Elena Terekhova
Esotericism and self-knowledge- different and identical concepts, since self-knowledge has a broader meaning. You can also know yourself from the point of view of religion. Is there really a connection between esotericism and Orthodoxy? Is it considered normal if a believer is interested in mysticism?
You don’t have to practice spiritual teachings, just practice love spells, or be a secret member of an occult society. Orthodoxy has a negative attitude towards secret teaching and practice. The Church accepts only its own Sacraments - confession, communion and others.
Esotericism and self-knowledge are a combination of thoughts and reasoning about facts inexplicable by science, which, nevertheless, are reality. Esotericism can be compared to a different understanding of reality, which has deeply entered our lives. The Christian faith, from the very beginning of its existence, has taught about the special relationship between man and God.
Like other religions, Christianity consists of teachings, reasoning and interpretations of the vision of the world, states of the soul, analysis of our actions and the people who surround us. This can be compared to a system of esoteric teaching. Since ancient times, schools and various crafts began their development in churches and monasteries.
Esotericism and self-knowledge, as a secret art, also took place at the temple. However, now all positions are clearly defined and divided into divine and diabolical. There is no third. People at any time improved, exploring life, and from time to time they encountered something inexplicable. These are manifestations of different aspects of existence that can be difficult to comprehend.
But a person still tries to explain the inexplicable - reads various literature, gets acquainted with thematic films, looks for answers to emerging questions on the Internet. When the answer is found, a person often treats it with excessive confidence and does not think about who provided it. It happens that people begin to know God from the point of view of the occult teachings of representatives of Roerich or Blavatsky, instead of turning to the Holy Scriptures.
Esotericism and self-knowledge- concepts that must have the correct meaning. Everyone has the right to choose it for themselves individually. An Orthodox Christian must spiritually educate himself throughout his life. The point is that occultism is the open worship of Satan.
He often offers what is harmful to the soul in the form of good, seduces and deceives a person. To summarize, it can be noted that, getting to know yourself, from the point of view of Christianity, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the Bible. The apostles and prophets who wrote the Holy Scriptures were guided by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, there should be no doubt that these texts will benefit our soul and help us to know ourselves.
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When we moved into our current apartment, right opposite the balcony, twenty meters from us, an amazing artifact was discovered, the so-called dolmen - an ancient and mysterious structure. Several such dolmens were found in Crimea, but in Simferopol there was only one and, it must happen, it was in the courtyard of our house. For reference: a dolmen is a prehistoric, presumably Bronze Age, megalithic structure, the purpose of which scientists are still arguing about. Outwardly, it looks like a box made of massive stone slabs. Some believe that this is a crypt where the bones and skulls of the inhabitants of the local community were kept, while others believe that dolmens are religious objects, the true purpose of which we can only guess due to the almost complete loss of ideas about the traditions and rituals of the peoples who lived in those old times.
Having become interested in this issue, I read a lot of interesting things about megaliths, but basically it all resembled the “fantasy” genre. For example, that ancient people, going into dolmens, plunged into eternal meditation. At the same time, their etheric bodies separated and, traveling through different levels of existence, learned the truth. There, in the dolmens, these people somehow left an information trace of their knowledge for posterity. I also learned that under no circumstances should dolmens be destroyed, but not because it is wrong to destroy historical and cultural monuments, but because an irresistible force will certainly take revenge for such vandalism. Attached to this warning was the story that once upon a time (apparently at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century) somewhere in Russia a church was built from the slabs of 44 dolmens. And in 1917, the Bolsheviks brutally tortured exactly 44 clergy who participated in the construction of the temple... And also at our Simferopol dolmen, a certain servant of God Ivan once asked why the organic farming movement was weakly developing in Crimea. And, imagine, he finally received an answer...
Nowadays, dolmens have become for many a kind of “place of power”, an object of magical attraction
One way or another, in our time of a special predisposition of wide sections of the population towards mysticism, the “magical” version of the origin of megaliths began to prevail, and dolmens became for many a kind of “place of power”, an object of magical attraction. And I was no longer surprised when from time to time I noticed strange people near the fence of our dolmen who were performing some mysterious actions of an obviously “mystical” nature.
I will not talk about all the supposed “sacred” properties of dolmens, but one thing I can say for sure is that our Simferopol dolmen fulfilled its “amulet” function one hundred percent. Moreover, he performed this function, so to speak, flawlessly. How this happened, I will tell later, but now, sighing sadly from the depths of my soul, I want to talk about what I started with - about the craze of Russian people for the occult and esotericism, and not even in the deepest, but in the everyday, but that’s why in a less dangerous way.
We will talk about those who use all kinds of magical fetishes in their lives, hoping that they will bring good luck, profit, protection, provide spiritual enlightenment, as well as career growth, material well-being and prosperity... I, perhaps, would not talk about this speak if we were talking about convinced pagans. You never know what a modern person, devoid of “prejudices,” believes in, with all his soul directed into the arms of the aborigines of Africa, Oceania and the Amazon... What kind of madness and nonsense, absurdities and nonsense you don’t see and hear in our time! What can I say - freedom, you know, and everyone is free to believe in whatever they want.
Frogs with coins in their teeth, magic bells, African masks, frighteningly cheerful “brownies”... What can you find in the habitats of our Orthodox brothers and sisters!
