We know the past, and we live in the present, but can the future be known? We are told that all three merge in the Eternal Now. But can the actions of intelligent beings with the power of choice be known in advance? Is omniscience possible to humans?

One of the Ten Items of Isis Unveiled tells us: "All things that ever were, that are, or that will be, having their records upon the astral light, or tablet of the unseen universe, the initiated adept, by using the vision of his own spirit, can know all that has been known or can be known." How can things have their record on the astral light before they have occurred?

Omniscience means complete knowledge. It is a characteristic of the Universal Mind. All consciousness has its seat there. Our human minds differ because they are affected by the partial ideas and partial knowledge that we hold. And since the physical brain, which is the instrument of the mind, is limited in its response to different impressions and vibrations, our knowledge too is limited.

When that aspect of the Universal Mind which is reflected in us is freed from the limitations we have imposed on it, what can prevent us from knowing whatever we want to know? The Secret Doctrine (II, 58-59) says that the Universal Mind is "manifested Omniscience" and "is at the root of SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS."

Let us think along this line: Can anything in the Universe come from nothing? We are told that the action of Karma "may be known by calculation from cause to effect," and "this calculation is possible because the effect is wrapped up in and is not succedent to the cause." Since all manifestation is but a reflection of the One Light in which all is contained, and the various reflectors are the different planes through which that Light falls, nothing can be reflected which is not there already.

It might be argued that we humans have the power of choice and can decide for ourselves what we shall do. So how can our future actions be known in advance? Let us not forget that the Universal Mind also operates throughout the Universe, in even the tiniest speck or atom. Each atom, H.P.B. tells us, has the power of choice within its evolutionary limits. Man, though a free-willed being, is checked by his Karma in all his efforts. What he will be, depends on what he is now. He cannot accomplish more than what he is capable of accomplishing. Take an example: We know that a child at his stage cannot solve abstruse mathematical problems, but as he grows and puts in the necessary effort, he can know anything he has a will to know. So with us: At any given moment we are bound down by all our past, and on the basis of that past and of the present, we can know what the future has in store for us. But we need not remain bound for all time. If we resolve now to free ourselves of our limitations, and persist in that resolve, we shall surely reach the goal we have set for ourselves. It matters not that we make mistakes at the initial stages; they all form part of the final victory.

There is a universal storehouse of knowledge from which each of us can draw. Think of this: from a triangle, with the laws of geometry, the structure of the Universe can be known. From the figures 1 to 10, any and all mathematical problems can be solved. From a piece of stone, any form can be cut. Is not this a proof that all is contained in the smallest? It is a chipping away of superfluities and excrescences that frees the indwelling form.

It is a wonderful thought that even the worst condition of decayed matter can be "processed" and be of use—for instance, the processing of sewage into compost.

So, from the matter aspect we see that nothing comes from nothing. Also from the mind aspect we see that by clearing away from it the accumulated dirt and by moulding it properly, the Universal Mind can perceive through.

It is our perception that separates us from the ALL. All is present at all time. It is just we who fail to see it.