have a complete mastery of his thoughts and
will, while both thought and will are very feeble and
ineffective. It requires great POWER in the will and thought to
acquire such control over bodily functions, and any expression
leading persons of feeble character to suppose they can attain
such results would be delusive. Many persons of feeble character
have been led by current speculations to aspire far beyond their
ability.]
Another fundamental doctrine of Occultism is that man is a Microcosm,
in which is germinally (potentially) contained everything that exists
in the Macrocosm of the universe. [An unproved hypothesis.] As the
will and thought of that universal and divine internal power, which is
called God, penetrates and pervades the whole of the universe;
likewise the will and thought of man, if he has once attained perfect
mastery over himself, extends through all parts of his organization,
pervades every organ, and may be made to act consciously wherever man
chooses to employ it. But in the present state of man's condition upon
this earth, no one but the adepts have acquired this power. In them
thought and will act as one. In the vast majority of human beings
thought and will are not yet in entire harmony, and do not act as one.
In the regenerated one (the adept) heart and head act in perfect
unison. The adept thinks what he wills, and wills what he thinks. In
unregenerated humanity will and thought are divided and occupy two
different centres. In them the will has its seat in the _blood_ (whose
central organ is the heart), and their thought or imagination has its
seat in the brain. In them heart and brain are often not only not in
perfect harmony, but even opposed to each other. But the _will_ and
_life_ being one, and identical, we see that the central seat of
_life_ is not, as has been maintained by Dr. Buchanan, the _brain_,
but the primary source of all life is the _heart_.
We see, therefore, a discrepancy between the doctrines of Dr. Buchanan
and the occult doctrines in regard to Anthropology; but this
discrepancy is of no serious consequence; because the _moon_ (the
_intellect_) is in our solar system as necessary as the _sun_ (the
_will_), and as the vast majority of people have a considerably
developed intellect, but only a very little developed will, and live,
so to say, more in their brains than in their hearts, they may be
looked upon as receiving their powers and energies from their brains,
while the brain receives its stimulus from the heart. The ancient
Rosicrucians compared the heart to the _sun_, the intellect, or
_brain_, to the moon. The moon receives her light from the sun, the
centre of life of our solar system. If the sun were to cease to exist,
the moon would soon lose her borrowed light; likewise if the sun of
divine love ceases to shine in the human heart, the cold, calculating
intellect may continue to glitter for a while, but it will finally
cease to exist. If the brain vampyrizes the heart, that is to say, if
it absorbs the greater part of the life principle, which ought to go
to develop love and virtue in the heart, man may become a great
reasoner, a scientist, arguer, and sophist; but he will not become
_wise_, and his intellect will perish in this life or in the state
after death. We often see very intellectual people becoming criminals,
and even lunatics are often very cunning. That which a man may call
his own in the end, are not the thoughts which he has stored in his
perishable memory; but the fire of love and light which he has kindled
in his heart. If this fire of life burns at his heart it will
illuminate his mind, and enable the brain to see clear; it will
develop his spiritual powers of perception, and cause him to perceive
things which no amount of intellectual brain-labor can grasp. It will
penetrate even the physical body, and cause the soul therein to assume
shape and to become immortal.
It is not to be supposed that the above truths will be at once
accepted by every reader of the JOURNAL, except by such as have given
deep thought to the true nature of man. Neither are they a subject for
scientific controversy or disputation. A knowledge of the truth is not
produced by disputations and quarrels, but only by direct perception,
experience, and understanding. The conclusions which man arrives at by
logic are merely productive of certain opinions, and these opinions
are liable to be changed again as soon as the basis from which his
logic started, changes. A real knowledge of spiritual truths requires
a power of spiritual perception, which few men possess. Nevertheless,
even our logical deductions, taking as a starting point that which we
know to be true, will help us to arrive at the same conclusions at
which the Hermetic philosophers arrived by the power of spiritual
perception.