But I want to talk about baptized people, in their houses, cars, offices, on whose chests, clothes and accessories all kinds of fetishes, symbols, signs, amulets and amulets of magical, esoteric and occult content flaunt. All kinds of peepholes And", frogs with coins in their teeth, magical bells with mysterious inscriptions, Kabbalistic, Taoist signs, papyri, African ritual masks, Egyptian spells, "lucky" brooms and frighteningly cheerful "brownies"... What can you encounter with amazement in the habitats of the brothers and our Orthodox sisters! And none of them, it seems, doubts the normality of such surroundings, does not think about the fact that it is inappropriate to keep all kinds of evil spirits in an Orthodox home. Moreover, many do not consider all this paraphernalia to be evil spirits and are even willing to tell how oh fetish from what misfortune it protects and for what kind of “luck” this or that little thing is intended. Believe it or not, without hesitation they presented me, and more than once, in a brocade box with gold pins “against the evil eye” for consecration...
In short, there is a reason to once again talk about a simple but important thing: the attitude of the Orthodox to magical objects.
The very idea of using otherworldly forces to solve one’s everyday and everyday problems is pure magic and is not compatible with Orthodoxy. By the way, treating the requirements as some kind of magical rituals is also a blasphemous and magical attitude. And such an attitude occurs at every step. That is, people naively (but also criminally) hope to “use” God for their needs, without intending to change one iota themselves. They ask the priest to perform some “more mysterious” ritual with all the attributes: reading “spells” (prayers), burning incense, sprinkling water, and so on... Most often, they “order” the consecration of a house, but by this action they mean almost “cleansing the aura ” or “correcting karma,” but they don’t always talk about it directly.
We have to explain that everything the Church does, it does for the sole purpose of sanctification and salvation of man. And this does not at all equal his, a person’s, carefree well-being and successful life. Moreover, when we pray to God, we ask Him to “intervene” in our lives and give us what is useful for our salvation and eternal life. And these may be things that are exactly the opposite of what is expected...
The habit of using magical fetishes and rituals, widespread among baptized people, is nothing more than a violation of one’s own faith and hostility against God
But let us return to the topic of our conversation, to the widespread habit among baptized people of using all kinds of magical fetishes and rituals, believing that all this can coexist with Orthodoxy. So: such a practice is nothing more than a violation of one’s own faith and enmity against God, no matter how scary it sounds. God calls us to faith and fidelity, to piety and constancy in good deeds, so that, working in this life, we place all our trust in God and gratefully accept everything that He gives us. This is the model of Christian life and Christian prosperity, the possibility of which is not rejected, but which must be the consequence of a good life in harmony with God. Magic is dangerous because a person, neglecting the laws of spiritual life, hopes for some idols and statues . But demons are hidden behind idols, this is said many times in Scripture. That is why the use of “innocent” fetishes for seemingly innocent “luck” can be not only a sign of lack of faith, but also (we must speak frankly) idolatry. What is considered the gravest sin in Orthodoxy.
It happens that they say: “Yes, it’s like that, it’s just... I don’t really know what it is. Friends gave it to me... my son-in-law brought it... my daughter bought it... I thought, let it be for myself...” It turns out that the man himself seems to have nothing to do with the magical object. But this does not mean that the presence of such objects does not affect the life of the individual. O person. Objects serve as the embodiment, material expression of certain ideas, worldviews, and certain energies. With regard to ritual objects, this statement is one hundred percent true. Consequently, even if a person does not understand what this or that inscription, this or that sign or object means, he still attracts into a person’s life certain energies associated with the functioning of these objects, writings and signs, and in the case of magical objects, these energies - definitely demonic. So it is better not to tempt the Lord and not to keep at home even objects and symbols that are dubious from the point of view of magical use, not to mention objects that are directly and obviously intended for such use.
If a person notices that such fetishes actually “act” in his life, this is a real disaster, because this means that, by God’s permission, a dangerous connection has been established between man and demons. This is the worst thing that can happen, even if the consequences of such communication (bitter and deplorable) do not appear for the time being, but on the contrary, everything “settles out” very well in the everyday sense. It is a disaster if this happens, because it means that the Lord has left man to “walk in the ways of his heart.” And these paths are often the paths of carnality, sin and the pain and horror that follows. The Lord usually leaves a person for stubbornness and pride, when a person does not hear, does not want to hear, the warnings that the Lord gives him, pointing out through some sensitive “stumbling blocks” to the danger of the chosen path.
So if fetishes “don’t work” or don’t help, this can be considered a good sign of God’s mercy. This means that the Lord does not allow demons to act, does not allow the law of cause-and-effect relationships between demons and humans to take effect. The law according to which a person, using certain “benefits” from unclean spirits, increasingly falls into a harmful dependence on them, sometimes not noticing his disastrous situation. And this unconscious stay in captivity of demons can continue even until death, when the history of monstrous deception and catastrophe is revealed in all its terrifying completeness, which can no longer be corrected.
So let us, dear brothers and sisters, treat all magical fetishes, these “helpers” and “protectors” with pious wariness, rejecting them as the machinations of malicious demons. Let us sanctify our lives and the life of our home by calling and fulfilling His commandments, by living in harmony with Him.
Well, in the end, as promised, I will reveal the secret of our Simferopol dolmen. I will explain why I consider it a valid, real and even in some sense infallible “amulet”, an exception to the general rule that was discussed.
