The Gospels

The initiatic philosophy

• Initiatic philosophy and Academic Culture
• Initiatic philosophy in the past
• Initiatic philosophy today

The initiatic philosophy and Academic Culture

 

Some concrete examples can be of aid in order to clear the difference between the initiatic philosophy and the academic culture that is the official.

As an example, in the work "First Alcibiade" of Plato, Socrate asserts some important things a lot relatively to the famous principle ""KNOW THYSELF", written on one column of the temple of Delphy:

- "only who knows his self is right and moderating";
- "In order to know ourselves, we must watch to the divine one who is in we";
- "only who knows himself is right and moderating and can govern the City".

Socrate in the dialogue with Alcibiade previously mentioned, asserts one extraordinary fact: in order to govern a collectivity well it is necessary to know ourselves,so meaning the divine side that is in everyone of us!

The academic, regarding this important affirmation, will remove the essential thing as far as he is to be limited on the making of etymologic analysis, comparisons with other esegetic authors or philosophies... he shall not think to understand with the spirit, with the exception of R-he who search the initiatic understanding, will not try to experiment and to verify in his own feelings, thoughts and behaviors, the acquaintance of the divine one to which Plato alludes.

As observes O.M.Aïvanhov, we take a fruit, an orange, for instance: one thing is to measure of the dimensions, the weight, to study the color, other thing is to taste it, to eat it, to relish it, to feel the force that it transmits. The outer, intellectual acquaintance firms to the outer study of the orange but never comes to know itself to know effectively what the orange is made of because he forgot to eat it.

"Imagine that a man finds himself inside of a sphere and the other outside. he who is found inside, naturally sees it concave, while R-he who is outside, convex. The two discuss and they come to blows: it is impossible to put them of the same agreement. We interpret this image. he who is inside of the sphere is the heart; he observes the life from within, subjective, that is through the emotion, the feeling and the feeling only. he who is outside, is the intellect, objective, rationally. For between the heart and the intellect, or religion and sciences, endless arguments and secular crashes continue to endure. Who says the truth? All the two, but each is at fifty percent. If enters a third observer who says: "the sphere is both concave and convex", the first two, at this point, they would be worried and they would consider him a fool. Truth saying, for is wise he who contemplates the truth from thought its entirely . he represents the intuition that has the ability to put together thoughts and feelings in order to see at the same time things from inside and outside. For he knows the truth at the same time must be objective and subjective, set ourselves at the same time inside and outside"(from "Daily meditations 2001).

Also the man of the road, induced by the official culture to live separated from "the superior he" wont find normal to know and live the divine one and nobody will think normal that the political man must complete, in preventive way, a spiritual speech ( in the volume Under the Dove, the Reign of Peace) in the sense indicated from Plato. Nevertheless Plato is still placed in the school programs .and despite centuries are gone now, Plato always remains target of admiration and study.

How much of this can be extended to other fundamental ideas, a lot notes of the western culture, expressed by Plato on love an sexuality, spirit and reincarnation (migration of spirits).

But this Knowledge (have the same range with that of Values expressed by other great personages of humanity) therefore largely appreciated has been to the inner life, it has fed exclusively a type of outer, intellectual acquaintance which, meant well, is necessary and natural but not exaustive. And the fundamental point is this: not to stop to the outer knowledge "Human Evolution and the Development of the Spiritual Organs chap.1 in "Man's Subtle Bodies and Centres: Aura, Solar Plexus, Hara Center, Chakras; chap. VIII " Outer Knowledge and Inner Knowledge in Man's Psychic Life: Elements and Structures)

This makes us think of the undergoing relation between the occidental and the western philosophy, asserted from the occidental: "With such a drawing, it could be observed that in our history of the philosophy, thinkers disposed do not find themselves occasionally that translate in practical for their principles. In order to use a metaphor they plan gorgeous buildings, then living in humiliating refuges. The Indian philosophers, on the contrary, exhibit a perfect correspondence between theory and practice, that is knowledge and action. Their primary aim is the realization of oneself."(Arena, in the Philosophy Indiana – pocket book Newton - p.9)

It appears paradoxical, effectively, that they are estimated remarkable artists and geniuses and at the same time do not get a deeper knowledge to level the inner life of those values of which they are bearers.

The soul and the spirit main components of our being, are not often touch and influence by the academic cultures, while they are places at the center of the initiatic philosophy.

