BOOK 4
by Aleister Crowley
PART I
MEDITATION
THE WAY OF ATTAINMENT OF GENIUS OR GODHEAD CONSIDERED
AS A DEVELOPMENT OF THE HUMAN BRAIN
Issued by order of
the GREAT WHITE
BROTHERHOOD
known as the A.'.A.'.
"Witness our Seal,"
N.'.'
"Praemonstrator-General"
{Diagram: A.'.A.'. seal}
PRELIMINARY REMARKS
EXISTENCE, as we know it, is full of sorrow. To mention only one minor point:
every man is a condemned criminal, only he does not know the date of his
execution. This is unpleasant for every man. Consequently every man does
everything possible to postpone the date, and would sacrifice anything that he
has if he could reverse the sentence.
Practically all religions and all philosophies have started thus crudely, by
promising their adherents some such reward as immortality.
No religion has failed hitherto by not promising enough; the present breaking
up of all religions is due to the fact that people have asked to see the
securities. Men have even renounced the important material advantages which a
well-organized religion may confer upon a State, rather than acquiesce in fraud
or falsehood, or even in any system which, if not proved guilty, is at least
unable to demonstrate its innocence.
Being more or less bankrupt, the best thing that we can do is to attack the
problem afresh without preconceived ideas. Let us begin by doubting every
statement. Let us find a way of subjecting every statement to the test of
experiment. Is there any truth at all in the claims of various religions? Let
us examine the question.
Our original difficulty will be due to the enormous wealth of our material.
To enter into a critical examination of all systems would be an unending task;
the cloud of witnesses is too great. Now each religion