Contents
One - OUR EXPANDING UNIVERSE
All eyes do not see alike. Even the visible creation is not,
for all who look upon it, of one form and one color.
Our brain is a book printed within and without, and
the two writings are, with all men, more or less confused.
Albert Pike
The title above has a double meaning. It refers to the expansion of the universe within our own minds as well as the universe expanding in a "physical" sense. This chapter attempts to show the evolution leading to both by giving glimpses of events leading to them. There is a bit on nether theory at the end of this chapter which would not be fully understood without the words which precede it.
There was a time long ago when more was known than we now realize, another time when we fell headfirst into the pit of ignorance, and a time which followed when we began to find our way out of the pit. There were events, major turning points between each of these times, which were preludes to the time to come, and there were lesser turning points too numerous to recount. At each turning point there were obstacles against change.
In the Middle East before 700 BCE and for some time after, science, mathematics, and the applied sciences were at a pinnacle of development. Architecture and engineering were very advanced, and even health practices and medicine were vastly better than what came later. In mathematics, the equivalent of advanced forms of algebra such as the quadratic equation were being used, as well as several forms of math that are only recently being rediscovered. There was a science of music of which we were not aware thirty years ago, is not fully known today, and with rudiments which are not yet taught in our colleges and universities. There was a science that has come down to us as astrology, and which is only now beginning to be understood for what it actually is. The earth was known to be a sphere and its dimensions were almost as precisely known then as we know them today. The sun was known to be the center of the solar system and the precession of the equinoxes was a well-established fact.
Architectural works were often built with stone, which is not necessarily inferior to metal. In fact, if something is built to last, metal is often an inferior material to use when stone is available. And we still do not truly understand how stone was handled so readily that such things as the Egyptian pyramids could be feasibly built, or even why they were built.
Plumbing systems, highways, and buildings thousands of years before the present era were more enduring than those we now use. There were public schools and educational systems which were far better than what we have in the United States today. (This is partly due to the fact that we do not have a school system that is as rigorous as those of other parts of the world, but it is also due to our own bigotry, arrogance, and ignorance.) And these examples are only a few among many.
In spite of the wisdom of some of the ancient peoples, there was a practice (which we still have today) in which we stored our accumulated knowledge, our treasures of art, and our standards for weights and measures in one location, allowing them to be destroyed easily and completely. This becomes an unwelcome cycle in human affairs when an enemy very obligingly does destroy them.
In the ancient Middle East, various small kingdoms fought one another repeatedly until at some point one small kingdom was able to unite most of those in one locale. The uniting was done by conquest. Force of arms initially maintained the unity. If the warring had not been excessively obnoxious before the unification, the unity would continue long enough to form a cohesive nation without the continued use of force. However, force was involved on a continual basis in the sense that neighboring nations threatened to overpower the new nation if the unity of the little kingdoms were discontinued.
All of the large nations usually acquired satrapies around them to use as buffer zones. A satrapy was a small kingdom who paid tribute to its "sponsor" for protection against other nations, including the one to whom it paid tribute. This practice was similar to the practice of having businesses pay tribute to the Mafia chiefs in old Chicago, or to our practice of paying tribute to our governments when they "ask" us to do so, so that we are protected from a few of their many ravages.
In this long ago time, Babylon was the capitol city of a large nation called Babylonia. This city was the showpiece used for housing and displaying the accumulated national treasures of art, wisdom, and science, as well as the national standards for weights and measures.
When Babylon had existed long enough to become the ancient equivalent of the Paris of today, King Sennacherib of neighboring Assyria, in a fit of rage, destroyed it completely (689 BCE), even to the extent of diverting the Euphrates River over the site of the city. Subsequently, the city of Nineveh in Assyria became the greatest center of accumulated treasures. It was destroyed by the enemies of Assyria in retribution for what Assyria had done to them (612 BCE). Then, after Babylon had been rebuilt and once again began to accumulate some national treasures, Cyrus the Great of Persia destroyed it (479 BCE). Each destruction included most of the literary treasures and scientific texts of the day.