[In the foregoing passage, Dr. H. professes to state doctrines
derived from intuition or spiritual perception by the ancients,
and also recognized to-day by spiritual perception. To me they
appear as the results only of that sort of ancient SPECULATION,
which recognized earth, air, fire, and water as the four
chemical elements of all things. I do not find them sustained by
the spiritual perception of those who have the intuitive powers
to-day, nor by scientific investigation. The substance of the
heart is _not the seat of life_. It is a merely muscular
substance, and ceases all action when separated from its
controlling ganglia. The vitality of the heart lies in its
ganglia--in other words, in the nervous system, _in which alone
is life_, and of which the brain is the commanding centre. That
life resides exclusively in the nervous system is one of the
established principles of physiology, which cannot be disturbed
by any theories descending from antiquity, before the dawn of
positive science. That the will resides in the blood and the
heart, is about as near the truth as Plato's doctrine that the
prophetic power belonged to the liver. If the region of Firmness
in the brain be large, it will be strongly manifested, even
though the heart be feeble, and as easily arrested as Col.
Townsend's. But if the upper surface of the brain be diseased,
or sensibly softened, the will power is almost destroyed, even
if the plethoric, hypertrophied heart is shaking the head with
its power. Many an individual of a delicate frame, has
overpowered by firmness and courage stout, muscular men of far
larger hearts. That the brain is the organ of thought alone, is
a very old crudity. It contains every human emotion and passion,
which we may stimulate in the impressible, or suspend instantly
by a slight pressure on the brain. There is no intense exercise
of any of the emotions or passions without a corresponding
warmth and tension in the portion of the brain to which they
belong, the development and activity of which determine their
power. The will and life are not _identical_, as Dr. H.
suggests, for if they were, we should not have these two words
with different meanings. If will is an attribute of life, that
does not constitute _identity_. The speculations of Rosicrucians
are of no authority in science. The divine love or influence is
in direct relation to the brain, the central organ of the soul,
and not to a muscular structure of the body, which is far below
the brain in rank. It would be just as reasonable to affirm that
courage belongs only to the muscles. That illuminating love
which Dr. H. ascribes to the heart, belongs to the upper region
of the brain, and is never found when that region lacks
development, or is in a cold, torpid condition. I deny entirely
that these mystic theories are the product of true, spiritual
perception. They arise from the fact that the thoracic region
sympathizes with the seat of true love and will in the brain.
This secondary effect has been felt and realized by those to
whom the functions of the brain were unknown. Spiritual
perception, now guided by the spirit of investigation, discovers
the whole truth--that all human faculties and impulses belong to
the brain, but have a secondary influence on the localities of
the body to which SARCOGNOMY shows their relations.]
If we believe in one great spiritual cause of all, and conceive of it
as the great spiritual Sun of the universe (of which our terrestrial
sun is merely an image or reflection), we find that spiritual man (the
image of God) can be nothing else but an individual ray of that
spiritual sun, shining into matter, becoming polarized and forming a
centre of life in the developing human foetus, and causing this
foetus to grow in a living form of human shape, according to the
conditions presented to it by the maternal organism, and when it is
born, and becomes conscious, the illusion of self is created within
that individual form. Besides the gross, visible, external form, more
ethereal internal forms are evolved, which are of a longer duration
than the outward physical form, but of which it is not necessary to
speak at present.
At all events, all that we positively know of man, is that he is an
invisible internal power, which evolves an outward shape, which we
call a human being. The material through which the organism is built
up is the blood, and the centre from which the blood flows into all
parts of the body and to which it returns from all parts, is the
heart. The heart is consequently the centre from which that power
which builds up the organism of man emanates, and as this power can be
nothing else but Life, the heart is the centre of life. The heart and
the brain stand in the most intimate relation to each other, and
neither one can continue to live if the other one ceases to act; but
according to the doctrines of the ancient and modern occultists the
heart is of superior importance than the brain. A man may live a long
time without thinking, but he ceases to live when his heart ceases to
beat. The heart is the seat of life, the brain the seat of thought,
but both are equally necessary to enjoy life; there is no intellectual
activity without life, and a life without intelligence is worthless.
That the force which constructs the organism of man emanates from the
heart, appears to me to be self-evident; that the power which guides
this construction emanates from the brain has been demonstrated by Dr.
Buchanan.
[This is quite incorrect. The heart may cease acting, as in
apparent death while the processes of thought and feeling are
going on, and the individual is conscious that he is going to be
buried, but incapable of giving the alarm. On the other hand the
action of the brain may be suspended, as in apoplexy, while the
heart is beating vigorously. In such cases, though the action of
the cerebrum is suspended, the physiological brain or cerebellum
sustains physical life. We cannot say that the heart is superior
to the brain, because it supplies the brain with blood for its
growth, any more than we could say the same of the lungs, which
supply oxygen, without which the action of the brain is speedily
arrested. We might even extend the remark to the stomach and
thoracic duct, which supply the material for making a brain,
which certainly does not prove their superiority. The action of
the brain is far more important, for the quickest death is
produced by crushing the brain, or by cutting it off from the
body in the spinal cord of the neck, when heart, lungs, and
stomach are promptly arrested by losing the help of the brain.