So, recently I met the old resident of our house, a complacently talkative old man. And this is what he said:
“I built this five-story building myself and have been living here for forty-two years now.” And opposite, twenty meters away, they were going to build another house, a nine-story building with four entrances. It turned out that it would completely block the sunlight for us. Naturally, no one wanted this, and the head of our cooperative, a man with the eloquent surname Friedman, undertook a brilliant adventure.
At that time, a branch of the local history museum was located in the basement of our house. And Friedman, I don’t know how, agreed with the museum workers to have a real dolmen brought disassembled to our yard from Kerch. They finally brought it, and they also poured some prehistoric bones inside. But the main thing is that the dolmen was surrounded by a fence, and next to it they placed a column with a cast-iron tablet, on which it was written that this dolmen is an archaeological monument and is protected by the state. Naturally, the designers and builders did not argue with the state (after all, it was still the Soviet Union) and, as you can see, we still have free space in front of our house... And the sun now makes us happy in the mornings!
That, in fact, is the whole story.
In one of His sermons, the Lord praised a person who is savvy in the everyday sense and said that in spiritual life we must show savvy and insight in achieving the main goal of life - (Luke 16: 1-9). That man, a carnal one, did good deeds so that in difficult times he would not lose a good attitude towards himself and gain benefit, but we must do good in order to be partakers of the Good and All-Perfect God.
The Lord gave man a lot: freedom, reason, and will. And if we, keeping our conscience, show ingenuity and perseverance, hard work and constancy, the Lord will certainly give us everything we need for life. And we don’t need any amulets, totems, penates or fetishes for this... Moreover, all this deprives us of God’s help, and without God we certainly cannot do or achieve anything good in life.
Moreover, in spiritual life we need to make efforts, kind zeal, pious care with humility, in order to become partakers of the Divine light, to be worthy of seeing the Sun of righteousness, Christ our God. And let the experience of the enterprising “son of this age” serve as an example and edification in this good endeavor of ours.
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Question No. 1211What is your attitude towards esotericism?
Marika , Rostov-on-Don, Russia
30/01/2004Glory to Jesus Christ.
What is your attitude towards esotericism? and how can you help a person who believes that he is an esotericist and convinces others of this by telling all sorts of fables?Answer from Father Oleg Molenko:
Glory to our Lord Jesus Christ forever and ever!
What is now called esotericism or esotericism om (means: internal), and was formerly called hermeneutics or hermeticism om (means: closed) and occultism om (means: hidden), has three main and different definitions, which depend on three different sources: the true revelation of God, supporters of esotericism and the opinions of scientists and other sages of this age who are not involved in esotericism. God's servants expose esotericism as a demonic phenomenon created to ensnare people to their destruction. Defenders and supporters of “secret or hidden knowledge” are confident in its benefits and divine origin. Scientists reduce it to an objective historical phenomenon or category of closedness (dedication of only special people) of a part of any teaching, religion, etc. phenomena. In this case, followers and scientists falsely perceive this very dangerous phenomenon and, one way or another, justify it. In this way they serve the demons and participate in sowing temptation and the destruction of human souls.
My attitude towards esotericism is extremely negative and accusatory. He and his followers are vile in the eyes of God.
Most people have the vaguest idea of esotericism. Today, alas, esotericism is respected by the majority. As soon as someone throws out a few phrases about karma, Hermeticism or astrology, the attention of the crowd is guaranteed. Everyone has heard and knows about the existence of esoteric “knowledge”, a certain “wisdom”, above which nothing in the world can be, although stores are littered with books with this secret dregs height.
Esotericism is incompatible with revealed faith and truth. Holy Scripture clearly confirms that in Christianity there is not and cannot be any esotericism or Hermeticism:
From Mark the holy gospel. Chapter 4. Verse 22:
There is nothing secret that would not become obvious, and nothing hidden that would not come out.From Luke the holy gospel. Chapter 8. Verse 17:
For there is nothing secret that will not be made manifest, nor hidden that will not be made known and not revealed.From John the holy gospel. Chapter 18. Verse 20:
Jesus answered him: I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where Jews always meet, and I did not say anything secretly.From Luke the holy gospel. Chapter 12 Verse 2:
There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing secret that will not be known.From Matthew the holy gospel. Chapter 10. Verse 26:
So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing hidden that will not be known.Book of the prophet Amos. Chapter 3. Verse 7:
For the Lord God does nothing without revealing His secrets to His servants, the prophets.But followers of esotericism are trying in every possible way to cover up their demonic essence and origin with false references and interpretations of certain passages of Scripture. Referring to Scripture in this way, they invent fables about Christianity, which supposedly contains esoteric knowledge for a small circle of initiates. With such lies they are trying to give weight and significance to their nonsense and false teachings, as well as to unite through the term “esotericism” all the world’s religions and philosophical systems, as parts of supposedly some “single secret knowledge.” The “knowledge” of occultists is indeed kept secret, for there is no knowledge, although they falsely believe and assure others that they possess “higher knowledge.” In fact, esotericism is not knowledge in itself. He is inseparable from himself carriers - demons and people seduced by them, and their internal relationships. This is a complex system of deceit and lies one of psychological techniques for controlling the consciousness of people and students through hypnotic convincing them that the guru or teacher has knowledge that can have a super-impact on society or nature. This hypnotic belief forms people of a certain type of consciousness, who are tools of demons in carrying out the ideas of esotericism. These ideas, practices and secret (hidden) knowledge, which contains one secret - that the source of esotericism is demons, was taught to the antediluvian people by unclean spirits. They then passed on this “knowledge” and its practice to post-flood people, especially idolaters, priests, magicians, astrologers and pagans. Esotericism has nothing to do with science. An experienced esotericist does not go into “battle” with his accusers, but is engaged in creating such an atmosphere and such psychological conditions under which his criticism or direct verification would not be possible. For this purpose, both hypnosis and violence are used, and it is customary to get rid of critically thinking students. Thus, along with some parascientific knowledge, esotericism also combines psychological methods of influencing a person, in which its bearers really know a lot.
