Course "Talks on Esoteric"

Book I


TALK   TWO

Humanity always tried to understand the surrounding world, always tried to answer the questions: how did it come into being, where did man com from, what is the sense of life, death? This way or that, it answered these questions. The notions of life and death mysteries always corresponded to the level of consciousness of masses, time, culture of epoch. Up to the present man’s notions of the world, God, life came about from his look from the Earth into the Cosmos. In this case the Universe presents itself close, not very great, while man looks very small, worthless and God looks like a powerful personality, very much like man. In fact God is the ideal image of man. Gods are nearby, quite close. Man projects on them his everyday, domestic experience. He ascribes them the qualities which, in his opinion, Gods must have. For many thousands of years humanity was busy with creating Gods. In this way myths about the origin of the earth, creation of man come into being Man was always sure and in many respects is still sure that he himself and the world around him is completely subordinated to the supreme beings living in the heaven. Gods are seen as very mighty beings very much reminding man living above the world. In Christian consciousness there exists the same understanding of God, The Christian dogma based on Judaism reflects the tribal consciousness of masses which existed in the period of slave-owning system. Hence god is the higher master, absolute proprietor, who completely manages life and death of man. Man is a worthless slave without rights doomed to receive any acts of God’s will obediently. There couldn’t arise another world outlook in the period of slave – owning system. God forgives, chastises, punishes, constantly watches everyone. In comparison with him man is a worthless slave unable to any independent actions. For any action man needs help from above. He himself is initially sinful and isn’t capable of anything higher. His social and private life fully depends on High Will. This is a na?ve, childish look of primitive humanity which lived several thousand years ago and had a tribal consciousness which reflected the reality of the slave – owning system. It’s a great pity a part of our quite educated society supports it at the beginning of the next era. In addition it is treated as a “spiritual” achievement. But it is obvious not for long.
On the Earth there was always a very small part of the planet’s intellectuals which saw the world differently. It was a look from another point – not from the Earth into the Cosmos, but from the Cosmos on the Earth. In this case the Earth is seen as a tiny speck of dust in the Universe. The Universe presents itself as a system of numerous worlds penetrating each other, influencing each other. The system is very complete and harmonious. Then arises the notion of the Universal Absolute – the source of the existence of worlds and Universal harmony. Then arises the knowledge that man is like the Universe; he is a microcosm, i.e. he contains the same energies as the whole of the Universe, submits to the united laws common for the whole Universe.
There was always knowledge about life, the Universe, Man and god on the Earth.
According to this knowledge the Universe is eternal, it’s a system of harmonic worlds penetrating one another, governed by United Common Laws and Principles which are incontestable, invariable, real and effective whether the human society knows of them or not.
In the process of evolution, while developing consciousness, humanity slowly and step by step comprehends the knowledge of the world’s organization. For centuries this knowledge is called “Truth”. Truth is the knowledge about the spiritual reality of life. Truth and dogma oppose one another. Truth is plastic, it transforms and develops all the time. Like the developing Universe Truth constantly widens and increases.
Periodically a part of this knowledge understandable for many was reported in the form of arising religious or philosophic teaching. Then new knowledge helped further spiritual development of man. Because the cognition of truth, this way or that, leads to its application in life.
“At the given time and at the given place there exists a definite amount of knowledge. During a definite amount of time humanity has at its disposal a certain sum of knowledge.”
G. Gurdjiyev

Before every new epoch Humanity synthesizes past experience, accepts new ideas about life, gives up old, obsolete notions in order to make the next step to understanding the Great Truth – the Universal Life.
The knowledge of the structure of the Universe, the Laws governing its worlds, true organizations of man, his life in different plans of existence in the Universe, the evolution of man and humanity is called esoteric.
But where did the knowledge itself come from? This knowledge was introduced from on high by the planetary hierarchy at the dawn of development of the fifth race. About the planetary Hierarchy, governing the development of the planetary humanity, I shall tell in the next books. Now I shall only quote a famous man of knowledge:
“Humanity’s life is governed by forces coming from two sources. Firstly by the influence of the planets perceived both by the masses of people and separate persons quite unwillingly and unconsciously. Secondly from the inner circles of humanity; the majority of people doesn’t even suspect of their existence and importance, neither does it suspect of the influence of planets.