This separation between intellectual knowledge on one side and the life of the proper soul, spirit and our way of living, on the other hand, generates great sufferings in the individual and has characterized, unfortunately, in the West, in negative, also the understanding and the adhesion to the Truth of Gospels (with the expression "Church of John ", in contrast to the Church of Peter, evidences the true initiatic Instruction of Gospels:cfr. cp XII "The esoteric Church of saint John" in The Fruits of the Tree of Life (The Kabbalistic Tradition).

Because of this attitude men still are found to have developed in a non synchronic way the intellectual side of their inner resources. connected instead to the spirit and to the spirit and it is found therefore vulnerable regarding the difficulties of the life and to its illusory aspects.

It’s always better to know under the outer profile of the objective truth, the outer earth and less and less the inner earth regarding which will have to be symbolically the King.

This intellectualistic approach can obviously regard also the same initiatic philosophy if it is forgotten that "l' esoterism remains a lifestyle in the first place, an education of the look that allows to notice the mistrusted presence of the Sacred one in the daily paper" ( M.Mirabail in "Dictionary of the esoterism" pag.118 and segg. - Oscar Mondadori).

Aïvanhov to such purpose remembers that the actions of the daily life, point of departure of the improvement way characterizes them, and is at the base of the true spirituality.

"Of course, sciences as alchemy, the magic, the astrology and the Cabala, since penetrate in depth, the great mysteries of creation can help us to be left over more quickly on the way of evolution. But these sciences are of difficult approach and in order to understand them, I’s advisable well to begin to study them in the man, in his daily activities. In fact in the food we find the alchemy, in the respiration the astrology, the word and the gesture the magic and the thought the Cabala. It does not have to try to study esoteric Science separating it from the life. Learned therefore to eat, to breathe, to act, to speak, to think and you will come to possess the bases of these four fundamental sciences."

"For too many people, spirituality consists on reading esoterism books. They do not understand nothing, they cannot make us null, because not draft out of theories - and theories are not always exact or quite conflicting - in which is it not found again, but what matters? They continue stuffing their selves for such readings. When will they understand that spirituality consists in choosing a method, in studying it well and in putting it in practical? Since the single thing that counts truly is life, divine life that men must live, it will bring the knowledge of both the sky and earth. he who is pleased to read of from books, loses his time; even if he is able to perfectly defend its content, others feel perfectly that behind this exposure there is an empty one, since do transmit no love, no light, no deep understanding. The knowledge is in practical useless if It is not vivificate from love and light. love and the are not obtained reading, but applying to every day the rules of initiatic Science

Initiatic philosophy in the past

The philosophical search did not set speechless in the past the own division of the western culture to which we have before pointed out. In fact, Giamblico asserted, in "the pitagorical life"(cap, XII, 58-59)" he said: Pytagoras has been the first to be call on the same philosopher, not limiting himself to introduce this new name, but explaining the effective meaning... Wisdom is a the real one to be known after to the Beautiful one, the First one and Divine they always are identical if not the same, of which of the other things to which they participate. Philosophy is instead desire of such speculative contemplation. Beautiful is it therefore also this inner effort of spiritual formation, than for Pytagoras it contributes to the purification of men "

.Not by chance, Pytagoras, like other Greeks, had been in India and had learned important acquaintances. .

Schopenhauer writes (cfr.www.estovest.org/tradition/shopenhauer)"According to Apuleio, Pytagoras has gone until India, and have been instructed by the same brahmani. consequently, I believe that philosophy and the knowledge of Pytagoras, sure highly appreciable, are not consistent as well as what he learnt " (Fragments on the history of the philosophy, 2, in Parerga and paralipomena). Schopenhauer will still write, on purpose of the journeys in India of the philosophers "You went there as masters and you returned like disciples of the concealed sense. Here the sails fell for you "(On ethics, in Parerga and paralipomena, VIII, 115)

The philosophical search was not academic knowledge, but initiatic research not destined to all. This limited destination did not lead back to a proud or aristocratic character of the initiatic knowledge but to the various receptivity of the persons due to the various evolutionary degree, in how much various the experience characterizes their liberations leaved in the cycle of the reincarnations. In reason of that, S. Paul in addressing to his disciples with the aim to explain that some things care not revealed, used the famous metaphor on foods liquids assigned to children and on solid foods assigns to adults.

"When they were all satisfied, Jesus said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces that are left over, so that nothing is wasted"(John VI,12).

