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PRACTICAL RULES FOR SOUL-CULTURE
the Tattvas is indeed very deep. But in a few words it might be said that there are five Tattvas and these are the subtle ethers of which all material things are the compounds. The breath of the body is made up of these five ethers. The first ether is the Akasha; its vibrations are in the form of rising and falling points by
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the soul. Such a substance which cannot be seen, heard, tasted, smelled or touched, is a substance which need not occupy space, and need not have any tangibility, but it may exist, although it may not have any form, and that substance does not require any space, is intangible and cannot be seen. Sight is an impression made on the nerves of the eyes by vibrations sent forth from the object perceived, and this impression which we call sight, if there are no vibrations coming out of the object, is of course not produced; but if this substance influences us in certain ways, the implication is that there is something moving or producing vibrations, and these cannot exist unless there is some material substance which is vibrating. The very fact that something is moving in some way and influences us in some peculiar way implies that there is something material about this. If there are no vibrations the substance is not material. It need not exist in a form which will give us the impression of any colour, smell, etc. There is nothing which can partake both of the attributes of soul and of matter; the attributes of matter are directly contrary to those of the soul. While one has its life in the other it does not become
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