As a rule, esotericism comes down to the subordination to the will of a teacher of a certain number of students from among eccentric women or humanitarian intellectuals who do not master the methods of logical analysis. The activity of a teacher of esotericism is made easier by the fact that in society there is a certain percentage of people who psychologically need this kind of apprenticeship. As a result of his lectures or practical classes, the esotericist does not teach his students anything, although he speaks for hours. Everything he tells his students is - to call a spade a spade - pseudo-scientific, near-medical or near-religious nonsense. The “teacher” demands a high degree of respect for this nonsense, because what is said is presented as truth of a high order. In fact, we have to admit that nonsense is not suitable for teaching, and teaching itself is not the goal of the teacher. The purpose of this nonsense is not to convey knowledge, but to properly formation of consciousness students. Accordingly, the best student is not the one who develops in the way that is commonly understood in scientific institutions, but the one whose consciousness turns out to be more pliable and begins to change under the influence of delirium. Of course, this nonsense itself may have the character of a high art of mental processing of human consciousness - here, as they say, there is no limit to improvement, which the coming Antichrist-beast will fully show. The term used - "nonsense" - is quite conventional for many people who are not rooted in the true faith. The one who carries it often well understands and controls the brainwashing that he arranges for his students. The ultimate goal of the “teacher” from esotericism is to subordinate the will and consciousness of people to demons.
There are also other cases that do not allow us to classify all esotericism as banal quackery. There are many esotericists who believe in what they claim - which, however, is not an excuse for them, because objectively Their activities most often come down to the above picture. The nonsense of all esotericists is built from an endless set scraps logical chains connected to each other by the inertia of thinking or random, associative, aesthetic connections. The shift in the student’s consciousness occurs precisely when these connections are understood, as a result of thinking out what cannot be logically thought out. In this independent work, the student approaches the critical point of his consciousness: either he begins to understand that the teacher is delirious and leaves him, or he begins to delirium himself - he begins to generate incoherent logical chains, repeating in them the same breaks that the teacher does. In this case, a complete illusion of understanding the entire “world spiritual process” arises for the student. This does not happen because this process is captured in the unity of its understanding - in fact, it is contradictory and cannot be reduced to a single doctrine, for it is comprehended by faith and revelation. It’s just that “everything is clear” to a maturing esotericist in his inner world, in which logical connections are destroyed . This is what is called demonic logic. From the outside, this is always clearly visible: the student gives the impression of a delusional person - this, in fact, is the criterion for “the presence of esoteric knowledge.” These methods of “training” are used both by esotericists speculating on “superknowledge” and by totalitarian sects (for example, the “Moscow Patriarchate” is a totalitarian sect that uses similar esoteric methods of suppressing the will and psyche of its members and forms in them a false Orthodox consciousness and a false spirituality), where instead of knowledge, a false religious dogma or idea is elevated to the rank of the highest value, i.e. lovely. The fruits of such experiments with people's consciousness are always sad. Those who believe in occultists or charmers, and those who practice their attitudes, experience mental breakdown, despondency (so-called deep depression), dissatisfaction with life, thoughts and desires of suicide, a tendency towards alcoholism and drug use, a tendency to sexual perversion, a predisposition to obsession, mania. and mental illness, and many other negative phenomena. These bitter fruits of demonic communication affect the third and fourth generations of occultists. Thus, through a passion for esotericism (occultism, astrology, magic, theosophy, eastern philosophical teachings and practices - yoga, meditation, martial arts, etc.) the soul is destroyed and ancestral corruption is formed.
This is the essence of “secret knowledge” - esotericism and these are its terrible fruits for the people bound by it. But esotericism is dangerous not only for its followers. He poses a threat to society. The social danger of esotericism lies in the fact that its “teachers,” pursuing their own selfish goals, sometimes strive to influence people occupying key positions in society. Therefore, a certain number of mystics and esotericists always revolve around deputies and other government officials or influential persons in society. Sometimes such influence is successful. And when an entire esoteric organization comes to power in this way, it leads to great disasters. Typical examples of this are Freemasonry and the “Black Order” of Nazi Germany.
Any “secret knowledge” always goes hand in hand with what can be called sin or villainy.
What does the secret knowledge of esotericism consist of? From anything. This is not of fundamental importance, as long as it is knowledge for which social tradition recognizes the relevance and scope of action of “secret forces”. Esotericism uses the teachings of ancient India, and the heritage of antiquity, and the superstitions of astrology, alchemy, Kabbalah, magic, shamanism, palmistry, elements of world religions, the mystical developments of Pythagoras, Plato, Hermes-Trismegistus, Paracelsus, Nostradamus, Blavatsky, Gurdjieff, Ouspensky, Helena Roerich, etc. This army of demon servants, whose name is legion, constitutes the anti-system called esotericism.
