ABSTRACT

OF

ARGUMENT AND CONTENTS.

LECTURE THE FIRST.

INTRODUCTORY.

PART I. The purpose of this book is to supply the existing need for a perfect system of thought and life by providing one founded in the nature of existence. This is not a new invention, but a recovery The original text uses the hyphenated "re-covery" to emphasize the act of uncovering or regaining something lost rather than creating something new. of the original system which was the basis of all religions. Its recovery is due to the same means by which it was originally received, namely, the Intuition The faculty of direct spiritual knowing or insight, as opposed to purely logical deduction.. This is the necessary complement of the Intellect, representing the soul, or permanent element in man; it involves perceptions and recollections accumulated over its past existences A reference to the concept of the soul's journey through multiple lifetimes.. “Revelation” is a natural appanage A natural accompaniment or right belonging to someone. of man, belonging to him by virtue of his nature and constitution, and crowning the reason. God is the supreme Reason. The Understanding is the “Rock” of the true Church This reinterprets the biblical "Rock" (traditionally Saint Peter) as the faculty of human understanding, suggesting that true faith is built on comprehension.. Illustrations of Method, classic and rabbinical Referring to the traditions of Jewish scholars and teachers.. Sketch of doctrine. Spirit and Matter: their nature, relations, and essential identity. Existence and Being. The Great Cycle original: "Kalpa"; a Sanskrit term for a vast period of cosmic time., the Holy Rest original: "Sabbath"; a state of spiritual completion and perfection., and Supreme Liberation original: "Nirvâna"; the state of release from suffering and the cycle of rebirth.. The divinity of Substance In a philosophical sense, "substance" refers to the fundamental essence or reality that underlies all physical form.: its