Sometime later, when Alexander the Great conquered the known world, he attempted to place all manuscripts of importance in his new library which was located in the city named after him. What he was actually able to steal from secret schools throughout the world was but a small portion of what had been available. Most of the texts were hidden or destroyed by their preservers before the conquering army could find them. Nevertheless, the Library of Ptolemy in Alexandria supposedly contained over 700,000 volumes of what remained of the accumulated knowledge and literature of Rome, Greece, India, Egypt, and Babylon.
True to form, part of the library of Ptolemy was destroyed in 47 BCE by fire during Julius Caesar's seige of Alexandria. The rest of it was burned in 391 AD by fanatical "Christians" led by Archbishop Theophilus.
During the age which followed our knowledge dropped to a low point. The earth was considered flat and was the supposed center of the universe. Later, the earth was thought to be a tiny sphere within a larger sphere upon which were attached the stars. The larger sphere moved about the earth which accounted for the apparent movement of the "fixed" stars. This theory was later embellished to account for the movements of the planets which differ from one another and from that of the stars. There was thought to be a system of concentric moving spheres around Earth, one for each known planet and one for the stars.
Having grown from a small and innocuous beginning, a particular cult had been championed by the politically astute emperor Justinian I, at the insistence of his wife, in the 6th century AD. This was probably the true beginning of the Catholic Church with most of its current dogma. By the 15th and early 16th centuries AD, it dominated the known world. Its theology was part of all sciences and there was no division between science and religion.
At this time, the only accepted physics was that of Aristotle. Earth was the center of the universe. Man was supreme in the sense that everything was placed in the universe for his benefit. The Pope was the most powerful man in the world. And the world moved according to the Pope's dictates.
Alessandro Farnese, the man who was to become one of the most powerful Popes in history, was born on February 29, 1468, in Canino, Italy. He was educated in Rome where he was introduced to the ruling class and went on to Florence where his family connections allowed him to become acquainted with the Medici, a family whose name first appears in Florentine records in the twelfth century AD.
The Medici had gained in prominence and wealth, and by the time of Alessandro they had caused to be built palaces, villas, churches, and chapels. The Medici benefitted the Church and the Church benefitted them. In 1469, Lorenzo De' Medici and his younger brother Giuliano, succeeded their father to become the rulers of Florence. The family headed a large network of influential people with which it was able to direct almost every action of consquence in Florence.
With the Medici behind him, Alessandro attained the rank of Cardinal in 1493 and subsequently became Bishop of Ostia and the dean of the Sacred College. Twice he represented the Pope during the Pope's absence. He was elected to the Papal chair in succession to Pope Clement VII in 1534.
As Pope Paul III, he became a vigorous suppressor of heresy and re-established the Inquisition by locating it in Italy. He approved the order of Jesuits, condemned slavery, established strict censorship of books, and excommunicated Henry VIII of England. He took great pains to advance the interests of the Catholic Church and to establish its stability, and looked after his natural children to the extent of appointing one of them Duke of Parmia and Piacenza.
Pope Paul III modeled the Italian Inquisition after the Spanish Inquisition, so that it was similar in its own peculiar methods, but more directly dependent upon the will of the Pope. Six cardinals were appointed as inquisitors-general, with the power to constitute inferior tribunals which had authority on both sides of the Alps to imprison and try all suspected persons of whatever rank or order. Persons of wealth were often favored targets so that their holdings could be confiscated by the Church and added to its already considerable wealth. Heretical books were destroyed. In 1548, one bishop, who had been employed in certain embassies by the Pope, was obliged to escape to avoid the fate of suspected heretics who were subjected to torture, imprisonment, and death.
One of the reasons for the increased oppression of the people by Pope Paul III was the new renaissance which included philological inquiries, bringing about the renewal of classical culture in a movement known as "humanism." Humanism began in fifteenth century Italy when an explosion in literature was experienced which presented ideas often in diametric opposition to the philosophy of the Church.
The accepted literature of the time was written in Latin, the religious language of the day rather than the spoken language. This effectively prevented anyone but Latin scholars (usually Churchmen) from publishing. And literary works could be controlled easily through the Church bureaucracy from whom writers were obliged to acquire permission to publish.
