We are aware that this idea may seem to be “too abstruse” for the minds of some of our students at first reading—­it may appear like an assertion of a Being who is Non-Being.  But, be not too hasty—­take time—­and your mind will assimilate the concept, and will find that it has a corresponding Truth imbedded in its inmost recesses, and then it will know this to be the Truth.  And then will it recognize the existence of God the Father, as compared with God, the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost, as we have said, is the Absolute in its phase of Manifest Being.  That is, it is God as manifest in the Spirit of Life, which is immanent in, and manifest in, all objective life and phenomena in the Cosmos or Universe.

In previous series of lessons in the Yogi Philosophy, we have shown you that there was a Spirit of Life immanent in, and manifesting through, all forms of life.  We have also shown you that everything in the Universe is alive—­down to even the minerals, and the atoms composing matter.  We have shown you that inasmuch as the Spirit of Life is the source of all Manifestations in the universe, and the “God in the machine” of all phenomena of force, matter and life, then it naturally follows that there can be nothing dead in the world—­that there is LIFE manifesting in every object, varying only in the degree of manifestation.  In our “Advanced Lessons” and in “Gnani Yoga” this subject is considered in detail.  Then what is this Spirit of Life?  If God is All, then it cannot be Something other than God.  But it cannot well be God the Uncreate—­the Absolute in its Absolute phase—­the Being Unmanifest.  Then what can it be?

The student will see that the natural and logical answer to the question with which we have closed the preceding paragraph must be:  Being Manifest—­God in Creation—­the Holy Ghost!  And this is the Occult Teaching concerning this great mystery of Christianity.  And see how well the framers of the Nicene Creed grasped the traditions of the Early Church, when it said:  “And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life.”

The teaching regarding the Immanent God lies at the foundation of all of the Mystic teachings of all peoples, races, and times.  No matter under what names the teaching is promulgated—­no matter what the name of the creed or religion in which it is found imbedded—­it is still the Truth regarding the God Immanent in all forms of life, force, and matter.  And it always is found forming the Secret Doctrine of the philosophy, creed or religion.  The Outer Teaching generally confines itself to the instruction of the undeveloped minds of the people, and cloaks the real Truth behind some conception of a Personal Deity, or Deities—­gods and demi-gods, who are supposed to dwell afar off in some heavenly realm—­some great Being who created the world and then left it to run itself, giving it but occasional attention, and reserving his consideration principally for the purpose of rewarding those who gave him homage, worship and sacrifices and punishing those who failed to conform with the said requirements.  These personal deities are believed generally to favor the particular people who give them their names and temples, and accordingly to hate the enemies of the said tribe or nation.