254
THE STAR IN THE WEST
Earth , and
from which
Heaven
and Earth
sprung ?
Nay , what is there superior to Space and which moves
in Space ? The great Tao
is the parent of Space , and
Space
is the parent of Heaven and Earth , and Heaven
and Earth
produced men
and things ...”
A
similar
conception
of the Wisdom
is
held
in
the
Chaldaic ,
Memrah ; in
the
Vach , or word , of the Rig Veda ; in
the
Honover
or word , of
the
Zend
Avesta ;
in
the
Avalôkitêsvara , or Kwan - Yin , the Sakti of Amitâbha ,
the boundless light of the later Mahayana
Buddhists .
Again
we find it
in
the conception
of Prana or life
spirit of ancient India ; the Atharva -veda says : “ Rever
ence to Prana , to whom the universe is subject , who
has been lord of
all
,
on
whom
all
is
supported
.”
Prana
is
the
Purusha
or
aum
,
the
totality
of
Brahman
,
Vishnu
,
and Siva
,
of
Past
,
Present
,
and Future
.
The
Wisdom
of
the Book
of
Proverbs
,
and
the later Book
of
Wisdom
;
it
is
also the
same
power
as
the Eden
illa
-
ah
of
the Zohar
,
the Be
'
Raisheeth
of
many Qabal
ists and Talmudists
,
the Logos
of
Philo
and
St.
John
,
and the Sophia
of
Plato
.
All the
above
are Absolute
ideals
,
and
so
can bear
only
a
relationship
and
no
proportionate
value what
ever
to
our finite understanding
,
they
can
only
be
watched
,
and have
never been
realized
;
and for this
reason
is
it
that they have never been appreciated
by
the mass
of
their
so
-
called believers
:
I
will not look
at
her
;
I
dare not stay
.
I
will go down and mingle with the throng
,
Find some debasing dulling sacrifice
,
Some
shameless
harlot with thin lips grown grey
In
desperate
desire
,
and
so
with song
And wine fling
hellward ...
?
1
The Temple
of
the Holy Ghost
,
vol
.
i,
p
.
169
.