Theos-Talk Archives (September 2001 Message tt00063)

dalval14@earthlink.net wrote:
> Re Astral matter -- its constitution
> 
> Astral Matter and electro-magnetic field of forces. It is an
> analogy. 

OK.

> To many the answer it is GRAVITY that does this rather then
> electro-magnetism on a colossal scale -- because we have a
> convention in place that identifies elctro-magnetism to the
> phenomena of attraction and repulsion relating to a few elements:
> Iron, Cobalt, Nickel, Manganese (these 4 I believe).

Those are the magnetic metals, at least at room temperature (when you
go near absolute zero, a lot more materials exhibit magnetic
properties), but is only a small subset of things which exhibit
electromagnetic forces (the other known forces are gravitational, weak
nuclear and strong nuclear). So far, there is no known unexplained
phenomenon which can be explained by the existence of a 5th force, nor a
way of combining two or more known forces into one. However, that does
not mean that a 5th force does not exist, or that one or more of the 4
known forces are not a result of a yet to be discovered, more
generalized cause (this is the trap many self-styled scientific skeptics
find themselves caught in; they fail to differentiate between
"unproven", "disproven", and "non-existent"). 

> Other elements hardly react to intense electro-magnetic fields.

Depends on what you mean by "hardly". Look, for example, of what the
results of a strong EMP will do; in theory, a machine can be built with
current technology at sub-government costs that could generate an EMP
strong enough to wipe clean the information in human brains at
non-neglible distances.

> But to continue this line of Theosophical inquiry, we ought to
> further ask: what set limits and parameters to the Astral forms
> that underlie the physical ? Are they pertaining to the "Pranic"
> and then, below that, to the "Kamic" planes ? Where are the real
> limits set ? Who, and how are they set ?

Interesting question. The problem is that, currently, we have no way of
measuring any of these (or even create an operational definition of
those "planes"). Of course, this simply means that they are in the realm
of philosophy, and not yet science; the trick is to not confuse the two
with each other.

Bart Lidofsky