The Church was literally involved in everything from science to politics and the Pope was considered to be infallible. Thus, the diametrically opposed ideas often found in humanism were a threat to the establishment, the Church, the Pope, and to the salvation of the souls of the faithful. This was the world in which Nicolaus Copernicus lived.
Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Torun, Poland, on February 19, 1473. His father died in 1489 and Copernicus became the ward of his maternal uncle, the elected Bishop of Warmia. In 1491, he began to study medicine, theology, mathematics, and astrology. He went to Bologna, Italy, in 1496 where he began a four year study of law and astrology. In 1497, even though he was in Italy, he was appointed Canon of the Cathedral of Frauenburg in East Prussia. In 1500, he went to Rome to lecture on mathematics and astrology. He later studied medicine and received his doctorate in this field, which led to his serving as a physician to his uncle and patron, the Bishop of Ermeland. The Bishop died in 1512 and Copernicus moved to Frauenburg where he remained until his death.
In Frauenburg, Copernicus devoted much of his time to the branch of astrology which we now call astronomy. He became disenchanted with the current theory of planetary motion and subsequently developed his own theory based upon a reference he had found on Aristarchus of Samos, a Greek astrologer of the third century BCE, who was supposed to have written extensively on heliocentric theory (a sun-centered system). Copernicus gave copies of some of his work to some of his friends and acquaintances as early as 1514. Certain church authorities became interested in what he was doing as word of his work spread and a cardinal, who was also a friend, inquired about Copernicus' work. Copernicus answered "Although I know the thoughts of a philosopher do not depend upon the judgement of the many, when I consider how absurd my doctrine would appear, I hesitate as to whether I should publish my book."
The book was completed in 1530 and locked away. In 1533, Copernicus lectured on the principles of heliocentric theory before Pope Clement VII, who seemed favorably impressed. However, in 1534 Pope Clement VII died and Pope Paul III began his "reign." A formal request to publish was made to Copernicus from the new Pope in 1536, but Copernicus continued to procrastinate. Pope Paul III was, in many ways, the antithesis of the old Pope.
In spite of the active opposition of Martin Luther, the printing of the book was begun in 1540. It was called De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (The Revolution of the Heavenly Orbs). It contained an introduction, by Osiander, which represented it as a mathematical exercise. The purposes of the "exercise" were to make predictions easier and to increase the accuracy of the calendar by using a re-interpretation of the work of Ptolemy. The correct procedures, as dictated by the Church, were followed to the letter to allow its publication and it was dedicated to the Pope with all the necessary kowtowing. But at the core of the "exercise" was the sun as the center of a solar system in which the earth was demoted to being just another planet. The book was finally published in 1543, the year Copernicus died, and was published largely due to the encouragement of one of Copernicus' pupils, Joachim Rheticus, who had become an accomplished mathematician and colleague.
The initial reaction on the part of the Catholic Church was silence, probably due to the many manuscripts flooding their bureaucracy, the fact that many of these appeared to be much more earthshaking, and the fact that Copernicus' book required certain expertise to be understood. There really was no reason for the Church to take offense because the book did nothing to immediately undermine Church authority. And, after all, the book was written by a faithful proponent of the Church who had wisely dedicated it to the current Pope.
On the other hand, the protestant leaders and the scientists of the day derided Copernicus and his book, and Luther asserted that it was contrary to Joshua, Chapter 10, verses 10 thru 15, of the scriptures (when the sun stood still to allow more daylight for the Israelites to annihilate the five opposing kings and their armies). As time passed, the Catholic Church continued to do nothing to affirm or deny the book. Copernicus was not around to champion his own cause, and probably would not have wished to do so, considering the consequences. It was up to others to take the risk of promoting heliocentric theory.
During the ensuing years in which occurred what has been called the "Copernican Revolution", Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo did much to improve upon Copernicus work. During this time, supposed heretics continued to be persecuted by the Inquisition, and some who championed Copernicus' theory, such as Giordano Bruno, were tortured and burned at the stake. However, it was not until Galileo offered enough proof to make Copernicus' theory more than just a mathematical exercise that the Catholic Church became fearful enough to take more lasting steps.
