| But the, fact remains that the part
cannot comprehend the whole, however excellent it may be shaped. The symbol of the serpent
with the tail in its mouths if swallowing itself illustrates the limitation of the human
mind in its efforts to grasp the All, Even a giant cannot stand on a platform and lift ii
also. We cannot jump off the ultimate cause on which we stand and on which we depend for
every motion of the mind, in order that we may, get round it or measure it.
This limitation of human knowledge is a
familiar boundary in scientific and philosophical investigations. Dive into any truth or
investigate any phenomenon or examine any distinction deep enough, and at a certain point
we reach the unknowable and further progress is stopped. We strike against God, so to say,
in everything. The Unknowable is all pervading. The known and knowable make up but a thin
surface-crust over a mystery-sphere of infinite dimensions. Religions and holy books, and
the sayings and doings of holy men deal with this infinite unknown, not as science deals
with matter, but in a different way, which is also the only possible way. |