It is very difficult to help a person steeped in esotericism, since strong guardian demons stand behind him. Without the strong desire of the seduced person to break out of the demonic networks and his requests for help from God in this, it is almost impossible to help.
I.V.Nezhinsky
ESOTERIC CHRISTIANITY OF GEORGE GURGIEFF
“- In what relation to Christianity stands the teaching that you
Are you stating? - asked one of those present.
“I don’t know what you know about Christianity,” Gurdjieff replied,
Emphasizing the last word. - A lot of talking will be required over the course of
It takes a long time to figure out what you mean by this word.
But for the sake of those who already know, I will say that this is esoteric Christianity.”
The teachings of Gurdjieff, regarding which today there are many prejudices based on elementary misunderstandings, are compared with many traditional teachings, and, above all, with Sufism. This is not surprising, since Gurdjieff's practical methods are indeed akin to those used by Sufi teachers. However, it is worth remembering here that, on the one hand, these methods themselves are not the invention of Sufi sheikhs, and in many cases came to Sufism from ancient pre-Islamic traditions; on the other hand, the very essence of the “Gurdjieff system” or the teaching of the “Fourth Way”, obviously, lies not in the “technical” side and methods, but in the metaphysics that underlies the system, and in the deep psychology that forms the strategy path to the “integrity of being.”
The metaphysics and ontology of Gurdjieff’s teachings are determined by two fundamental “sacred laws”, known as the “Law of Three” and the “Law of Seven” or “Triamazikamno” and “Heptaparaparshinok” (as Gurdjieff himself called them in his book “Everything and Everything or Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson "). Without dwelling in this work on the “Law of Seven,” which is the basis of the ontology and cosmology of the “Fourth Way,” we cannot, at least briefly, consider the “Law of Three,” since it is it that clearly indicates the Christian (from a metaphysical point of view) character this teaching.
Indeed, among all the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), it is in Christianity that the sacred triad (“Trinity”) is presented in the most obvious form, even at the exoteric level of church doctrine, while in Judaism and Islam this triad is present only in a hidden form on the esoteric level. True, the dogmatics of even the most “metaphysically complete” Christian denomination - Orthodoxy - speaks of “three hypostases of the One God, inseparable and unmerged,” without specifying the essence and nature of this “inseparability and unmerger.” The works of Orthodox philosophers only partially shed light on this problem. Here, of course, one cannot but agree with the church fathers that “this mystery is great,” and that rational thinking, in principle, cannot comprehend it. However, we are talking about something else: the expression of this law (albeit in a dogmatic form) on the exoteric level of the Christian religion indicates its special “status” and its metaphysical priority. This article does not have the opportunity to analyze the metahistorical reasons for this state of affairs; however, it can be stated that it is the “trinity” that is characteristic of Christianity as such, although it is worth considering that at the esoteric level this idea is present in all traditional teachings.
Gurdjieff's “Law of Three” is in a certain sense analogous to Christian trinitarianism. The difference here is that, as in the esoteric ontology of any tradition, the “Law of Three” operates not only as the highest metaphysical principle, but also as a dynamic factor involved in all levels of existence. It is the interaction of three forces (“affirming”, “denying” and “reconciling” or “balancing”) that creates the structural integrity of all stable formations without exception, in which, in turn, the same three forces begin to act, but on a different scale, determined both by the hierarchical level of a given formation and by the way it interacts with the space environment. The stable cosmic formations in question fill all hierarchical levels of universal existence (“Cosmos”) and correspond to the entire “scale of scale” - from the Universe, galaxies, planetary systems to cells, molecules, elementary particles; This “scale of scale” naturally includes a person.
Here the specificity of Gurdjieff’s teaching is already manifested, which is expressed by the following formula: “a person must cognize the action of every existential factor, every force, every Sacred Law, both in the entire cosmos, and in himself, and above all in himself.” This also applies, of course, to the “Law of Three”; Only a person’s knowledge of it “within himself” can fill with real content the biblical formula that says that “man is the image and likeness of God.” From this point, with real introspection, self-research and self-knowledge, “practical esotericism” begins, so to speak, - Gurdjieff’s “work”, that is, the spiritual Path leading a person “inside himself”, to the Spirit, to God and to the integrity of being.
Here it is necessary to dwell on the relationship between the exo- and esoteric aspects of tradition. As Gurdjieff notes, these two aspects are separated not only along the line of knowledge (that is, in relation to fundamental ontology and cosmology), but also along the line of being (that is, in relation to man’s existential situation, his “Path”, his deep psychology). In the Christian tradition, the exoteric teaching of the church, accepting the metaphysical doctrine of the One God in His trinity, emphasizes the “creatureship” of the entire universe and man in particular, that is, on the complete separation of the Creator and the Creation, on the total transcendence of the Absolute. This doctrine of “creatureship,” characteristic of all religions of the Abrahamic cycle (in contrast to the religions of previous metahistorical cycles), forms not only church dogma, but also, so to speak, the “spiritual practice” of the Christian religion. Man always remains a “creature,” a part of the universe alienated from God. The “reunion” of the world and God occurs only “at the end of time” at the moment of the “Last Judgment,” when the fate of the human soul (its “salvation” or “destruction”) will be finally decided.
