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There is no escape from this conclusion, as startling as it may appear to the mind unaccustomed to it. If there is any power not from and of the One, from whence comes such power, for there is nothing else outside of the One? Who or what exists outside of the One that can manifest even the faintest degree of power of any kind? All power must come from the Absolute, and must in its nature be but one. Modern Science has recognized this truth, and one of its fundamental principles is the Unity of Energy — the theory that all forms of Energy are, at the last, One. Science holds that all forms of Energy are in- terchangeable, and from this idea comes the theory of the Conservation of Energy or Corelation of Force. S 52 GNANI YOGA. Science teaches that every manifestation of energy, power, or force, from the operation of the law of grav- itation, up to the highest form of mental force is but the operation of the One Energy of the Universe. Just what this Energy is, in its inner nature, Science does not know. It has many theories, but does not advance any of them as a law. It speaks of the In- finite and Eternal Energy from which all things pro- ceed, but pronounces its nature to be unknowable. But some of the latter-day scientists are veering around to the teachings of the occultists, and are now hinting that it is something more than a mere mechanical en- ergy. They are speaking of it in terms of mind. Wundt, the German scientist, whose school of thought is called voluntarism, considers the motive-force of Energy to be something that may be called Will. Crusius, as far back as 1744 said: "Will is the dom- inating force of the world." And Schopenhauer based his fascinating but gloomy philosophy and metaphysics upon the underlying principle of an active form of energy which he called the Will-to-Live, which he considered to be the Thing-in-Itself, or the Absolute. Balzac, the novelist, considered a something akin to Will, to be the moving force of the Universe. Bul- wer advanced a similar theory, and made mention of it in several of his novels. This idea of an active, creative Will, at work in the Universe, building up; tearing down; replacing; re- pairing; changing — always at work — ever active — has been entertained by numerous philosophers and THE CREATIVE WILL. 53 thinkers, under different names and styles. Some, like Schopenhauer have thought of this Will as the final thing — that which took the place of God — the First Cause. But others have seen in this Will an active living principle emanating from the Absolute or God, and working in accordance with the laws im- pressed by Him upon it. In various forms, this lat- ter idea is seen all through the history of philosophical thought. Cudsworth, the English philosopher, evolved the idea of a something called the "Plastic Nature," which so closely approaches the Yogi idea of the Cre- ative Will, that we feel justified in quoting a passage from his book. He says : "It seems not so agreeable to reason that Nature, as a distinct thing from the Deity, should be quite superseded or made to signify nothing, God Himself doing all things immediately and miraculously; from whence it would follow also that they are all done either forcibly and violently, or else artificially only, and none of them by any inward principle of their own. "This opinion is further confuted by that slow and gradual process that in the generation of things, which would seem to be but a vain and idle pomp or a trifling formality if the moving power were om- nipotent; as also by those errors and bungles which are committed where the matter is inept and contu- macious; which argue that the moving power be not irresistible, and that Nature is such a thing as is not altogether incapable (as well as human art) of being 54 GNANI YOGA. sometimes, frustrated and disappointed by the indis- position of matter. Whereas an omnipotent moving power, as it could dispatch its work in a moment, so would it always do it infallibly and irresistibly, no in- eptitude and stubbornness of matter being ever able to hinder such a one, or make him bungle or fumble in anything. "Wherefore, since neither all things are produced fortuitously, or by the unguided mechanism of mat- ter, nor God himself may be reasonably thought to do all things immediately and miraculously, it may well be concluded that there is a Plastic Nature under him, which, as an inferior and subordinate instru- ment, doth drudgingly execute that part of his provi- dence which consists in the regular and orderly motion of. matter; yet so as there is also besides this a higher providence to be acknowledged, which, presiding over it, doth often supply the defects of it, and sometimes overrules it, forasmuch as the Plastic Nature cannot act electively nor with discretion." The