corner-stone. To one who carries with him, consciously or
unconsciously, the concrete knowledge of the physics, the
abstract teaching of the metaphysics presents no difficulty; it
is as clear as crystal. But without the physical teaching the
metaphysical is not translatable.

Our Western physics teaches that physical matter is divided into
two kinds prakriti (commonly called "physical matter") and ether;
that the differences of each of the elementary prakritic
substances (iron, copper, sulphur, oxygen) are in their
molecules, the fundamental atom being the same; that each of
these elementary substances vibrates only through one octave,
though on different keys; that it changes from solid to liquid
and gas as the rate of vibration is increased and from gas to
liquid and solid as its vibration is decreased within its octave;
that the ether obeys identical laws; that it has elementary
substances vibrating through one octave only, and that these are
solids, liquids, or gases on the etheric plane as prakriti is on
this; that these etheric substances change and combine in every
way that prakriti does; and that while all our prakritic
substances vibrate within (say) fifty simply octaves, the lowest
vibration of etheric matter begins over one thousand octaves
beyond our highest, making a gulf to leap. The Eastern physics
presents this with a wealth of detail that dazes the Western
student, and then adds: "But beyond the etheric plane (or
octave) of vibration for matter there is a third plane (or
octave) of vibration called prana and beyond that a fourth called
manasa. What is true of one plane is true of the other three.
One law governs the four. As above so below. There is no real
gulf; there is perfect continuity."