Unlike exotericism, esoteric teachings of any tradition never speak of the complete separation of Creator and Creation, God and Cosmos, but, on the contrary, emphasize the unity of being. “The One, manifested in many,” is the ontological pathos of all esoteric traditions, which, however, does not contradict the doctrine of the Transcendence of the Absolute, also accepted by esotericism. Here, however, it is worth mentioning the fact that all verbal formulations very poorly reflect the nature of reality, which belongs to the higher planes of existence. Therefore, all exoteric “metaphysics” from an esoteric point of view has very little value. Gurdjieff never tired of repeating that true metaphysics is revealed only in higher states of consciousness (where the “highest intellectual center” is activated), while the ordinary intellect “works” only with words, which for the most part are completely alienated from reality. Thus, the ancient traditional formula “One in Many” is, rather, a spiritual guideline for the awakening mind, rather than the final “metaphysical truth.”
As for the “separation” of God from the world, esotericism speaks, rather, of remoteness. “Separation” already arises in existence itself, within the framework of its own ontology; The reasons for this “separation”, the distortions and “breaks” of the world cosmic process are discussed in many myths (the Gnostic myth about the “evil demiurge”, the teachings of Kabbalah, etc.). There is a similar myth in the book “Everything and Everything,” but there is no opportunity to dwell on it in detail here.
From the above it is clear that Christian esotericism, like the esotericism of any other tradition, does not accept the doctrine of “creatureship,” which from an esoteric point of view can only correspond to a certain “cosmic moment,” a certain sociocosmic situation that arises at the end of the Manvatara cycle, to use Hindu terminology, or shortly before the “end of the world,” to use Christian terminology, which is defined by the extreme distance of God from cosmic existence. However, it does not follow from this that the esoteric doctrine is in conflict with the teachings of the church (not at the formal logical level, but in essence); Moreover, considering exoteric religion (in its adequate, that is, not degraded, form) as a particular aspect of its teaching, esotericism takes it as a “point of departure,” primarily in relation to the real human situation. From this point of view, the “creality” of a person is not the “ultimate truth,” but a reflection of the real existential situation in which an ordinary person finds himself (that is, finds himself) and which he must really understand.
Leaving now metaphysics and ontology, let us turn directly to man, such as he is; here, first of all, it will be necessary to state that for real “work”, for genuine self-research, he definitely “lacks something,” not to mention the fact that not everyone is able to realize the importance and necessity of such self-observation. It should be emphasized that we are not talking about “intellectual speculation”, not about self-reflection and not about emotionally charged “experiences”. It is a question of whether a person, by sincerely and honestly observing himself in all his manifestations, is able to recognize himself as he is, that is, to withstand the severe test of self-exposure, and then try to find in his inner reality the factors that he was able to to stand firmly in the search for knowledge and the search for being. At this point, for the first time, a person must really consciously strive to be sincere and honest with himself, that is, rely on his conscience. The illusion is that most people believe that they already have a conscience, while they possess only the rudiments (or remnants) of what Gurdjieff calls objective conscience, that is, conscience in the true sense of the word, conscience in everything essential “scope” of this concept.
Gurdjieff speaks of the significant degradation of man over the last few thousand years, and especially over the last few centuries; here it completely coincides with all traditional teachings. However, a certain specificity, and specifically Christian specificity, arises in that point of Gurdjieff’s teaching, where we are talking about the “Sacred Paths” of Faith, Hope and Love, open to man in previous metahistorical eras, but closed in the current one, for which there are reasons, about which , for lack of space, we have no opportunity to speak.
Today, faith, hope, love for the vast majority are just words with no real content behind them. Yes, behind each of them there are some “experiences,” but a person hardly thinks about their nature, and, most importantly, he hardly thinks about how conscious these experiences are. We are not talking about a simple rational statement, but about awareness of the whole experience, its nature and essence. And this is where difficulties arise. “God is love,” says Christian teaching, but is it this “love” that people shout about on the stage today, is it this “love” that the heroes of soap operas talk about, and is it this “love” that a person has in mind in his relationships with his neighbors?! “Jesus commanded to love your enemies. And you cannot truly love even your friends!” - Gurdjieff repeated. And the same is true with hope and faith.
With “faith” the inquisitor brings a torch to burn the “heretic”, with “faith” the fanatic blows up houses, with “faith” they oppress and oppress, humiliate and kill; with “faith” people do not want to realize or understand. So what is this “faith”? And what is faith anyway?! What should this word indicate, what are we talking about here?!
Gurdjieff argues that true Faith (like Love, Hope and Conscience) is not an ethical or “psychological” concept; These are concepts, rather, ontological ones, these are concepts related to being. “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed and say to this mountain, “Move!”, then it will move,” says Jesus. But is this the faith that the average person or the average “Christian” has in mind?!
True Faith, says Gurdjieff, can only take root in the conscious parts of the human being. True Faith cannot be unconscious and “blind”. It is not directly related to the mind, but is directly related to consciousness. To be means to be conscious, it means to “remember all of yourself.” And only in conscious existence can Faith crystallize. “Faith of consciousness is freedom, faith of feelings is weakness, faith of body is stupidity,” writes Gurdjieff5. But the path to conscious being, to “remembering oneself” is neither short nor easy. And this path begins with the self-exposure that has already been discussed.
