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MYTHOLOGY
determined not by that faculty, but by the predominant desires of the ego. As pointed out in the Key of Knowledge, the lotellect is like a lantern to guide the footsteps of the individual, but whether it direct him to a gambling den or to a place of worship depends solely on the inclinations of the ego and not on any choice on the part of the intellect itself.
(13) The punishments of the transgressors are all
descriptive of the nature, of the diverse functions and attributes of the will, intellect and
manas (desires collectively). (a) The serpent is cursed above all cattle, and
above every beast of the field. It is to go upon its belly and to eat dust all the days of its life. The element of sensuality (the serpent) may degrade one even below the the level of the lowest beasts and brutes; hence is sensuality rated below the lowest grades of "cattledom". The manas (sensuality) is constantly engaged in trafficking with matter (that is in extracting and imbibing the raw material of sersations from the objects outside). This raw-material of sensations, constantly pouring in through the door-ways of the senses is the "dust" which the serpent (manas) is to eat all the days of its life. Enmity is also put between
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