In very ancient times, astrology was the science encompassing many forms of mathematics, planetary motion, planetary influences, and their consequences. Astronomy branched off of this old science and began to be what is considered legitimate today. Until the time of Galileo, astrology was part of theology, medicine, and related sciences. When Astrology in the form of Copernicus' theory, as championed by Galileo, threatened to undermine the infallibility of the Pope, Galileo was forced to recant and was placed upon house arrest for the remainder of his life. The science of astrology was denounced along with the branch we call astronomy.
In spite of the opposition of the Christian protestant leaders, the Catholic Church, and most of the brainwashed "scientists" of the day, the seed was planted and now it was only a matter of time before the educated people of the world would begin to think in terms of a sun-centered system. However, the solar system was still considered the center of the universe and man's ego was still in its infancy, for he knew that he lived at the center of the universe and that everything was placed in the universe for the benefit of himself.
Thomas Digges, in the sixteenth century, constructed a diagram in which the stars were conceived as extending in all directions within an infinite space. Later, other investigators began to define the sun as just another star. And even later, contributions were made to astronomy which established the existence and nature of galaxies, vast systems of stars within even vaster expanses of space.
When spectro-analysis became available, it was possible for astronomers to accurately ascertain the true frequencies of light emitted from distant celestial objects. It was shown that light reaches us at frequencies which are lower than they were when they were first emitted. This is the Doppler effect, named for Christian Johannes Doppler, the Austrian mathematician and physicist who discovered it. This effect is caused by objects moving away from us at high relative velocities, and seems to indicate that the universe is expanding.
The universe appears to be expanding uniformly in our portion of it at least, with objects farther from us moving away at greater velocities than objects closer to us. This implies that, at one time, all the objects in the universe were closer together, perhaps even at the same point. Consequent mathematical calculations have attempted to establish the age of the universe by using the present rate of expansion as a means to go backward to the time when the universe was born, the time of the "Big Bang."
The rate of expansion is measured by something called the Hubble Constant. Edwin Powell Hubble derived this constant by dividing the apparent velocity of an outward-moving object by its apparent distance from us.
It has been generally accepted that the universe came into being in an instant. It was merely a point when it was born, which exploded and expanded very rapidly subsequent to its birth. It continued to expand, gravity from the matter within it causing the rate of expansion to slow with the passage of time.
This thinking has led to today's two most accepted theories which are (1) infinite expansion of the universe at a slowing rate and (2) cyclic expansion and contraction of the universe. Both of these theories are based upon the idea that the initial explosion gave momentum to the outward-moving objects, momentum which is being reduced by their mutual gravitational attraction. There has been a controversy as to whether or not there is enough matter to have enough gravity to slow down the rate of expansion and eventually cause the objects in the universe to come back together.
There are actually three basic possibilities for an expanding universe. The rate of expansion may (1) remain constant, (2) be reduced, or (3) increase with the passage of time. The two theories mentioned depend upon number two, a reduced expansion with respect to time.
If the entire universe is made of nether, nether pressure would have caused it to expand in an accelerated manner into the void of empty space. As it continued to expand, the nether pressure would lessen and the rate of acceleration would decrease, but there would still be accelerated expansion. This would continue forever. At our present time, the universe would have expanded sufficiently to allow for its acceleration to be relatively modest.
Assuming that ours is a universe of nether, eventually, the nether pressure will be reduced to a tiny fraction of its initial magnitude. This will have been caused by the vortices exhausting the nether into the vaccuum, and by the expansion itself. However, as long as there will be nether surrounded by the emptiness of space, the universe will continue to expand at an accelerated rate.
Recently, the red shift (Doppler effect) calculated from distant celestial objects indicates a universe in which expansion is accelerating. This is consistent with nether theory. Although there is a controversy now as to the validity of the current measurements, I believe that it will be discovered that the expansion of the universe is still accelerating.
The key to growth is the introduction
of higher dimensions of consciousness
into our universe.
Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan
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