This is the experience of “one’s own insignificance”, the experience of “oneself-as-a-creature”; here the teaching of the Fourth Way literally coincides with exoteric Christianity, which is not surprising, for in order to “find the Path,” one must go through the “outer fence,” the exoteric level, and not through it intellectually, but in experience, in being. One must become aware of one's real situation, and this awareness should not be just a glimpse, an insight, an intellectual illumination.
This awareness can reveal itself to a person as an emotionally acute and long-lasting experience, as suffering that must be endured and experienced, for with it begins the path to intentional suffering, the need for which Gurdjieff constantly reminds. This experience must “crystallize” in a person, become a constant “background” of consciousness, remaining on its edge, but constantly reminding: “I, dust and ashes”6. Only then does a real possibility arise of acquiring the “third force” (in the Christian religion - “grace”) as the psychoenergetic basis of “work” and spiritual growth; only then does the true conscience begin to awaken, and its scattered “parts”, mainly located in the unconscious of a person, begin to integrate into that real Objective Conscience, which a person can and should possess even in the present metahistorical situation and on the basis of which only spiritual growth is possible and the discovery of the “Sacred Paths” of Faith, Love and Hope.
“Truth is known by the blood of the heart,” says ancient wisdom. “The grain that falls into the ground must die in order to sprout,” Jesus says in the Gospels. “In order to “grow”, a person needs enormous effort,” Gurdjieff repeats. - “Conscious effort and deliberate suffering.”
Isn't it easier to continue sleeping?!
P. Uspensky. In search of the miraculous. - St. Petersburg, 1994, chapter 6.
The first or “Holy affirmative” force in the metaphysical plane is God the Father, the second or “Holy negating” force is God the Son, the third or “Holy reconciling” force is God the Holy Spirit. One of the main Orthodox prayers (according to legend, “came straight from heaven”), “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us,” directly points to these three hypostases and “three powers”: Holy God is the “first power ”or the Father, the Holy Mighty - the “second force” or the Son, the Holy Immortal - the “third force” or the Holy Spirit. - See G. Gurdjieff. Beelzebub's stories to his grandson. - M.: Fair-Press, 2000, pp. 105, 510.
See “In Search of the Miraculous,” chapter 14.
We are talking about a certain “deviation” in the evolution of the planet Earth, associated, according to Gurdjieff, with a violation of a certain cosmic law, as a result of which a catastrophe occurred with the Earth, and the Moon (formerly part of the Earth) broke away from it. This, in particular, led to the appearance of the “kundabuffer” organ in humans, which was the cause of the subsequent degradation of humanity as a whole. See “Tales of Beelzebub...”, chapters 9,10.
5 “Tales of Beelzebub...”, p. 265.
The question of the esotericism of religion is of paramount importance for our contemporaries, not only because the book market has been overwhelmed by the flow of occult literature claiming esotericism - some secret knowledge, usually called ancient wisdom, but to a much greater extent because the correct solution to this problem gives an opportunity to deeper, better understand, comprehend and appreciate the teaching of the Orthodox Church. All esoteric teachings claim to be chosen and elitist. They contrast the aristocrats of the spirit - esotericists, with the crowd of profane - exotericists, who represent the outer layer, like the husk of the community. This concept, inherent in pagan religions, was clearly expressed in Gnostic teachings, where people were divided into three degrees isolated from each other: the highest degree - pneumatics, that is, spiritual - people with secret knowledge inaccessible to the crowd; middle degree - psychics, i.e. spiritual; and the lowest - somatics - carnal. The highest degree corresponded to esotericism, the other two, middle and lowest, corresponded to exotericism. For exotericists, the Gnostics considered generally accepted moral standards useful and even necessary, and the esotericist, a pneumatician, should be free from all laws, including the Gospel commandments. He (the esotericist) stands above good and evil. Here we can see how the doctrine of two knowledges: for the elite and for the crowd, leads to duality and relativism of morality. “The layman” is subject to the law, the “pneumatic” is not limited by anything, secret knowledge in moral terms turns into permissiveness.
Intertwined with the teachings of the Gnostics is the Buddha's parable about three lotuses, one of which is hidden under water, the other only touches the surface of the lake, and the third has blossomed its flower petals over the waves. Buddha said that the lotus under water is people who have not accepted the teaching; touching the surface - those who accepted it but did not understand it; and those growing above the water are the true disciples of the Buddha.
Brahmanism also refers to an elitist religion. Brahmins possess the wisdom hidden from the people; they are esotericists by birthright; the remaining castes exist to serve the Brahmins; only external forms of religion are suitable for them. Greco-Roman paganism was also elitist. Intellectual elitism was represented by the class of philosophers. In addition, a person could gain occult knowledge in the mysteries. There are two types of secret gnosis: Apollonian esotericism and Dionysian esotericism.