The inner circle is called “esoteric”. It consists of the people who have reached the highest level of development. Each of them possesses all the forms of consciousness possible for a man, absolute knowledge, free and independent will.”
G.Gurdjiev

Humanity is developing rigorously. The history known to us comprises only a tiny part of the whole history of mankind. Little from the history of the previous epochs is preserved in the memory of mankind. We know practically nothing about the past periods of humanity’s existence. But one thing is obvious: in proportion to the development of humanity its notion of the world where it lives also develops. Humanity gets the knowledge about the Universe, the Laws of life, its notions of the world and life change. Knowledge developing together with humanity never disappears. It is reported from century to century, it goes from one epoch to another.
About 8 thousand years ago, the white race ruling on the planet now, began its development. It got the knowledge of the Universe, the Absolute, the Laws and Principles of existence from the previous race of atlantes. About 6 thousand years ago in India there appeared the first initiatory schools where the accepted knowledge was preserved and developed. Partially the higher knowledge was reported from the previous race in Egypt. There initiatory schools were established as well. From time immemorial there was held training and educating of specially selected people at schools called Schools of mysteries. Besides teaching of the organization of the universe, invisible plans of life, one got familiar with the great fundamental doctrine of reincarnation. The knowledge was secret, hidden; it was reported only to the selected, ready for perception people. This knowledge was always hidden from many and intended for few. Traditionally it was reported orally from Teacher to pupil. It reached us in the most ancient monuments of human culture whose origin is lost in the depth of centuries. This knowledge was reported only at initiation at schools; it was accessible only for very few on the Earth. This knowledge is called “esoteric”.
“Knowledge is not hidden. In its very nature it can’t become a common property. During a definite period of time humanity has at its disposal some sum of Knowledge. If a great amount of knowledge is concentrated in a small number of people, then it gives considerable results. Those, who have knowledge, do all they can to pass and report it ti as many people as possible, to make easier their approach to knowledge and preparing themselves for the perception of truth. But it’s impossible to report knowledge to anyone by force”.
G.Gurdjiyev.

Developing during the past millennia, knowledge turned into a single planetary spiritual basis. It was formed as a generalized synthesized teaching of the world, as some single space, organized and living according to common laws. As a teaching proving the fact of the presence of divine origin in any particle of universal life.
There exists a basis of spiritual knowledge and practices common to all mankind. Every people had and up to now has its traditional, carefully preserved wisdom, open for few, but hidden for many. It can be said that every people introduced its definite contribution into all-planetary spiritual property. Every people introduced its definite contribution into the United human clandestine knowledge. It includes spiritual methods of many peoples. It is the result of spiritual efforts of humanity during the past period of its development.
But there exist the fundamentals of knowledge, the united higher doctrine – the knowledge of the organization of the Universe, the existence of many life plans, the interaction of worlds, united Universal laws.
It’s this knowledge that was reported in clandestine initiatory esoteric schools at initiation. “The very idea of esotery, the idea of initiation reaches people mostly through pseudo esoteric systems and schools. If such pseudo esoteric schools did not exist, the majority of people would have no chance to learn about the existence of something greater than life, as truth in its pure form is beyond their comprehension.”
“The idea of initiation which reaches us via pseudo esoteric systems is also reported in a completely wrong form. The legends concerning the external rituals of dedication are made up of scraps of information about ancient mysteries. Mysteries were a peculiar way where especial performances portrayed the evolution of man and the world in an allegoric form. Initiation is the transition from one level of development of existence to another. It was celebrated with special ceremonies. But the change of existence itself can’t be caused by any rituals. A ritual just marks a completed transition.”
G. Gurdjiyev.

This knowledge was reported to his adherents by every founder of the world religions. Jesus also told his disciples about mysteries.
Later, when religions became pseudo esoteric teachings, when knowledge disappeared from religious dogmata, there arose dead rituals. “Only in pseudo esoteric systems which have nothing but rituals, the latter are ascribed an independent meaning. It is supposed that a ritual changed into a sacrament passes or reports some forces to an initiated one. There isn’t and can’t be any outer initiation”.
G.Gurdjiyev

In Christianity such meaningless rituals are the “sacrament of communion”, sacrament of christening, rite of burial service, etc.