If prior development in growth proved a superiority of rank, the
ganglionic system which accompanies the arteries and precedes
the evolution of the convoluted cerebrum would hold the highest
rank, although it is destitute of consciousness and volition,
which belong to the brain alone.]
But what is this power which emanates from the brain, and which guides
the organizing activity of the soul, but the power of life which is
transmitted to the brain from the heart, and which is modified in its
activity by the peculiar organization of the latter? Man in his
present state does not think with his heart, but with his brain;
nevertheless, the heart is superior to the brain, for the brain has
been built up by the power which came from the heart; and it is a
universal law of nature, that no thing can produce anything superior
to itself. During its foetal existence the brain of the child is built
up by the blood of the mother; after man is born his brain receives
its power of life through the heart, and in spiritually developed man
the thought-force created in the brain reacts again upon the will in
the heart, controlling its desires and entering into harmonious union
with the latter. The ancient alchemists say: "If the Sun (the heart)
enters in conjunction with the _Moon_ (the brain) then will Gold
(Wisdom) be produced."
We see, therefore, in man two centres of life, the heart and the
brain, and it may properly be said that the brain is the seat of life,
only it may perhaps be added, that it is the secondary seat, while the
principal seat is, or ought to be, in the heart. [Dr. H. identifies
will with life, yet every one knows that all acts of volition proceed
from the brain alone, and never from the heart; hence by his own
statement the brain is the seat of life.] According to the doctrines
of the Hermetic philosophers, God is the invisible central fire in the
universe from which the Light of the Logos (Christ or the celestial
Adam) emanated in the beginning. Man being a Microcosm, contains in
his heart the image of that internal and invisible central fire of
_Love_, which sends the light of thought to the brain and illuminates
the mind of the seer. We are at present not living in the age of Love,
but in the age of Thought (not the age of _Reason_, but the age of
_Reasoning_ and Speculation), and by the law of heredity, life has
become pre-eminently concentrated in the brain; while in a more
advanced age, when the principle of universal Love and Benevolence
will be generally recognized, life will become more strongly
concentrated at the heart. Men will then not only think, but feel and
become able to recognize the truth by that power which is known to us
in its rudimental state as _Intuition_, but which, if developed, will
be far superior to that uncertain feeling called Intuition, and become
a Sun within the heart, sending its rays far up into the regions of
thought. Then, as their Love for the supreme Good increases, will
their knowledge increase, and as their knowledge expands will their
Will become powerful and free.
[The physiology of this passage is all erroneous. In the ages of
animalism and barbarism the heart is more powerful, like the
rest of the muscular system to which it belongs. In a more
humane and refined condition the brain is more predominant. The
female heart is not as well developed as the male. The moral
superiority of women is due not to the heart but to the superior
region of the brain, to which we owe all elevation of
individuals and society.]
It has been said above that Will and Life are identical, and there are
sufficient facts to prove that they are one. A man may prolong his
life by an effort of will, or he may cease to live if he wills to die.
A loss of will-power in a limb is identical with paralysis of the
latter. If the will (conscious or unconscious will) ceases to act, man
ceases to live. No amount of thought exercised by the brain will raise
a limb of a person, unless the person has the will to raise it; no
amount of imagination on the part of the brain will execute an act,
unless the will guided by the imagination causes the act to be
executed. In the blood,--the representative of the animal
life-principle (Kama-rupa) is the seat of the will, its central office
is the heart. There the will or life-power acts consciously or
unconsciously, sending its rays to the brain, where they become more
refined, and from thence they radiate again back through the organism,
causing the unconscious or conscious processes of imagination and
thought. The way in which these processes take place, has been well
described in Dr. Buchanan's "Therapeutic Sarcognomy." Love, Will, and
Life are ultimately one and the same power; they are like the three
sides of a pyramid ending in one point, or like a star emitting a
light of three different hues. Without the fire of divine Love at the
centre there will be no good and powerful Will, without Will man is a
useless being, without virtue and without real life, an empty shell or
form kept alive by the play of the elements, ceasing to exist when the
form falls to pieces. But he who possesses a strong love for the good,
the beautiful, and true, grows strong in Will and strong in Life. His
heart sends a pure current of life to the brain, which enables the
latter to see and grasp the ideas existing in the Astral light. The
purer the will the more pure will be the imagination, and the more
will the latter be able to rise to the highest regions of thought,
while these exalted thoughts will radiate their light back again to
the heart and stimulate the heart as the heart stimulated the brain.