In Freemasonry, the principle of elitism and esotericism is elevated to a clear system. The Masonic lodge is divided into levels - usually 33. Those at the lowest level usually do not know what is happening at the highest level, what new teachings are being discovered there. The transition from one stage to another occurs as initiation and initiation into a new occult secret. Here the principle of elitism and esotericism is transformed into organizational conspiracy. Theosophical teaching is also based on the opposition of esotericism and exotericism. Theosophists try to find the quintessence of all religions, and then replace religions with neo-Buddhist doctrine. The teachings of Theosophists, like Buddhists, begin with a call to goodness and mercy, and end with the teaching that love, like hatred, immerses a person in the emotional sphere, tying him to earthly existence, therefore it must be destroyed and replaced by dispassion and indifference, being on the other side of good and evil. In some cases, theosophy leads to dualism - the concept of eternity and equality, the identity of good and evil: God and Satan “complement” each other, and sometimes, like Helena Blavatsky, “change places.” Blavatsky said more than once that the meaning of philosophy is the rehabilitation of Lucifer. Yoga Advaita is one of the most esoteric teachings. Mediational self-hypnosis that “I” is the “Absolute”, and “being” is equal to “non-existence”, puts a person into a state of demonic trance, and the denial of the objective existence of the world frees him from ethics as a relationship to the world.
As we see, in esotericism the path of moral and spiritual perfection fades into the background or is completely ignored. It is replaced by the knowledge of secrets, the possession of intellectual talismans in the form of names, numbers, mantras, spells, or a nihilistic denial of morality. There are no secrets in Christianity, there are no secrets about the Sacraments, here spiritual knowledge is made dependent on a person’s morality, and not on his knowledge of formulas, numbers and secret signs. As a person’s life improves morally, his ability to comprehend the spiritual world increases. The Gospel is revealed to those who do it. Christ condemned elitism and esotericism in the words: “I thank You, Father, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed these things to babes.” Christian gnosis depends on the state of the human soul: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
Judaism is also an elitist religion. His esoteric book is the Kabbalah, from which subsequent generations of occultists, including Theosophists, Anthroposophists and Freemasons, draw their inspiration. Nazism also represents a special esoteric teaching. Here the race acts as the elite of humanity and the keeper of the ancient secrets of the Aryan world. The SS executioners received a special initiation with the assistance of the Tibetan occult-demonic sect “Agarti”. It is characteristic that they practiced one of the types of initiation - overcoming pain: the executioner had to stand naked for one minute in front of angry shepherd dogs rushing at him, without leaving his place. Similar initiations took place in Rome during initiation into priests. On one of the surviving frescoes of Pompeii, there is a mystery painting “The Initiation of the Priestess Dionysius,” where a girl is subjected to torture as part of the initiation ritual.
Already on the first pages of the Bible we are faced with the fact of occult esotericism. Satan contrasts religion, as obedience to God, with the possession of an external object - the fruit through which a person wanted to become a god, the free ruler of his existence. The forbidden fruit seems to Adam like a talisman that will give him unknown and immense powers.
In esotericism there is no repentance; sin is viewed as ignorance. Repentance takes the place of learning. Sin is not the loss of God by the soul, but the lack and impoverishment of good, something that is not difficult to replenish, therefore the esotericist is completely reconciled with sin.
Elitism penetrated the Catholic Church, deforming its structure. This is clericalism, this is the isolation of the clergy from the people, the bishops from the priesthood. The concept of hierarchy presupposes spiritual unity, steps of a single ladder, a single body, a single life of the church; otherwise, division of the Church is inevitable. In Catholicism there are two churches - one teaching (the clergy), and the other teaching - the people. The infallibility of the Pope is a kind of pinnacle of esotericism and elitism. Here position and place, i.e. external factors, make a person infallible in faith, it becomes similar to magic. The prophets and apostles spoke when the Holy Spirit acted, but here they want to force the Holy Spirit to act when the Pope speaks. Here it is not the pope who depends on the Holy Spirit, but rather the Holy Spirit on him. Catholicism tries to soften the doctrine of the divine prerogatives of man. There, broad autonomy is allowed for monasteries and schools with various statutes, opposition journals, and critical speeches, which gives the appearance of freedom, but cannot replace the lost principle of conciliarity.
Esotericism has penetrated into Protestantism, here the elite are scientists, Bible scholars, intellectuals, and in mystical sects - Pietists, Quakers, Irvingians, followers of Swedenborg, etc. The elite are visionaries, people who easily go into trance and exaltation.
The Orthodox Church is protected from elitism and esotericism, because here the hierarchy and the laity represent a single living body, each person is responsible for the purity of Orthodoxy, dogmas and rituals (Messages of the Eastern Patriarchs - 1848). In the Orthodox Church, salvation is not the knowledge of occult secrets, but the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, where everyone is equal: philosopher and child, man and woman, hierarch and layman; where there is no domination, but service to each other in love. If the mysticism of Protestantism or the pride of papism penetrates into the Orthodox Church, then this is not the teaching of the Orthodox Church, but a rejection from it.
“From the book Vectors of Spirituality”
Relativism (lat. “relative”) is the principle of relativity (subjectivity) of human knowledge and ideas.
Occultism (Lat. “secret”) is a general name for false spiritual mystical teachings and practices that believe that there is secret (hidden from the profane) knowledge that imparts strength and power through connection with secret (dark) forces.
Theosophy (Greek) - an eclectic combination of the mysticism of Buddhism and other eastern religions with elements of the occult and pseudo-Christianity (for example, the Blavatsky doctrine).
Quintessence (lat.) - the most important thing, the essence.
Gnosis (Greek) - knowledge, cognition.
Prerogative (lat.) - exclusive right, competence.