So there exists the United higher Knowledge which asserts that the Universe is the system of interacting worlds of life. The Universe is endless in its existence, it rhythmically contracts and widens. Its development is going on according to incontestable general laws and principles. All the life of the Universe is united into one whole. It is a united living organism where everything is interconnected. Being a part of the universal life, a tiny cell in this organism, man depends on everything in it. He is influenced by the surrounding nature, human surroundings and cosmic influences. Everybody of us also influences upon everything: nature, surrounding people, Cosmos. When man begins to realize this connection, begins to realize that he is responsible for the way he influences upon surroundings; that everything comes back to himself, that nothing disappears completely, he begins to understand that it’s necessary to learn to exist in harmony with all surroundings, it’s necessary to love everything. All the life of the Universe exists and develops thanks to the law of interaction, interchange and the law of love.
Just watch, everything in nature testifies to the fact the love is the basis of developing new life. This love joining of the female and the male giving new life. This love joining giving a new form of life is characteristic beginning with the smallest particles of matter. It is characteristic of all kingdoms of earthly nature. The life of the kingdoms of vegetables, animals and people continues and develops owing to this Universal Law. The whole life of the Universe exists and develops thanks to the law of love.
It’s about this law, about the ability to accept all the surroundings, to feel one’s own connection with every man Jesus spoke in his sermon on love to anyone near.
When man learns to live according to the laws of the Universe, he will stop to break the harmony of life. Only then the unity, mutual assistance and brotherly relations between the peoples of the Earth will arise.
Meanwhile the humanity lives in such civilization which knows completely nothing about the Universal indefeasible laws, it violates them all the time. Ignorance, na?ve, distorted notions of life, its values, death, man are the reason of suffering, illnesses, struggle and hatred characteristic of the worldly life. In order to make life on the Earth happier a new spiritual culture is needed. It’ll be based on true Knowledge about life, on indefeasible Laws and principles of the Universal and hence worldly existence.
We are on the threshold of the next epoch. There must appear new knowledge about life in the Universe and on the Earth, about the connection of man with Cosmos, Nature, his near. The aspiration for spiritual life has never been more serious and sincere as now. The hectic social processes shattering the life of our society over the past years induce many to try to find some other hidden meaning of social processes, make many understand that the true reason of all difficulties of our life lies in our mass consciousness. Many begin to feel gradually that now they need a new Teaching, which will explain to man the true sense of his life, teach him to treat this world correctly, teach him to prize not the accumulated material values of church and its ministers, but to see another value of life, reveal new priorities of our efforts in life. Now in our society they try to understand the way to form moral values in man’s consciousness. Society tries to find ways of personality’s perfection. In this connection they speak about spirituality very much and very often.
Very different notions are put into this term, both cultural entertainments and religious rituals. It’s customary to believe that spirituality is a synonym of religion, an absolute prerogative of church, and only of the orthodox one. Let us remember how the Authority, supreme for millions of people, defined the notion of spirituality in his Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said that spirituality is kindness, charity, love to all living, ability for compassion, altruism. The spiritual consciousness of a personality shows itself as charity and wisdom, ability for sympathy.
Jesus spoke about love for near – the skill to understand, accept, forgive, the skill not to judge and blame. Jesus did not allow his apostles judgment, the more so blaming. He allowed pity-pity for the people who are yet unable to understand that their mentality is limited, He demanded to forgive enemies, which isn’t yet realized for us at all. He demanded to give the superfluous to people in need, that is, everyday giving, a victim as active earthly charity.
Here all the signs of spirituality, eternal moral ideals are reflected. In every confession – let it be Buddhism, Islam or Judaism, you will find, in this form or other, exactly these qualities as a model of the highest moral manifestation of man.
It is quite obvious that charity, wisdom and compassion do not arise in the result of reading, attendance of theatre and cinema, do not arise in the result of fasting and prayers.
Humanity has always praised these qualities, tried to work out methods to form them. One way or another all the spiritual that came into being on the Earth, everything that is included into the notion of spiritual art and culture, made their aim to evoke in man these qualities.
Thus spiritual consciousness of a personality shows itself as charity and wisdom, ability for compassion. How can majority reach this consciousness?
First of all by changing the viewpoint concerning the world where we live.
Now to the greater part of people the world looks like a battlefield where one must win a place for himself. In reality this is a field of everyday experience offering possibility to a personality to develop and improve. The world looks like a chaotic contraption, in reality it is very harmonious, regulated, it develops according to Principles and Universal Laws. Sticking to old scientific and religious notions it’s impossible to change point of view of life, hence it’s impossible to change the consciousness of the majority of people. New knowledge and culture are needed.