Yogi Philosophy teaches of the existence of a Universal Creative Will, emanating from the Abso- lute — infilled with the power of the Absolute and acting under established natural laws, which per- forms the active work of creation in the world, similar to that performed by "Cudsworth's Plastic Nature," just mentioned. This Creative Will is not Schopen- hauer's Will-to-Live. It is not a Thing-in-itself, but a vehicle or instrument of the Absolute. It is an emanation of the mind of the Absolute — a manifesta- THE CREATIVE WILL. 55 tion in action of its Will — a mental product rather than a physical, and, of course, saturated with the life-energy of its projector. This Creative Will is not a mere blind, mechanical energy or force — it is far more than this. We can ex- plain it only by referring you to the manifestation of the Will in yourself. You wish to move your arm, and it moves. The immediate force may seem to be a mechanical force, but what is back of that force — what is the essence of the force ? The Will ! All man- ifestations of energy — all the causes of motion — all forces — are forms of the action of the Will of the One — the Creative Will — acting under natural laws estab- lished by the One, ever moving, acting, forcing, urg- ing, driving, leading. We do not mean that every lit- tle act is a thought of the moment on the part of the Absolute, and a reaching out of the Will in obe- dience to that thought. On the contrary, we mean that the One set the Will into operation as a whole, conceiving of laws and limitations in its action, the Will constantly operating in obedience to that con- ception, the results manifesting in what we call nat- ural law; natural forces, etc. Besides this, the Abso- lute is believed to manifest its Will specially upon oc- casions; and moreover permits its Will to be applied and used by the individual wills of individual Egos, ♦ under the general Law and laws, and plan of the One. — •" But you must not suppose that the Will is mani- fested only in the form of mechanical forces, cohe- sion, chemical attraction, electricity, gravitation, etc. 56 GNANI YOGA. It does more than this. It is in full operation in all forms of life, and living things. It is present every- where. Back of all forms of movement and action, we find a moving cause — usually a Pressure. This is true of that which we have been calling mechanical forces, and of all forms of that which we call Life Energy. Now, note this, this great Pressure that you will observe in all Life Action, is the Creative Will — the Will Principle of the One — bending toward the carrying out of the Great Plan of Life. Look where we will, on living forms, and we may begin to recognize the presence of a certain creative energy at work — building up; moulding, directing; tearing down ; replacing, etc. — always active in its ef- forts to create, preserve and conserve life. This vis- ible creative energy is what the Yogi Philosophy calls "the Creative Will," and which forms the subject of this lesson. The Creative Will is that striving, long- ing, pressing forward, unfolding, progressing evolu- tionary effort, that all thoughtful people see in op- eration in all forms of life — throughout all Nature. From the lowest to the highest forms of life, the Ef- fort, Energy, Pressure, may be recognized in action, creating, preserving, nourishing, and improving its forms. It is that Something that we recognize when we speak of "Nature's Forces" at work in plant growth and animal functioning. If you will but keep the word and idea— "NATURE"— before you, you will be able to more clearly form the mental concept of the Creative Will. The Creative Will is that THE CREATIVE WILL. 57 which you have been calling "Nature at Work" in the growth of the plant; the sprouting of the seed; the curling and reaching of the tendril ; the fertilization of the blossoms, etc. You have seen this Will at work, if you have watched growing things. We call this energy "the Creative Will," because it is the objective manifestation of the Creative Energy of the Absolute — Its visible Will manifested in the direction of physical life. It is as much Will in ac- tion, as the Will that causes your arm to move in re- sponse to its power. It is no mere chance thing, or mechanical law — it is life action in operation. This Creative Will not only causes movement in completed life, but all movement and action in life in- dependent of the personal will of its individual forms. All the phenomena of the so-called Unconscious belong to it. It causes the body to grow; attends to the de- tails of nourishment, assimilation, digestion, elimina- tion, and all of the rest. It builds up bodies, organs, and parts, and keeps them in operation and function. The Creative Will is directed to the outward ex- pression of Life — to the objectification of Life.