Let us see what men have thought and said about this One—­it may help us to understand the nature of the problem.

The materialist claims that this one is a something called Matter—­self-existent—­eternal—­infinite—­containing within itself the potentiality of Matter, Energy and Mind.  Another school, closely allied to the materialists, claim that this One is a something called Energy, of which Matter and Mind are but modes of motion.  The Idealists claim that the One is a something called Mind, and that Matter and Force are but ideas in that One Mind.  Theologians claim that this One is a something called a personal God, to whom they attribute certain qualities, characteristics, etc., the same varying with their creeds and dogmas.  The Naturistic school claims that this One is a something called Nature, which is constantly manifesting itself in countless forms.  The occultists, in their varying schools, Oriental and Occidental, have taught that the One was a Being whose Life constituted the life of all living forms.

All philosophies, all science, all religions, inform us that this world of shapes, forms and names is but a phenomenal or shadow world—­a show-world—­back of which rests Reality, called by some name of the teacher.  But remember this, all philosophy that counts is based upon some form of monism—­Oneness—­whether the concept be a known or unknown god; an unknown or unknowable principle; a substance; an Energy, or Spirit.  There is but One—­there can be but One—­such is the inevitable conclusion of the highest human reason, intuition or faith.

And, likewise, the same reason informs us that this One Life must permeate all apparent forms of life, and that all apparent material forms, forces, energies, and principles must be emanations from that One, and, consequently “of” it.  It may be objected to, that the creeds teaching a personal god do not so hold, for they teach that their God is the creator of the Universe, which he has set aside from himself as a workman sets aside his workmanship.  But this objection avails naught, for where could such a creator obtain the material for his universe, except from himself; and where the energy, except from the same source; and where the Life, unless from his One Life.  So in the end, it is seen that there must be but One—­not two, even if we prefer the terms God and his Universe, for even in this case the Universe must have proceeded from God, and can only live, and move and act, and think, by virtue of his Essence permeating it.

In passing by the conceptions of the various thinkers, we are struck by the fact that the various schools seem to manifest a one-sidedness in their theories, seeing only that which fits in with their theories, and ignoring the rest.  The Materialist talks about Infinite and Eternal Matter, although the latest scientific investigations have shown us Matter fading into Nothingness—­the Eternal Atom being