But new knowledge vitally necessary for the country is perceived with difficulty. Our intellectual society critically regards everything that can’t be examined with instruments and proved with customary knowledge. There still exists a strong prejudice against unusual knowledge, still everything inaccessible for a mediocre mind is rejected. With na?ve arrogance many scientists appear as judges in that field of knowledge which they have not the least notion of. True, a part of them can be justified. Esoteric knowledge is identified mainly with some terrible medieval mixture of ignorance, distortions, conglomerations of UFO, sorcerers, wizards and so on.
Now many think that chaotic reading books on esoteric topics is enough to have the right to speak of their spirituality and esoteric education. Many others think themselves to be genuine Christians because they attend churches on holidays, take part in obscure rituals, wear crosses and speak about their faith in God. It’s not so; spiritual practice is the transformation of oneself, it’s the process of the developing a personality, but not intellectual chattering about esoteric or idle chattering about one’s faith. It’s the appearance of new spiritual and mental qualities of man.
Now science has headed for the research of the nearest cosmic space supposing that this it the main task of humanity.
But even if all of us learn about the life on all the planets of the solar system, of other constellations, shall we get an answer to the question about the aim of the universe, about the sense of life?
Will life itself improve on the Earth?
The aspiration to spiritual life, unseen worlds has never been more sincere and serious than now. This aspiration shows itself in melancholy doubts about earthly values, in the deep feeling of pettiness and unreality of earthly life. With it all many cannot believe in the higher.
Living without clear understanding the reasons and aims of existence people find three ways out:
1. The alternative of ignorance. It comprises the mode of life when one doesn’t know, doesn’t understand the aim and reason of living, and doesn’t think about these problems.
2. The alternative of epicureanism: realizing the hopelessness of life, use those goods it gives you, while there is a chance. In this way the majority of more or less educated people preserve in themselves the possibility to live.
3. The aspiration to cognize the sense and aim of life. True, this aspiration often turns into ignorant talk about contacts with Cosmos, UFO, All planetary information centre, etc. On this aspiration turns into an intensive search for God, who is looked for in books, churches, mosques, synagogues, Now in our society the actively propagandize the devotion to Orthodoxy, faith in God – such God and such faith as they were understood by the society of people living some thousands years ago. It’s a na?ve conviction, that following ancient dogma, dead in many respects, is the way of spiritual search and method of moral change of modern society. It should be understood that humanity is continuously developing. Dogma inevitably die, as they do not answer the interests of developing life, they can’t influence upon the consciousness of modern humanity. A religious tradition can exist for long if only it doesn’t turn into a dead dogma. A spiritual impulse, which appeared at a definite moment of human history from one mighty personality, must be a stream, not a dogma, it must in a new way show its essence in new social conditions and in the conditions of a new level of human consciousness. Those who read the Gospel attentively remember that Jesus promises his disciples another Teacher who would bring them fuller knowledge.
As humanity changed during the past two thousand years, as it reached a new level of consciousness, there must inevitably arise a new spiritual impulse, a new teaching capable of changing the consciousness of masses.
In Pentateuch of Moses, in the first biblical texts it is said that God, having made a man’s body of earthly elements, blew a particle of his spirit into him. In this myth the truth is reflected in a symbolic form. There is a particle of divine consciousness in every man.
The famous philosopher Spencer stated that humanity’s development is an eternal movement to unknown truth, not liable to definition and eternally not achieved. But for the theosophs of the East and esoterics of the West humanity’s movement has an aim. Developing the hidden abilities of soul, man is approaching that great fireplace of life which is called God.
In the east for many thousands years there were performed searches for joining the personal consciousness of man with the divine beginning in him. This is the genuine spiritual search, the search for God in oneself. It’s this that all the founders of the world’s religions spoke about.
It’s necessary to comprehend the teachings given to humanity some thousands years ago in a new way. These teachings, because of the low level of masses’ consciousness and culture, were hardly understood by the people living in those remote times, were nearly completely distorted by contemporaries and by later researchers.
Nevertheless, even very much distorted, they had spiritual attractiveness during 2,5 thousand years.
These teaching had a planetary importance, because to some degree the laws of Universal life were stated in each of them.