"When he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.He said to them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those outside, everything is in parables (Mark, 4-10).

"He did not speak to them without a parable. But privately he explained everything to his own disciples.. (Mark, 4-34).

"Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces. (Matthew 7, 6).

" On this topic we have much to say and it is difficult to explain, since you have become sluggish in hearing. For though you should in fact be teachers by this time, you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances. You have gone back to needing milk, not solid food. For everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced in the message of righteousness, because he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil. ( St.Paul, Hebrews).

"Now we do speak wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are perishing. Instead we speak the wisdom of God, hidden in a mystery, that God determined before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood it. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But just as it is written, “Things that no eye has seen, or ear heard, or mind imagined, are the things God has prepared for those who love him.” (S. Paul , Corinthians 2-6).

Plato spoke about philosophy transmitted from the gods, of ancient traditions, of ancient doctrines "he always must believe to these saints and ancient doctrines". This doctrine is distinguished from the destined philosophy to "does not begin" (Theaetetus,155) to "the sons of Earth" (Sophist, 247) which support obstinately that they all are not in a position to tightening because the hands in the end does not exist absolutely ". Instead, the philosophy transmitted by the gods addresses to begins to you, to the Friends of the Ideas, little persons (The Statesman, 297; The Republic IV 428). "A God in person making this gift has made also our salvation" (Epinomis 977).

Eraclito writes "To they is turned the instruction of Efesio, not to other men, they are not animated by desire to know the truth, of which they do not understand the value and the meaning, indifferent and unconscious, nearly sleepers. To other men the things escape when they are awoke, as they do not know how much complete sleepers".

In the Mystical Theology, Dionysius the Areopagite writes "make sure that none of the non initiated listens to you: I refer those who remain captive of the truths, that they think that noting exists in abstract way above human beings, that they think to know with their science R-he who "has made of the darkness his hiding place" [ Knows 17,12 ] to me. If the divine initiations go above their abilities, then what would it have to be on purpose of those who are still less initiated, that they define the important cause of all even by means of lower beings, and that they say are not at all advanced and varied from the representations by they forged?

"A religious philosophy admirable was born agree between the Persians, Ermete and the Egizians; it was fed then with Orfeo and Aglaofemo near the Thracians in order to grow endured with Pitagora between the Greeks and the Italicis and to reach finally fulfillment in Atene with Plato. It was custom of the ancient theology to hide the divine mysteries under mathematical formulas and poetic metaphors, so that they won’t be diffused in a common way" ( Ficino in the introduction to The Enneads by Plotinus).

There is therefore an ancient doctrine, an ancient knowledge that has not never abandoned the man since the origins that filtered through various manifestations all the people and religions. To this native knowledge draws the initiatic philosophy, and also the Gospels Teaching, and to this same knowledge the Teachings of Peter Deunov and O.M.Aïvanhov are led back.

Also St.Augustine recognizes the existence of this ancient one to know. It asserts in the retractations (cp.13.3): Also I have said: This is, to our times, the Christian religion knowing and following which obtains the salvation with the maximum of emergency and certainty. They are expressed to me therefore, making reference to the name and to the truth they do not point out. In fact that one takes the name of Christian religion, existed already in ancient times and it was not even absent to the of the human’s origin sort, until came Christ in the flesh. It was then that the true religion, that already existed, began to be called Christian. When, after the resurrection and the ascension in sky, the Apostles began to preach the Christ and many became Christians, it was then to Antiochia that for the first time, as it’s written, his disciples were called "Christians". For this I have said: This is to our times the Christian religion, not because at a given moment it did not exist, but because later it took that name.

The caretaker of this divine knowledge, of this anchor of salvation for the man, is the Order of Melchizedec manifestation of the Spirit of the Christ, whose role is evidenced in Gospels, the Genesis and letters of S.Paul, and in the Revelation, let alone, under various names, in other great religions. It is the warranter of the continuity of this Knowledge, this divine philosophy in all the times and can carry out this role in how much, like emphasizes St.Paul, He " is without father, mother, genealogy, neither principle of fine days nor of life, facts similar to the Son of God and remains clergyman in the eternal ". For such reasons he is the Master of all the Masters. To his Order in fact, belonged the same Jesus .

Initiatic philosophy today

 

The initiatic philosophy for many centuries has operated with great confidentiality, addressing to little and inspiring great Masters, Knows to you, geniuses. Not rare times, as it is famous to all, its supporters have been also pursued to you.