A consideration of the above will go to prove that Love (Will or Life)
and Thought (Imagination or Light) are the forces by which the soul
forms and regenerates the external body, and that he who obtains
mastery over these forces within his own organism will be able to
change and remodel his body and to cure it of all ills. The fountain
of life is the will, and if the will is good and pure and not poisoned
by the imagination, a pure blood and a strong and healthy body will be
the result. If the imagination (thought) is pure, it will purify the
will and expel from the latter the elements of evil. _The fundamental
doctrine of the most rational system of medicine is therefore the
purification of the Will and the Imagination_, and every one carries
within his own heart the _universal panacea_, which cures all ills, if
he only knows how to employ it. The purification and strengthening of
the will by acts of love and human kindness and by leading a pure and
unselfish life, should be the principal object of all religious and
scientific education. The Bible says: "If the _salt_ (the will) of the
earth is worthless, wherewith shall it be salted?" If the fountain
from which all life springs is poisoned by evil thoughts, how can the
soul and body be healthy? The best _blood-purifier_ is a pure will,
rendered pure by pure and holy thoughts.
This fundamental and self-evident truth is continually overlooked in
our present age. The education of the intellect for the purpose of
attaining selfish interests is made of paramount interest and the
heart is neglected and left to starve.[1] The life-energy which ought
to be employed to educate the heart and to render the will good and
pure, is wasted in the top story of the temple of man in idle
speculations about external and worthless things, in scientific
quarrels and dogmatic disputations, which have usually no other object
but to tickle personal vanity and to give to ignorance an external
coat of learning. Many of our modern scientific authorities resemble
ants, which crawl over a leaf which fell from a tree: they know all
about the veins and cells of that leaf, but they know nothing whatever
of the living tree, which produces such leaves, and moreover flowers
and fruits. Likewise the rational medicine based upon reason and
understanding, the science springing from a true knowledge of man will
forever remain an enigma to the legally-authorized guardians of the
health of humanity, as long as they know nothing of man except his
external form and refuse to open their eyes and to see the eternal
internal power, of which the external form is merely an evanescent
image, a transient manifestation.
[1] There is no higher gift of Divinity than the gift of
intelligence, which, if pervaded by the light of Divine
love, constitutes the Christ, and those who are thus gifted
are indeed the "favorites of God." But if such a people kill
the Christ-principle in their hearts, and use their
intellectual powers merely for selfish purposes, they will
become _accursed_. A system of medicine or theology which is
based upon self-interests of the privileged class of doctors
and priests is a curse to humanity.
Hoping that with the appearance of the JOURNAL OF MAN a new era of
truly rational medicine will begin in progressive America,
I am yours truly and fraternally,
FRANZ HARTMANN, M.D.
KEMPTEN, BAVARIA, April 7, 1887.
[While reaching my conclusions in a different manner by careful
and prolonged experimental investigation, and expressing them
differently, I agree with Dr. Hartmann in his most important
principle,--the importance of love as the best element of life,
in sustaining health and intelligence, and the necessity of its
culture in education, which has been so long neglected, and
which I have endeavored to enforce in the "New Education." The
structure and functions of the brain demonstrate that its love
region is the chief support of its life, that it supports both
will and intelligence, and that it not only sustains the highest
health of him in whom it is developed and exercised, but
ministers also to the health of all whom he meets, and is the
great healing power in those whose presence or touch relieves
the sick. The existence of this beneficent power in the human
constitution, more restorative and pleasant than all medicines
when present in sufficient fulness, is rapidly becoming known
throughout our country, and is made intelligible as to its
origin, nature and application by Sarcognomy, as I am teaching
in the College of Therapeutics. Medical colleges, in their
ignorance and jealousy, unwisely exclude and war against this
nobler and more ethical method of healing, thus compelling its
development and practice as a distinct profession, which is
rapidly undermining their influence and diminishing their
patronage by showing that, in many cases where drug remedies
have totally failed as applied by colleges, the psycho-dynamic
faculty of man may accomplish wonders.]