Everything, that was taught by the founders of the religions, wasn’t reduced only to what they said, but was a whole of their personalities and lives. By his life each of them asserted the new knowledge they addressed the whole human race. The confessions that appeared later preserved the teachings in a very little degree, but created the class of the clergy, a system of rituals, and ceremonies, that Christ, among other things, opposed. The teachings were in fact buried, forgotten or distorted.
All the founders of the religions offered methods of the formation of a spiritual, i.e. charitable, wise, free, loving consciousness. It has nothing to do with the call to spiritual slavery, outer meekness and obedience before priests, to mechanical sticking to rituals and ceremonies.
There exists esoteric philosophy which explains the true essence of life, offers a method of spiritual development of a personality, with it all it includes fundamentals of teachings of all religion founders.
The teaching of Jesus and Mohammed are about the necessity of kindness, charity, ability to forgive and accept any near. The teaching of Buddha says that we shan’t be able to use our huge potential possibilities of mind and reach the state of complete enlightenment, i.e. to realize the divinity of our inner being, unless we realize that the reason of our sufferings is the manifestation of our imperfection and egoism.
I am sure that both materialist philosophy and semitic religions, being an anachronism, are not adapted to the new epoch. A new civilization, which will inevitably appear in future, will be based on new notions of man, the world, God. After all it’s not the first time in the life of humanity that mass consciousness must re-organize. It always occurs painfully, it always occurs in the result of the apparent gap between changed conditions of life and outlived looks on it. The religious clashes, which for already several decades make humanity suffer, the absurd and useless efforts of priests of all religions will induce to look for new answers to eternal questions about life, death, kindness, evil.
Then it’ll become evident that the ideas of world outlook the modern civilization is based upon have become obsolete. Man of the future will have true knowledge about the universe, Laws governing life, will feel himself a part of the universal existence.
So that living in this world for a rather short time, attending the school of education called “life”, the majority of people have neither slightest true notion about the world where they live, nor the slightest notion about the laws governing this world.
Ignorance is the main enemy of man and the source of all his sufferings. The coming epoch demands knowledge of Cosmic laws of both visible and invisible worlds. It demands the recognition of the invisible world. The majority of people live in Cosmos quite unaware of Cosmic Laws violating them on every step of their lives with every deed, word, thought and they are surprised at the fact that their lives are full of vicissitudes and blows.
“Knowledge, knowledge, knowledge. If people thought more over the fact that knowledge is salvation there wouldn’t be even a part of that suffering. All human grief originates from ignorance. That is why any expansion of consciousness is collaboration with evolution.”
(“Infinity “, Agni-yoga)
Ignorance is the main cause of all sufferings: personal, social, planetary. The sufferings caused by ignorance, aggressiveness, nationalism, religious chauvinism will induce to look for new explanations of this unharmonious and difficult existence on the Earth. Then science and philosophy will be induced to recognize true ancient knowledge about life. Very soon science will have to recognize the existence of other worlds of life.
Time is coming when humanity will pass from blind faith in the divine, Gods to concrete knowledge about worlds and the organization of the Universe. It can be said with certainty that the period, when religious dogmata influenced upon the consciousness of humanity, when it prayed to imaginary gods for thousands of years, is coming to its end. As the process of life development in the Universe is endless, the truth, that humanity will progress further on, is indisputable. In front of it there is a long way of intellect improvement, then comes superconsciousness development.
Thus, in the new epoch objective conditions of life development on the planet will inevitably lead to the fact that humanity will be induced to look for answers to eternal questions of existence, to explain in a new way the reasons of sufferings and imperfection of erarthly life. Then a new world outlook will become firmly established, then the existence of Laws of Cosmos, superphysical, thin worlds will be recognized. The study of these worlds, the connections of earthly life with worlds of other materiality will lead to a higher consciousness level of the earthly mankind and as the result to unity, passing to a new, higher level of human relations – to brotherhood.
The knowledge of life laws, composition of the universe will promote the rise of another humanity, more humane and harmonious.
But already now it’s time to popularize ancient, true knowledge of many plans of life in the Universe, of its Laws; already now it’s time to train the intellectual part of the planet’s population, Russia including, for the first initiation, the initiation into the esoteric Knowledge.
LET US GET READY FOR THE COMING OF A NEW EPOCH.