The disciple had to observe in the past a fundamental garnishment "Know-want-Dare-Keep silent". The famous initiations happened in temples or particular places.

In the contemporary age, the initiatica science that is always the instruction of the Universal Fraternity White woman, with the work, above all, of Peter Deunov and O. M. Aïvanhov, re-appears in a shape new with new methods ( A New Earth - Methods, Exercises, Formulas, Prayers) but adherent to the Principles that have found the maximum manifestation in Gospels.

The initiatic philosophy to leave from the contemporary age explicitly addresses to all the humanity, uses an obvious language and offers an arm fraternal to all, transmitting to methods and rules adapted to all (chap. I of The Splendours of Tipharet), but adherent to the Principles that have found the maximum manifestation in Gospels.

As infact asserts O.M.Aïvanhov " the aim of a initiatic instruction is that one to teach to the human beings how return to the Father’s house" the high mentioned shelter "in Salmon 91: "My shelter and my fortress, my God in which I confide". Once joined in that fortress we feel saved and the forces of the evil will not be able to surprise them. One would say instead that men make all effort to go away from that high shelter in which they could dwell under protection of God. They Want to live their life going away from the Lord and transgressing his laws. Well, this proves they will keep suffering because they do not want to enter in the divine light, where they would be saved. Yes, they have the tendency to go away, to disobey, simply because it is written in their destiny that they must suffer, while those who already have suffered a lot and have understood, make all in order to return near the celestial Father and the Mother ".

And it is also important to emphasize that "in our days the tests of initiation, do not have more place in the temples, but in our everyday life. It’s in the everyday life that the tests of the four elements must be crossed, that they are the tests of the matter. When the man was dismissed from Paradise because he disobeyed to the Lord, he lost the power that he had on the matter, of which the four elements are the symbolic representations and in order to be found back, they must learn to dominate the psychical body (earth) the feelings (water) the thoughts (air) and to dominate to the sexual force (the fire).

« Man was built by Cosmic Intelligence in such a way that he can fulfil himself and attain his full stature only by maintaining ties with a higher world from which he receives light and strength. When human beings rely exclusively on their own limited intellect they deprive themselves of true understanding, and it is this lack that is the cause of all their disastrous mistakes. When men are motivated only by a lust for material possessions and power and act in total disregard for the plans of Cosmic Intelligence, they stir up layers of the physical and psychic atmosphere and arouse formidable forces whose fury is turned against them. The Age of Aquarius will soon be upon us and the tremendous upheavals accompanying it will oblige human beings to understand the reality of the invisible world and the laws that govern it. But the beauty, splendour and harmony of the new life that will emerge from these upheavals will be beyond anything imagined by man. All those who have been secretly working for the coming of the Kingdom of God throughout the world will join forces and work together, and the bastions of ignorance, materialism and despotism will crumble and collapse. This I tell you. And it will be: nothing can prevent the coming of the new era, the new Golden Age.» (Aquarius, Herald of the Golden Age)

Also the man has observed himself "Today wants to know and to not only believe... a God far away from the man why placed in the highest skies, wrapped in the mystery, from the unforeseeable behavior and a religion supported from dogmas, they are little congenital to the mentality of the western man whom it wants to know it in dynamics of its manifestation for being able it living in the deep one of its heart" (in "Jesus is the reincarnation of Abraham - Parsifal - pub.The age of the Aquarius).

Aïvanhov will still say: "Only Archangel Michael is in a position to win... with the aid of his army, he will realize from centuries the multitudes demand to the Creator. Here why we must be connected to the Archangel Michael, beg for his protection and the possibility to operate with him in order to increase his Victory. The light will prevail on the darkness: it has been foretold and therefore will be. Why not to participate to that event? The sons of God who will be enrolled in the number of those who will have participated to the combat of the Archangel Michael, the Genius of the Sun, this power of God between most luminous, will receive the kiss of the Angel of the fire. Such kiss will not burn them but it will illuminate them!".

Also Rudolf Steiner in numerous conferences (The Archangel Michael: His Mission and Ours : Selected Lectures and Writings by Rudolf Steiner) are stopped on the new spiritual cycle (of the Michael Age) " Michael cannot fulfill his mission without humanity's cosmic vocation of freedom, individuality, and love. Human beings, too, depend on Michael for the fulfillment of their task . . . His great joy is helping those who of their own free deed enter the ranks of those collaborating in the great work of the invisible.