The Veil Unveiled, Volume 1: "Before the Veil" (5).

2026-09-28 written
Topic: AI article: Spiritual: Theosophy: Isis unveiled.

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Before the Veil (5)

In the "Manava Dharma Shastra," theories about human creation reappear with almost identical wording: "The Supreme Being, from his own essence, drew forth an immortal breath that does not perish, and gave to the soul of existence the ego (ahamkara) as a guide. Then, he gave to the soul of that being (human), intelligence composed of three qualities, and five organs of external perception."

These three properties are intelligence, consciousness, and will, which correspond to Xenocrates's concepts of thought, perception, and contemplation. Regarding the relationship between numbers and ideas, he developed this concept further than Speusippus, and in defining the doctrine of indivisible magnitudes, he surpassed Plato. He reduced them to conceptual first principles, demonstrating that all figures and forms originate from the smallest indivisible line. It is clear that Xenocrates held the same theory about the human soul (which was assumed to be a number) as Plato did, but Aristotle refuted this, just as he refuted other teachings of this philosopher. [16] Even if it was Xenocrates who first conceived of the theory of indivisible magnitudes, this provides definitive evidence that many of Plato's doctrines were transmitted orally. He derived the soul from the first two principles and called it a self-moving number. [17] According to Theophrastus, Xenocrates delved into and organized this theory of the soul more than any other Platonist philosopher. He built cosmology upon this theory, proving that there necessarily exists in every part of the entire universe space a continuous and progressive series of spiritual beings with life and thought. [18] For him, the human soul is a composite possessing both the most spiritual qualities of the One and the Two, equipped with the highest principles of both. Like Plato and Prodicus, he considered the elements to be divine forces, and even when referring to them as gods, neither he nor those associated with him attached any anthropomorphic notions to that designation. Chrysippus states that he called them gods simply so that these elemental powers would not be confused with daemons (elemental spirits) of the underworld. [19] Since the world soul permeates the entire universe, there must also be something divine within animals. [20] This is also a doctrine found in Buddhism and Hermeticism, where even plants and the smallest blades of grass are said to possess a living soul.

According to this theory, the daimon is an intermediate being between divine perfection and human sinfulness, [21] dividing them into numerous classes, each of which is further subdivided. However, he clearly states that the personal soul itself is the primary guardian daemon for everyone, and that no daemon can have as much influence on us as our own. Therefore, Socrates' daimonion was a god, namely a divine being, who guided his entire life with inspiration. Whether to open or close oneself to the divine voice is up to humans. He recognized immortality in ψυχή, which means the heart-body or irrational soul, just like Speusippos. However, some Hermetic philosophers taught that the soul can exist independently only during its celestial passage, while material and earthly particles are incorporated into the soul. And when the soul is completely purified, these disappear, and only the essence of the soul combines with the divine spirit (rational spirit), after which they become one.

According to Zeller, Xenocrates forbade the consumption of animal flesh. This was not because he saw things similar to humans in animals. Rather, it was because he recognized a faint awareness of God in them, and "rather, to prevent the irrational nature of the soul of animals from having some influence on us." [22] However, we believe that this was more likely due to his admiration for Hindu sages as teachers and models, just like Pythagoras. Cicero depicts Xenocrates as completely disregarding everything other than the highest virtue,[23] describing the purity and strict asceticism of his character.[24] "To liberate oneself from dependence on sensory existence, and to overcome the Titanic elements in our earthly nature by means of the divine, that is our task," Zeller has him say. [25] "Purity, even in the secret desires of the heart, is the greatest duty, and only initiation into philosophy and mysteries can help us achieve this goal."

The philosopher Crantor, who was involved in the early stages of Plato's Academy, believed that the human soul was formed from both "the One," or unity, and duality. Plutarch discusses this philosopher extensively. Like his teacher, he also believed that the soul is assigned to a body on earth as punishment.