[Physik, Metaphysik und Theosophie]
Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl[1]
Now I guess I can see what the wise man is speaking:
“The spirit world is not closed;
Your mind is closed, your heart is dead!
On! Swim, pupil, undaunted
The earthly breast in the dawn.”
The mystic distinguishes at least three kingdoms in nature, which are no more spatially separated than the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms, which are interwoven with one another, indeed interpenetrate like body, soul, and spirit, and in fact only three are in their properties different states of the one world principle, namely the outer, sensually perceptible “material” world of phenomena, then the so-called “supernatural,” externally imperceptible, but still in a certain sense the material, astral world, and thirdly the world of the spirit.
Physics deals with the objective phenomena in nature and has nothing to do with metaphysical things or with theosophy.
Metaphysics deals with internal or subjective states, which under certain conditions, can also present themselves objectively, and therefore includes the realm of the astral plane, the physiology of the astral body, the realm of sensations, dreams, spiritualism and occultism. It has nothing to do with Theosophy, but it also gives information about many processes in external natural science which are incomprehensible to those who do not know the laws of metaphysics. To a certain extent, metaphysics stands higher than physics because it deals with things that are no longer externally perceptible to the senses. It penetrates deeper than physics into the interior of nature and can, so to speak, look down on the material world below it, while what lies deeper, that is, the material and the sensual, the higher and the supersensible, cannot be grasped, whereby it is of course assumed that the metaphysical knowledge of the one who deals with it is real and not merely fanciful.
Theosophy in itself has nothing to do with either physics or metaphysics, neither with the external world of appearances, nor with spiritism and the like. It is independent of all of this. It is the knowledge of God, that is, the self-knowledge of man’s indwelling divine spirit, the supreme self-consciousness, not a “science,” but a living force that enables man to gain clear insight into all things. Since it is the highest thing that man can only attain through the manifestation of this divine power in him, it also provides the man enlightened by it with a clear insight into the laws of metaphysics and even into the laws of superficial natural science she opens up the innermost of all things to knowledge and, after she has recognized the all-moving cause of things, pursues their effects at the outside. Whether there have ever been people, or there are still people today, who possessed or possess such knowledge, or, in other words, are real saints, adepts or theosophists, answering this question belongs on another page, since one is only dealing with this would have to define the word “man” and indicate whether the talk is of the sensuous, the supersensible or the God-man (Christ). The external, material man perceives the appearances in the external nature surrounding him through his external senses. He is himself an apparition, and the kingdom of apparitions belongs to him. The inner world belongs to the inner man, and he is connected to it through his soul sensations and inner perceptions; he knows things in this world through his internal senses, provided they are opened. But the spiritual world belongs to the God-man; he is connected to it through his spirit, he recognizes it spiritually and understands it through his intellect.
The study of physics leads us to realize that there is only one primordial matter in the universe, which appears as a number of bodies called chemical elements. Every new advance in natural science brings us nearer to this realization of the unity of matter, or, more correctly, to the realization that there is no matter at all, but only something unknown to us, a “force” which identifies us as that what is called “matter” appears under various forms. The latest discoveries in chemistry indicate that all so-called simple bodies or “primitives” represent only modifications of the motion of a single primordial substance, which is at the same time a primordial force.
The study of metaphysics shows us that there is but One Life in the universe, and that all living forms are but vessels in which that One Life manifests its activity, as the characteristics of the organization of those forms permit. No intelligence can reveal itself in a stone, no free will in a tree, because neither the stone nor the tree has the necessary organization for this. But this also means that life, will, reason, intellect, etc., are not things that the organism of forms produces, but rather eternally existing forces that belong to the organism of the universe as a whole, and that are present in the individual phenomena of life can be revealed depending on the conditions which they find within it.
To speak of a “study of theosophy” is basically meaningless; for “Theosophy” is knowledge of God, which one cannot attain through any kind of study and headache, but only through the inward awakening of the God-consciousness in the heart. One can certainly “learn” the theosophical teachings, but not the knowledge of God itself, or gain clear insight through mere theories without having the power of knowledge. Just as the world cannot illuminate itself and would be dark if there were no sun, but it is illuminated by the sun without its own doing wherever there are no obstacles in the way of the penetration of sunlight, so too does the spirit of God penetrate, which is the spirit of divine self-knowledge, enter the human heart everywhere and enlightens it when the purity of heart that is absolutely necessary for this becomes present.
Through Theosophy man recognizes, and through theosophical teachings it is made comprehensible to him, that there is only one God, that is, there is one Divine Will and Wisdom in the universe, and that the omnipresent, all-encompassing, all-pervading, and all-moving Divine Spirit is the root cause of all life, consciousness, and activity in the various forms in the universe, be they now atoms or planetary systems. There is only one reality, one God, but there are many human beings, and these human beings are vessels destined for the manifestation of the Spirit of God in the universe. Not through knowing too much, but through inner refinement, man makes himself capable of becoming a clear mirror in which the light of God’s wisdom can reveal itself and the image of God can appear on earth. No man without God can become a “theosophist” or attain knowledge of God; for it goes without saying that the self-knowledge of God in man belongs only to God and not to man separated from God. That is why Theosophy is not based on theoretical knowledge, but only on itself. It is attained by man not only becoming a perfect man through the divine power drawn to him, but also by means of the awakening of the divine spark within him outgrows his own human nature. But then his own self, that is, his self-will and self-consciousness, his “self-knowledge” and “self-will” in a sense no longer experiences, “but God lives in him,” that is, “he” lives, but he only lives outwardly as man, but inwardly in God. Where man ends, God begins and with him the knowledge of God.
Note:
[1] Physik, Metaphysik und Theosophie. Dr. Franz Hartmann. Theosophischer Wegweiser 3, no. 4 (January 1901), 97-101. {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than fixing minor typos. Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}