Theosophical Correspondence.
Translation from German by Robert Hutwohl[1]
Question: — How is this to be understood when it is said that the world is only an illusion or idea?
Answer: — This means that the things we perceive are not essential in themselves, but are only appearances of an entity invisible to us. They are, as it were, embodied space that has become objective and visible, but the space (Akāśa) [R.H.—ākāśa] that they represent is invisible to us. An air wave is nothing different from air and has no existence in itself. An ocean wave is not different from the sea, but is only a movement of a part of the sea; the thought of a human being has no existence that is essentially different from that of this human being, but is only an expression of his power of thought. Likewise, all physical things are nothing other than states of movement of a primal force that underlies all existence, or, what is the same thing, vibrations of a unified primal substance, which we shall call the universal world spirit, and just as ideas and dream images are created in the spiritual atmosphere of man through the activity of his mind, so the ideas that exist in the world spirit express themselves in forms and images and are born into visible existence through the path of nature. But in order to understand this or to visualize it for oneself, one must have the ability to distinguish the permanent from the transitory, the infinite from the limited, i.e. one must abandon the idea of selfhood, free oneself from the limitations of one’s own selfhood and come into harmony with the eternal. Man, immersed in the material, has lost his divine origin and thus also his identity with the universal spirit; he considers himself in his appearance to be something independent and essential and also regards the phenomena around him as if they were essentially different things from one another. But just as different ice crystals are only manifestations of the one element “water,” so too are all things in the universe only manifestations of the ONE creative power in the universe, through which the ideas contained in the unrevealed become apparent. The human spirit creates its world from temporary illusions; the spirit of God is not limited to any form, but encompasses infinity and all worlds within itself. Nevertheless, the spirit of God is not separate or different from the human spirit, and man therefore has within himself the ability to recognize himself as the creator of the worlds and all things in them.
Note
[1] Hartmann, F. (1907). “Theosophical Correspondence. How is this to be understood when it is said that the world is only an illusion or idea?” Hutwohl, R. (trans.), Theosophischer Wegweiser 9, no. 3 (December), 111 [Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025]